How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Today, I’m sharing one of my most essential, go-to kitchen skills: cooking bacon in the oven.
I assume many of you are already on the oven bacon train, but if not, I’m so excited for you! This method for cooking bacon is a game changer when you want crisp bacon without a lot of fuss, especially if you’re cooking it for more than one person.
I use this method almost any time I need bacon, whether it’s a side dish for Overnight Cinnamon Rolls or Blueberry Crepes, stacked on top of a Bacon Cheeseburger or Scrambled Egg Sandwich, or crumbled into an Apple Bacon Kale Salad, this is my tried and true bacon recipe.
Advantages of Cooking Bacon in the Oven
- It’s less messy. Trust me, I’ve ruined many a shirt by standing too close to a popping hot cast iron skillet of bacon, not to mention the splatters of oil on the stove. This method keeps all of the mess on your baking sheet and off of your favorite shirt.
- It’s hands off. No need to flip or keep an eye on this oven roasted bacon. Pop it in the oven and you’ll have perfect crispy bacon in less than 20 minutes.
- It’s easily adjustable to make bacon for a crowd. This is hands down the best way to cook a lot of bacon at once. While the average cast iron skillet holds 4-5 slices of bacon, you can put anywhere from 9-12 slices on a baking sheet, and cook up to three sheets of bacon in the oven at once! Plus, it’s all ready at the same time, so it can be hot and fresh for everyone to enjoy.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Grab your trusty half sheet pan (I use this one) and cover it with either foil or parchment paper. If you plan to collect the bacon grease after the bacon is cooked, it’s easier to pour it off of parchment paper.
- Add the bacon slices to the pan, nestling them in closely together. The bacon shrinks a lot during cooking, so you don’t need extra room around the individual slices.
- Place the pan in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. The cook time will depend on the thickness of your bacon, but for standard medium cut bacon, 18 minutes is about perfect.
- Remove the bacon from the oven and use a pair of tongs to transfer the slices to a paper towel lined plate. Pat with paper towels to sop up any excess grease then serve.
Tips and FAQs
What type of bacon should I use?
You can oven roast any type of bacon–thin cut, thick sliced, center cut, you name it. Thin sliced bacon will cook faster and tend to be a tad crispier. Thick sliced bacon is perfect if you like chewy bacon!
What is the best temp to bake bacon?
I’ve tested this at 375, 400, and 425 degrees and found 400 degrees to be the best temperature for cooking bacon, whether its thin or thick cut.
Save your bacon grease!
To save the grease, pull the long sides of the parchment paper together to form a sling. Carefully dump the grease through a fine mesh sieve into a container. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
Bacon grease is perfect for frying eggs, sauteeing onions for the start of a stew (like this Creamy Sausage Kale Sweet Potato Soup), or searing meat, like in this Coq Au Vin.
Do I need to use a wire rack to bake bacon?
When I first started baking bacon, I always put it on a wire rack on top of the baking sheet, thinking it would make the bacon crispier.
One day, I tried it without, and I’ve never gone back. I find there’s not much difference in crispiness with or without the wire rack (it’s more dependent on the length of time you bake it), and who needs an extra thing to clean?
How to Caramelize Bacon
Want to give your bacon that irresistible sweet and salty flavor? Lower the heat to 375 degrees and sprinkle each tray of bacon with about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Bake as usual. You may need to increase the bake time by five minutes for it to crisp up.
Candied bacon is great on its own or used in this Brunch Salad with Poached Egg or Green Pea Soup with Candied Bacon.
More Recipes that Use Oven Baked Bacon
- Honey Bacon Biscuits
- Strawberry Bacon Grilled Cheese
- Strawberry Cobb Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette (uses the bacon grease too!)
- That Good Salad
- Air Fryer Breakfast Burritos
Cooking Bacon in the Oven
Oven roasted bacon is the easiest way to make crisp chewy bacon without all the fuss! This method is especially perfect for making a lot of bacon at once.
Ingredients
- 10-12 slices bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Grab a half sheet pan and cover it with either foil or parchment paper. If you plan to collect the bacon grease after the bacon is cooked, it's easier to pour it off of parchment paper.
- Add the bacon slices to the pan, nestling them in closely together. The bacon shrinks a lot during cooking, so you don't need extra room around the individual slices.
- Place the pan in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. The cook time will depend on the thickness of your bacon, but for standard medium cut bacon, 18 minutes is about perfect. If you like super crispy bacon, cook it an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the oven and use a pair of tongs to transfer the slices to a paper towel lined plate. Pat with paper towels to sop up any excess grease then serve.
Notes
You can use this oven method for thin or thick cut bacon. Thin cut bacon will cook quicker--begin checking it at 14 minutes. Very thick cut bacon may require up to 25 minutes.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 581mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 12g
Please note nutritional information for my recipes is calculated by a third party service and provided as a courtesy to my readers. For the most accurate calculation, I always recommend running the numbers yourself with the specific products you use.
Love this method for cooking bacon in the oven! So easy and mess-free compared to pan-frying. Definitely trying this tonight for dinner 🥓🍳