Cooking bacon in the oven creates perfectly crispy, delicious bacon. It’s also super easy, creates less mess than cooking it on the stovetop and allows you to multitask in the kitchen. If you’ve never baked bacon, give it a try!
So what do you serve your bacon with? Well, everything! Including my poached eggs, soft and hard boiled eggs and fried eggs. And you can’t forget my paleo pancakes (and dipping bacon in that maple syrup—yum!).
Cooking Bacon in the Oven
When it comes to the most perfectly crispy, evenly cooked bacon you really can’t beat cooking bacon in the oven. But it’s amazing how many people have never tried it. It seems the stovetop reigns supreme.
Today I’ll share with you why you should change your habits and cook bacon in the oven. And trust me, once you cook bacon in the oven, you’ll never cook it on the stovetop again!
Cooking bacon on the stove creates splatters all over your stove top and produces hot spots on the pan. This means certain pieces of bacon may cook faster than others. And it’s why you might have some bacon slices that accidentally charcoal a bit too much while other slices are still undercooked.
Cooking bacon in the oven cooks all of your bacon slices evenly as the heat surrounds them. They slowly sizzle, don’t splatter and end up evenly cooked. It’s a beautiful thing.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
It’s incredibly easy! Though it always helps to watch a quick video tutorial. Watch the video below!
Oven Baked Bacon – In 5 Steps
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lay the bacon slices on the baking sheet.
- Cook the bacon for 10 to 20 minutes or until it’s as crispy as you’d like.
- Remove the bacon from the oven and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Benefits of Cooking Bacon in the Oven
- First, you can cook for a crowd (and sometimes that crowd is just your immediate family). This is key for the holidays or when lots of people descend on your house. It’s also HUGE for helping you keep your sanity in the kitchen with the masses.
- Second, cooking bacon in the oven is way cleaner than cooking bacon on the stove. I’m notorious for getting splatters all over the stovetop because I probably cook my bacon a bit too hot. But when you cook bacon in the oven you don’t get any splatters because the bacon just sizzles until it’s perfectly crispy (or done to your liking).
- Lastly, cooking bacon in the oven allows you to multitask in the kitchen. Because once you toss that sheet pan of glorious bacon in the oven, you’re free for about 15 minutes to whip up some eggs or make a batch of pancakes or waffles.
A Few More Tips
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper (or don’t line it at all – but that’s messy). With parchment paper it’s as simple as tearing off a piece, placing the bacon on top and cooking.
- Should you place the bacon on a cooling rack to cook? I don’t think so. I tried it and the difference is negligible. But then I had to clean a cooling rack (and those buggers are hard to clean).
- 400°F works well for both regular and thick cut bacon. Heat your oven and cook the bacon for 10 to 20 minutes or until it’s reached your desired level of crispiness. I do rotate the pan halfway through, just to ensure even cooking, but that’s it. And remember that your bacon will continue to crisp up once it dries.
What to do with Bacon Grease? Save it!
If you purchase organic bacon, as I do, definitely consider rendering and saving the bacon grease. Not only does bacon grease impart a richness of flavor into braised meats and other dishes, it has a high smoke point which means it’s far more stable to cook with.
Here’s how to render bacon grease:
- Once you’ve cooked your bacon, remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Line a fine mesh sieve with another paper towel (you could also use a nut milk bag or cheesecloth) and pour the hot bacon grease over the sieve and into a glass jar.
- Note: it’s important to use glass and not plastic, as you’ll melt plastic with hot bacon grease.
You can see in the photo above that I had some previous bacon fat already in my glass jar that’s opaque and lighter in color. When I have a new batch of bacon, I just pour this straight on top then cover the jar and refrigerate it.
So what do I use my rendered bacon grease for? Oh, just about everything. It’s what I fry my eggs in and how I sear pretty much any meat. It’s also great for sautéed or roasted vegetables to add depth and flavor.
Tasty Recipes with Crispy Bacon
- Bacon Deviled Eggs
- Cobb Salad
- Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro, Lime and Bacon Slaw
- Broccoli Salad
- BLT Salad with Avocado and Sprouts
- Baked Eggs in Avocado
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 8 bacon slices
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking tray with parchment paper, then place the bacon side-by-side on the tray.
- Cook the bacon for 10 to 20 minutes or until it's reached your desired level of crispiness. Make sure to check on it after about 10 minutes, as some ovens cook faster. Remove the tray from the oven and transfer the bacon with tongs to a paper towel-lined plate.
