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Recipes » Ingredient » Pork » How To Bake Bacon

How To Bake Bacon

Posted on February 17, 2020 By Chef Billy Parisi

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Baking bacon is hands down the best way to make it delicious and crispy and you will never make it any other way again after this.

crisp cooked bacon on a cutting board

I’ve made more bacon then I care to remember stemming all the way back to my restaurant days.  I’ve pan-fried, grilled, even deep-fried it, but to this day I’ve never found a better way to prepare it than this.

Baking in the oven is a very popular easy way to prepare food, just like in my Sheet Pan Chicken or my Oven Baked Spicy Salmon Fajitas.

The Best Way to Cook Bacon

The absolute best way to cook bacon is in the oven.  It perfectly browns it up while staying way longer in shape then when it shrivels up pan-frying it.  The two most important things you need are:

Parchment Paper – this will not only help crisp up the bacon, but it will assist in the cooking time.

½ Baking Sheet Tray – no more small odd shaped cookie sheet trays, upgrade to ½ size.

Temperature to Bake Bacon

The two best temperatures to make oven-baked bacon are 375° and 400°.  These temperatures are not convection and make sure your sheet tray is in the middle rack of the oven when cooking it.

How Long Does It Take

While it does take up to 25 minutes to bake it in the oven, it’s well worth it and no going back to the old way.  Follow these easy temp and time guidelines:

  • 375° for 22 to 25 minutes
  • 400° for 18 to 22 minutes

How to Make It

Place the bacon about a ½” apart from one another on a ½ size sheet tray lined with parchment paper.

raw bacon on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper

Bake in the oven at 375° for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden browned and crispy.

cooked crisp bacon on a sheet tray

Place the cooked bacon onto paper towels to let it drain.

cooked bacon draining on a paper towel

How to Make It Crispy

There are 3 keys to making oven backed bacon perfectly crispy so that you never make it any other way again.

375° or 400° – make sure the bacon is at a high enough temperature where it has the opportunity to brown.

Parchment Paper – this will assist in the browning of the bacon as well as with the amount of time it takes to brown.

Paper Towels – don’t let the bacon sit in its own rendered fat as it will become soggy.  Immediately remove it from pan and place it on paper towels to drain.

cooked bacon

Recipe Chef Notes + Tips

How to Reheat: There are several ways to reheat bacon.  You can grill it, place it in a pan and cook over low heat until hot or place back in the oven at 350° for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot.

Pay close attention to it when reheating as it can burn very easily.

Make-Ahead: You can make bacon up to 1 day ahead of time.  Reheat and drain before serving.

How to Store: Place covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

This recipe is done for regular cut bacon.  If you want to use thick-cut bacon add 3-5 minutes to your baking time.

Try adding some cracked pepper to the top of the bacon before baking or drizzling on a little maple syrup for baking to enhance the flavor.

Don’t you dare throw away the rendered back fat, strain it off into a container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or it will freeze for up to 2 months.

draining rendered bacon fat into a container

Amazing Recipes With Bacon

  • Bacon-Wrapped Beer Bratwurst
  • Meatloaf Recipe
  • Ultimate BLT
  • Bacon-Wrapped Dates
  • Boeuf Bourguignon

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

crisp cooked bacon on a cutting board
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

How To Bake Bacon

Baking bacon is hands down the best way to make it delicious and crispy and you will never make it any other way again after this.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10
Calories: 189kcal
Author: Chef Billy Parisi

Ingredients

  • 1 pound regular cut bacon

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 375°.
  • Evenly place the bacon 1/2” apart on 2 sheet trays lined with parchment paper.
  • Place the trays in the oven as close to the middle rack as possible and bake at 375° for 22 to 25 minutes or until browned and crisp.
  • Immediately remove the bacon from the tray and place it on paper towels to drain any excess fat and serve.

Notes

Chef Notes:
  • How to Reheat: There are several ways to reheat bacon. You can grill it, place it in a pan and cook over low heat until hot or place back in the oven at 350° for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot.
  • Pay close attention to it when reheating as it can burn very easily.
  • Make-Ahead: You can make bacon up to 1 day ahead of time. Reheat and drain before serving.
  • How to Store: Place covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
  • This recipe is done for regular cut bacon. If you want to use thick cut bacon add 3-5 minutes to your baking time.
  • Try adding some cracked pepper to the top of the bacon before baking or drizzling on a little maple syrup for baking to enhance the flavor.
  • Don’t you dare throw away the rendered back fat, strain it off into a container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze it for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 189kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 300mg | Potassium: 90mg | Vitamin A: 17IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg
How To Bake Bacon was last modified: March 16th, 2020 by Chef Billy Parisi

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Comments

  1. Jeff says

    November 24, 2020 at 9:38 am

    5 stars
    This is a good method – however, I thought you were advised to NOT Pre heat the oven … put on parchment on cooking sheet, place in the oven … THAN start the oven at 375 – has the same effect as putting cold bacon in cold pan and heating … or have you found to pre heat is better? PS I am in Chicago area too.. love your recipes and the background you give to each one, the tips, and of course references to Chicago weather! GO SOX !!

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      November 24, 2020 at 11:49 am

      who taught that?

      Reply
  2. Laurie says

    August 20, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    I have heard great things about cooking bacon in the oven…. what I’m wondering is if it doesn’t splatter and dirty the oven??

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      August 23, 2020 at 7:44 pm

      no you’ll be good.

      Reply
    • Jeff says

      November 24, 2020 at 1:04 pm

      Food Network… it may not make a difference but the thought is it will render like a cold skillet start and make it extra crispy.

      Reply
      • Chef Billy Parisi says

        November 24, 2020 at 2:30 pm

        You can achieve perfect crispiness by leaving it in another few minutes. Sheet trays are so thin, they heat up in about 1-2 minutes.

        Reply
  3. Carol webb says

    August 20, 2020 at 10:20 am

    5 stars
    My sister turned me on to this way of fixing bacon. I could eat the whole pound when it is done! SOOOooo good. Love your tips. Keep them coming.

    Reply

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I’m Billy Parisi and thanks for checking out my site! I’m a culinary school grad that spent 15 years in the restaurant industry as a line cook, sous chef and executive chef. Now I write recipes, take pictures of’em, shoot some video, occasionally hosting on TV, checking out the latest fashion, hangin with my wife and daughter and watching a whole bunch of college sports. Hope you enjoy my twists on classics as well as new innovations! Read More…

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