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How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Welcome to TMP life lessons 101. Let’s start with the #1 most important life lesson of all: how to cook bacon in the oven.

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8 slices of bacon cooked in the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

The Best Way to Cook Bacon Just Might Be in the Oven

Crispy, salty, just-right bacon—is there anything better on planet earth?! We think not. It’s a perfect food. One ingredient, sooooooo much deliciousness. And cooking bacon in the oven is maybe our very favorite way to prepare it! Why, you ask? Well, we’ll give you three reasons that we love baked bacon:

  1. No splatter! Yes, frying bacon in a pan is one way to do it, but there’s no avoiding some major bacon grease splatters when you do. Meanwhile, cooking bacon in the oven is completely splatter-free.
  2. It’s the best way to cook a lot of bacon at once. Why? Because we’re betting that your baking sheet is bigger than your skillet. So if you’re cooking for a crowd, cook bacon in the oven!
  3. Speaking of making breakfast for a crowd, cooking bacon in the oven is also handy because it keeps your burners free for doing other stuff—like making perfectly soft scrambled eggs and fluffy pancakes to go with all that crisp bacon.
Thick sliced raw bacon on parchment paper

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What Kind Of Bacon to Buy

So, you know that bacon is pork belly that’s been cured and smoked until it’s salty and just jam-packed with flavor. But for most of us, when we go to the store or the butcher shop, we’re faced with many, many kinds of bacon. For this recipe we’re calling for thick-cut bacon, but even that is not exactly a regulated term. Thick-cut bacon is usually labeled exactly that way, and it’s—surprise, surprise—sliced roughly 50% more thickly than classic, old-fashioned bacon. We love the substantial heft of thick-cut bacon, and that it’s a much more toothsome experience than regular. In our opinion, there’s no going back to the thin stuff. The only thing to watch out for—and it’s easy to watch out with bacon, since it is almost always packaged in a clear wrapper—is too much fat. A little is a great thing, but too much fat with the thick-cut bacon can be, well, too much! Last but not least—as with all food, but especially meat—quality matters! A lot. Good bacon is hard to beat and yes, quality matters. We recommend bypassing the meat case and heading straight to the butcher counter (or your favorite local butcher shop) to get the very best, freshest cuts. If you don’t have thick-cut bacon, you can still use our method for cooking bacon in the oven, just be mindful that if your bacon is thinner, your cook time will be much quicker.

8 slices of raw bacon on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for bacon cooked in the oven
8 slices of bacon cooked in the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Not that it’s hard to make good bacon. Bacon is good, and it’s easy to cook. But while you’re bothering to making bacon, you might as well make the very best bacon ever. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Lay the bacon on a parchment lined baking sheet. They can be close together, but not touching—if they’re touching, the edges won’t get crisp.
  2. Bake at 400°F.
  3. Start checking on the bacon at 18 minutes.
  4. As soon as it’s done, move the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

How Long Should Bacon Be Cooked in the Oven?

Ovens and bacon thickness vary. It is crucial to check on it regularly. If you can smell the bacon, it’s probably close to finished.

8 slices of bacon cooked in the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
8 slices of bacon cooked in the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

Our 4 Best Tips for Making The Best Bacon, Ever.

This bacon recipe is pretty darn easy, but just to make it even easier, here are a few tips for making sure that you get the most out of your bacon-cooking moment:

  1. If you’re out of parchment paper, bacon can be cooked directly on a baking sheet in a pinch. But be forewarned: it can be hard to clean up.
  2. 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 three months) and use it like really, really indulgent butter. Try tossing it with roasted potatoes or using it in recipes like our instant pot beans.
  3. Some people call for cooking bacon on a rack in the oven, but we find it doesn’t make much of a difference in the finished product. It’s also annoying to clean up. So we say skip it!
  4. 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.
Bacon that was cooked in the oven on a parchment paper lined plate

What to Serve With Bacon

Do you really need to ask? Well, it’s fun to answer regardless. The thing is, there’s probably not a single meal out there that’s not improved by the addition of bacon. But here are a few of our very favorite things to serve it with:

Tools You’ll Need

Bacon that was cooked in the oven on a parchment paper lined plate

Because Bacon Rules

You need no excuse to make bacon, and we hope you try our recipe for cooking bacon in the oven ASAP! When you try it out, let us know how you like it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

  • Serves: 8
  • Prep Time:  3 min
  • Cook Time:  20 min
  • Calories: 118

Ingredients

  • 8 oz thick cut bacon

Method

  1. Arrange the bacon on a parchment (or foil) lined baking sheet close together, but not touching.
  2. Set bacon in the oven on the center rack and turn oven to 400°F.
  3. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes, checking on it after 18 minutes.
  4. Immediately transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel or paper bag lined plate.

Note: Ovens and bacon thickness vary. It is crucial to check on it regularly. If you can smell the bacon, it’s probably close to finished.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories118
  • Protein4 g
  • Carbohydrates0 g
  • Total Fat11 g
  • Dietary Fiber0 g
  • Cholesterol19 mg
  • sodium188 mg
  • Total Sugars0 g

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Questions & Reviews

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  • Tresa

    Easiest way to cook bacon! Comes out perfect every time, no grease splattering disaster, super easy clean up and I can focus on the other aspects of breakfast while my oven did all the work! Thanks for this great tip!

    Happy to help!

  • jenn

    This was incredible! I usually always overcook bacon in a fry pan this was so much easier, turned out perfect and so easy to clean up!

    Thanks Jenn, so glad it turned out well!