Oven Baked Bacon is the best method for making perfectly crispy, evenly cooked bacon! No more grease splatters! No more standing over the stove flipping bacon! No more greasy pans! Just perfectly cooked bacon every single time!
Oven Baked Bacon is perfect to use in BLT Pasta Salad, for Turkey Club Wraps, Bacon Ranch Potato Salad, or to serve with Whole Wheat Pancakes or Whole Wheat Waffles.
Oven Baked Bacon
I grew up watching my mom cooking bacon in a frying pan over the stove, so for years I just thought that was the way bacon was cooked. But frying bacon on the stove made such a mess and the grease that flew up and burned me several times made me NEVER want to cook bacon.
And then I heard about roasting bacon in the oven. In the oven? Would grease splatter all over my oven? Would it get crispy? How long would it take?
I have experimented many times and have found the perfect method for roasting bacon in the oven.
HOW TO BAKE BACON IN THE OVEN
You Need
- rimmed cookie sheet
- aluminum foil
- wire cooling rack
- bacon
Step One: Prepare your Pan
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and place a wire cooling rack on the cooking sheet. **If you do not have an oven safe cooking rack to place on baking sheet, use a broiler pan.
Step Two: Arrange Bacon
- Lay bacon evenly across the baking rack.
Step Three: Bake Bacon
- Roast the bacon for 15-20 minutes. This is approximate based on how crispy you like your bacon, your oven, and how thick your bacon is cooked.
- If using a broiler pan, flip after 10 minutes of cooking. The great thing about using the wire cooling rack is that heat circulates all around the bacon, so you NEVER have to flip it over.
Tips for Roasting Bacon in the Oven
- If you like your bacon less crispy, or are doing this for the first time and don’t want to mess it up, set the timer for 10 minutes and check the bacon. Add more time if necessary.
- If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate your pan half-way through cooking.
Step Four: Drain Bacon on Paper Towels
- Place baked bacon on plate lined with paper towels to absorb extra grease.
How to Discard Bacon Grease
Probably my favorite thing about this oven baked bacon is that all the grease ends up on my foiled lined pan--making clean up a breeze.
But remember NEVER POUR BACON GREASE DOWN SINK DRAIN!! This is a sure fire way to end up with clog at some point, as grease hardens as it cools and I have had up to ⅓ cup of rendered grease from one batch of bacon--that is a lot of grease!!!
The correct method for discarding grease is to carefully pour the grease once it has cooled slightly into a metal can or glass jar. DO NOT use plastic, or the grease will melt the plastic. Once the grease has hardened you can scoop out of glass jar and discard in trash. Or you can store jar under sink and add to it every time you make bacon. Once jar is full, discard entire jar.
You can also use your bacon grease to saute potatoes, make Warm Bacon Dressing, or in BLT pasta salad.
Freezing Cooked Bacon
Freeze your cooked bacon so you can pull out a strip or two for garnishes or to make a quick BLT sandwich.
To freeze, simply layer bacon in between wax paper and freeze in freezer storage bag. The wax paper will keep the bacon strips from all freezing together, so you can pull out just what you need.
Oven Baked Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon **this recipe can be doubled or cut in half
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and place a wire cooling rack on the cooking sheet. **If you do not have an oven-safe cooking rack to place on baking sheet, use a broiler pan.
- Lay bacon evenly across the baking rack.
- Roast the bacon for 15-20 minutes. If using a broiler pan, flip after 10 minutes of cooking.
- Place baked bacon on plate lined with paper towels to absorb extra grease.
- Allow to cool and serve as desired.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- If you like your bacon less crispy, or are doing this for the first time and don’t want to mess it up, set the timer for 10 minutes and check the bacon. Add more time if necessary.
- If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate your pan half-way through cooking.
Nutrition
Brynn
When you say to roast...what does that mean? Broil setting...or bake setting? What temp? I like my bacon very crispy, but hate the frying process. Excited to try this. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Brynn! I think you will love this method. This is BAKED at 400 degrees. The recipe card walks through the details step by step 🙂
Allen
Tried this tip and the bacon was great.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you had success Allen! I won't cook bacon any other way!
Geri
Just tried it this morning. Was making blueberry muffins anyway, so I decided to make this bacon in the oven for breakfast also. I did brush some real maple syrup on each bacon slice, and cooked it for about 15 minutes. We like our bacon very crisp so I continue to add two minute increments until it was almost the way I liked. I would have let it bake longer, but I need to get those blueberry muffins in. Next time I’ll start with 20 minutes. Thanks for a great recipe.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed this method and delicious idea to add the maple syrup!
Kalyn
If you put about an inch of water in your glass jar before you pour the bacon grease in; the grease will harden floating on the water. That will help minimize scraping the grease out of the jar.
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks Kalyn for sharing that! That is a great tip!
Robs McGee
I've been cooking my bacon in the oven for years. But I hated the clean-up of the rack. So while I line my pan with foil. I also put foil over the rack and poke holes in it with a fork. This helps with the clean-up of the rack as well. 😉
Kristen Chidsey
Oh that is a great tip Rob! Perfect for less clean-up--because those racks can be a mess too!
Capt_Dennis
Working on ships, this is how the cooks always cooked bacon. Like the instruction given here. Thanks..
(Already a subscriber...)
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you approve of this method 🙂
SkyJ
Great tips! You mentioned just a few uses for extra bacon fat. It's the world's best grease for pancakes, waffles, french toast, use it for scrambled eggs, even try using it to replace veggie oil or butter next time you make chocolate brownies. Unbelievable!
Sorry for the dups, Kristen. Still learning this site.
SkyJ
Great tips! You mentioned just a few uses for extra bacon fat. It's the world's best grease for pancakes, waffles, french toast, use it for scrambled eggs, even try using it to replace veggie oil or butter next time you make chocolate brownies. Unbelievable!