Cooking bacon in the oven is such a game changer. It’s hands-free, easy, splatter-free, and comes out perfectly crispy every single time! My go-to method, here’s how to cook bacon in the oven!
If you’ve never made bacon in the oven, then you are missing out! Bacon comes out evenly cooked and so crispy on the sheet pan in the oven! I rarely cook bacon in a skillet anymore and pretty much use the oven method exclusively. You’ll be wondering why you haven’t done so earlier.
Why You Should Make Bacon in the Oven
- Clean up is so easy. I line my sheet pan with tin foil and I have yet to have to scrub a sheet pan clean! Seriously, it is such a time saver.
- There’s no splattering. One of the reasons cooking bacon in the oven is my favourite method is that I don’t have to protect myself from any rouge oil splatters or wipe down the stove’s surface after.
- Beautiful straight, evenly cooked bacon. I find when I cook bacon in a pan on the stovetop, the bacon curls up and some parts aren’t evenly cooked. Not with the oven method!
- You can cook bacon in bulk in the oven. There’s only so many pieces of bacon I can fit into one standard sized skillet whereas with my sheet pan, I can fit 10! Double it up on a second sheet pan if I need to and I can feed a small crowd.
What You’ll Need
- bacon
- tin foil
- sheet pan
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
- Heat oven to 400F.
- Line a sheet pan with tin foil paper, then place the bacon strips side by side.
- Bake the bacon for 18-20 minutes or until it’s reached your desired level of crispiness. Transfer the bacon with tongs to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb extra oil.
What Do I Do With the Bacon Grease?
When cooking bacon on the stovetop, I always end up cooking my eggs or potatoes in it afterwards so they’re packed with flavour. However, when cooking bacon in the oven on a sheet pan, I’m already cooking everything else at the same time! So what I do is I save the bacon grease from the sheet pan into a jar for next time!
All I do is pour the sheet pan of grease through a fine mesh strainer into a glass jar. Glass is best because the hot grease will melt everything else. You have to work fast as the grease might start hardening on the sheet pan as it cools.
You can use the bacon grease for pretty much anything you’d use oil for. I like to sauté my vegetables in it for extra flavour. Bacon grease can last in your fridge for up to 3 months!
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: store the cooked bacon in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: allow the bacon to cool before transferring it into an airtight container before storing them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
FAQs
I don’t cook my bacon on a cooling rack as I don’t find much difference in crispiness with and without one. So I save myself from having to scrub a cooling rack and skip using it entirely.
Nope! When cooking bacon in the oven, I don’t flip it. If your oven is uneven, I’d rotate the sheet pan at the halfway mark but I usually just leave my sheet pan of bacon alone in the oven until my timer goes off!
You can always add 1 to 2 minutes to your cook time if your bacon isn’t crispy. I found 18 to 20 minutes to be the sweet spot for pretty much any bacon I have, especially the Kirkland one from Costco that I buy in bulk. Keep in mind that the bacon will crisp up a bit more and harden after you’ve pulled it out of the oven, while it’s cooling.
You can skip the tin foil if you’d like, it just means you’ll have to spend more time scrubbing your sheet pans after. Alternatively, you can use parchment paper.
Recipes Using Bacon
- Chopped Salad with Shrimp
- Healthy Chicken Cobb Salad
- Chopped Chicken Salad Meal Prep
- Chicken and Bacon Wrap with Southwest Ranch Dressing
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Ingredients
- 10 strips bacon, or more
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400F.
- Line a sheet pan with tin foil paper, then place the bacon strips side by side.
- Bake the bacon for 18-20 minutes or until it’s reached your desired level of crispiness.
- Transfer the bacon with tongs to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb extra oil before serving.
Nutrition Per Serving
More Breakfast Recipes to Try
- Breakfast Potatoes (Air Fryer)
- Paleo Breakfast Meal Prep
- Diner Breakfast Bowls
- Air Fryer Bagels
- Breakfast Sausage Meal Prep Bowls
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