Cooking bacon in the oven is the key to easy, perfectly cooked bacon every time! Especially when cooking a big batch of bacon or making breakfast for a crowd. It’s a super easy method with less mess and less hands-on time, so you can cook smarter, not harder. And it can be made chewy or crispy, depending on what you like – a real win/win in the kitchen!
The only way we cook bacon
Have you ever cooked bacon in the oven? If not, I’m so excited for you to learn how! It’s literally a game-changer for breakfast / brunch at home.
It totally turned my whole upside down in the best way when I switched from cooking bacon on the stove top to cooking it in the oven. Not only does it save a lot of time (you can cook way more at once!), it also makes for super easy clean up.
No more messy bacon grease splatters to wipe up from every nook and cranny of your stove after breakfast.
Because who wants to waste their post brunch bliss on clean up?
Why cooking bacon in the oven works so well
The beauty of this cooking technique is that not only can you cook a lot of bacon at once, you can also control the result. The bacon is laid out flat and evenly spaced on the baking sheet so each piece cooks at the same rate.
And depending on when you pull it out of the oven you can enjoy chewy or crispy bacon.
Have mixed opinions about how everyone likes their bacon at your breakfast table? You can also pull some pieces out sooner for those in the “chewy” bacon camp, and leave the rest to cook a little longer for those who prefer it on the crispier side!
And while the bacon is cooking you’ll have your hands free to work on whatever else it is you’re serving!
The bacon
You can use the oven-cooked method for either thick or thin cut bacon. Just slightly adjust the cooking time based on how thick it is!
The cooking tools you’ll need
A large rimmed baking sheet (or sheet pan, as it’s sometimes called) is hands down one of my most-used pieces of cookware, and it’s the perfect thing for making bacon in the oven. The rim keeps everything on the pan (in this case, the bacon drippings)!
This is our favorite sheet pan. If you don’t have one, you can also use a large casserole dish.
And then parchment paper AND/OR aluminum foil to line your baking sheet. When I really want to minimize clean-up, I use both. First, line the sheet pan with foil – enough to hang over the raised lip of the pan, and then parchment paper on top of that.
The foil helps keep any stuck-on bits from forming on the baking sheet, and the parchment paper adds another layer of protection. This combo leaves little to no grease on the pan after you’re done cooking.
What don’t you need? A cooling rack or wire rack placed on top of the baking sheet. I’ve found it’s totally unnecessary and creates more clean up (scraping off cooked-on bacon bits from those pans can take a long time!).
And I actually think the bacon cooks better when it has contact with the baking sheet. It gives it a chance to cook in the fat that’s rendered from the bacon.
How to cook bacon in the oven
Once you have gathered your supplies, there’s just a few steps between you and the best bacon!
Do you need to flip the bacon?
Nope! No flipping necessary. The bacon should cook evenly with the circulating heat of the oven. Just one more reason to love this simple and easy bacon cooking method!
Does bacon in the oven get crispy?
Yes – if you want it crispy!
Just as you can control how crispy bacon gets in a skillet, you can also control how crispy it gets in the oven.
For softer, meatier bacon, pull it out of the oven a minute or two early. This can also be done if you are batch cooking bacon for a week’s worth of breakfasts and plan to re-heat it in the oven or in a skillet.
If you like your bacon crispy, bake it until it’s perfectly crisp and golden brown.
How to use your oven cooked bacon
Once your bacon is cooked, you can use it so many ways!
It can simply be served with your go-to breakfast spread, crumbled on a delicious homemade breakfast pizza, or in any recipe that calls for pre-cooked bacon.
If you enjoyed this bacon recipe we’d love it if you would take a moment to rate and review it below! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 It’s also a great place to get your questions answered, and helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe.
Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!
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The Best Way to Make Bacon is in the Oven (chewy or crispy!)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Ingredients
- 8–10 slices of bacon (both thick and thin cut bacon can be cooked in the oven. Thicker bacon will take a little longer, and thin bacon will quick more quickly)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and/or foil. Arrange bacon pieces in a single layer, side by side. Be careful not to overlap or the bacon will stick together. Move to the oven and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bacon and how crispy you want it. Everyone’s oven is a little bit different, so keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Transfer to a paper towel lined plate using a fork or tongs to drain the grease.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
For super easy clean up first line your sheet pan with tin foil, and then top it with a strip of parchment paper.
If you’re inclined to save your bacon grease, I would encourage you to do so! It’s a versatile, heat stable fat that works well for roasting vegetables, cooking meat, seafood, and as a base for soups and stews.
Leftover bacon can easily be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4-6 days.
There are several options for reheating:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and warm leftover bacon on a sheet pan.
Gently warm in a skillet over medium heat, flipping once or twice as it warms up, or in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until hot.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
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