How To Bake Bacon
Published February 17, 2020. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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.
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.
Bake in the oven at 375° for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden browned and crispy.
Place the cooked bacon onto paper towels to let it drain.
How to Make It Crispy
There are 3 keys to making oven baked 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.
Make-Ahead and Storage
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.
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.
chef notes + tips
- Pay close attention to it when reheating as it can burn very easily.
- 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.
Amazing Recipes With Bacon
How To Bake Bacon
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
- 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
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My grandmothers and my mother all kept bacon grease covered on the stovetop. I’ve always done that too. It seems to stay good for weeks. Why now do we need to refrigerate?
Using this method, sprinkle brown sugar over the bacon about 1/2 way thru the cooking time, let drain as directed and place standing upright into a medium size glass. Serve with a nice salad! My favorite is placing julienned JALAPEÑOS on the bacon about 1/2 way thru the cooking cycle.
I have been cooking bacon starting in a cold oven and then heating to 400 for about 20-25 min. I read that when you heat up bacon slowly, it renders out its fat and ends up super crispy – far crispier than if you had started cooking the bacon in a hot oven. Have you tried it this way Chef? I will try it your way and see what the difference will be.
We always bake bacon but I do it on a rack. Then I easily strain the rendered fat into a jar.
Absolutely the best way to cook bacon! We cook it this way at work and I bake it at home as well!!! I since I’m only one person put the extra in a ziplock bag and Store it in the freezer! Perfect!!!
This is the only way I cook bacon now. Perfect!
Try dusting the bacon in flour prior to baking, it heightens the flavor and texture. Picked this tip up from Sam The Cooking Guy, game changer.
Thank you, Chef! I’ll never go back to using a skillet for bacon. Perfect, crispy, nearly flat slices. Used this method for your BLT recipe yesterday…SO good!
I have been using this method for years. If you want to elevate your bacon, try brushing on some maple syrup, a sprinkle of brown sugar and some cracked black pepper. Voila! The best candied bacon ever! This is a treat on our Boxing Day breakfast. Yum!
Is this temperature farenheit?
always unless specified.
Doesn’t the splattering grease get all over the oven?
not at all
I am nearing80 years of age. Still bake my bacon this way from my youth seeing it being baked that way in an orphanage I grew up in. I used a skillet when first married. Did not care for the splatter burns, so ina short time started with a small pan in oven. My husband of 50+ years loved it also 6children later made it very convenient.
I been trying this method for about 4 months and its the best
I’ve done it this way for YEARS; learned it from an older nurse friend. There’s just no other way in my mind. You can also “candy” the bacon by adding brown sugar on top.
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 !!
who taught that?
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??
no you’ll be good.
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.
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.
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.