Crispy bacon in the oven IS a possibility once you have my best tip!
You won’t believe how delicious it is to make this big batch bacon recipe for your breakfast (or lunch, or dinner, or dessert!) in no time at all.
When baking bacon at 400 degrees F, follow these steps for optimal results: After placing the bacon in the oven, ensure that the temperature is set to 400 degrees F. Allow the bacon to bake until it reaches your desired level of crispness, typically around 20 minutes. It’s worth noting that this cooking time may be slightly longer compared to alternative methods since the bacon will be in the oven while it preheats.
How to Make the Best Bacon
Honestly, I REFUSE to make bacon in a skillet ever again! Today…today was a good day.
I decided to take on a serious cooking task- the perfect bacon. To be honest, I am normally a pre-made bacon person. Buy it in a box, throw it in the microwave and in 15 seconds you have a piece of bacon decent enough to pass for a lunch BLT at my desk.
But pre-cooked bacon is not actually GOOD bacon. So today I bought a huge mega pack of bacon and set out to figure out how to best cook bacon. I tested out slices in my Ninja Foodi Air Fryer, the Instant Pot Vortex, and the oven.
I have to say that all of them turned out excellent and have different ways to make them, and I am going to publish them all, but today I wanted to start with how to make perfect crispy bacon in the oven right on a sheet pan.
Why Cook Bacon in the Oven at all?
No Oil Splattering: Like listed above, there are so many ways to enjoy bacon.
The most common way people cook bacon is simply in a skillet and that can be great. However bacon in the skillet is greasy, requires you to babysit it and worst of all, can splatter a lot of hot oil. There is nothing WORSE than splattering hot oil on your hand (or face!) while cooking.
Big Batch Bacon
The other reason to cook bacon in the oven is that you can do big batch bacon. Instead of being limited by the size of a skillet and having some hot bacon and some cold bacon, you can cook it all at once and be done at the same time. Perfect for a large family or a big holiday breakfast.
Creating a Homemade Bacon Rack
Now here is the tip. The tip that will leave you with delicious, crispy and perfect bacon every time:
A homemade foil rack to lift that bacon right off the sheet pan.
There are quite a few ways to make bacon in the oven: either right on the sheet pan or on a wire rack.
Personally I believe lifting up the bacon is absolutely the best way to get a crispy bacon.
Because I don’t personally have a wire (or cooling) rack that fits my sheet pan, I made a homemade wire rack! This foil bacon rack is a great way to lift up your bacon without having to purchase an extra metal rack.
First gather a sheet of foil and smoosh together, vertically, to create a long thin piece of foil.
Make enough to take up your sheet pan, leaving about a half inch in between each piece.
This will allow your bacon to rest on top and the air cook underneath the bacon to help it crisp up.
Sheet Pan Bacon Temperature
There is no doubt that bacon texture is a personal decision. Some people like a softer bacon and some like a crispier bacon. I personally fall in the crispier side.
Not the “drop it and it breaks apart” bacon, but more that its not chewy fat.
Your best bet for the totally in the middle but still crispy bacon is 400 degrees.
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. All ovens work differently and its still smart, while baking, to check on your bacon.
Do you have Smoke from the Bacon Grease?
You should not have any smoke from your bacon grease in your oven. The homemade bacon wire rack allows the grease to drop down onto the pan and should not smoke up.
Can you overlap bacon on the sheet pan?
You do not want your bacon to overlap too much but it can overlap some as bacon shrinks up as it cooks.
If you need the space to add on an extra few pieces, don’t let a little overlapping corner preventing you from adding it.
Bacon in the Oven
- Package of Bacon – I used regular bacon, not “thick” bacon for this recipe. If you buy “thick cut” you may need to adjust cooking times.
Pre-heat your Oven – Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. I do not add my bacon in prior to preheating.
Prep Your Pan – Cover your sheet pan with foil. This helps keep the mess in place. Additionally, make your make shift wire rack to hoist up your bacon from the pan.
Add your Bacon – Now add your bacon in strips on top of the foil rack. Try to space out the foil pieces so your bacon stays afloat. This does not have to be perfect.
I cut some bacon in half to fit my sheet pan. Just get as much on there as you want.
Cook – Cook your bacon for 17 minutes at 400. Keep in mind all ovens can run differently even IF they say 400.
I happen to know my gas oven runs hotter, so I only needed 17 minutes for my perfect stage of crispiness in bacon.
You may need 1-2 minutes more.
Eat! EAT EAT EAT! Not gonna lie, I killed a lot of that bacon on my own.
Carbs in Bacon
Bacon is like a staple of a low carb or keto diet. Bacon contains approximately 0.1 carbs (0%) carb and 44 calories per slice.
As always, please check your box of bacon and compare with nutritional values of your own apps if you are on a restrictive diet as I cannot guarantee food nutrition statistics.
Storing Bacon
Store bacon in a zip lock bag in the fridge for 3-5 days.
You can warm up in a paper towel in the microwave for about 2o seconds.
Your bacon will continue to cook in the microwave so if your intentions are to keep it for another day, cook bacon less than you would if you are eating it that day.
That way when you reheat it, it doesn’t get over cooked.
Bacon Recipes Featuring Bacon as the Star
- Garlic Bacon Stuffed Potatoes
- Bacon Wrapped New Potatoes
- Bacon Wrapped Asparagus (with video)
- Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos (with video)
- Candied Bacon
Crispy Bacon in the Oven with THIS Trick!
Ingredients
- Package of Bacon – I used regular bacon not “thick” bacon for this recipe. If you buy “thick cut” you may need to adjust cooking times.
Instructions
- Pre-heat your Oven – Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. I do not add my bacon in prior to preheating.
- Prep Your Pan – Cover your sheet pan with foil. This helps keep the mess in place. Additionally, make your make shift wire rack to hoist up your bacon from the pan.
- Add your Bacon – Now add your bacon in strips on top of the foil rack. Try to space out the foil pieces so your bacon stays afloat. This does not have to be perfect. I cut some bacon in half to fit my sheet pan. Just get as much on there as you want.
- Cook – Cook your bacon for 17 minutes at 400. Keep in mind all ovens can run differently even IF they say 400. I happen to know my gas oven runs hotter, so I only needed 17 minutes for my perfect stage of crispiness in bacon. You may need 1-2 minutes more.
- Eat! EAT EAT EAT!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.