- If you're rendering the bacon fat, line a fine mesh sieve with a paper towel. Then place the sieve over a glass storage container and pour the bacon fat from the sheet tray into the sieve. Cover the glass storage container and place it in the refrigerator for future cooking needs.
Lisa’s Tips
- If you don’t have a heavy-duty baking sheet I recommend purchasing some. They never warp or bend in the oven!
- Please note that all ovens cook slightly differently. It’s best to keep an eye on the bacon past the 10-minute mark so you can ensure it’s cooked to your personal preference. If you scroll through the comments you’ll see some people have raw bacon at 15 minutes and some have burnt bacon at 15 minutes. After years of comments on this recipe, I’ve widened the cooking time to 10 to 20 minutes, as all ovens do bake differently.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally published December 2016, but updated with new photos and information.
Great method for cooking bacon! How long can you continue adding to grease jar? Grease on bottom must start to go bad. Thank you in advance for your help.
Absolutely love Downshiftology!!!!
Hi Adrienne – that’s a great question and not one I’ve been able to find an answer to. Other than lard lasts for a very, very long time. Ha! I probably cycle through a whole container in the fridge every 6 months or so, then clean it out and start fresh again. :)
Amazingly easy way to make bacon! I don’t like the smell bacon leaves when cooking it in the house so I usually cook it in a cast iron skillet on the side burner on the grill. No smell in the house, but still very messy. Cooking bacon on a heavy duty pan with parchment paper in the oven is very simple and with the stove fan on no bacon smell the next day. Can’t recommend this recipe enough.
Hi Mark – I’m glad you enjoyed this way of cooking bacon! It really is super easy and there’s so many benefits to it. Enjoy!
Thank you for the great bacon in the oven recipe. You are a great teacher. Bacon in the oven so excellent. So easy. Thank you. Very professional production. I am a man in my 60s and it’s a shame I’ve had to miss this for so long.
Glad you finally came across this method Robert!
Best recipe ever..bacon turned out perfect.
Happy to hear your bacon turned out perfectly Barbara!
This is the second time I’ve tried this recipe. I’ve incinerated my bacon both times. This time, I even adjusted the cooking temperature down to 380°, and placed the bacon in while it was still preheating, but ended up setting off the smoke detectors. We could eat parts of four out of the seven rashers of bacon – the rest were completely blackened.
But, in spite of all that, I’m only knocking off one star out of what could be a five-star recipe if I reduce the time as well. The bacon that does turn out edible is beautiful and perfectly crisp.
Could just be my oven.
Edit: I think I realized the problem Edit: I think I realized the problem – I used aluminum foil instead of parchment paper. Back up to five stars once I fix my user errors!
Hope your next time trying this out turns to a success Ani! Sometimes it depends on how hot your oven cooks, so make sure to keep an eye on them!
Thanks, Andi, and since I know of others having the same experience, I’ll add my own 2 cents (although
this thread’s old as Methuselah).
FACTS: #1) For me, this recipe has produced perfectly crisp bacon when I place the raw strips on aluminum foil. -AND- #2) SURPRISE! The recipe’s also turned out 5-star crisp bacon when I put the strips on parchment paper!!! I do recall the first time I ran out of parchment–I was super nervous about substituting aluminum foil. But now, after several months of switching back and forth, I can say without hesitation that there was no difference at all. ( I prefer parchment paper for no discernible reason, nonetheless I’m convinced that if the oven temp is a true 400 degrees F, we can trust our choice: Either or both; Parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Perfect and so much easier!!
Can’t beat this method for perfectly baked bacon :)
I have to admit that I never thought of or after hearing about baking bacon that it would be as good or better than frying it. Not to mention, I like to save the bacon fat.
This recipe is fantastic and now this is the only way I cook my bacon. I still get the bacon fat but oh my gosh, the bacon comes out perfectly.
Cooking it in the oven is much easier and guarantees the perfect crisp bacon every time :)
Cooking bacon this way in the oven makes it delicious! If you take it off the parchment paper and drain it on a plate, covered with paper towels as soon as it comes out of the oven, makes it less greasy than frying it and draining it.
This method sure is the way to go :)
Perfect video, Thank you!
Glad the video was helpful Dave!
Excellent instructions
Glad this was helpful Aileen!
This comment was written during the covid months, during which I had the time to play with this recipe. First, delicious. Great not to use a rack. Here’s what I did:
Because I use King Arthur’s parchment sheets, I have to line the pan with foil anyway. However, I have an Oster tabletop oven. I’m sure that any brand would do. It comes with a smaller pan, so parchment sheets fit perfectly. I can do 6 slices in a go.
