Bacon asparagus is a keto-friendly dish but only if you choose bacon that is sugar-free. If you simply want to reduce unnecessary carbohydrates, this is a very satisfying dish and I highly recommend sugar-free bacon for it anyway! You can’t even taste the difference so that’s all I ever use in my home anyway… sugar-free bacon!
Ingredients
A large bunch of fresh asparagus spears (about 24) – see note below about trimming
1 package thinly sliced bacon, make sure it is FREE of sugar to make this keto-friendly. Sugar-free bacon is sold in many grocery stores today, but not all.
Directions for Keto Bacon Asparagus
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash the asparagus and pat dry. Next, you will trim the bottoms of them, see my note below. They usually snap where they *should* naturally break, but you can also use a knife to cut the bottoms of them where they are hard/thick/tough.
Next, cut the bacon in half so that each strip is short (cut in half). This will allow you to wrap the asparagus without overlapping the bacon. You want to wrap it once and leave some of the asparagus stalk showing. If your bacon is too thick it will be very had to wrap, so make sure you have a brand of thinner bacon, relatively speaking.
Further, you may use turkey bacon if you do not wish to eat pork (ie keep kosher). If you’re interested in understanding more about kosher restrictions, here’s an ARTICLE.
I usually wrap two asparagus spears at a time. You can wrap 2, 3 or even 4 spears at a time, stretching and spiraling the bacon around the stalks until it is wrapped. See my picture here which shows the bacon asparagus BEFORE they’ve gone into the oven.
Once you have them bunched and wrapped with bacon, place the spears onto a roasting pan (with a rack if you have), and bake in the oven at 400 for approximately 10 – 15 minutes. I do not have to turn mine over, but if you want to you certainly can. I never season mine either, the bacon has plenty enough salt/flavor for me! When the bacon is sizzling and lightly browned to your preference, turn off the oven and allow to set for another moment or two. Serve warm.
NOTE: To trim fresh asparagus, you can do it one of two ways:
1. Using a large knife, slice the bottom (tougher) parts of the stalks where the color turns from bright green to white. It’s approximately 1 to 2 inches from the bottom.
2. Bend the asparagus and it will snap where it’s naturally attached to the woody/tougher part. You can feel it snap at the bottom.
If you like this recipe for bacon asparagus, you may like my other one with asparagus too! Check out Asparagus and Sweet Pea Soup.
If you keep a keto diet, or one that is primarily low carb, then another recipe you will love is Baked Eggs in Avocado with Bacon.
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
