Bacon Wrapped Asparagus is one of our very favorite side dishes that looks impressive but is actually very easy to make! Tender asparagus is wrapped with salty, crispy bacon, making this a great side for brunch or with your next steak dinner!
An Impressive Easy Side Dish
Salty, crispy, and mouthwatering bacon pairs perfectly with juicy, tender, and perfectly seasoned asparagus. Seriously, we don’t think eating veggies has ever been this alluring! While this recipe is simple and inexpensive, it’s totally worthy of serving alongside your favorite steak, at a holiday meal or for a fancy brunch!
We LOVE a good side dish recipe that steals the show from the main entree! And honestly, unless it’s a really impressive cut of meat, all eyes are bound to be on the Bacon Wrapped Asparagus. Truly, is anything wrapped in bacon ever ignored? We don’t think so.
The best part of all is that this unforgettably good veggie side dish is so easy to make! Just wrap up the asparagus with your bacon, bake it in the oven, and enjoy. This easy recipe is a great way to dress up your plate, and maybe even convince your little picky eaters to eat their asparagus!
Ingredients Needed
Just a handful of ingredients and most of them you probably already have:
- Asparagus – Trim the asparagus as needed. While it may already be pre-cut when you buy it, you may still want to snap a little of the ends off.
- Bacon – Pork bacon is truly the best option for this recipe, since it tastes the best with the asparagus and reaches the most perfect crispy consistency when baked. You can try this recipe with turkey bacon, but the results may vary.
- Olive Oil – You can also use avocado oil in this recipe.
- Salt – Just a pinch! The bacon is salty enough on its own, so try not to be too heavy handed with the salt. For a fun twist, you can also use garlic salt.
- Pepper – Freshly cracked black pepper will give your asparagus the most flavor.
How to Make Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
In just a few simple steps, your bacon wrapped asparagus will be ready:
- Preheat. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Rinse and snap. Rinse asparagus and snap off the ends.
- Drizzle and season. Lay the asparagus in sets of three on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Wrap it. Wrap one piece of bacon around each asparagus bundle.
- Bake and enjoy! Bake for 20 minutes, or until bacon is crispy and asparagus is tender. Serve immediately.
Tips for the Best Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- Regular Cut Bacon: I used standard, regular cut bacon, not thick cut bacon. Thicker cut bacon will take longer to cook and the asparagus will get cooked too much. If you want to use thick cut bacon, you can pre-cook the bacon for about 10 minutes, then wrap it with the asparagus and continue cooking until crispy.
- Same Size Asparagus: Try and use asparagus that is similar in thickness. Also look for medium thick stalks. If asparagus is too thin, it’ll cook way faster than the bacon.
- Extra Crispy Bacon: If you want the bacon extra crispy, use aluminum foil and wrap bacon around it. Cook it for 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and replace the foil with asparagus. Then return it to the oven to finish cooking.
- Keep Asparagus Fresh Longer: Asparagus bought from the store in a bag will not stay fresh for long, instead it will wilt and can become slimy. Instead, store it in a large jar with water in the fridge. It will stay fresh for a week or more!
Recipe Variations:
- Prosciutto: Looking to use prosciutto in place of bacon? You absolutely can! Follow the directions below, substituting the bacon for prosciutto, but only bake your wrapped asparagus for about 10 minutes total. If you cook it any longer than that, the prosciutto will be over cooked. This wrapped asparagus will be less tender than the bacon wrapped version, because of the lesser cook time. If you want your asparagus more cooked/tender, cook the asparagus only for 10 minutes. Then wrap it with the prosciutto and cook it for 10 minutes more.
- Garlic: There are a couple of ways you can add garlic to this recipe. You can toss the asparagus in freshly minced garlic before wrapping with the bacon. Or, you can use garlic salt in place of the salt in the recipe.
- Lemon: Some people like a little fresh hit of lemon in their bacon wrapped asparagus. You can do this by adding a teaspoon of lemon zest to your asparagus. Or, you can squeeze a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice over your asparagus. The lemon zest will add a more intense lemon flavor than the lemon juice.
Can I Prep Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Ahead?
This is a great recipe to prep ahead of time! We do it often when hosting a dinner party!
Follow every step to the point of baking. Instead of baking the Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Once you’re ready to go, just pop it into the oven and follow the rest of the instructions!
Leftover Storage + Reheating Instructions
Keep any leftovers you have in an airtight container in the fridge, where it should stay fresh for about 4-5 days. To reheat your leftovers, use your air fryer! That way, you can try to maintain the crispiness of the bacon.
How To Reheat In Air Fryer:
- Preheat air fryer to 375°F.
- Add leftover bacon wrapped asparagus to air fryer basket.
- Cook for 2 minutes and check if hot and crispy. If not, cook 1 minute more.
More Easy Side Dishes
Looking for more easy side dish recipes? Here are a few more of our favorites:
- Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Easy Southern Baked Beans
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Candied Sweet Potatoes With Pecans
- Skillet Fried Corn
- Southern Green Beans With Bacon
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds fresh asparagus
- 8 slices of bacon, **standard cut, not thick cut
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Rinse asparagus and snap off the ends.
- Lay asparagus in threes on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Wrap one piece of bacon around each asparagus bundle.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until bacon is crispy and asparagus is tender. Serve immediately.
Notes
Storage
Keep any leftovers you have in an airtight container in the fridge, where it should stay fresh for about 4-5 days. To reheat your leftovers, use your air fryer! That way, you can try to maintain the crispiness of the bacon. How To Reheat In Air Fryer:- Preheat air fryer to 375°F.
- Add leftover bacon wrapped asparagus to air fryer basket.
- Cook for 2 minutes and check if hot and crispy. If not, cook 1 minute more.
