parmesan and panko crusted baked vegetables

Green beans and asparagus are coated in crispy bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and baked until tender for a healthy side dish with a satisfying crunch.

If you’re in the “a vegetable with a few added calories is better than no vegetable at all” camp, you’ve come to the right place. I make my home in that camp.  I’m Head Counselor of that camp. I fly that camp flag with pride.

Today, I’m showing my camp spirit by sharing with you how to take ordinary asparagus or green beans, dust them with flour and soak them in egg, and then crust them with crispy panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. It’s a dish our whole camp can get behind.

When I made this dish, I used a combination of green beans and asparagus, because that’s what I had. The two work well together because they’re of similar thickness, but you could choose to use both or one or the other.

parmesan and panko crusted baked vegetables
adapted from five heart home

1 pound asparagus, green beans, or a combination of both
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon garlic salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 eggs
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
3/4 grated Parmesan cheese (if you’re using store bought shredded Parmesan rather than grating it fresh, give it a rough chop to make it match the size of the panko)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover a large sheet pan with foil and top with a wire rack. Spray the wire rack with cooking spray. Move your oven racks to the middle and the second to lowest positions.

Trim your vegetables. In a shallow dish- I like to use loaf pans, because the length is perfect for long asparagus- whisk together the flour, half the garlic salt, and half the pepper. In a separate dish, whisk together the eggs and the remaining pepper and garlic salt. In a third dish, combine the bread crumbs and cheese.

Working in small batches- a few pieces of vegetable at a time- roll the veggie in the flour mixture, transfer to the egg mixture, and then coat in the bread crumb mixture. Place coated veggies on the wire rack, close together but not touching.

When all vegetables are finished, place on the center oven rack and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until tops are just beginning to turn golden. Transfer pan to lower rack and bake for 3-5 minutes, or until vegetables are mostly golden. Serve immediately.

In need of a healthier vegetable recipe? Check out my no clean-up baked garlic green beans or pan-fried romaine lettuce.

What’s your favorite not-as-healthy way to eat healthy vegetables?

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