Glad this method was a success!
Oh my gosh !!! Amazing ! I could not believe this wouldn’t splatter up my oven, but it DIDN’T !!! Used 2 different packages of bacon and 2 different baking sheets. Heavier pan and bacon with less sugar content worked best for me. Love it, so much easier to clean up. Thank you !!!
Happy to hear this was a success Marilyn!
I tried this. I’m using blue and gold bacon which is thick bacon. 20-30 minutes is more accurate. Definitely cleaner than on the stove.
I have never cooked bacon in the oven until today and cannot believe I’ve been cooking it on the stove top, in a cast-iron stove… My favorite cooking utensil, all these years. Bacon came out perfect, crispy, even, just the way I like it. I will never go back to stove top again! Thanks for sharing.
P.S I have a high-quality baking sheet and it worked perfectly without parchment or aluminum foil. Clean up was quick and easy with a little elbow grease. ;-)
Glad this method was a success Lisa!
18 to 20 minutes was too long. My bacon turned into a charred crisp after 15 minutes.
Hi Jamie – as I mentioned on the post, all ovens cook differently, and some people comment that their bacon needs 25 minutes. ;) That’s why it’s best to keep an eye on it in the oven.
I started cooking bacon in oven several years ago. My uncle is a chef …who once was the principle chef at a highly regarded culinary arts institute. I noticed he cooked his bacon in oven and it was perfect. I tried it and as you said, never went back to stove top! I have found at times I need to flip bacon halfway through…I believe it depends on bacon thickness. It always comes out perfect. I use foil usually , instead of parchment as readers have noted…it is easier to capture the bacon fat. I don’t miss the burn splatter marks I used to get on my hands, arms and even sometimes my face from stove-top frying! 😱
It really is the best way to cook bacon, and the results are so crispy!
i will alway make this way yummy blts too
I tried parchment versus foil, which is what I usually use. It was impossible to pour off the grease during baking (I usually pour off into a can a few times so it’s not sitting in an inch of fat!) The parchment just slips around too much on the baking tray. Guess I’ll go back to foil. Just including this info in case it helps anyone else.
Megan,
On Loving it on Keto, they use small magnets to hold the parchment paper down.
Trying this method this morning. My husband loves bacon but I absolutely hate the mess! This sounds like the perfect compromise and very simple to follow. Thank you!!
great idea
I use neither parchment nor foil. I pour off the grease and strain through a coffee filter. Then I deglaze the pan for a wonderfully golden bacon broth for the freezer that I use in soups or beans.
I’ve cooked bacon in the oven before, but it didn’t turn out great. I decided to try again, as I was making a big breakfast and was multitasking big time – and dang..! It came out perfect! I did exactly as recipe says. Thank you for making Saturday mornings easier and yummier! 😊
Amazing! Glad this recipe resulted in perfectly crisp bacon :)
Can wait to try and make breakfast time a bit easier!
Made this morning for breakfast. Turned out great!
Glad to hear this recipe was a success Carol!
I used a aluminum baking pan and it seems to take a little longer to cook, must disparate more heat.
Love this 👍😁
It was simple and delicious.
Perfect! I tried it this morning in the oven and it came out so nice and crispy. I stopped buying bacon because it got the stovetop so greasy, do it has been over ten years, but decided to give it a go with your method. Fantastic
Happy to hear your bacon turned out perfectly Liz! :)
Awesome thank you. Great when my grandkids come for a sleepover and we have pancakes and eggs along with this yummy crispy bacon.
Glad everyone enjoys this bacon recipe! It’s such a time saver in the kitchen :)
Does great!!!
Perfectly cooked bacon! Thank you!
Will this work with turkey bacon?
Yes! It should be fine Liz :)
Tried it today, came out great!!
Wonderful! Glad your bacon turned out perfectly with this recipe :)
This tutorial is great!! We always made it on the stovetop and I was never a huge fan of bacon. but in the oven, it comes out delicious! We use the bacon to put into salads and it’s so tasty and flavorful. It’s simple, but the oven makes all the difference!
I use a 14-inch by 10-inch Pyrex dish. I use two stainless steel racks tied together along one side using cotton butcher’s twine (don’t use plastic). I then set the racks in the dish so they make an A-frame. Then I drape the bacon slices over the frame. The bacon drains all its grease into the Pyrex dish. This way you don’t need the parchment paper and you lose none of your precious bacon drippings to the paper. It works exceptionally well.
