The oven is my favorite way to prepare a pound of crispy bacon!
Making bacon in the oven is an easy splatter-free way to prepare bacon and it’s crisp and delicious every time.
Serve it for breakfast, add it to a BLT sandwich or burger, or crumble it over a salad.
Why I Love To Cook Bacon In The Oven…
- When you bake bacon, it comes out evenly crisp on every slice.
- Cooking bacon creates less mess compared to the stove with no splattering.
- There is no need to babysit or flip bacon over; simply bake on a rimmed pan.
- I line the pan with parchment paper or heavy-duty foil for easy clean-up.
Use Any Type of Bacon
American bacon is the most common type of bacon, which are strips of pork belly. Flavored bacon (like maple or peppered) is great oven-baked, too.
Thick-cut bacon works well in the oven. This bacon is cut about 1/8″ thick so it will need a bit more time. If you check it at 20 minutes and it needs more time, flip it over and pop it back into the oven for a bit.
Turkey bacon is a bit leaner and requires less cooking time in the oven to ensure it doesn’t dry out.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
While you can use a wire rack or cooling rack on the sheet pan, I prefer to bake the bacon slices directly on the baking pan. It will crisp nicely as it bakes in its own fat.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F per the recipe below.
- Place the bacon slices on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake until bacon reaches the desired level of crispiness.
- Remove bacon from the pan & place on paper towels to drain the grease.
How Long To Bake Bacon
- American bacon: Cook for 12-18 minutes, check it early as thinner slices cook faster.
- Thick-cut bacon: Cook for 20 minutes or as needed. Extra thick bacon may need to be flipped and cooked a few minutes extra.
- Turkey bacon: Cook for 11-13 minutes.
Holly’s Top Tips for Oven Bacon
- Arrange bacon in a single layer without overlapping for even cooking.
- Some brands of bacon (or store brands) sometimes have thinner slices, so check it early.
- For a big batch, use two baking sheets, rotate them halfway through, and add a few minutes of cooking time.
- Adjust cooking time slightly based on your desired level of crispiness.
Save The Grease
Bacon grease can be used in place of butter or oil in recipes to add a boost of flavor and is great for fried or scrambled eggs.
If you’d like to save the bacon grease, allow it to cool on the pan for about 10-15 minutes before transferring it into a jar.
Storage
Leftover bacon can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Use bacon right from frozen; it thaws in minutes.
Have you made this crispy oven bacon? Let us know your favorite tips for cooking bacon in the oven below!
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 package bacon
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 400°F. If desired, line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.
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Arrange the bacon slices in a single layer on the prepared pan.
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Bake for 12 minutes. Check on the bacon and continue cooking for an additional 6 to 8 minutes* or as needed until crisp. Thick-cut bacon will need extra time.
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Use tongs to transfer the bacon strips to a paper towel-lined plate.
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If desired, allow the bacon fat to cool for 10 minutes and reserve in a jar for cooking.
Notes
- *Be sure to check the bacon early. Cooking time can vary based on the pan used as well as the brand of bacon.
- Store brand bacon is often cut very thin and can sometimes cook faster than national brands. Check it early!
- For easy cleanup, line a rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper before adding the strips of bacon. No baking rack is required.
- Ensure the bacon slices are in a single layer, overlapping pieces won’t crisp as well.
- If you’re making larger batches of bacon, use two pans and switch the placement of the pans after about 10 minutes. You may need to add a few minutes of cooking time.
- Keep leftover bacon in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven, in the microwave, or the air fryer.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Pork
Cuisine American
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Easy Peasy! Truly the best aspect is NO splattering grease!
I love buying bacon in bulk and cooking it at once. I freeze it, make crumbled bacon, sandwiches and then I have bacon grease for biscuits, gravy and eggs.
I need to cook several pounds of bacon for the family is it possible to cook that amount of bacon in the oven?
You can definitely cook a large amount of bacon in the oven! The bacon might need a slightly longer amount of cook time but not much. Happy cooking!
It’s great. Been doing it this way for years.
HI! I have been cooking bacon in the oven for years and my best recipe is to put the bacon in a COLD oven, turn it to 400 degrees, put the bacon in, time for 20 minutes exactly, turn off the oven. Check the bacon. If it’s done, take it out. If not, leave it in the oven on OFF as it will continue to cook for few minutes, then remove it. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your version, Sue!
My mother always cooked bacon this way!