Asparagus
Out of season in the Midwest · down 30% this week
This vegetable is at its local-harvest peak from March through June, and is generally in stores from February through June. This week it's out of season in the Midwest — buying it in season usually means better quality and, as the regional prices below show, a lower price.
Per a typical 134g serving, scaled from the per-100g figures in USDA FoodData Central (Asparagus, raw).
- How to pick a good one
- Straight, firm spears with tight, dry tips — open or damp tips are the first sign of decay. The cut end should look moist, not dried and woody. Thickness is a variety trait, not a quality measure; thick spears are fine and often easier to cook well.
- What a good price looks like
- Peak season is March through June, when it runs $2 to $3.50 a pound; out of season the same bunch is $5 to $7 and has flown a long way. This is one of the few vegetables where the seasonal price gap is dramatic enough to be worth planning around, and the in-season product is also markedly better.
- What you actually get
- A pound serves three to four as a side and loses 20 to 30% to the woody ends, more if the bunch is old. Those trimmings make a good stock or soup base rather than going in the bin. Look at the cut ends when buying: dry, split ends mean more waste.
- How to store it
- Stand the bunch upright in an inch of water in the fridge, like cut flowers, loosely covered. That buys several days over lying it flat in a bag.
- In the kitchen
- Trim rather than snap. Snapping each spear individually costs you an inch or more of good stalk on the longer ones; snap one to find the line, then line the bunch up and cut them all with a knife. For thick spears, run a peeler from just below the tip down to the base. Stand the bunch in an inch of water like flowers if it is not going straight into the pan.
- Getting the most out of it
- Snap one spear and it breaks where the woody part ends; use that as the guide for trimming the rest, or peel the lower stalk instead of wasting it. High, fast heat beats boiling every time. It is genuinely seasonal, so the in-season price is the one to buy at.
- Grilled AsparagusRecipe by Love & Lemons~$0.69 / serving 2 in-season
- Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Pistachio FlatbreadRecipe by Two Peas & Their Pod~$0.97 / serving 2 in-season
- Shrimp and Asparagus SkilletRecipe by The Recipe Critic~$1.03 / serving 5 in-season
- Burrata and Roasted Asparagus and Tomato SaladRecipe by Foodie Crush~$1.03 / serving 2 in-season
- Pasta with AsparagusRecipe by Skinnytaste~$1.24 / serving 2 in-season
- Healthy Asparagus QuicheRecipe by The Mediterranean Dish~$1.26 / serving 3 in-season
See all 212 recipes with asparagus →Filter by diet, time, budget, and macros.
Price from the USDA National Retail Report. Nutrition per typical serving, computed from USDA FoodData Central.
Asparagus — FAQ
When can you buy asparagus in season?
This vegetable is at its local-harvest peak from March through June, and is generally in stores from February through June. This week the Midwest has asparagus marked out of season.
What's the price of asparagus right now?
As of the week of September 4, 2026, the price of asparagus in the Midwest is $3.49/lb, down 30% from last week.
How many calories and how much protein are in asparagus?
A typical 134g serving of asparagus has about 27 calories, 2.9g protein, 5.2g carbohydrates, 0.1g fat, and 2.8g fiber, per USDA FoodData Central.
What can I make with asparagus?
SeasonSort indexes 212 recipes that use asparagus, each with its cost per serving computed from this week's prices — starting from about $0.41 a serving. The cheapest are listed on this page, with a link to the full filtered list.