Bacon-wrapped green asparagus is the kind of side dish that steals the show, even though it only takes two ingredients. The bacon turns crisp and salty, while the spears underneath keep their bite and their fresh, green flavour. In the air fryer the cooking takes 12 minutes at 200 °C, and you avoid both a spattering pan and an oven that needs a quarter of an hour to heat up.
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The dish works just as well for a summer lunch as for that Sunday dinner where you need something green on the table that people actually finish. Here you get my method, the experience from my own tests and answers to the questions I get asked most often about asparagus in the air fryer.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents:
This is why I love bacon-wrapped asparagus in the Air Fryer
The hot, circulating air hits the bacon from all sides at once, and that makes a noticeable difference. In a pan the bacon sits in its own fat and goes soft underneath while it burns on top. In the basket the fat drips away, and the surface dries just enough to turn crisp all the way round.
At the same time the asparagus gets a short, intense blast of heat instead of simmering away. The spears turn tender right under the bacon, but they don’t lose their bite. It is exactly that balance between crisp and juicy that makes the dish worth cooking again.
The difference between air fryer and oven
An oven typically needs 10-15 minutes to reach 200 °C before the cooking itself even starts. The air fryer is hot almost straight away, and because the basket is small, the heat is concentrated around the food. For a portion that only fills a single layer anyway, you save both time and electricity.
My kitchen test of bacon-wrapped asparagus
I have made the dish a fair number of times in my Cosori Dual Blaze, and 200 °C for 12 minutes is where it lands best. Any shorter, and the bacon is still rubbery at the edges. Any longer, and the asparagus starts to give way and go limp.
The preparation takes around 15 minutes, and most of that time goes on snapping off the woody ends and wrapping the bacon tightly around the spears. Add preparation and cooking together, and the dish is on the table after about 27 minutes. I have also run a double portion in a Philips XXL, and there I had to spread the bundles out in a single layer and cook two batches — if you stack them, they steam instead of turning crisp.
Wrap the bacon tightly around and lay the seam side down in the basket. Then it seals itself in the heat, and the bundle doesn’t fall apart along the way.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how you avoid them
The most common mistake is packing the basket too tightly. If the bundles lie on top of each other, the air can’t get round them, and the result is soft bacon and watery asparagus — cook two batches with air in between instead. The next is bacon slices that are too thick, which need longer than the asparagus can take. Ordinary, thinly sliced ones turn crisp within the 12 minutes and therefore suit the dish better. Finally, many people salt the dish like any other vegetable, but the bacon gives off plenty of salt along the way. Taste at the end rather than salting from the start, otherwise you end up with a result that is too strong.
How to serve bacon-wrapped asparagus
The dish works both as a warm side dish and as a light starter in its own right. These are the combinations I keep coming back to:
- With grilled chicken, a pan-fried fish or a piece of veal
- On a bed of fresh lettuce leaves with grated Parmesan and a squeeze of lemon
- With a poached egg and wholemeal bread as a simple lunch
- Alongside new potatoes and a homemade herb dressing
- Cut into smaller pieces and tossed through a cold pasta salad the next day
Storage and reheating
Leftovers keep for two to three days in the fridge in an airtight container. The bacon inevitably loses some of its crispness in the cold, but it gets most of it back at 180 °C for three to four minutes in the air fryer. Avoid the microwave, which makes the bacon leathery and the asparagus watery. The dish isn’t suitable for freezing — the spears go soft when they thaw.
Bacon-wrapped asparagus looks more elaborate than it is. With 200 °C, 12 minutes and a basket that isn’t overfilled, you hit the bull’s-eye every time.
FAQ
No. The green spears turn tender in the 12 minutes at 200 °C, and par-boiling just makes them soft and watery.
White asparagus has to be peeled and needs longer, so it suits this method poorly. Green asparagus is clearly the best choice in the air fryer.
Two to three spears per slice works best. Any more makes the bundle so thick that the bacon doesn’t have time to turn crisp in the 12 minutes.
Recipe
Bacon-wrapped asparagus in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Airfryer size
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Shopping list
Ingredients
Asparagus and bacon
- 500 g green asparagus (Woody ends snapped off)
- 200 g bacon (Thinly sliced)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper (Freshly ground)
To serve
- 1 pcs lemon (Grated zest and juice)
- 30 g Parmesan (Finely grated)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (For the dressing)
- 10 g fresh parsley (Roughly chopped)
How to make it
Preparation
- Rinse 500 g green asparagus and snap off the lower, woody end of each spear. Pat the spears completely dry, so the bacon sticks during cooking.
- Toss the asparagus in 1 tbsp olive oil together with 1 tsp flaky sea salt and 1 tsp black pepper, until they are evenly coated.
- Cut 200 g bacon into strips and wrap 2-3 asparagus spears in each strip, so you get small bundles. Let the tips poke out at both ends.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 200 °C fan.
- Place the bundles in the basket with the bacon seam facing down in a single layer, so they are not sitting on top of each other. Cook them for 7 minutes at 200 °C.
- Turn the bundles carefully and give them a further 5 minutes at 200 °C, until the bacon is crisp and the asparagus still has bite. Cook the dish in two batches if your basket is small.
Serving
- Mix the juice and grated zest from 1 pcs lemon with 1 tbsp olive oil into a light dressing.
- Arrange the warm bundles on a platter, drizzle over the dressing and scatter over 30 g Parmesan and 10 g fresh parsley. Serve straight away, while the bacon is still crisp.
Our notes for the recipe
Choose asparagus of roughly the same thickness, so all the bundles are done at the same time. Very thin asparagus needs 2 minutes less, otherwise it goes soft before the bacon is crisp. Variation:
Swap the Parmesan for crumbled feta, or brush the bundles with a little honey for the last 3 minutes for a sweetness that contrasts with the salty bacon. Serving:
Serve as a warm salad on a bed of crisp lettuce leaves, or as a side dish with grilled meat and freshly baked bread. Portion size:
If your air fryer is smaller, you can make the dish in two batches.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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