Bacon wrapped asparagus is something that you can serve up to guests (or yourself) and feel good about it. The bitter and distinct, yet delicious, flavors of the asparagus paired with the rich and hearty bacon come together to form a fantastic combination. Pair that with a smooth and thick garlic aioli to top it all off and you have a winner on your hands. I’ve never been much of a fan of asparagus, but cooked right and wrapped in bacon – I will eat it any day!
When I’m lacking fats in a side dish, I love to make an easy sauces that will go well with the dish. In this case, a simple (and I mean really simple) garlic aioli will do the trick! Aioli’s are usually a bit of a pain to make, because you’re essentially making your own mayonnaise, but why not cut down the work and use either pre-made store-bought or homemade mayonnaise? It’s a fast way to get a bunch of flavor (and tons of fat) into your dish. All the while, still complimenting the flavor profiles of everything you took your time to make.
You’ll have half of the garlic aioli left when you finish with this dish, and that can easily be used over salads or as a sauce with a different cut of meat. The reason that you’re left with half is that there should be a reasonable amount of bacon fat and olive oil left in the baking pan when you’re finished cooking the asparagus. If you only use half of the aioli recipe to do this, you’re left with a very fatty and rich tasting sauce – drowning the other flavors out with the flavors of the bacon fat. And while that’s not always a bad thing, that’s not the flavor profile I was aiming for here.
Yields 3 Servings of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli
The Preparation
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- 1 ½ pounds asparagus
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt, pepper, and red chili flakes to taste
Simple Garlic Aioli
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Rendered bacon fat & olive oil*
*See recipe, from roasting.
The Execution
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Get the 1 1/2 lb. of asparagus out and prep it. If needed, cut off the bottom 1 inch of the stalks to allow for a better consistency. The bottoms of asparagus are usually much thicker and harder than the rest of the stalk, meaning that it will be harder when it comes out the oven. My preference is to cut off this part of the stalk (normally a bit lighter in color).
2. Separate the asparagus into bundles. You should end up with 6 bundles with about 11 stalks per bundle. I was using small and thin stalks of asparagus. If you’re using larger asparagus, you may only get 4-5 stalks per bundle.
3. Wrap each bundle in 1 strip of bacon. Hold the tops of the spears of asparagus in your hand, then starting at the bottom wrap the asparagus in bacon. Move your way up until the whole slice of bacon wraps around the asparagus.
4. Transfer the now bacon wrapped asparagus on to a baking sheet wrapped in foil. Drizzle 2 tbsp. Olive Oil over the asparagus then season with salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.
5. Bake the asparagus at 400F for 20-22 minutes, then broil for an additional 2-5 minutes until the bacon is crisped and cooked.
6. Remove asparagus from the oven to let cool slightly.
7. Combine the rendered fats from the baking sheet, 2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 large egg yolk and 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice in a small container.
8. Add the 1/4 cup mayonnaise and 1/4 tsp. salt, then mix together until aioli is smooth.
9. Serve up and enjoy!
This will make 3 servings of Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli. Each serving comes out to 509.1 Calories, 47.2g Fats, 5.68g Net Carbs, and 13.61g Protein. You will have half of the aoili leftover at the end.
| Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli | Calories | Fats(g) | Carbs(g) | Fiber(g) | Net Carbs(g) | Protein(g) |
| 1 ½ pounds asparagus | 136 | 0.82 | 26.38 | 14.3 | 12.08 | 14.96 |
| 6 slices bacon | 701 | 66.68 | 2.15 | 0 | 2.15 | 21.2 |
| 2 tablespoons olive oil | 239 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 teaspoons minced garlic | 4 | 0.01 | 0.93 | 0.1 | 0.83 | 0.18 |
| ¼ cup mayonnaise | 390.3 | 42.57 | 0.69 | 0 | 0.69 | 1.74 |
| 1 large egg yolk | 55 | 4.51 | 0.61 | 0 | 0.61 | 2.7 |
| 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice | 2 | 0.02 | 0.69 | 0 | 0.69 | 0.04 |
| Totals | 1527.3 | 141.61 | 31.45 | 14.4 | 17.05 | 40.82 |
| Per Serving(/3) | 509.1 | 47.2 | 10.48 | 4.8 | 5.68 | 13.61 |
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Garlic Aioli
Ingredients
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
- 1 ½ pounds asparagus
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt pepper, and red chili flakes to taste
Simple Garlic Aioli
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Rendered bacon fat & olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Seperate asparagus into 6 bundles (about 11 stalks per bundle). Cut off bottom 1 inch of asparagus if needed.
- Wrap each bundle in 1 piece of bacon, starting from the bottom of the stalks and working upward.
- Transfer asparagus to a foil wrapped baking sheet. Season with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, then broil for additional 2-5 minutes to allow bacon to crisp up.
- Combine garlic, mayo, egg yolk, rendered fats from the baking pan, salt, and lemon juice.
- Mix together well until an aoili is smooth.
