Up your appetizer or side dish game with a quick and easy recipe for Crispy Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus Bundles starring a balsamic-brown sugar glaze. With just four basic ingredients, you can transform simple asparagus spears into a delicious side that’s perfect for any occasion or holiday!
Table of Contents
I’m always on the hunt for inventive appetizers and creative side dishes that transform ordinary ingredients into extraordinary results.
Whether it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner or an Easter feast, bacon-wrapped asparagus with brown sugar are a surefire side that everyone will be begging you to make again and again.
The Best Way to Cook Bacon Wrapped with Asparagus
The goal here is to ensure the bacon gets crispy without overcooking the asparagus. To achieve the perfect texture for both ingredients, it’s important to par-cook the bacon so that a portion of the fat renders off before it’s wrapped around the asparagus spears.
A sweet and tangy combination of brown sugar and balsamic vinegar leads to syrupy caramelization, which translates to big flavor in every asparagus bundle bite!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Minimal ingredients. These asparagus bundles require just 4 ingredients—and two of them are asparagus and bacon!
- Little prep. You’ll just need just 15 minutes to prep the asparagus, wrap them in bacon and make the glaze.
- Make-ahead. You can wrap the bundles in bacon and stash them in the fridge in advance, then just take them out when you’re ready to bake them.
- Light brown sugar: Brown sugar in the glaze makes this recipe a salty-sweet favorite. You can use dark brown sugar if that’s all you have on hand.
- Balsamic vinegar: This will be the basis for the glaze! I love balsamic vinegar: It’s rich and fruity.
- Asparagus: You’ll need a pound of asparagus for this recipe.
- Bacon: Use your favorite bacon here. I’d avoid turkey bacon, though, which is too lean.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Use a different sugar. Instead of brown sugar, you could use maple syrup or honey.
- Make a double batch. This recipe can easily be doubled to feed a crowd. A thing of bacon contains far more than 12 strips, so you’d still only need one package (a standard package has about 16 strips!).
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Place the bacon strips onto the baking sheet (spacing them evenly apart) and brush the tops of the bacon with the glaze.
- Bake the bacon. Bake the bacon for about 10 minutes (it should still be pliable!). Then, let them cool until you can handle them.
- Wrap the asparagus. Divide the asparagus into 6 bundles, then wrap each bundle in a strip of bacon. (Starting from about a 1/2-inch from the top and wrapping the bacon down towards the stems.) Place the bundles back onto the baking sheet, with the ends of the bacon facing downwards.
- Bake the bundles. Increase the oven temp to 400°F and bake the bundles for 15 minutes or until the bacon is crispy. Brush the bacon with the balsamic glaze midway through cooking.
Pro Tip: Try to choose asparagus that are about the same size, so they cook evenly.
- Trimming Asparagus: To trim asparagus, you can cut off the woody ends with a knife. (About an inch off of the asparagus is a safe bet.) You can also simply snap off the ends, as the asparagus will naturally separate from the tough stems when bent. To do so, bend the end of an asparagus spear until it snaps off. You can repeat with the rest of the asparagus or use this spear as a guide for where to cut off the rest of the ends with a knife.
- Avoid Over-Roasting: If the tips or ends of the asparagus begin to get too crispy at any point, cover the tips and ends with foil and continue roasting the asparagus until the bacon has reached your desired level of crispiness.
- Grill It: While I find roasting the asparagus bundles to be easy peasy, you could also grill them. You’ll want the grill to be on medium-high heat and to cook the bundles for about 15 minutes.
- Use a Toothpick: If you’re worried about the bacon staying wrapped around the asparagus, you can always secure each bundle with a toothpick.
You can wrap the asparagus in the bacon up to 1 day ahead. Just let the bacon cool entirely before wrapping and storing.
To store leftovers, stash them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in the oven or toaster oven (or the air fryer!) until the bacon is crispy again.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t have to soak asparagus in water before cooking. Doing so will help them cook more quickly, but this isn’t a problem anyway in the high heat of an oven.
The key to avoiding stringy asparagus is high enough heat, so it gets cooked through and slightly crispy.
Actually, you absolutely should cut the ends off asparagus. These woody ends can be tough and unpleasant to eat.
In need of more asparagus inspiration? There’s so much the humble veggie can become, whether it’s shaved and piled atop pizza, breaded and baked into fries or blended into extra-creamy pesto. Check out my go-to asparagus recipes below!
- Asparagus and Egg Tart with Goat Cheese
- Roasted Asparagus with Cheese Breadcrumbs
- Asparagus Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing
- Cheesy Asparagus Pesto Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
- 6 slices bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush the balsamic mixture atop the bacon.
- Bake the bacon until partially cooked but still pliable, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon from the oven and let it cool until it can be safely handled.
- Divide the asparagus into six bundles. Wrap each bundle with one piece of bacon, starting about 1/2-inch from the top and wrapping down toward the stems. Arrange the bundles back on the baking sheet so that the end of the piece of the bacon is on the bottom of each bundle.
- Increase the oven to 400°F. Roast the bundles until the asparagus is tender and the bacon is crispy, about 15 minutes, brushing the bacon with the balsamic mixture once halfway through. Remove the bundles from the oven and serve.
Kelly’s Notes
- To trim asparagus, you can cut off the woody ends with a knife. (About an inch off of the asparagus is a safe bet.) You can also simply snap off the ends, as the asparagus will naturally separate from the tough stems when bent. To do so, bend the end of an asparagus spear until it snaps off. You can repeat with the rest of the asparagus or use this spear as a guide for where to cut off the rest of the ends with a knife.
- If the tips or ends of the asparagus begin to get too crispy at any point, cover the tips and ends with foil and continue roasting the asparagus until the bacon has reached your desired level of crispiness.
- While I find roasting the asparagus bundles to be easy peasy, you could also grill them. You’ll want the grill to be on medium-high heat and to cook the bundles for about 15 minutes.
- If you’re worried about the bacon staying wrapped around the asparagus, you can always secure each bundle with a toothpick.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
Shoutout
Did you try this recipe?
Share it with the world! Mention @justataste or tag #justatasterecipes!
This post may contain affiliate links.
Hi. They look amazing and delicious Thanks for sharing these will be on my shopping list tomorrow. I can’t wait to try them love reading your receipts and look forward to your emails
Thank you
Thanks so much, Frances!
This is my new favorite way to jazz-up asparagus! the glaze is the perfect balance of savory and sweet. I recommend you try this recipe!
I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Debbie!