Season’s Choice Steamed Asparagus Spears

I remember the first time I tried asparagus as an elementary school-aged child. I was with one of my parents shopping at a local grocery store, and I found a sample table that was handing out small plastic cups of steamed, buttered asparagus. I took one bite and was hooked. It was tender, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned with just that little bit of melted butter.

I don’t remember asparagus being served often while I was growing up because some of my family doesn’t care for it. However, my dad loves it, and his mother — my grandmother — had a small ferny asparagus patch in her backyard for years.

These days, my husband and kids generally like asparagus, and I buy it from the local farmers market when it’s in season in the spring, or I buy it at the grocery store. A few years ago, I found a packet of asparagus seeds at a garden center, and I tried to establish my own asparagus patch. I thought my efforts had failed, but last spring I finally had some of those classic green stalks pop up out of the garden soil. It was one of my most satisfying experiences as a gardener. But asparagus spears shouldn’t be harvested until the third year because the plants’ roots are still getting established, so I’m patiently waiting until we can enjoy our own fresh homegrown asparagus.

In the meantime, during a recent Aldi run when the whole family was with me, I asked them to pick out some frozen vegetables to stock the deep freezer with, and they dropped this into our cart:

That’s right. Aldi sells frozen asparagus. I admit I had low expectations. I thought frozen asparagus would turn out limp and mushy, not good for eating with a bit of butter and Parmesan cheese, maybe only useful served in a soup or baked into a quiche. We tried it, though, and my family was pleasantly surprised by how good it turned out to be.

Season’s Choice Steamed Asparagus Spears cost $2.79 for an 8-ounce package at the time of publication. It steams directly in the bag in your microwave, making it a quick and easy veggie side dish.

This is a Regular Buy, which means you should be able to find it in the freezer aisle at Aldi any time of year.

This asparagus is “field to frozen” for “locked in freshness” and it contains no preservatives. The only ingredient is asparagus. These asparagus spears are a product of Chile (it turns out, a lot of asparagus sold in the U.S. is not produced here).

One package contains about three 5-spear (85-gram) servings. One serving has 20 calories and no fat, cholesterol, or sodium. A serving has 3 grams of total carbohydrates (1% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), 2 grams of total sugars, no added sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

Nutrition information , ingredients, and cooking directions. (Click to enlarge.)

The package has directions for cooking the asparagus in the microwave (recommended) or on the stove top.

To microwave, place the frozen, unopened bag directions-side up in the microwave. Do not pierce the bag. Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. During cooking, the bag will slowly inflate. A special vent in the bag allows the steam to escape and a whistling sound may be heard. After cooking, let the bag stand for 1 minute. Carefully open and pour the asparagus spears out of the bag. Season to taste and enjoy.

To cook on the stove top, add frozen asparagus to boiling water. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes or until tender. Drain, season to taste, and enjoy.

Cooked and ready to serve in an Aldi dish.

I cooked this in my microwave according to the directions. These are long spears, not cut into smaller bites. There was less in the bag than I expected, but it was still enough for my family when served alongside a chicken dinner. After pouring the cooked asparagus spears into a small serving dish, there is a small amount of water you may want to drain off before adding any seasonings or butter. I added two tablespoons of salted butter to the asparagus, and it melted after a couple of minutes and some gentle stirring. You could add just one tablespoon of butter and that would probably still be plenty, depending on how buttery you like your asparagus.

I was most concerned about what the texture of this asparagus might be like. It is softer than fresh steamed or boiled asparagus, but it wasn’t bad. My family thought it was quite edible and even good. The spears held their shape and really weren’t that mushy. They reminded me of some types of green beans I’ve had. Our teenage taste tester said they might even like this better than fresh asparagus. That is in part due to the fact that we had little to no tough, woody ends like we often find with fresh asparagus. When cooking fresh asparagus, it isn’t always easy to determine exactly where to snap the stalk to avoid those chewy ends.

This asparagus was so easy to cook in the microwave and tasted much better than we assumed it might. Fresh springtime asparagus properly steamed or grilled is still the winner, but I’ll definitely be keeping a few packages of this frozen asparagus in my freezer for times when we don’t have fresh asparagus.

The Verdict:

Season’s Choice Steamed Asparagus Spears can be microwaved from frozen in the bag they’re sold in. I didn’t think frozen asparagus would be all that great, but this was much better than I anticipated, and my family happily ate it. We’re big fans of fresh asparagus, but this works really well in a pinch. If you like asparagus, consider keeping a package or two in your freezer for times when you want a quick and easy veggie side dish for a meal.