How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Learn How to Cook Bacon in the Oven and say goodbye to splattered stovetops. A simple, hands-off method for perfectly crispy bacon every time!

I like cooking bacon in the oven mostly for an easy breakfast and to add to other recipes like egg white bites or salads.

I never cook bacon on the stove anymore because it’s messy and time consuming. I either use the air fryer or bake it in the oven, it’s incredibly easy and you must give it a shot!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Hands off method: While bacon bakes in the oven, you’re free to cook other things, like a stack of almond flour pancakes. You don’t have to babysit it!
• No mess: No splatters all over the stove and cleanup becomes a breeze! Simply line baking tray with parchment paper to trap bacon grease, then toss.
• Convenient when cooking for a crowd: Make a large batch of oven cooked bacon without any babysitting or flipping.
• Perfect results: The bacon is evenly cooked and crispy every time. Once you know how to bake bacon in the oven, you’ll never cook it on the stove again.

Types of Bacon You Can Bake

All bacons vary and there are some tips for cooking each type. Even regular bacon comes in different sizes and thickness, and it might look a little bit different for every one of us.

Here are some pointers for baking bacon of various types.

• Regular bacon: Probably the most favored kind of bacon that has a thin texture and can be infused with various flavors such as maple or pepper.
• Thick cut bacon: Cut about 1/8″ thick, thick cut bacon produces more excess grease and takes more than 20 minutes to bake. I recommend lining your baking sheet with aluminum foil for easier clean up.
• Turkey bacon: This leaner alternative can be baked at the same temperature as regular bacon but will require less cooking time.

How to Make Bacon in the Oven

Here’s a quick summary of how to cook bacon in the oven. Just pop it in the oven and watch as your kitchen fills with the irresistible aroma.

There is a full recipe card below.

• Prep: Preheat your oven to 400 F. For easy clean up, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place a wire rack on top.
• Arrange bacon: Place bacon strips in a single layer on top the wire rack, the edges can touch but should not overlap.
• Bake: Set baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it reaches your desired level of crispness. Remember all ovens vary, so keep an eye on it!
• Serve: Carefully remove from oven and enjoy! Once bacon grease has solidified you can discard the parchment paper.

Tips for Best Results

Here are some essential tips for perfectly baked bacon every time.

• Don’t overlap bacon slices: Pieces that overlap will not crisp as well.
• To cook without the rack: If you don’t want to clean the cooling rack, you can place bacon directly on parchment paper but then you will have to drain it in a dish lined with double paper towel.
• Using aluminum foil: You can line the baking sheet with aluminum foil covering the edges for easier clean up. At the end you can just roll and toss it into garbage. I try to avoid foil because it leaches chemicals into food once heated.
• If you are discarding bacon grease: Let it solidify, it will be easier to roll parchment or foil into a ball without spilling hot bacon grease all over the baking sheet and burning yourself.
• To save bacon grease: Allow bacon grease to cool slightly, then strain through paper towel into a glass jar. See FAQs section below for how to use bacon grease in cooking.
• In any case with bacon grease: Most importantly, do not drain it into your sink, it solidifies and clogs the pipes.

What to Do with Crispy Baked Bacon?

Now that you know how to bake bacon, the serving options are almost endless. Here are some of my favorite dishes elevated by the addition of crispy bacon.

• Salads: It’s an essential ingredient in chicken egg salad, healthy broccoli salad, healthy cobb salad, or wilted spinach salad.
• Potatoes: Chop bacon into small pieces and add to Instant Pot baked potatoes, healthy potato salad or Instant Pot potato salad.
• Garnish: Crumble it over spinach salad, healthy mac and cheese or garlic green beans.
• Breakfast: Start your day with extra protein and serve crispy bacon alongside avocado toast, cottage cheese scrambled eggs or cottage cheese egg bites.
• Add crunchy texture: I love adding cooked bacon to avocado deviled eggs.
• Pizza: Create a personalized pizza using a cottage cheese pizza crust and add crumbled bacon along with your choice of other favorite toppings.

How to Store

Store: Keep leftover bacon in an airtight container and refrigerate for 4-5 days. It’s quick and easy to reheat in a microwave or air fryer.

Freeze: Place cooled bacon in a resealable Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Use from frozen, it thaws within a few minutes.

FAQs

More Recipes with Bacon

• Bacon wrapped turkey breast
• One pot zucchini ricotta pasta with bacon
• Sauteed brussels sprouts with bacon
• Bacon wrapped asparagus