Thanks for sharing that with us Tim! :)
If you have the time you can cook the bacon at 250°F. It takes longer but I think it delivers a better-tasting result. I found that higher temperatures tend to damage the flavor. It is also much kinder to the drippings. Cooking for one hour gives a more flavorful result. cooking for 2 hours makes it crispier.
It also is much more forgiving in terms of delivering a tastier product. Cooking at 250°F is also much more forgiving and less likely to burn the bacon.
Some bacon juice cooks out with the drippings. The water evaporates and the solids that remain are full of bacon flavor. I collect the solids and add them to my beans and salads for that terrific bacon flavor.
HI!
If I need to make 2 sheet pans of bacon at the same time, will that still allow them to be nice and crispy? I cannot stand rubbery bacon! lol
Thank you!!
Hi Jessica – yes, you can do two sheet pans at the same time. I do it all the time! You may need to increase the cook time in the oven, but just keep an eye on them.
Turned out crispy and delishhhh ! Bacon is my least favorite thing to prepare because I feel I just make a huge mess and everything gets oily and smelly. This is the best way to meal prep it 🤗
This is definitely the best way to prep bacon and make it perfectly crispy :)
I will never make bacon any other way – this was such a EUREKA moment for me! Thanks Lisa – the bacon always turns out so nice and crispy – just how I love it. I do have to keep it in the oven a bit longer, but that’s just my oven taking a long time with everything, haha.
This fool proof method works every time :)
I had my doubts about cooking bacon in the oven but my bacon came out perfect, flat, and crispy! I will be rendering the grease for sure. Thank you Lisa for another fool proof recipe!
Always the best method for cooking bacon :)
We have been cooking our bacon in the oven for a few years now! It’s a game changer for sure. The only thing we do different is put the pan in then turn the oven on. I can’t remember where we got that from but works great. I don’t even time it any more because we can tell by smell when it’s done.
Hi Christine – I agree, cooking bacon in the oven is the best! :)
Would convection cooking be helpful for even cooking?
It’s not necessary for this recipe!
Tried this out this morning with thicker-than-normal bacon (not specifically labeled as thick-cut), but 400 might not be ideal. Probably 450 for 15-18 minutes would be better. My bacon came out pretty flimsy and remained that way after being drained on paper-towel.
Hi Gilbert – all ovens cook slightly differently, and it’s actually common for some ovens to be up to 25 degrees off. You can definitely cook your bacon a little longer to get it extra crispy though!
I finally tried this method! I was so hesitant that the oven would have grease splatter everywhere. No issues! Yay! Thank you! :)
Glad you finally got around to trying this method Jessica!
18 minutes gave me a pan full of burnt bacon 😢
Hi Shannon- Oh no! For this recipe, it really depends on how your oven heats. Some heats warmer than others so next time I would suggest to cook it for 10 minutes and keep an eye on it!
I really didn’t I think I would find this on your site! I LOVE it! I’ve been following you for awhile. I just now learned of this style of cooking bacon. Thanks! Love it!
Wonderful! Glad you found this post helpful, Heather. It really is the best way to cook it!
I really like the way you present your instructions. You speak very clearly, stick to each step and I don’t feel rushed. That’s especially important to me after suffering from a stroke. I look forward to learning more recipes from you!
So glad You find my instruction well organized and clear! If it never makes sense, please let me know :)
I cook a tad lower for a few minutes longer….gives me a few more minutes of multitasking. Having said, the secret ingredient to my mom’s meatbalss for the last 75 years….cook them in bacon fat until golden all around, then finish in the sauce (I cheat and use a crockpot). Trust me. Awesome. And rendered fat from the oven is tastier with less burnt bits than pan frying.
Perfecto 👍
Delish!!! This is truly the best way to cook bacon. I do add one extra step – I put the bacon on top of a nonstick baking cooling rack and then line the cooking sheet with parchment paper and place the cooling rack on top of that. I like this method because the bacon gets a bit crispier and it’s less greasy.
Great Tip Liz! And I couldn’t agree more about this being the best way to cook bacon :)
Great thank!
How long is the rendered bacon grease good till and how do you store it
HI Terri- I normally store in the fridge for up to 4-5 months!
I will never cook bacon in a cast iron skillet on the top of the stove!!! So easy and fast and tasty in the oven. I love it.
It really is the best method! And saves time when you need to cook other things as well :)
I will never fry bacon again.
I lined my sheet pan with aluminum foil. Drain the grease into a jar and pitch the foil. That’s my kind of clean up. Perfect!!!