Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus (Air Fryer Recipe)
Wave goodbye to bland veggies. This bacon-wrapped asparagus will make eating vegetables feel like a treat! Even the veggie-averse will be tempted to try this delicious side dish. Just wrap, air fry, and wow your family or guests.
Reasons to Love This Recipe
Bacon adds personality to so many dishes, and this one is no exception.
Wrapping bacon around asparagus takes this already tender and delicious vegetable to the next level. Each spear is smoky, rich, juicy, and full of flavor.
This is a great dish to make for the veggie skeptics in your life. The bacon smells will entice them, I promise.
Nutrition Tidbits
Okay, we know bacon isn’t a “health food” by any means, but it can be a part of a balanced diet and make nutritious foods more palatable. Let me explain that last part.
If adding bacon to a vegetable recipe helps you eat more vegetables, DO IT. The same is true for dipping sauces, dressings, seasonings, and other delicious additions. We could all stand to eat more produce. If adding something to your fruits or veggies is what you need to make them more palatable, that’s totally okay.
You don’t have to eat plain steamed vegetables all of the time to be healthy.
Preparation Tips
Wrapping the asparagus
This is the slightly time-consuming part, but it’s worth it. Call me crazy, but I find it meditative.
The secret to perfectly wrapped asparagus is to start by cutting the bacon in half lengthwise. This makes long ribbons that are more pliable than full strips of bacon.
Next, wash the asparagus and chop off the woody ends.
Take one asparagus spear and wrap a bacon ribbon around it on a diagonal until you reach the top. You can be meticulous about this step (wrapping tightly and evenly, avoiding overlap) if you like, but the asparagus will still turn out great if you’re quick and messy.
Lay the bacon in an air fryer basket lined with foil, loose end side down to secure it.
Cooking the asparagus
Usually, asparagus doesn’t take long to cook in the air fryer, but we want to get the bacon nice and crispy, so this recipe cooks for about 20 minutes.
Air fryers vary a lot, which can affect the cooking process. I use a Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, which looks like a toaster oven and has a wide, shallow air fryer basket.
With this model, I recommend turning the asparagus every 5-10 minutes to ensure it gets evenly crispy on all sides.
If you have a more traditional air fryer with a smaller, deeper basket, make sure your asparagus spears are cut to fit the basket size. You have a couple of options:
- Work in batches, with each batch being a single layer of asparagus
- Do a larger batch with multiple layers, carefully rotating the asparagus every 5 minutes
Recipe Modifications
- Prosciutto version: Fancy it up with a bit of prosciutto if you’d like! This thinner cured meat is more delicate in flavor and its thinner, so you won’t need to cook it as long to get it crispy — about 5-10 minutes should do.
- Use the oven: No air fryer? No problem! This recipe can also be made in the oven. Use the same temp and use a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. You’ll just need to be sure to turn the bacon every 5 minutes or so.
- Lighten it up: After cutting the bacon in half lengthwise, cut it in half in the other direction so you have a shorter thin strip of bacon. Use this to wrap tightly around the bacon and don’t worry it there are gaps between the bacon strips. This will make the dish less “bacony” and a lot lighter.
- Add more seasoning: By all means, go nuts and use whatever seasoning sounds good! Garlic would be a natural fit, but seasoned salt, paprika, onion powder, and/or mustard powder would also taste great with bacon and asparagus.
Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus (Air Fryer Recipe)
Equipment
- air fryer
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 1 lb asparagus washed and trimmed
- 8 oz bacon
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 415°F. Line the air fryer basket with aluminum foil, being sure not to puncture it.
- Cut each strip of bacon in half lengthwise to make a long, thin ribbon.
- Starting at the bottom of each asparagus spear, wrap the bacon around once, overlapping the loose end to secure it. Continue wrapping the bacon up the spear on a diagonal until you reach the top. Place the asparagus, loose end side down, in the prepared air fryer basket. Continue until you create a single layer that fills the basket. (If you have a small air fryer basket, see recipe notes for instructions.)
- Season all over with a bit of salt and a lot of pepper.
- Air fry for 20 minutes, flipping each spear at the 10-minute mark to ensure even cooking. Remove when the bacon is cooked to your liking.
- Serve immediately with your favorite protein and other side dishes!
Notes
- Please note that nutrition facts are an estimate and can vary widely based on amounts and specific types used.
- Air fryers vary a lot, which can affect the cooking process. I use a Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, which looks like a toaster oven and has a wide, shallow air fryer basket.
- If you have a more traditional air fryer with a smaller, deeper basket, make sure your asparagus spears are cut to fit the basket size. You have a couple of options:
- Do a larger batch with multiple layers, carefully rotating the asparagus every 5 minutes
- Or, work in small batches, with each batch being a single layer of asparagus
Nutrition
Looking for more veggie side dishes you can make in the air fryer?
- Simple Air Fryer Asparagus
- Baked Sweet Potato in the Air Fryer
- Air-Fried Eggplant Bites
- Air Fryer Baby Potatoes
