How to Cook Bacon in the Oven Recipe
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Learn How to Cook Bacon in the Oven for perfectly cooked bacon every time! Enjoy delicious, crispy bacon and less mess with this oven-baked bacon recipe.
Crispy, slightly salty bacon is one of my very favorite foods! It’s so good in many other dishes and perfect eaten piece by perfect piece! So when I learned what has to be the easiest way in the world to cook the best, most evenly cooked, crispy bacon, I was hooked!
Learning how to cook bacon in the oven is an essential cooking tip that I think you’ll love! It is the perfect way to cook to serve with breakfast with scrambled eggs and biscuits or platters of amazing French Toast or buttermilk pancakes! You can make a lot at once, which also makes it great for recipes that use bacon, such as BLT Pasta Salad, and as a topping on a big, juicy hamburger.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven Recipe
Cooking bacon in the oven is so simple. Once you make it this way, you won’t want to cook it any other way!
Make sure you begin with a cold oven.
Lay the bacon slices in a single layer onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Additionally, you can place the bacon onto a wire rack and then place the wire rack onto a baking sheet if you prefer extra crispy bacon.
Place the baking sheet with the uncooked bacon into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 375º F and bake bacon for 15 to 20 minutes. The baking time depends on the desired amount of crispness for bacon.
Transfer the cooked bacon to a plate for serving.
Benefits of Cooking Bacon in the Oven
There are so many benefits, I can’t even begin to think of them all, but here are a few main ones that come to mind.
- No hot bacon grease splattering me as I cook!
- Easy cleanup.
- Great when cooking for a larger group.
How to Render Bacon Grease
Once you’ve cooked your bacon, remove it from the baking sheet and pour the rendered bacon grease into a container. You can use a metal, glass, or crockery-style container. I use a container designed for storing bacon grease that is fitted with a fine mesh strainer. If you use another style container, line a fine mesh strainer with paper towels and pour the bacon grease through the strainer to remove any bits of bacon.
Store the bacon grease in the refrigerator for three to six months and in the freezer indefinitely.
How to Use Rendered Bacon Grease
From time to time, I add rendered bacon grease to recipes where I would enjoy the depth of bacon flavor. These recipes include roasted vegetables, scrambled eggs, quiche, biscuits, and more.
Storage Tips
To make ahead. Cook and cool leftover bacon. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat and serve.
To Freeze. Cook and cool. Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, reheat, and serve.
Here’s my Oven-Baked Bacon Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
How to Cook Bacon Recipe
Equipment
- Wire Rack optional
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon
- olive oil spray, optional
Instructions
- Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a parchment or aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
- If you prefer extra crispy bacon, place a wire rack on the baking sheet and spray it with olive oil spray. Place the bacon in a single layer onto the wire rack.
- Place the baking sheet into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 375º F and bake bacon for 10-20 minutes, depending on the desired amount of crispness.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined platter to remove any excess drippings.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Cooking bacon in the oven is great if you have to make a lot but there’s something to be said about bacon fried in a cast iron skillet. To me frying bacon in a cast iron is actually good for it and helps keep cast iron seasoned.
Also, don’t for get to save the melted bacon grease…
This is the only way I cook bacon. I put it on a piece of parchment paper because I can’t stand scrubbing pans.
I have started cooking bacon in the oven…so much easier and I love not having to clean up grease splatters!
This is something I have been wanting to try. NOW I will. Thank you for sharing it. Love your post and pictures.
Done this for years–love this way to cook bacon. I use my broiler pan so the grease drips down into the bottom. First I spray it with non-stick spray for easier clean-up.
I absolutely ADORE cooking bacon in the oven. And if you brush it with maple syrup and dust it with a little fine-ground cornmeal before you bake it…oh my goodness. 🙂
I’ve even broiled bacon. You have to watch it carefully if you do that.
Bacon makes me happy 🙂 I haven’t baked it in a while but I really should try again. I’m so over the splatter mess that frying creates.
We cook ours on the foreman grill. All the grease drains off, to be stored for later use in gravy biscuts and such.
For all of the sweet & savory lovers out there, a sprinkling of brown sugar on each piece before the bacon goes into the oven makes for crispy, candied bacon that is completely delicious magic!
Woah, now THAT sounds amazing!!! Must try it! 🙂