If you’ve ever wondered how to cook bacon in the oven, this is the post for you. It’s my favorite method for cooking bacon. Oven cooked bacon means less mess, and more control over perfectly cooked bacon every time.
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It’s a good day, my friends.
Why? Because today I’m sharing with you my favorite method for cooking bacon. I’m excited that this method will have a permanent place here on the blog because I use it all the time.
I don’t know about you but frying up bacon in a skillet is one of my least favorite things to do. It creates grease splatters everywhere. And everything and everyone smells like bacon for days afterwards. Ugh.
But I love eating bacon. And that precooked stuff you can buy now-a-days is really not very good.
That’s where this oven baked method for cooking bacon comes in. Yes it is life changing!
Here’s what you need if you want to cook bacon in the oven
- Bacon 🥓 – any cut will work
- A baking sheet with a lip (at least 1/2″) – this is important if you want to avoid cleaning up bacon grease all over your oven.
- Parchment paper or aluminum foil – aluminum foil will make your cleanup a bit easier because you can completely cover the pan. But parchment paper works too if you have an aversion to aluminum foil. I’ve made it plenty of times both ways.
Here’s how to cook bacon in the oven
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
Arrange the bacon on the pan so it is close but not overlapping.
Place the uncovered pan in preheated 375 degree F oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until bacon is cooked to your desired level of doneness (more on this later). You will need more time for thick-cut bacon.
Remove bacon from baking sheet and blot with paper towels to absorb excess grease before serving.
A few tips & tricks
How to cook perfect bacon
I like my bacon just barely crisp, but still chewy. Cooked bacon is not crispy when you first take it out of the oven, but it will crisp up as it cools. It takes a little bit of practice to know how long to cook it so it will crisp up just enough without being burnt. In my oven it’s somewhere around 25 minutes, give or take. Keep in mind that depending on your oven and the thickness of the bacon you may need to cook it shorter or longer.
A funny story…
Once I stuck some bacon in the oven before going to do something in the next room with my family. And then forgot about it. Well I guess I didn’t really forget. In my mind I knew it was there and it was cooking. I just thought it was going to take a while. Periodically during the activity someone would ask about the bacon and I assured them it was fine. Well when we were done I went and opened the oven and it was not fine. The whole batch was burnt black to a crisp. Sad day. They haven’t let me live that one down yet.
Don’t be like me, my friends. Set a timer.
How to cook lots of bacon
You can cook up to three half baking sheets of bacon at a time in most ovens (one per rack). I actually cooked bacon for 30 people last week this way. The oven method makes it so much easier to cook bacon for a crowd.
If your oven has convection bake that will usually help multiple sheets cook more evenly. But with or without convection, your oven may have hot spots. To avoid unevenly cooked bacon, I recommend turning and rotating the baking sheets (to different racks and directions) during cooking. Lower the temp by 25 degrees if using convection (or check 5 to 10 minutes sooner).
Save the bacon grease!
Bacon grease makes plain boring food turn into gourmet tasting delights. We love to save it to use later. While it is still warm, pour it into a glass jar. Then store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
What can you use it for? It is delicious for frying eggs. It makes the best fried eggs ever. Also sautéing vegetables, fried rice, French toast, etc. Yum.
Cleaning Tip
Wait for the pans to cool before washing or removing parchment paper and foil. The leftover bacon grease will harden slightly to the parchment paper or foil, making it easy to discard. Wipe off the remaining bits of grease with a paper towel before washing. No more bacon grease going down the sink clogging drains, etc.
In conclusion…
Bacon lovers unite!
I hope I’ve minimized the major roadblock in your life from cooking your own bacon, my friends. This method has been a game changer around here.
Now finally…may all your bacon dreams come true.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Sharing my favorite method for cooking bacon. Oven cooked bacon means less mess, and more control over perfectly cooked bacon every time.
Ingredients
- 1/2 to 1 pound bacon any cut
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
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Line baking sheet (with atleast a 1/2" lip) with parchment paper or aluminum foil (this step helps immensely with the cleanup).
-
Arrange bacon on pan so it is close together but not overlapping (I usually can get about 8-10 slices on a half baking sheet pan).
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Place uncovered baking sheet with bacon in preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until bacon is cooked to your desired level of doneness.
-
Remove bacon from oven and blot with paper towels before serving.
Recipe Notes
Perfect Bacon Tip–I like my bacon just barely crispy but still chewy. Cooked bacon will not come out crispy when you first take it out of the oven, but crisps up as it cools. That makes testing bacon a little more difficult so just know that it takes a little bit of practice to know how much to cook it so it will crisp up just enough without being burnt. In my oven it’s somewhere around 25 minutes, give or take. Keep in mind that depending on the thickness of the bacon you may need to cook it shorter or longer.
Cooking Multiple Pans–You can cook up to three baking sheets of bacon at once in most ovens (one per rack). If your oven has convection bake that will usually help the sheets cook more even, but even with convection bake the oven may have hot spots so you may need to turn or rotate the baking sheets during cooking to allow for the bacon to cook more evenly. Lower the temp by 25 degrees if using convection (or check 5 to 10 minutes sooner).
Saving the Grease–While it is still warm, pour it into a glass jar. Then store it in the refrigerator to use later. It is delicious for frying eggs, vegetables, fried rice, French toast, etc.
Cleaning Tip–The easiest way to clean up is to wait for the pans to cool and the leftover bacon grease to harden slightly before removing the parchment paper or foil and discarding.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat, inspired by many recipes found online (adapted with my own experience and preferences)
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
