Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

5 from 4 votes

Crispy bacon surrounding delicious asparagus spears and cooked to perfection in the oven—there's a whole lot to love about bacon wrapped asparagus!

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Recipe

Servings: bundles

Calories: 204kcal

16 ounces thick-cut asparagus spears, trimmed (this is approximately 32 spears total)
12 ounces bacon strips, center-cut
¾ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place an oven-safe wire rack on top of the foil and set it aside.
Rinse the asparagus spears in cool water, pat dry, and trim the ‘woody’ end off of the asparagus spears. About 1 to 2 inches. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the garlic salt and black pepper. Set aside.
Place the trimmed asparagus into a shallow dish, drizzle with the olive oil and then sprinkle the spice blend over the top of the asparagus spears. Toss it all together to coat evenly.
Gather 4 asparagus spears together. Using one piece of the bacon, wrap the asparagus bundle making sure not to overlap the bacon too much. Place each bacon wrapped bundle onto the wire rack-lined baking sheet. Make sure to leave space between each bundle.
Cook the asparagus bundles for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender and the bacon is crisp but not burnt.
Remove the tray from the oven and turn your oven to broil. Flip all of the bundles over and replace the baking sheet back into the oven, allowing the bottom side of the bundles to crisp up under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye so that you do not burn the asparagus.

If your asparagus stalks are really skinny, I would increase the number of stalks you put into each bundle by 2 to 3 extra stalks.
If you do not have garlic salt, you can substitute ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. Combine those with the black pepper and use it in the recipe.
A great trick to knowing exactly where to trim your asparagus stalks: hold one stalk in your hands and gently snap the stalk. The stalk will naturally snap where the ‘woody’ part meets the tender part. Once you do this, you can lay the other stalks next to the snapped one, and that will be your guide as to where to trim the remainder of the stalks.
Make sure to use center-cut bacon slices, not thick-cut. This makes sure that your bacon can cook evenly and thoroughly without overcooking or burning your asparagus. Also, the center-cut pieces don’t have as much fat per slice as standard-cut bacon. This makes for a much better end product.