Bacon wrapped asparagus

Heat the oven to gas 6, 400°F/180°C (or 200°C conventional) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the trimmed asparagus spears in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with the olive oil. Add salt and black pepper as preferred, and give the spears a good mix up until they’re all coated with the olive oil.

Gather 3 of the spears and bring them together in a bundle. Starting from the middle and working your way up to the top, wrap the bundle with one piece of bacon. Then place onto the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining spears.

Bake until the bacon is crisp and the asparagus is tender, for around 20 minutes. Serve warm from the oven.

Tips & tricks

For this asparagus and bacon recipe, our first tip is to make sure you cut the asparagus stems evenly for the final visual preparation. Aim to remove the pale green or white section of the spear that will be slightly tougher than the rest to create an even row of spears. When wrapping the asparagus and bacon together, take your time, and try to wrap the bacon around the stalk so that it overlaps the first section to secure it in place. You can experiment with the visual element of the dish by wrapping the bacon in different patterns.

There are different varieties of asparagus you could explore using in this dish, but our preferred pick would always be the green asparagus. Visually, it looks striking against the pink hues of the bacon, but it’s also the best flavor pairing. If you branch out to white or purple asparagus, you may find these flavors a little bitter and woody, respectively.

We’ve shared an asparagus bacon wrap recipe above, but there are other meats that would work well. Prosciutto can be easily substituted in for the bacon if you’re a fan of cured meat, and doesn’t actually need to be cooked if you don’t like the crispness of bacon. Take a look at our helpful article to break down the differences between bacon, pancetta, and prosciutto to guide your choice. Asparagus is typically found in Italian cuisine, so it certainly wouldn’t be out of place to plate the spears up with a delicious serving of prosciutto.

How to serve them

This mouthwatering appetizer can be enjoyed warm from the oven, or straight on your favorite serving platters or slates for a fancy start to a dinner party at home. If you want to stick to an Italian theme, these tasty bundles are ideal alongside a hearty plate of polenta, or a traditional mushroom risotto.

Storage

Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to three days and you can reheat the bundles in the oven when you’d like to serve them again.