Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Recipe

This is a recipe using my favorite ingredient of all time….BACON. Who doesn’t agree that there are a lot of foods that are just so much better with bacon added to them? This is your chance to eat delicious Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, enjoying the salty, juicy, crunchy and sweetness all in the same bite.  Mmm

I first started making these delicious Bacon Wrapped Asparagus many years ago for my family and a few friends. They were such a hit that I then started making them for picnics and parties too. Because everyone likes bacon it was always a popular choice in what to bring. 

These Bacon Wrapped Asparagus are so versatile that they can be served as an appetizer, or as a side dish, or even as a complete meal. Even kids that don’t like vegetables very much like these because of the bacon! All the moms will be asking you for the recipe!

What Ingredients are in this Recipe?

Bacon – In all cases, for all recipes including these delicious Bacon Wrapped Asparagus the best and only bacon to use is Oscar Mayer Bacon. I have tried so many brands over the years, and hands down it’s the best in flavor by a long shot and does not shrink as much as others do. 

It does typically cost more than some other brands, but it’s well worth it. If you watch your grocery store for sale items each week, you will likely find a sale on it, and if you are like me you will stock up when they go on sale half off. They usually have an expiration date a month or two out, and you could always freeze them if they will expire before you can use them all up.  

Asparagus – I like to use nice, healthy green stalks of asparagus. Not too skinny and not too fat. It’s like Goldilocks, “just right.” If the stalks are too skinny they will shrivel up. If they are too fat they will be harder in texture. So a medium size stalk of asparagus is perfect.

Are Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Keto/Low Carb?

Happily, yes, these Bacon Wrapped Asparagus are a good thing to eat on Keto. Both ingredients are on the food list for the keto diet. My son and my son in law have been on Keto for a few weeks to shed a few unwanted pounds and this is one of the things that they enjoyed eating several times since they have been on the diet. 

They make a great snack for you if you are on the Keto diet. Use them as a snack or use them as a meal, it’s your choice. There are only 4 carbs for 5 spears and there are 0 carbs in bacon so you can eat quite a few before your carbs would accumulate. 

Bundles or Single?

You may be wondering if it’s better to make bacon wrapped asparagus in a bundle or in single stalks. The deciding factor as to whether or not to use a single spear for each piece of bacon or whether you should bundle a few spears together depends on the size of the asparagus. 

If the asparagus are medium to large in thickness then you could cook them singly using 1 piece of bacon for each, or even a half slice depending on how much bacon that you want on each stalk.

Some people take one full strip of bacon and start wrapping the spear from top to bottom. Others just take a half piece cut either vertically or horizontally and stretch it around the main trunk of the spear. 

If your asparagus are on the thinner side, then cooking them in a bundle is a better option. For a small bundle of asparagus, I feel a whole piece of bacon is needed to have enough to wrap around several spears, even though they are skinny. It helps hold them together better. If there’s not enough bacon then most likely your bundle will fall apart.

How to Make Bacon Wrapped Asparagus in the Oven

Now that you’ve decided to make single or bundles of asparagus, the first step is cleaning them.

How do You Clean Asparagus Spears?

To clean your asparagus before cooking just rinse them under cold water and then thoroughly dry them off with a paper towel, being careful near the tips so as not to break them off or damage them.

How Much do you Cut Off Asparagus?

The next step is to cut your asparagus. This can be tricky and a lot of people don’t know the trick to do it right. You don’t actually cut asparagus at all. Instead what you do is snap the asparagus. 

Take the end of the asparagus and gently bend it until it snaps. Don’t be afraid to bend it and snap it. You can’t really make a mistake. It automatically breaks where the woody part and the fresh and tender part begins. 

This method will ensure that you don’t waste too much of your asparagus. It’s kinda fun too. A good project to do with your kids. It helps you out in preparing them and at the same time, they will think it’s fun.

Wrapping with Bacon

Now that you’ve cleaned and cut your asparagus, it’s time to wrap them with bacon!  Yummy!

First, take your package of bacon and separate your strips. You will have to decide if you want to use a whole piece on your stalks of asparagus or a half piece, depending on if you are doing single stalks or bundled stalks. 

Next wrap the bacon around the stalks of asparagus. Here’s an example of what it looks like with single stalks:

And here’s what they look like in bundles:

Cooking them in the Oven

To cook your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus in the oven you need to place them on a cookie sheet, spaced enough apart to allow a good airflow so that your asparagus cook evenly and your bacon can crisp up better.

A good thing you can do is to put a wire rack on your cookie sheet so that your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus are elevated up off the pan so that the bacon will cook up crispier.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes depending on the thickness of your asparagus.

If your bacon is still not cooked to your desired doneness then put the wrapped asparagus under the broiler for a few minutes, watching that they do not burn. They will go quick. 

