How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

by Beth - Budget Bytes
4.91 from 11 votes
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In my early 20’s I worked in a commercial kitchen where I learned how to cook deliciously crispy bacon in big batches with next to no effort in the oven. No splattering grease, no standing over a hot skillet. It was one of those 🤯 moments. Sometimes the easiest solutions are the ones that escape us, so I want to share this quick tutorial and make sure everyone knows about the easiest and best way to cook bacon.

Three strips of cooked bacon on a plate with fried eggs and an English muffin with jam

Why Cook Bacon in the Oven?

The number one reason I suggest cooking bacon in the oven is that it’s totally hands-off. You put it in the oven and then you are free to make your eggs, toast, or whatever else you want to serve with your bacon for breakfast. You don’t have to babysit a skillet full of sizzling bacon, or protect yourself from projectile hot grease. Everything is safely contained in the oven. 

The second great thing about cooking bacon in an oven is that you can cook more at one time than what normally fits in a skillet. So, if you’ve got a crowd to feed, or you just really really like a lot of bacon, you can cook it all at once instead of in batches.

The third thing that I love about cooking bacon in the oven is that it self drains as it cooks. In the technique I use below, the bacon is suspended above the baking sheet with a wire cooling rack, which allows the grease to drain away as the bacon cooks instead of swimming in a pool of grease. I mean, I love bacon grease and all, but in moderation.

Do I Need to Use a Wire Rack?

Using a wire cooling rack is not 100% necessary, but I highly suggest it if you have one. The wire rack allows the bacon to heat from both sides, which yields a crispier piece of bacon. You can lay your bacon right on the baking sheet and it will fry in its own fat as it cooks, which yields a slightly chewier piece of bacon.

Do I Have to Use Foil?

No. If you prefer not to cook with aluminum foil, you can skip it or use parchment paper instead (although the grease does soak through that a bit). It simply makes cleanup easier, IMHO, but I understand that many people have safety concerns about cooking with aluminum foil. Baked on bacon grease usually cleans off baking sheets with a 10 minute soak with hot soapy water and a little elbow grease. Barkeeper’s Friend is also great for getting baked-on grease off cookware.

What Kind of Bacon Can be Cooked in the Oven?

Any type of bacon can be cooked in the oven, but I prefer thick cut bacon for this method. Thin bacon tends to turn out quite delicate and can sometimes stick to the wire rack and tear. The cooking times listed below are for thick cut bacon.

How to Use Leftover Bacon Grease

Leftover bacon grease is pure gold. It adds SO MUCH flavor to whatever you use it with. You can pretty much use it to cook anything in place of butter. Try some of these yummy uses for your bacon grease:

  • To fry potatoes or eggs
  • Use to sauté greens, like kale, spinach, or even green beans
  • Make stove top popcorn
  • Spread on your bread when making grilled cheese
  • Use in place of butter in Fried Cabbage with Noodles 

What to Serve with Bacon

Make your breakfast complete with Homemade Biscuits, Cheese Grits, and maybe some Scrambled Eggs with Spinach and Feta!

Several strips of bacon on a paper towel covered plate, viewed from the side
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How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

4.91 from 11 votes
Learn how to cook bacon in the oven with very little effort and no hot splattering bacon grease! Perfect, crispy bacon in the oven every time.
Several strips of bacon on a paper towel covered plate, viewed from the side
Servings 10 slices
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Total 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 12 oz. thick cut bacon
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Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and then placing one or two wire racks on top to hold the bacon above the surface of the baking sheet.
  • Lay the strips of bacon across the wire rack so they are close, but not overlapping.
  • Bake the bacon in the fully preheated oven, for 20-25 minutes*, or until it has reached your desired level of crispiness. Begin checking the bacon at 15 minutes, as ovens can vary.
  • After baking, use tongs to remove the strips of bacon from the wire rack to a paper towel lined plate. Serve immediately.
  • Allow the remaining bacon grease to cool for about ten minutes, then pour off into a bowl or jar, and reserve for another use.

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Notes

*Cooking time can vary depending on the nuances of your oven, and the thickness of your bacon. The times suggested are for thick cut bacon. If using regular bacon, begin checking the bacon at 10 minutes, and add time as needed to reach your desired level of crispiness.
Check your bacon’s packaging for nutritional data, as each brand will vary.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 142kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 4gFat: 14gSodium: 225mg
Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
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Video

Three strips of bacon on a plate with fried eggs and an English Muffin

How to Bake Bacon in the Oven – Step by Step Photos

Prepared baking sheet with foil and a wire rack

First preheat the oven to 400ºF. Prepare a sheet pan by covering it with foil and placing one or two wire racks on top.

Bacon arranged on top of wire rack

Lay the slices of bacon out on the wire rack so they are close, but not overlapping.

Baked Bacon strips on the baking sheet

Bake the bacon in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes (for thick cut bacon), or until it reaches your desired level of crispiness. Begin checking the bacon at 15 minutes, so you’re aware of its progress (every oven is different). I like mine extra brown and crispy, so I let mine go closer to 25 minutes.

Transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate

Although most of the grease drains away as it bakes, some will pool on the top, so I still use tongs to transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate.

Bacon grease on foil

Let the bacon grease cool for about 10 minutes on the foil so that it’s still liquid, but not burning hot. Then pull up the sides of the foil to capture the grease, and pour it off into a bowl or jar.

Saved bacon grease in a mason jar

Cover or close the container with the grease and refrigerate until you decide what food will be graced with its presence. If you strain out the small bits of bacon and debris the bacon grease can last months in the refrigerator. But I know I’ll use it quickly, so I don’t bother to strain!

Strips of hot bacon piled on a plate

Crispy bacon perfection!!

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Comments

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  1. Very good it’s so easy, a person may expect something difficult to do. However not, I
    dunno like most recipes follow the instructions and advice from another person. And oh wow you can actually cook when all the time that said person always claimed that they can’t cook.

  2. I have never made bacon in the oven, until this morning. It turned out great and there wasn’t any huge greasy mess to clean up. I’m glad I stumbled across your blog. Can’t wait to try your delicious looking recipes.

  3. I’ve been looking at your site for just over a week now and this is one of the first recipes I’ve tried. I LOVE it! It’s hassle free and not nearly as messy as pan frying. I spruced our bacon up with a bit of cracked pepper and sprinkle of brown sugar and everything came out amazing. 😋

  4. I love the bacon in the oven idea but I wonder how much oven cleaning is needed afterwards?

  5. Great idea! Do you know how long we can keep bacon grease in the frig? There are people that keep bacon grease in the cupboard or on the counter.

    1. I don’t know off hand, unfortunately, I’d need to look that up. :)

  6. This is a total game-changer! I’ve tried it a couple of times now, and it’s worked perfectly every time. I like my (thick-cut) bacon a little on the chewier side, so about 15 minutes is perfect. No more oil splatters on me or on the stove! :D

  7. It’s a really amazing recipe. I like your recipe. Must be I am going to try this. It looks also gorgeous. Thank you so much for sharing these tips.

  8. Looks delicious. I am going to try this today. Thanks for sharing this recipe.