Looking for an Asparagus Bacon Recipe? This easy bacon wrapped Asparagus is love! It’s a delightful combination of crispy and salty but tender and juicy.
It is the first day of (Astronomical) Spring! Although apparently for some, spring started last March 1. In some parts of the world, they designate March 1 as the official start of Spring – known as the Meteorological Spring. That’s my one geek speak for the day so I can move on now (if you read some of my blog pages, you know that I am an unapologetic nerd). Oh I am not making it up. If you are curious enough, check out the explanations of the differences between Astronomical and Meteorological seasons by NOAA.
I was almost tempted to declare it was already Spring around the first week of March when I saw the deluge of ta-da!!! – Asparagus! I live though in the Prairies or the “official” colder part of Canada so I might be committing a transgression or offend the sensibilities of others if I do that :(.
I only buy Asparagus in the spring (and summer) because they are cheaper. I just can’t pay 3x the price, or sometimes more. I am a cheapskate. I am an Asian cheapskate (LOL). There I said it! You can tell that to my face anytime and I will never get offended – because I know I really am. It is contagious too. It has rubbed on to my hubby (he is Aussie) and I think he is worse than me now (ROFLMAO)!
Moving on! I love Asparagus. But it only has to be grilled or roasted. I started with grilling them and I like the crispy and a-little-bit-burnt leaves. Then I realized that we like them better roasted in the oven. And best when they are roasted on a wire rack. I usually just coat them with Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper. But I thought I do something special for and bacon always makes everything better, right?
How to make this Asparagus Bacon Recipe
Ingredients – Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
Asparagus Spears – I would recommend getting the fatter or thicker Asparagus as it will need to be in the oven longer waiting for the bacon to crisp. Having said that, if you want your Asparagus as we do – we want the leaves to be almost crispy as well, it is fine to opt for the thinner stalks.
Bacon – I have seen some recipes that suggest thick cut while some says NO to thick cut. I guess it all boils down to how you want your bacon (and your asparagus). I like “goldilocks” with my bacon – meaty with crispy edges. So the bacon you can use will depend on how you want your bacon.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Usually this is a go-to Oil for Roasting Vegetables. It doesn’t have a higher smoke-point but it provides better flavour than the higher smoke-point neutral oils like Canola and Grapeseed. Light olive oil or those labeled “virgin”, which is more refined has a higher smoke point but average is about 425°F. (Thus we roast this Asparagus Bacon recipe at 400°F or not higher than 425°F.
Salt & Pepper – Season, season, season. What it makes or breaks a dish. Just watch those cooking contests and many fall down because of either over or under seasoning. Or in the positive side, those that make it are the ones that season their dish perfectly.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F and position a rack in the middle. If you want an easy clean up, line your baking sheet with aluminum foil. I saw some asparagus bacon recipes with parchment paper. I think it is just me but I can’t imagine roasting my bacon or my asparagus on a parchment paper. Maybe I will try that one day.
If you have a tray with wire rack, you might even like doing this asparagus bacon recipe that way. I roast my asparagus that way and when I cook bacon, I do it that way as well. I love it. It is the mother of air-frying (or maybe the grandma, I am not sure (LOL).
Trim the Asparagus spears and line them up in the prepared baking sheet. Oh if you haven’t heard yet, there was this great debate on how to trim the ends of Asparagus – see below for more details.
Drizzle with the Olive Oil and sprinkle the Salt and Pepper especially on the leaf part. Toss to coat.
Divide the spears into 8 groups (will probably have 3-4 spears per bunch).
Hold one bunch together and starting from just under the leaves of the spears, wrap the bundle with one piece of bacon. Overlap the starting end of the bacon to secure it in place. Continue to wrap the bacon around the asparagus spears. Then insert the other end in between the stalks. Place the wrapped bundle on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until bacons is crisp and the asparagus is tender. Baking time will depend on the thickness of asparagus spears and the bacon and how crispy you want the bacon to be. Serve right away.
Expert Tips for this Asparagus Bacon Recipe
Trimming Asparagus
You need to trim or cut off the woody lower end of the Asparagus before you cook them. It is fibrous and not really appetizing. However the jury is still out on what is the better method of trimming the spears.
