How to Bake Bacon in the Oven
Learn how to bake bacon in the oven in this easy tutorial. Stop standing over a hot stove dodging hot oil and covering your kitchen in grease. Make perfectly crispy bacon each and every time with this easy kitchen hack.
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This method is perfect when cooking for a crowd or when you just want to store a lot of cooked bacon for quick meals. And because it is so easy to reheat, anyone in your family can make their own breakfast.
And that makes you a genius.
How to Use Cooked Bacon
We love to dice leftovers and whip up a batch of Bacon Egg Rolls for a fun and savory make-ahead breakfast. It’s also fabulous with Kale Chopped Salad, Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts, Instant Pot Potato Salad, Air Fryer Toast, or in Mini Quiche Appetizers.
No matter how you use it, cooked bacon is a no-brainer component for easy meal prep. Imagine a freezer stash with frozen scrambled eggs and bacon ready to go for a fast breakfast!
How Long to Cook Bacon in the Oven
I prefer to cook ours at 400 degrees F, and it takes about 20-30(ish) minutes. Our oven is very basic with many hot spots, so I do start checking on it at 15 minutes and rotate the pan.
Please note, each brand will be different and cooking time will vary depending on the cut. I prefer thicker cut (about 1/8 inch thick) and to invest in quality brands when possible. I love the bacon from Butcher Box and have also created an entire post on Whole30 compliant bacon brands.
If you need to cook just a few slices at a time, try Air Fryer Bacon or Air Fryer Turkey Bacon for another fast and mess-free method.
How to Bake Bacon in the Oven:
*You’ll find a printable recipe card with all these details at the bottom of the post.
You’re going to need a rimmed baking sheet, some foil (because who wants to clean up that mess?). In some cases, you’ll want an oven-safe baking rack to go into the sheet pan. I don’t use one because I find the bacon cooks great without it, and it’s one more thing to wash.
- You’ll completely cover the baking sheet with foil and place the bacon as close together as possible. Try not to overlap too much.
- I cook mine at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and then cook in 5-minute increments until it is almost exactly how I want it. It will continue to crisp up a bit after you take it out of the oven. Every oven is different, so use your eyes and your nose as your best judgment during that initial baking.
- Remove the bacon from the baking sheet and place it on a plate lined with paper towels or newspaper.
- Allow it to cool completely and then transfer to storage. We use these reusable silicone bags for the freezer, or glass storage containers for the fridge.
Common Questions/Troubleshooting
Won’t this get my oven dirty? This is not really an issue unless you buy super fatty bacon. If you’re worried about it, you can always place a piece of foil or parchment over the baking sheet while it is in the oven. Additionally, placing a baking rack inside the baking sheet keeps any grease off the bacon, eliminating any popping.
Don’t I have to flip it? Nope, but you can if you’d like to. I have done it both ways and find it doesn’t make a huge difference.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes:
- You must use a baking sheet with rimmed edges so that the grease does not spill over.
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 months or 1 week in the fridge.
- Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds for a fast breakfast or making the perfect BLT in a flash.
- If you don’t use the grease for cooking or seasoning cast iron, simply allow it to harden on the foil and then gather up the foil and throw it in the garbage.
- This method also works great with turkey bacon, but I reduce that initial cook time to ~15 minutes.
- Want to get rid of that bacony smell in your house? Simmer a saucepan of water on the stove with ground cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, and a splash of almond extract if you have it. Pretty soon your house will smell like you’re baking an amazing apple pie.
Other Great Make-Ahead Breakfast Staples:
- Fluffy Whole Wheat Waffles
- Air Fryer Bacon
- Easy Make-Ahead Scrambled Eggs
- Paleo Muesli
- Toasting Bagels in the Air Fryer
- Instant Pot Egg Bites
- 32 Amazing Make-Ahead Breakfasts
- Check out all our Whole30 Breakfast Recipes
How to Bake Bacon in the Oven
Ingredients
Instructions
- Completely cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the bacon as close together as possible. Try not to overlap too much.
- Cook at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, and then flip and (if necessary) cook in 5-minute increments until it is almost exactly how you want it. It will continue to crisp up a bit after you take it out of the oven.
