Baking 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!
When you are craving bacon, be it as an accompaniment for Whole Wheat Pancakes or to make a BLT Sandwich or BLT Salad, baking it in the oven is the only way to cook bacon!
The Best Way to Bake Bacon
I grew up watching my mom cooking bacon in a frying pan over the stove. For years I just thought that was the just the way bacon had to be cooked.
But let's be honest. Pan-frying bacon does not result in evenly cooked bacon. But more problematic, it results in grease splattering all over the kitchen, leaving a mess AND a decent potential of getting burned by flying grease.
But then I tried baking bacon. GAME-CHANGER!!
Cooking bacon in the oven is a hands-off way to cook bacon that results in crispy, evenly cooked bacon every single time.
And I know what you are thinking--Will grease splatter all over my oven? Nope!
Follow my tips, and you will see that baking bacon results in PERFECT bacon.
HOW TO BAKE BACON IN THE OVEN
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and place a wire cooling or baking rack on the cooking sheet.
- Lay bacon evenly across the baking rack, being sure to not let the bacon overlap.
- After 12 minutes, check to see if the bacon has reached your desired crispiness. If not, return to the oven for an additional 3-8 minutes. The baking time will be based on how crispy you like your bacon, your oven, and how thick your bacon is cooked.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven, and transfer the baked bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb extra grease.
- Once cooled, serve as desired.
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 it out of the jar and discard it in the trash. Or you can store the jar under the sink and add to it every time you make bacon. Once the jar is full, discard the entire jar.
FAQs on Baking Perfect Bacon
If you do not have an oven-safe cooking rack to place on a baking sheet, use a broiler pan and flip the bacon halfway through the baking time. The great thing about using the wire rack is that heat circulates all around the bacon, so you NEVER have to flip it over.
If your oven bakes unevenly, rotate your pan halfway through cooking.
Yes. You will need to let the bacon grease cool and then store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days if you want to use it in recipes. It is not safe to consume if stored at room temperature for longer than 2 hours. You can use the bacon grease to saute potatoes, make Warm Bacon Dressing, or in BLT pasta salad.
If you do not care for crispy bacon, check the bacon after 10 minutes of baking to determine if the bacon has reached the desired doneness. Add time if needed.
Storing Cooked Bacon
If you have leftover bacon, store the cooled bacon in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. To freeze cooked bacon, layer the cooled baked bacon in between parchment paper or wax paper and freeze in a freezer storage bag. The wax paper will keep the bacon strips from all freezing together, so you can pull out just what you need. Cooked bacon can be stored for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Reheat by placing the bacon on a plate lined with paper towels. Cover with an additional paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Recipes that Use Cooked Bacon
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Turkey Club Wrap
- Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
- BLT Salad
- Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
If you tried this method for baking bacon, I would love for you to leave a comment and rating below.
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.
- Lay bacon evenly across the baking rack, so that it is not overlapping. Overlapped bacon will not cook evenly.
- Bake for 12 minutes and check. If the bacon has not reached your desired crispiness, return to the oven for 3-8 minutes. I find for my oven and for crispy, yet not burnt bacon, I need to plan for 18 minutes.
- Once baked, transfer the baked bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb extra grease.
- Allow to cool and serve as desired.
SkyJ
Great tips! You mentioned just a few uses for extra bacon fat, use it for scrambled eggs, or try using it to replace veggie oil or butter next time you make chocolate brownies. Unbelievable!
Kristen Chidsey
Bacon grease in brownies--oh what a great idea! Thanks for sharing SkyJ!
Charles E.
One of the only real sins in life is to discard bacon grease!
It should always be saved, kept in a container in the fridge and used to add flavor to otherwise plain and mundane dishes!
Anyone who would throw bacon grease away should simply stop eating real food and chow down on the cardboard and plastic packaging that they have been tossing in the trash.
Kristen Chidsey
HAHA!!! I do love to add it to BLT Pasta Salad or make Warm Bacon Dressing.
BiteSeeing
I've been using this method for many years now and it is the best way to get clean, crispy bacon!
One way to amp up the flavor is to brush on some maple syrup and sprinkle fresh cracked pepper on right before putting into the oven.
Kristen Chidsey
Love the idea of pepper with the maple. I use maple and cayenne and it is delicious, but black pepper sounds fabulous too!
Liz
YES! This is a fabulous method! No grease all over the cook top! It truly is easier!!!
Kristen Chidsey
Totally easier! Glad you agree Liz 🙂
Nellie Tracy
Literally the only way I will cook bacon anymore!
Kristen Chidsey
Me too!! It is a game changer
Bubba Gump
Adequate cooling of drippings will prevent the melting of plastic containers.
Kristen Chidsey
Very true! I wanted to make it clear NOT to put HOT or even very warm grease in plastic 🙂
o
DONOTput hot bacon greaase into glasss jar. It will crack. Use an empty can.
Kristen Chidsey
Great reminder! A metal can works for hot grease, you do want to be sure to let your grease cool slightly before pouring into a glass jar.
Penny
I've also been baking bacon for years. I don't use foil OR a wire rack...I just plop the bacon on the cookie sheet, sit back & relax. Done.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad to hear it works for you as well! I love to place on rack and use foil for easier clean-up. Plus bacon gets crispier when baked on rack as air circulates evenly 🙂
Jennifer
Doesn't it make your oven a mess with splash?
Kristen Chidsey
I have not found that it does at all! My oven is pretty clean--just be sure to use a deep rimmed pan.
Angela
I have been cooking bacon in the oven(on top of aluminum foil) for years. I wouldn't do it any other way. It's hassle free and the clean up is far easier than cooking it in a frying pan. However, when I suggest it to other, people act shocked and dismiss me like it's much more complicated than frying it. I don't understand peoples hesitation to simply try it. But, to each their own. GREAT ARTICLE!!
Kristen Chidsey
I can't tell you how many people have looked at me crazy too Angela--but it is a GAME CHANGER!!! I hope more people will try and see how great the results are.