Want perfectly crispy bacon? Of course you do!—is there anything better on earth than crispy bacon?! Actually, there is. LOTS of crispy bacon! Cooking bacon in the oven is so easy, and once you’ve mastered this simple way of cooking lots of bacon all at once, you’ll never go back. Use it on salads, in BLT Sandwiches, next to perfectly Poached Eggs, or in any of our 50 BEST Breakfast Ideas. Or, you could just eat it straight off the pan.
Why We Love To Cook Bacon in the Oven
- No mess! 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.
- 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!
- It keeps the stove top free. 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.
Start With The BEST Bacon
- For the very best crispy bacon, we love to use thick-cut bacon. Thick-cut bacon is sliced roughly 50% more thickly than classic, old-fashioned bacon. We love the heft of thick-cut bacon, there’s no going back to the thin stuff.
- Watch out for bacon with too much fat, though. Luckily it’s easy to watch out with bacon, since it is almost always packaged in a clear wrapper. A little is a great thing, but too much fat with the thick-cut bacon can be a bit gross to bite into.
- To make the best bacon, you need to BUY the best bacon. We recommend bypassing the meat case and heading straight to the butcher counter to get the very best, freshest slices of bacon. 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.
- 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
- 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.
- Read more about how to cook bacon in the recipe below!
Tips for The Best, Crispiest Bacon Ever
- If you don’t have parchment paper, bacon can be cooked directly on a baking sheet in a pinch. But be forewarned: It can be hard to clean up.
- Save your bacon grease! Here’s how to save the 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. Never cooked with bacon fat before? You’re in for a treat. Try tossing it with Roasted Potatoes or using it in recipes like our Instant Pot Beans.
- Skip the rack. Some recipes online 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, and it’s really annoying to clean up.
- 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 our very favorite things to use bacon in:
More Kitchen Basics
Because Bacon Rules
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