- Remove the bacon from the pan and place it on a plate lined with paper towels. Layer bacon and paper towels on the plate until all the bacon is covered.
Notes
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At high altitude this cooks much more quickly, but still works great!
Sarah I finally did this tonight! My whole f-ing world has changed. Everything has this lovely bacon hue to it.
I have you to thank for this new-found happiness
who-hoo, there is no going back now my friend!! Life is great with bacon colored glasses.
This is the only way I’ll cook bacon – no greasy stove top, no burned arms and hands, and no smoke alarm going off! I put two cookie racks in my baking sheet and place the bacon on top so the grease drips down below. Sadly there’s not usually any left to freeze after my husband and I get done with it…
You must be bacon fiends! Which I like.
I’ve done this for years, but hey, I’m older than you. (wink)
I don’t use racks or broiler pans either because I don’t want to clean them. I just make sure I blot it well on paper towels.
And darn those bacon eating dinosaurs!!!
Yep, the extra clean up isn’t worth it. I also blot it super well. It works!
Allosaurs are carnivores after all!
We learned this trick several years ago. One step we add is to cook the bacon on cookie racks. That way our bacon isn’t covered in grease
I used to do that but I didn’t notice a difference in the grease content AND I had to wash the baking rack. No thanks. 🙂
I’ve often seen recipes for baking bacon but always wondered if it splatters all over the oven. Much easier to clean the stove top than the oven. However, if it doesn’t make a mess in the oven……. I just might need to make bacon a little more often.
Nope, no splattering. My theory is that because the bacon heats up slowly it isn’t hitting a hot pan and reacting. I can hear the sizzle but no popping and my oven isn’t greasy. Give it a shot!
if you freeze it on waxed paper in the (clean) baking sheets, THEN transfer it to a freezer bag (or whatever) it doesn’t stick together!
We used to do this all the time before my husband’s cardiologist banned (yes, BANNED) bacon from his (and therefore the entire household’s) diet.
Mine never stick together in the freezer. I let them get really cold in a single file on the plate before freezing, and they’re well blotted. I wonder if that is why.
Can he eat turkey bacon? Do you secretly eat bacon when you’re alone?
I’m sure your whole method is why they don’t stick together. Sounds perfect.
The problem with turkey bacon is the sodium content. The nutrition label should read 5% per serving or less for him (well all people really, but ESPECIALLY him). That is for ANY food, not just bacon products.
The cardiologist absolutely refuses to budge on the topic of eating bacon.
In general, our meat rule is “if it used to have four legs, limit it to once a month” (meaning one four legged animal/month). It is pretty easy to stick to that. We’ve been doing it for almost a year and a half now.
But doc says absolutely no (pork) bacon. Our family doctor thinks that is a little ridiculous, but Hubby(the patient) is listening to the heart doctor. He has absolutely NO desire to be on a table having someone poking at his heart ever again.
I don’t buy bacon and bring it into the house. That would be too mean. But if we go out for breakfast, I might order some. He has even had it twice on restaurant burgers. He is allowed a little wiggle room for treats, he just can’t go crazy.
In other news, the ‘notify me of replies by email’ thingy is back!!!! That is how I knew you replied! Thanks!!
He sounds like a great patient! I will tell you I put smoked paprika in my homemade hummus and my sister-in-law said it tasted like bacon. Maybe invest in some smoked paprika just for the flavor?
Yep, my designer seems to have added it today. Was it automatically checked for you or did you have to check it yourself? Another reader said hers was pre-checked.
I have sweet paprika, I will look for smoked!! Thanks for the tip!
That box is automatically checked, which is perfect for me!
Long time reader, first time commenter. Love the new site! So glad that your first official recipe on your new blog is bacon. What a great way to start 🙂
It just felt right. 🙂
I do ours on a broiler pan. All the grease drains away and no need to flip
So I used to do that, but I felt like the clean up was a giant pain in the butt. I’m ok with flipping because I don’t have to clean the grease up later.
How did you know that I was just wondering how to properly bake bacon? Thank you! I tried it once and it turned out ok, I’m trying your method next!
Because I have Russian spy bots in the devices of all my readers. Doy. 🙂