Bacon is one of those foods I always have in my refrigerator. I cook with it, sure, and I use it for toppings. But mostly it’s part of our regular breakfasts. My son is a little bacon fiend, and so I’ve always got some available for him. And to be honest, I mostly make it in the microwave. Microwave bacon is so quick and easy. You can do just a couple of slices or up to about 8-10 at a time. You can also control the exact doneness you want, pulling out your bacon earlier or cooking it longer to get it to the cooked level and crispiness you desire. Or sometimes I make Air Fryer bacon, which gets crazy crispy. However, whenever I have a crowd to serve or I’m trying to make a big batch, I love cooking bacon in the oven. It’s totally hands off, you can make a huge sheet pan full of bacon - or two sheet pans full - and the bacon comes out crispy and delicious. Plus, there’s no oil splattering and burning, no big pans to scrape and clean, no shriveled sad bacon, and no pieces that are half raw and half burnt. Nope, they’re all evenly cooked just to your liking. So today I’m going to share with you all the tips and tricks and ins and outs I’ve perfected after cooking bacon in the oven many, many times. If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Tips and Tricks:
The rule of thumb for oven bacon is 400 degrees for 20 minutes. However, thick cut or center cut bacon is going to take longer than a regular slice that’s much thinner, up to about 30 minutes. You also might need to flip thicker pieces over to ensure they are cooked through all the way. Check early and then regularly. Pull out individual pieces of bacon as they are done to your liking and continue cooking the rest. You may need to rotate your pan if your oven doesn’t cook quite evenly. Set a timer. I have not once, but twice, totally forgotten about the bacon and it got burned. And when you’re making this much bacon, that’s a damn tragedy and total waste.
As for set-up, I do use and recommend lining your baking sheet with parchment paper. If it’s covered, you won’t have to even clean the pan. (Foil doesn’t work as well for me, the grease always gets under it.) And as mentioned, you can control how done you want the bacon. Or if you have family members with different tastes - someone likes it half raw and someone else prefers it super done and extra crispy, you can make both! Everyone gets just what they want! Now, there are 2 instances in which I recommend you do NOT use the oven to cook your bacon. Otherwise, this oven bacon is going to be your new best friend at breakfast and brunch! Last thing, let’s talk about what to do with any leftovers. There you have it. More bacon. Bacon every day. Bacon love always. Enjoy! XO, Kathryn Thick cut or center cut bacon is going to take longer than a regular slice that’s much thinner, up to 30 minutes. You also might need to flip them over to ensure they are cooked through. Check early and then regularly. Pull out individual pieces of bacon as they are done to your liking and continue cooking the rest. You may need to rotate your pan halfway through if your oven doesn’t cook quite evenly. Set a timer. I have not once, but twice, totally forgotten about the bacon and it got burned. And when you’re making this much bacon, that’s a damn tragedy and total waste. Leftovers: Cooked bacon, once cooled, can be stored in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Enjoy cold or microwave 1-2 pieces for 15 seconds, until hot.
title: “How To Cook Bacon In The Oven” ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-12” author: “David Blair”
You’re going to need your favorite bacon, a baking sheet, and some aluminum foil.
- You don’t need to wait for your oven to preheat. Place pan in the oven for about 12-15 minutes. Watch bacon after that and cook until desired level of crispiness. I like mine on the crispy side so I cook it for about 15-17 minutes. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the slice as well. 3. Immediately remove bacon from pan and place on paper towels to soak up grease. Now you’ve still got that pan full of drippings. And I promised no mess and no dirty dishes. Don’t worry, I’m a woman of my word. Note that at this point, you could save the drippings if that’s your type of thing (and according to the comments it’s quite important to many of you!) Or…when your bacon has cooled take the paper towels it was draining on and place them right on the baking sheet. They’ll immediately start soaking up the grease so you don’t accidentally spill on yourself, and this way you don’t have to find something to pour the oily mess into. Then take the foil and wrap it right up into itself until you have a little package to toss right in the garbage can. And as long as you didn’t pierce any holes through the foil, your pan is completely clean! Now how easy is that? Plus, you have the best, crispest, flattest bacon, the bacon dreams are made of!
Back to baking. Baking bacon also results in nice flat pieces. Flat bacon comes in handy for stuff like Bacon-Pineapple Burgers and Egg Salad BLT’s I especially love baking bacon when I need a whole bunch to crumble up and sprinkle on stuff like Chicken-Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls, Spinach Mandarin Poppyseed Salad, and Bacon & Blue Twice Baked Potatoes. You can be cooking the bacon in the oven while you prep the rest of the food so you don’t have to sit there and babysit a hot skillet.
