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!
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Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5
- Category: Sides
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
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.
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
Ron R says
The interesting thing to note is that is the perfect way to cook bacon without asparagus-cold oven, 400 degrees, 20-25 minutes.
Matt says
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!
Julie says
Love it, thanks Matt.
Molly says
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!
Julie says
Thanks Molly, glad you like it!
Fred C. says
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.
Julie says
That’s a great tip, thanks Fred!
Beata says
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?
Julie says
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)
Nikita Patel says
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 🙂
Nytasha says
So helpful! I’m making these tonight and had no idea where to start. Thank you so much.
Julie says
Glad to help! Enjoy!
Racquel says
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?
Julie says
I haven’t tried frozen asparagus before, but I’m not sure it would hold up to the roasting unfortunately.
Jay says
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?
Julie says
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!
Babs Williams says
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.
Julie says
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!
Autumn Zevely says
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!
Stacey says
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.
Julie says
Could work – just may not stay as crisp as they are right out of the oven. Hope you enjoy!
David says
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.
Julie says
Thanks for the tip, David – I’ll give that a try next time.
Ann says
These were delicious and so easy. Came out exactly as promised using quality bacon (Jones brand). Will definitely make them again.