Bacon-wrapped asparagus is a delicious appetizer or side dish that is a great way to make anyone love eating their vegetables. It's also so quick and so easy to make. The asparagus is quickly blanched, wrapped in bacon, and then fried off in a pan or baked until nice and crispy.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon-wrapped asparagus is one of my favorite healthy appetizers that everyone always loves. Even kids and people who claim to not like asparagus always devour these and ask for more!

How to Blanch Asparagus:

Blanching is simply a process of quickly boiling vegetables and then shocking them in ice water to stop the cooking. Blanching is a great cooking method for asparagus because it keeps them bright and colorful, plus tender and perfectly crisp.

There are a few reasons why I love blanching green vegetables like green beans and asparagus:

Perfect for preparing in advance. When you boil vegetables for a few minutes they becoming perfectly cooked to al-dente, which means they are tender with a crisp bite to them. Shocking them in ice water stops the cooking process, so you can let them sit for as long as you need before you are ready to finish them off. You can even blanch them a day or two in advance!
It keeps them bright and colorful. You'll notice that when you add green vegetables to boiling water, their color almost immediately intensifies. This is caused by a sudden expansion and release of gases that are trapped in the plant's cells. If they continued to boil, they would start to lose that green color, so placing them in a bowl of ice water stops that process. Another reason blanching keeps the color intact is by a chemical known as chlorophyll, which gives green vegetables their color. There is an enzyme that is present in green vegetables called chlorophyllase, which is responsible for destroying the chlorophyll. This enzyme is activated at temperatures between 150°-175°. By adding vegetables to boiling water and then immediately placing them in ice water, their temperature rises above 175° quickly and then drops back down below 150°. Meaning the chlorophyllase enzyme never becomes activated!
It keeps them perfectly crisp. Because over-cooking vegetables can make them turn mushy, by placing them in ice water the cooking immediately stops so they stay nice and crisp. You can quickly reheat them later by sauteeing in oil or butter. Or in this case, wrapping them in bacon which adds bonus crispy crunchiness and of course amazing flavor!

Blanched Asparagus

Tips for Blanching Asparagus:

Boil in plenty of water. There needs to be enough water so that the temperature doesn't drop below the boiling point when you add in the asparagus.
Boil them in salted water. Boiling in salted water adds flavor to the asparagus, and it also helps keep them green. Adding salt makes the water more alkaline, which makes it harder for hydrogen atoms to break through the membrane and lead to discoloration.

How to Make Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus:

Remove the asparagus from the ice water and dry them completely.
Grab 3-4 spears of asparagus and one slice of bacon. If the bacon is very thick you can slice it in half or just cut off the fatty white part.
Wrap the bacon around once at one end and secure it with a toothpick. Continue wrapping around tightly and secure with another toothpick at the other end.

How to Wrap Asparagus

4. Fry the bacon-wrapped asparagus in a large pan until crispy on all sides. To make them in an oven: Line a baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the bacon-wrapped asparagus in a single layer and bake in a 425° oven for 25 minutes, flipping half-way through.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

More Side Dish Recipes:

📖 RECIPE

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon-wrapped asparagus is a delicious appetizer or side dish that is a great way to make anyone love eating their vegetables. It's also so quick and so easy to make.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 6

Total Time: 21

Servings: people

Ingredients

4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
7 slices bacon
28 spears asparagus

Instructions

Rinse the asparagus and remove the woody ends.
Blanch the asparagus: Add enough water to a large pot to fully submerge the asparagus spears. Season with salt and bring the water to a boil.
Boil the asparagus for 2-3 minutes then remove and immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water.
Remove the asparagus from the ice water and dry them completely.
Take 4 spears of asparagus and one slice of bacon. If the bacon is very thick you can slice it in half or just cut off the fatty white part.
Wrap the bacon around once at one end and secure it with a toothpick. Continue wrapping around tightly and secure with another toothpick at the other end.
Repeat with the remaining asparagus spears and bacon slices.
Heat a large pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the bacon-wrapped asparagus in a single layer and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until crispy. Remove from the pan and serve warm.
To cook in the oven: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the bacon-wrapped asparagus in a single layer and cook for 25 minutes, flipping once, until crispy.

Notes

You can make this recipe as big or small as you want with 3-4 spears of asparagus for every 1 slice of bacon. You can also use turkey bacon for an even healthier version.

Nutrition