Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon wrapped asparagus is delicious as a side dish or even a fancy appetizer – it makes it even easier when you pop it in the air fryer!

It’s easy enough to make and the asparagus gets crispy! I loved it – the bacon stays so meaty when you make it in the air fryer and it wraps around the asparagus tightly – so it’s super simple!

I used one pound of bacon for one pound of asparagus in this recipe and this photo is a half batch. So if you’re only cooking for 2 – 1/2 pound of bacon, 1/2 bunch of asparagus is plenty. I wanted to test some cooking times – so I made two batches.

When cooking in the air fryer – you don’t want to overcrowd items. I got this new Paula Deen 9.5 qt air fryer (4x bigger than my old one!) and it’s HUGE!!! But – when you’re using the air fryer – you want to make sure there is plenty of room around the food for the air to circulate.

And yes – I have two air fryers! The Philips XL is great when I’m cooking smaller portions just for myself but I found myself wanting something larger – and this Paula Deen is it! It’s also easier to clean. The only thing I don’t like is the dial timer vs. electronic – you can’t get as precise with the timing – so I still set a timer on my phone so I know the times.

How to air fry bacon wrapped asparagus?

Making these little bacon-wrapped asparagus bundles is easy! It doesn’t matter what style of air fryer you have – whether it’s a basket or oven style – they all cook the same!

First – trim the asparagus. The best way is to just bend the spears and where they snap is where they snap. Throw the ends away – they’re often times very woody and not tasty.

Then depending on how big your stalks are – grab 2-3 of them and start wrapping a half slice of bacon around them – going up the stalk as you go. Be sure to pull the bacon tight – this way it will hold around the asparagus as it cooks.

How long does bacon wrapped asparagus take in the air fryer?

It takes about 15 minutes to make bacon wrapped asparagus in the air fryer – the bacon takes much longer to cook than asparagus.

I tested putting the raw bacon around the asparagus and air frying from the start – then for the second batch, I air fryed the bacon for 8 minutes and then added the asparagus.

The first method worked better – for the second – the bacon was too difficult to work with and wrap around the asparagus. So – just wrap the bacon around the stalks and put them in together!

Either way – this actually makes your asparagus crispy! It’s really good! If you want a softer asparagus – I would just sprinkle it with olive oil and sea salt and air fry without the bacon for 5 minutes.

Can bacon wrapped asparagus be made ahead of time?

Bacon wrapped asparagus is great in the air fryer but I wouldn’t recommend COOKING it ahead of time. But if you want to wrap your bundles up and refrigerate them – you’re good to do that! They’ll be fine in the fridge for a couple of hours if you want to prep.

What goes with bacon wrapped asparagus?

Bacon wrapped asparagus in the air fryer is so easy and delicious – and it goes with lots of dishes! Here are some of my favorites:

– Air Fryer Salmon
– Garlic Brown Sugar Pork Chops
– Chicken Fried Chicken

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