In the blue corner are the “Snappers” and in the red corner are the “Cutters. The Snappers believe that there is a natural cutting line. When you bend the asparagus enough, it will automatically snap in that cut line. At the other side, they believe that is is better to grab a sharp knife and cut about an inch or so from the end to trim the asparagus. Otherwise you lose a lot of good stuff if you leave yourself to “fate”.
I sit on the fence on this. I tried and both worked for me. But it is true that when you do the snap method, you have this feeling that you are probably throwing away some good stuff. I feel bad when I am putting in the bin the end bits. I feel I paid for it (because asparagus is sold by weight) thus I paid for it to throw it away. In some of the images here, I did the cut method as they look better presentation wise – all neatly trimmed.
Balancing doneness preference of Asparagus and Bacon
The magic is finding the right balance in the doneness of both the Asparagus and the Bacon. Of course it will depend on your personal preference. However the choice of both the asparagus and bacon will affect the outcome.
Crispy Bacon – If you want your bacon crisp, use the regular cut bacon (and NOT the thick cut). You may also want to use the thicker asparagus so that that bacon will have a lot of time to cook without over-cooking the vegetable. When you wrap the bacon, spread it more from top to bottom, as well. Start from just below the leaf and twist it around the ends to secure it. The only part that you will have more overlap is at the top (thus thicker meat). The rest will almost have just one layer.
You can also par-cook your bacon to make it crispy and still have perfectly roasted Asparagus. Put the bacon in the oven for 10-12 minutes before wrapping your bundles with it. Another option that my brother suggested when he was testing (and judging) this asparagus bacon recipe is to wrap or cover the ends with foil (while leaving the bacon exposed).
Meaty Bacon – If you want a more meaty bacon, opt for a thick cut. Another option is to wrap the bacon in a more compact way around the bundles. You can do this by having more overlap. Alternatively, wrapping the bacon around itself (then securing the end with a toothpick) will give you meatier bacon with crispy outer layer. This might need longer cooking time for bacon though – which might result in overcooked or even burnt Asparagus.
Asparagus Bacon Recipe FTW
Description
This easy Asparagus wrapped in Bacon recipe is Love! It’s a delightful combination of crispy and salty but tender and juicy.
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F and position a rack in the middle. If you want an easy clean up, line your baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Trim the Asparagus spears and line them up in the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with the Olive Oil and sprinkle the Salt and Pepper especially on the leaf part.Toss to coat.
Divide the spears into 8 groups (will probably have 3-4 spears per bunch).
Hold one bunch together and starting from just under the leaves of the spears, wrap the bundle with one piece of bacon. Overlap the starting end of the bacon to secure it in place. Then insert the other end in between the stalks. Place the wrapped bundle on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until bacons is crisp and the asparagus is tender. Baking time will depend on the thickness of asparagus spears and the bacon and how crispy you want the bacon to be. Serve anf enjoy warm or between warm and hot.
Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 142kcal
- Calories from Fat 67kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 7g11%
- Saturated Fat 2g10%
- Cholesterol 29mg10%
- Sodium 805mg34%
- Potassium 232mg7%
- Total Carbohydrate 5g2%
- Dietary Fiber 2g8%
- Sugars 2g
- Protein 14g29%
- Vitamin A 16 IU
- Vitamin C 12 mg
- Calcium 4 mg
- Iron 14 mg
- Vitamin E 12 IU
- Vitamin K 63 mcg
- Thiamin 41 mg
- Riboflavin 14 mg
- Niacin 22 mg
- Vitamin B6 15 mg
- Folate 17 mcg
- Vitamin B12 6 mcg
- Pantothenic Acid 7 mg
- Phosphorus 18 mg
- Magnesium 6 mmol
- Zinc 9 mcg
- Selenium 24 mg
- Copper 13 mg
- Manganese 9 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption. source: https://nutritiondata.self.com
Notes
- This Bacon wrapped Asparagus recipe used thicker Asparagus spears and the cooking time was adjusted accordingly. (Check the blog on top for more details and instructions adjustments).
- Regular bacon (and not thick cut is used). The same with Asparagus options, please check blog for details on alternative options and corresponding impact to your resulting dish.