Want perfectly crispy bacon? Of course you do! Is there anything better on earth than crispy bacon?! Actually, yes. It's having LOTS of crispy bacon! Cooking bacon in the oven is so easy, and it's frankly the ONLY way to cook lots of bacon all at once. Whether you're cooking bacon for a crowd, or meal prepping for a week of bacon recipes (yum!) everyone needs to know about this genius way to cook bacon. Use it on salads, in BLTs, with Poached Eggs, or in any Breakfast recipe.
Why I Love To Cook Bacon in the Oven
- No mess! When I fry bacon in a pan, it is hard to avoid major bacon grease splatters. Cooking bacon in the oven is completely splatter-free.
- It’s the best way to cook a lot of bacon at once. Why? Because I bet your baking sheet is bigger than your skillet. If you’re cooking for a crowd, you NEED to cook bacon in the oven! Twice as much bacon in the same amount of time.
- It keeps the stove top free. Speaking of making breakfast for a crowd, cooking bacon in the oven keeps your burners free for doing other stuff, like making perfectly soft Scrambled Eggs and fluffy Pancakes to go with all that crisp bacon.
TIP:Start With The BEST Bacon
- For the very best crispy bacon, use thick-cut bacon. Thick-cut bacon is sliced roughly 50% more thickly than classic, old-fashioned bacon. I LOVE the heft of thick-cut bacon, there’s no going back to the thin stuff.
- Watch out for bacon with too much fat. Luckily, it’s easy to watch out with bacon, since it is almost always packaged in a clear wrapper. A little fat is a great thing, but too much fat is frankly gross to bite into.
- To make the best bacon, you need to BUY the best bacon. Head straight to the butcher counter to get the very best, freshest slices of bacon.
- If you really prefer thin bacon, this method will still work! Just be sure to watch the bacon closely, because it will cook faster than the thick cut bacon we prefer.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Read more detailed instructions for how to cook bacon in the full recipe below.
- Lay the bacon on a parchment lined baking sheet. They can be close together, but not touching! If the slices of bacon are touching, the edges won’t get crisp.
- Bake at 400°F for 18 minutes.
Move the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate right away! This also helps the pieces of bacon stay crisp.
Tips for The Best, Crispiest Bacon Ever
- If you don’t have parchment paper, bacon can be cooked directly on a baking sheet but can be annoying to clean up.
- Save your bacon grease! Carefully drain it off the sheet pan and into a heat-safe container (like a canning jar). Store it in the fridge (it’ll be good for up to 3 months) and use it like you would really, really delicious butter. If you've never cooked with bacon fat before, you’re in for a treat. Toss it with Roasted Potatoes or use it in Instant Pot Beans.
- Skip the rack. Some recipes call for cooking bacon on a rack in the oven, but I have found that it doesn’t make a difference in the finished product, and it’s really annoying to clean up. Skip it!
- Start in a cold oven: We start in a cool oven to guarantee even cook time on all the bacon. This same principle applies when cooking bacon in a skillet.
What To Do With Crispy Bacon
There’s probably not a single meal out there that’s not improved by the addition of bacon. But here are a few of MY very favorite ways to use bacon :
More Kitchen Basics
Because Bacon Rules
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