How to Bake Bacon in the Oven
on Mar 25, 2021, Updated Oct 28, 2022
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Baking bacon in the oven is the simplest way to make a large or small amount of crispy bacon — with minimal cleanup! This easy bacon recipe comes out perfect every time.
Anyone can make perfect bacon every time with this easy-to-follow oven recipe!
How to Make Bacon in the Oven
My mom is a traditional stove-top bacon fryer, and that’s all that I really knew. But a few years ago my grandpa mentioned that he would bake large quantities of bacon in the oven to serve to his men’s group at church. That was honestly the first time I had ever heard about oven-baked bacon.
When I was in high school, I worked at an amazing little deli called The Big Cheese. Every Saturday for years, I fried up 30 to 40 pounds of bacon to prep it for the rest of the week. I would come home and just smell so strongly of bacon I had to shower immediately. After years of this, I started to hate bacon, especially the smell.
I stopped eating bacon at around 16 and didn’t look back. After I got married and started cooking more for a family instead of just myself, bacon slowly made a reappearance. Enough time had passed that I didn’t totally hate it anymore. And when I learned about oven-baking it, I was totally in! It requires little to no effort, you don’t get splattered with hot grease, it’s easy to clean up, and the smell is not quite so in-your-face when you are done.
The house definitely smells delightful, and all of the babies come to see what I’m cooking, but it doesn’t linger forever or make your clothes stink because you were standing over the pan. And you will LOVE how easy it is to get evenly crispy pieces, and it literally takes out all of the work of cooking bacon. I could’ve used this hack in high school!
Is it better to bake or fry bacon?
If you ask me, baking! It’s so much easier than the conventional frying method, and makes for such a swifter cleanup.
What is the least messy way to cook bacon?
Baking is definitely the least messy bacon cooking method. There’s no grease splatter, greasy pans, or smelly clothes since everything’s contained inside the oven.
Is it better to cook bacon fast or slow?
Slower is actually better because it will keep it from seizing up totally. Instead of frying it over high heat, I prefer to bake it at 400 degrees F. for about 20 minutes.
What is the healthiest bacon?
If you want a healthier cut of bacon, look for bacon that’s thinly sliced with minimal fat. However, bacon is just a fatty meat, so there will always be some fat on it. For a lower fat option, try turkey bacon (which you can make in the oven using this same method). That being said, turkey bacon is more processed than normal bacon so take it for what it is… if you are going to eat bacon. Eat it, enjoy it, and live your live 🙂
How to make bacon in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Lay the bacon onto the foil in a single layer.
- Cook the bacon in the oven for about 18 to 22 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the pan, and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb grease.
- Throw away the foil once the pan is cool.
- Enjoy in your favorite recipes, or eat as is.
Oven Baked Bacon
Ingredients
- bacon, traditional cut and about 12 ounces per pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (have the foil overhang the edges so that the grease doesn’t get onto your pan). Lay the bacon onto the foil in a single layer. If the edges of the raw bacon overlap a little, that’s okay.
- Put the bacon in the oven, and cook for about 18 to 22 minutes. You want the bacon to be cooked through but not too dark, so keep an eye on it toward the end of baking. The actual baking time will depend on the thickness of your bacon and how crispy you like it.
- When the bacon is cooked, take it out of the oven. Remove the bacon from the pan, and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb extra grease.
- You can pour the extra grease in the pan into a heat-resistant container and save it for another use.
- Once the pan is cool, simply throw away the foil.
- Enjoy in your favorite recipes, or eat as is.
Notes
- You don’t have to wait for your oven to preheat all of the way to start cooking your bacon, just FYI.
- Nutritional information is for 12 pieces of baked bacon
Nutrition
Another great break recipe you might want with your bacon is easy sausage gravy and biscuits. Such a treat!
My favorite bacon recipes include these:
- The BEST Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad of Summer
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
- Fall Salad with Maple Candied Pecans, Bacon, Apples, and Shaved Brussels Sprouts
- Creamy Chicken and Bacon Pasta
- Homemade Bacon Pizza with Herbs
- Green Beans with Butter and Bacon
- How to Cook Bacon in a Cast Iron Skillet
- How to Cook Bacon in the Air Fryer
- Baked Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
Oven baked bacon is the perfect method to cook bacon quickly and with minimal mess just to eat or to prep it for a recipe.
I cook bacon in the oven on a cooling rack on a cookie sheet. More grease comes off that way.
Smart! I’m going to try that!
Yes! I just started baking bacon a few months ago. I’m not a huge fan of bacon… I know.. gasp! I must not be American or something. But I don’t mind Turkey bacon. And my husband of course loves bacon. I love that the bacon smell isn’t too intense and leaves the house quickly.
Love cooking it this way. My hubby thinks I’m crazy, but I hate trying to fry up an entire pan of it… you can only ever fit 4 or 5 pieces in at a time, so unless you want it to bunch up and stick together forever, you have to take turns. I, inevitably, forget some pieces and burn them. So, because I’m dysfunctional, baking it is the only route. Just don’t burn it. 😛
Yes, we have been making bacon in the oven for a long time. Try sprinkling it with brown sugar or with chili powder and red hots! It is a wonderful way to cook up a batch for the week ahead too. Makes those busy weekday breakfasts yummy. Love the Big Cheese too! Your Aunt is a wonderful person.
Yes, I LOVE cooking bacon in the oven. I actually use a cooling rack inside of the foil lined pan so that the grease drips away as it cooks!
Best idea ever! You smart lady… trying that this weekend!
I discovered this a few months ago and it was a game changer for me also. I didn’t have a reason for not liking the smell of cooking bacon, but I didn’t (it started in my teens also) and thus I wouldn’t eat it. Then I met my bacon loving husband and things had to change so I stove cooked it and just dealt with it, showered after cooking every time. Recently, learned this little trick and life has been grand since! I get up, preheat the oven, put bacon in and have a cup of coffee while I spend time with my main squeeze! So glad you have discovered this also!
I do one thing differently, I put my wire cooling rack on top of the foil in the pan so the bacon doesn’t sit in the grease, I’ve found this helps to make it more crispy, without having to bake longer (and potentially burn). Then I just put the wire rack in the dish washer and it is good as new! Yay for oven baked bacon!!
I’m glad I’m not alone in my bacon smell disliking 🙂 And I’m totally trying the wire rack thing. SMART!
I buy the thick bacon and sprinkle it with New Mexico red chile powder and a little brown sugar before baking. It’s awesome!
I’m a sweet and salty fanatic! I’m so trying that!
Best way to do it for a big family or a crowd.
This is the only way I cook bacon now! It’s much cleaner and I just keep it wrapped in a paper towel in a ziploc and use pieces throughout the week (or freeze); in salads, in sandwiches, for breakfast, baked beans, etc…
Whhaaa?! I have never thought to precook it for myself even though that’s what I was doing at the deli. I feel like you just gave me a big “light bulb” moment. LOL! Thanks!
Without a doubt my favorite way to cook bacon!