My goodness, Easter Sunday has really snuck up on me this year, which is strange because you’d think with it being so late in April I’d have been anticipating its coming and planned accordingly.
But I promised I would share some ideas for your Easter menu in addition to some fun desserts, so here we go.
I love asparagus when it’s in season, and I love bacon all year round! So bacon wrapped in asparagus is a no brainer, slam dunk!
So while it’s really a simple TWO INGREDIENT elegant way to serve your veggies for Easter, I do have a few tips to help it turn out just right.
The problem with wrapping bacon around your asparagus is that the asparagus tends to be cooked through before the bacon is crispy. So instead of wrapping a whole piece of bacon around the asparagus, slice it down the center so you have two thin strips, and only use half for each piece of asparagus. This helps the bacon cook faster.
Also, you want to look for “Center Cut” bacon, which has less fat. The fatty part of the bacon is what takes more time to get crisp. So lean bacon (haha, oxymoron) is the way to go.
Lastly, you want to buy asparagus with thicker stalks. Usually, I like to buy the thinner ones because they are more tender, but in this case I think the thicker stalks hold up better.
In order to reduce bacon shrinkage and unraveling in the oven, you will want to put your bacon wrapped asparagus into a cold oven, turn on the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes total. The gradual increase in heat helps the bacon hold it’s shape.
Feel free to assemble these guys ahead of time, and then just bake them right before serving. It’s always nice to have your side dishes all ready to go beforehand.
At our big family Easter get together, I’m in charge of rolls, and I’m going to be sharing my go to recipe, Best Butterhorn Rolls, for you later this week. I’ve been making them since I was a spring chicken myself, and I know you’ll love them as much as my family does!
PrintBacon Wrapped Asparagus
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus is a simple but elegant side dish. Includes a few tips to help you make sure your asparagus and bacon turn out just right.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Sides
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 bunch asparagus (20 stalks)
- 10 pieces of center cut bacon
- *Any quantity is fine, you just want to make sure you have half as many whole strips of bacon as you do asparagus.
Instructions
- Wash asparagus and pat dry. Trim off the woody stem – usually the bottom 2 inches.
- Slice strips of bacon down the center so you have two long, thin pieces.
- Wrap the bacon around the asparagus and place on a foil or Silpat lined baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven (with the oven rack on the upper middle slot), then turn it on to 400 degrees. The bacon wrapped asparagus should be in the oven during the preheat phase.
- Bake for a total time of 20-25 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 121
- Sugar: 0.8g
- Sodium: 396mg
- Fat: 8.2g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 2.9g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 9.2g
- Cholesterol: 23mg
I am going to bring these to a cook out this weekend. I’m hoping I can transport them in a crockpot and keep on low when they are done.
Could work – just may not stay as crisp as they are right out of the oven. Hope you enjoy!
l have been making this for the last three years. the thing I usually do is cook the bacon part way in
a frying pan just until you can still wrap it around the asparagus. Then I sprinkle bacon grease over the
asparagus and put it the oven. this way you can use the smaller more tender asparagus and it all gets done at he same time.
Thanks for the tip, David – I’ll give that a try next time.
These were delicious and so easy. Came out exactly as promised using quality bacon (Jones brand). Will definitely make them again.