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 this one 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 (the 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!
- 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.
- 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.
Wow these look gorgeous and delicious! My husband is just going to die when I make these!
Thanks Melanie!
Get him, Melanie!
why have I never done this?? Why?? I’m so glad you posted this. If I ever tried it one day I’m sure I would use extra fatty bacon with thin asparagus and put it in a preheated oven. Now I know!!
Thanks Karen, hope you get to try it!
These look amazing- I love asparagus as it is, but with bacon wrapped around- now that’s brilliant!
Thank you Jess. It’s so easy to do!
I love the simplicity of this dish! It looks so delicious! x
Thank you 🙂
Oh I have found the perfect appetizer for my next party!!
Great idea Catherine!
Thanks for this fabulous – and simple to execute – idea. I have to confess I’ve never tried asparagus, and I think this preparation would be a perfect introduction to it. 🙂 Can’t wait to give it a try!
Hard to go wrong with bacon! Hope you enjoy.
These are so pretty and elegant Julie. I love how simple they are, yet they’re 100% company worthy. I’m thinking these would be perfect to bring to my in-laws house for brunch, since they can be made ahead of time and are so easily transportable. Thanks for the great idea!
You’re welcome Jaime!
Oh man. I’d eat it ALL! I’m addicted to both asparagus and bacon!
I totally hear you there! At least one of them is good for you!
These were a HUGE hit at Easter! I had to bundle two asparagus to one half-strip of bacon, because I could only find thin asparagus, but it worked! Also, due to Easter “Kitchen Madness” I wasn’t able to wait for the oven to cool and then preheat… I stuck them in at 275 and put the temp up to 400 maybe 5-10 min later, and they still turned out great. Phew! 🙂
I’m so glad everyone liked them Grace! Glad your idea to bundle them worked out too.
I am baking chicken tonight, and my oven has to be set at 450 for 40 minutes…my question is when should i put these lovely little bacon wrapped asparagus in?? How should I go about this?
Thank you!
Mary, my best advice would be to just take the chicken out and turn the oven down and just bake the asparagus while the chicken rests. If you decide to do them together, try 425 and adjust the baking time accordingly. Hope this helps!
I followed the recipe and tips to avoid overcooking the asparagus. I still overcooked the asparagus before the bacon was crispy. Next time I will wrap the bacon around two pieces of asparagus, like Grace advised. 🙂
I agree, Suzanne. I will try two pieces next time as well depending on the thickness of my asparagus. Thanks for letting me know!
Pro Tip: Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil, and add some salt & pepper.
Glad I found this recipe! Will add this to our Thanksgiving dinner this evening. Thank you!
I’ve made this dish dozens of times, but I always do a quick Google search to verify an oven temperature or maybe discover a new twist on an old favorite, and I was glad to have found this page. I’ve always known that it’s best to put bacon into a cold oven, but I never followed this advice with regard to wrapping asparagus. Duh! More so, your idea to cut the bacon strips in half is sheer genius — my bacon turned out nice and crispy, even wrapped around a single stalk. It was also much easier to get those beautiful spirals. Thanks!
Happy that I could help you out, Michael, and glad you enjoyed!
finally… I’ve tried to make this a couple of times on the stove top. honestly, it never worked out. so I’ll try this one next and see if there is a better result.
Hope you like them Brian. I’ve found that it works out pretty well, and everyone loves bacon so you can’t really go wrong :0)
I currently only have precooked bacon, suggestion on making this work?
I have not worked with precooked bacon, but I’m wondering if it would just crack when you try to wrap it around? I think it would be best to stick to the recipe as written in this case. Thanks for your question!
You only cook the bacon until it starts to glisten. Two or three minutes, then roll as soon as it’s cool enough to handle. This method works good if you’re grilling and cannot start with a cold grill. I like splitting the bacon though. Such a great idea and it reduces calories from bacon. (not that there’s anything wrong with bacon)
That’s a really good idea Scott! I’m going to do that next time I make these.
A day off of work can sometimes turn into a LAZY day..well thats y these are PERFECT (delicious,low in fat and quick)…so to MY lovely little kitchen i go..Thanx Julie
You are welcome, enjoy!
I want to do this but was wondering, would the cook time change at all if I use turkey bacon? Personally I like regular bacon but my older kids are on a health kick so I thought I’d do both. Thanks!
I haven’t tried turkey bacon, but I would think you could do everything the same. Hope you all enjoy!