What Temperature do you Cook Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

We have tried cooking our Bacon Wrapped Asparagus at several different temperatures but what we have found that works with the best results is 400 degrees. If your temperature is too low it will take your bacon forever to cook and may not ever end up crispy. 

If you cook at too high a temperature it may burn, and you don’t want that!

How Long do I Cook them for?

That depends how crispy that you want your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus to be. But I would say that usually, it’s 20-25 minutes.

How to Make the Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Crispy

One sure way to make sure that your bacon comes out crispy is to turn them over during the baking process or to use a higher temperature like 425 or 450 degrees which will cook it faster. 

You could also put your asparagus under the broiler toward the end of its cooking process.

Another way to ensure that your bacon is crispier is to place your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus on a wire rack on top of your cookie sheet. By raising it up off the pan the heat and airflow can get to it faster and more evenly to crisp up your bacon. The grease also drips down onto the pan and the asparagus is up over the grease instead of sitting on the pan in the grease.

There’s another trick that I learned to help make your asparagus more crispy too. If you cut each piece in half vertically and then wrap it around your stalk, leaving space in between each turn, the air will flow more evenly, resulting in the bacon turning out crispier.

Other Ways to Make Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Even though the oven is my preferred way to cook Bacon Wrapped asparagus, another way that you could make them is on a grill. This can be very helpful and delicious is you are camping, or if your oven is not working for some reason or if it’s in the Summer and you don’t want to add any more heat to your kitchen.

You prepare your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus the same way for the grill as you do for the oven, then heat up your grill. Put your Asparagus on a pan on the grill or you could also use a vegetable basket. They can cook up quickly on the grill so be sure not to burn the tips.

You should always wet the tips slightly before putting your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus on the grill so that they will not burn and the whole stalk will cook more evenly.

Another option is to cook your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus on the stovetop, especially if you don’t have an oven or a grill. The best way to cook them on the stovetop is to place them in a large heavy-duty cast iron fry pan with a lid.

Heat your skillet to medium heat and add your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus. Cook them until crispy and then flip and cook on the other side. 

Other Tips for Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

If at all possible, I like to buy asparagus that are not too skinny and not too fat. But you need to take whatever the store has available at the time when you want to make them, so in that case, you will have to improvise in order to make your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus.  

If they are really skinny then you will have to bundle a few of them together and then wrap your bacon around them to make a small bunch. If they are really fat, they don’t always come out that good, they may not come out tender.

The best size is a medium spear.  It’s just right. But you can make any size asparagus work for you. Just adjust the amount of bacon that you wrap around them so that your bacon and your asparagus cook evenly. 

If you find that your asparagus are cooking faster then your bacon is, then just flip them over during the baking process so that your bacon will come out crispy all over instead of crispy on top and raw underneath. 

When I make bacon just to eat by itself, I usually use Oscar Mayer Thick Cut Bacon. But I find that the Oscar Mayer regular thickness bacon will give you a more evenly cooked piece of bacon for your Wrapped Asparagus that the thick one. It just comes out better! 

Other Diets this recipe is good for

Gluten-Free – Yes these Bacon wrapped Asparagus are definitely gluten-free. My friend who is very allergic to gluten enjoys these delicious spears

Low Carb – Having diabetes and having to watch closely my carb count has helped me to find the best foods that are low carb and Bacon Wrapped Asparagus are high on the list!

Dairy-Free – With only 2 ingredients, rest assured there is no dairy in these spears. 

What to serve with  Bacon Wrapped Asparagus?

These Bacon Wrapped Asparagus are so good that you don’t need anything to go with them and you don’t need to serve them with anything else. You can eat them by themselves as an appetizer before dinner. They are so delicious that they can stand alone and be your whole meal. It’s a perfect combo of meat and veggies. 

However if you want to, these Low Carb Bacon Wrapped Asparagus can also be a side dish on your plate served alongside any other meat or fish, with a salad or other vegetable. After all, there is always room for bacon!!!!

How to Store it

Once your Bacon Wrapped Asparagus are cooked, if you have any leftovers you can place them on a plate and cover, or you can put them in a plastic container with a tight fighting lid. Keep in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 days. 

Can I Prepare Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Ahead of Time?

Yes, for sure you can prepare your Low Carb Bacon Wrapped Asparagus ahead of time, just wrap them and place them on a plate and cover with foil or plastic wrap or place them in a plastic container and cover with a lid and refrigerate until you are ready to bake them. 

That can be helpful because preparing them is the most time-consuming part of making Asparagus Wrapped in Bacon. Once they are wrapped it’s just a matter of baking them and you’re done.

More Keto Appetizer Recipes

If you’re in the mood for some other Low Carb Appetizers then try our:

• Low Carb Tortilla Chips
• Best Buffalo Chicken Dip
• Low Carb Crackers
• Keto Coleslaw without Mayo

They all are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will be a hit at your next party!

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