Name: How To Cook Bacon In The Oven
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces of bacon

It’s easy to cook bacon in the oven in less than 25 minutes. No fuss, no mess, just delicious perfectly done bacon.

Bacon! Is any food quite so delicious and versatile as bacon?

My family loves to have bacon for brunch a few times a week. It can also be chopped up and added to this healthy bacon and potato salad, or atop this amazing bacon cheeseburger, or even added to this easy and delicious slow cooker beef chili.

Best of all, it’s keto and low-carb. And if you get sugar-free bacon, it’s whole 30 compliant too!

For the past few years, I’ve been cooking mine in the oven.

Read on to discover why and how I do it.

Is baking bacon healthier than frying?

Baking bacon on a raised rack lets the excess fat drip into the tin foil below. That definitely cuts down on the amount of fat.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I like fat as much as any keto person. However, excess fat isn’t necessary on a well-formulated keto diet. Especially if you already have excess fat you want to lose.

Is bacon okay on keto?

At zero carbs, bacon is definitely okay on keto.

Fat is okay on keto.

However, if you’re on a keto diet to lose fat, consuming too much fat will go against your purpose which is to lose weight. Read more about our keto journey here.

So follow this method and you’ll cut down on unnecessary fat.

Benefits of cooking bacon in the oven

I already mentioned that cooking bacon on a raised rack in the oven allows the fat to drip down away from the bacon, and it also allows the hot air to circulate around the bacon.
Also, you don’t have to stand at your stove dodging splattering oil. You’ll be free to prepare the rest of your breakfast.
And clean up is easier because your stove doesn’t get covered in grease. In fact in the oven, it cooks at an even temperature which prevents splattering.
Finally, you can cook more bacon at one time. That’s batch cooking at its finest!

Instructions

*Free printable recipe card is available at the end of the post.

Make sure your bacon is room temperature. I recommend uncured no nitrite bacon preferably with no sugar like this bacon from Niman Ranch. I also must say that I love the taste of Trader Joe’s uncured dry rubbed sliced bacon and Applegate Farms Sunday bacon. Any bacon you choose, however, will work with this method.

It’s best not to overcrowd the pan. If you’re making 12-14 strips of bacon at a time, divide the strips between two baking pans and place on separate oven racks.

Before you turn your oven on, position your oven racks so that one rack is in the bottom third of the oven and the other is in the top third of the oven. The bacon on the rack above may cook sooner than the one below it. That’s okay. Take that finished pan out and give the second pan a chance to finish cooking about 2-3 more minutes.

Total cooking time is usually 18-20 minutes at 400℉. But since ovens vary, start checking your bacon at 15 minutes to be sure it doesn’t burn.

Use tongs to transfer your bacon to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. I like to take another paper towel and blot the bacon on the top, as well.

Then you can strain the fat and save it in the fridge or freezer to use for cooking in other recipes in place of butter or oil. Just store it in the fridge or the freezer. Here’s a cool container designed for storing fat.

Pro tips and recipe notes

A quick recap of several of the tips I mentioned above:

Cook your room temperature bacon on a raised rack fitted into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper so that the hot air circulates around the bacon and the fat drips down into the pan leaving you with perfectly crisp delicious bacon. Aluminum foil can be porous and leak bacon fat into your baking sheet so it’s better to line your baking sheet with parchment paper that won’t soak up the grease. Less mess!
Don’t crowd the pan. Your bacon needs room to crisp up evenly. Overcrowding can make your bacon turn out soggy.
Ovens vary so please check your bacon after the first 15 minutes to be sure it doesn’t burn. Then cook it to your desired crispiness.
You can store cooked bacon in an airtight container in the fridge.
You can save the bacon fat to use in recipes for later. Carefully strain the fat and save it in the fridge or freezer. Or wait for it to solidify on the parchment paper as it cools and just throw it away.

Your family is sure to love crispy oven-baked bacon. It’s the perfect side for a satisfying breakfast. Make sure to get your slice before they’re devoured.

I can’t wait for you to try this method. And if you have any questions, please reach out to me in the comments or shoot me an email, and I’ll respond ASAP!

Happy cooking!

More bacon recipes you’ll love

Seasoned Cauliflower Rice With Bacon – This cauliflower rice makes a delicious easy side dish that tastes just like fried rice.

Beef Liver With Bacon And Caramelized Onions (With Video) – This is one of the most popular recipes on the blog. And no wonder, it’s a quick, tasty, nutrient dense meal.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus – Sometimes the best recipes are the simplest ones. These bundles of asparagus are so elegant, and you’re the only one who will know how effortless they are to make.

Gluten Free Bacon And Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms – These beautiful little mushrooms are stuffed to overflowing with savory Italian sweet sausage, bacon bits, and Mascarpone cheese. So good!

Pub-Style Irish Nachos – This popular recipe is a fun Irish twist on traditional nachos. Crispy, seasoned potato slices are drowned in cheese, bacon, and green onions.

Game Day Chili Dip – This loaded dip looks like chili and tastes like chili, but it’s dip! Yum.

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