I have only made these with turkey bacon, since my daughter is highly sensitive to pork. Thin stalks of asparagus were not fully cooked inside at 20 minutes (starting from a cold oven), even though they looked a bit wrinkly on the outside. The next time I cooked them for 23 minutes, and the asparagus was cooked through — but the turkey bacon was slightly overcooked. I think I will try 22 minutes the next time. I’m not a fan of turkey bacon myself, but wrapped around asparagus, it’s pretty tasty .
Would these be okay at room temperature?
I prefer them warm, but I think either is fine.
First time I ever had bacon wrapped asparagus was at a fancy wedding couple of years ago where there were lots of appetizers being served from trays carried among the guests. I don’t remember if they were hot but do remember them being delicious! So I’m here searching because I’m finally gonna try making these treats for valentine’s day dinner.
First time I ever had bacon wrapped asparagus was at a fancy wedding couple of years ago where there were lots of appetizers being served from trays carried among the guests. I don’t remember if they were hot but do remember them being delicious! So I’m here searching because I’m finally gonna try making these treats for valentine’s day dinner.
Okay, made these last night. Mmmmmmm they are sooo good! Most definitely keeping this recipe to make many more times! They are best eaten warm.
I’m so glad they worked for you! Thanks so much for your comment.
These look amazing, but I’ve only prepared asparagus with boiling before. Are you not supposed to peel them before putting them in the oven?
Hi Markus, I don’t peel the asparagus, but I trim off the bottom of the stem (usually about 2 inches) that is tough and fibrous.
One small tip – if you cook these on broiler pan, the bacon grease drips into the pan, allowing the bacon to get crispy before the asparagus gets mushy. Line bottom of broiler pan to minimize clean-up. Served these at book club, and even with soft bacon and mushy asparagus there were no leftovers and loads of raves!
Great tip Caroline, thanks!
The interesting thing to note is that is the perfect way to cook bacon without asparagus-cold oven, 400 degrees, 20-25 minutes.
I love these, I shake the asparagus in a bag with a bit of olive oil first, sprinkle with a bit of pepper and salt and parmezan cheese, then wrap the bacon round. If you put them in the fridge for an hour or two before you make them then when you place them in the oven the bacon starts cooking sooner and the asparagus doesn’t get over done.
Served up with balsamic vinegar or some lemon mayonnaise as a starter. Looks and tastes amazing!
Love it, thanks Matt.
I first tried these at a friend’s house a year or so ago. We’ve made it many times since then, weekly if asparagus looks good. We follow the recipe exactly & it’s delicious! We have a pan of them in the oven right now. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks Molly, glad you like it!
With asparagus so expensive, I’ve found that if I just cut off the bottom end and use a vegetable peeler on the last couple inches of it, I can use almost the whole stalk. It worked great on this recipe.
That’s a great tip, thanks Fred!
I want to bring this to a party but I know their oven will be full with other things…can I cook these ahead of time and reheat for a couple mins in the oven later?
Beata, sorry just getting back to you. I’m a little worried that everything might get a little soggy if these are transported, but I have heard that some people like to serve them at room temperature as a appetizer. I think I personally prefer them right out of the oven, but I understand why you would want to have them ready to go. Not too helpful, but those are my thoughts :0)
I re-heated it for a minute (also had turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing on my plate) and it was a bit soggy…but still very good! We still ate it 🙂
So helpful! I’m making these tonight and had no idea where to start. Thank you so much.
Glad to help! Enjoy!
Just stumbled upon this and would love to make in unfortunately all I have is the asparagus that you steam in the microwave (frozen) is this possible to do with that?
I haven’t tried frozen asparagus before, but I’m not sure it would hold up to the roasting unfortunately.
I did bacon wrapped asparagus before, but they were in small “bundles”. I like the looks of this. However last time I seem to remember covering the asparagus with olive oil and pepper. Thoughts?
I don’t think you will need any oil, as the fat of the bacon will render out around the asparagus. But pepper would be a nice addition. Enjoy!
Can I assemble and cook ahead, and reheat when I am ready to serve? I am taking the dish to a party and will have a couple hour travel time, so would like to do as much ahead of time.
I think the asparagus and bacon might get too mushy. Maybe you could assemble them ahead, but bake them when you get there. Hope you enjoy!
So good! I have had them on the grill, but I am going to bake in the oven! And best yet, it is TOTALLY KETO! I am going to serve with Salmon (lemon, butter, garlic) and Keto cheese biscuits! YUM!