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Bacon Wrapped Asparagus can be perfectly oven cooked and served up as a tasty side dish to dinner or breakfast.
This easy recipe shows the necessary tips on how to get tender asparagus wrapped in crispy bacon. Only a few ingredients are needed to make asparagus wrapped in bacon, and perfect results will follow! This is one of my favorite appetizer recipes that will always impress, along with my Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms and my Puff Pastry Wrapped Kielbasa Bites.
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus turns out perfectly if you cook it the right way. I’ll explain all of my tips and tricks throughout the post and in the recipe. I’ve had plenty of bacon wrapped recipes in my day, and I really can’t stand it when the bacon isn’t properly cooked.
The rule is simple: If what you’re cooking inside the bacon doesn’t take the same amount of time to cook as the bacon, it won’t turn out.
Let’s take one of my most popular recipes, my Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf. The bacon fat is perfectly rendered, but that’s because the actual meatloaf takes just as long to cook. Perfection!
Same story for my Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Chicken. For that reason I made a bacon weave and cooked it on top of the chicken. Normally you wouldn’t cook a chicken breast that long, but since it was covered by the bacon, I was able to cook the entire bundle for a long time which created equally perfect cooked bacon and chicken.
Table of Contents
- What to serve with Bacon Wrapped Asparagus:
- How to make Bacon Wrapped Asparagus in the oven:
- Why is Bacon Wrapped Asparagus so dang good?
- Can you make asparagus wrapped in bacon on the grill?
- What temperature is best for Bacon Wrapped Asparagus?
- Can Bacon Wrapped Asparagus be made ahead of time?
- Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Recipe
What to serve with Bacon Wrapped Asparagus:
I think asparagus wrapped in bacon is good all by itself, but it is also highly desirable as a dinner side dish or even with breakfast!
For dinner, I think it would pair well with a beautifully cooked ribeye steak. I also think it would add some nice crunch and color to my Chicken and Brussel Sprouts with Mustard Sauce recipe. What about pairing it with some grilled shrimp and baked potatoes? The possibilities are endless.
For breakfast, bacon wrapped asparagus would be beautifully served with Classic Eggs Benedict. I imagine it would be great next to a really nice omelet as well.
How to make Bacon Wrapped Asparagus in the oven:
I chose the oven because it’s not quite grilling weather yet in Portland, however I give some directions on how to make it on the grill further down in the post.
The trick to perfectly cooked asparagus wrapped in bacon is to cook the bacon, by itself in a single layer, first. I do this on a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up and to prevent sticking. But, you only want to cook it until the fat starts to render but it’s still very pliable. Think flimsy bacon that gets served to you in a greasy restaurant that, no matter how much you love bacon, you can’t eat because it’s just not cooked enough. Yeah, that.
I also recommend tossing the asparagus in some olive oil, garlic, and thyme. Fresh garlic and thyme if you have it, but you can use dried if you’re in a pinch.
Then, you take that partially cooked bacon and wrap it around the asparagus. If you get big fat asparagus spears like I did, I would use one piece of bacon per spear. If you get really thin spears, I would bundle them into groups of three to wrap them.
When you wrap the bacon around the asparagus, I find it best to overlap the spiral just the slightest amount. This will help you get a tight wrap that stays. A lot of times the bacon will stay put, but if needed you can use a toothpick to secure it nice and tight.
To get your bacon perfectly crisp all the way around, you’ll need a baking sheet with an oven safe rack. This allows the grease to drip down. I went the longest time without having one in my kitchen and use it all the time now that I finally have one!
Why is Bacon Wrapped Asparagus so dang good?
Why is bacon wrapped anything so dang good?
When you wrap something in bacon and then cook it all together, the bacon fat melts into whatever it’s touching. Fat equals flavor.
Also, if you’re following a special diet like Paleo or a low carb Keto diet, this recipe plays nicely with both.
Can you make asparagus wrapped in bacon on the grill?
Yes! And once it’s grilling weather, you’d better believe I’ll be doing just that.
You can still use this recipe, but instead of using a baking sheet, you can lay the baking strips and then the bacon wrapped asparagus right on the grill.
Just be sure to get your grill up to the right temperature before you start. Easy!
What temperature is best for Bacon Wrapped Asparagus?
When I cook bacon in the oven, my temperature varies based on my mood. Low and slow is actually the best way to create perfectly cooked bacon, however I don’t always have that kind of time.
Because I like to roast asparagus in the oven at 400 degrees F, that is the temperature I chose to cook both the bacon and the asparagus wrapped in bacon.
Using a hot temperature like 400 degrees F allows you to cook your asparagus all the way through, and even brown the tips just a bit, while still keeping the asparagus crisp-tender and not mushy.
Can Bacon Wrapped Asparagus be made ahead of time?
Yes. Sort of.
One of the best parts about this recipe is that you can prepare your bacon wrapped asparagus part-way ahead of time. This means that you can partially cook the bacon and then wrap it around the raw asparagus. Then you would just keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to finish it off in the oven.
If you’re entertaining and like to have a clean kitchen, this is your best option.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh asparagus thick spears recommended, ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 pound sliced bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay bacon strips in a single layer and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. You want the fat to be partially rendered but the bacon very pliable.
- While the bacon is cooking, add asparagus, olive oil, garlic and thyme to a large resealable bag. Squeeze and toss to coat.
- Take partially cooked bacon out of the oven. Discard parchment paper and place an oven safe rack on the baking sheet. Wrap each strip of bacon in a spiral around each asparagus spear. Toothpicks can be used to help hold the bacon in place. Continue baking in preheated oven for 10-15 additional minutes.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Bloody marvelous… unbelievably so
Genius! Parcooking the bacon before wrapping like this recipe calls for worked perfectly! Thank you
This is going to be a new favorite I can already tell! These look amazing, I can’t wait to make it! Thank you for sharing!
This sounds utterly delicious — and I love your ideas for using this as a breakfast item. I think it might be fun just topped with a fried eggs.
This is one of my favorite appetizer recipe. So delicious
I appreciate all the info about cooking the bacon to make it fit what is inside of the bacon. I’ve always had trouble with that. I can’t wait to make this asparagus, it looks delicious.