Did you know cooking bacon in the oven is the easiest way to do it? Once you try the oven method, you’ll never do it any other way. No grease splatters, easy cleanup, and it cooks perfectly even and crispy!
Oven Baked Bacon
Can we all agree that bacon is the best?! It’s one of our favorite breakfast sides.
When I first learned how to make bacon in the oven, my mind almost exploded. OF COURSE! It is so obvious! Why would you do it any other way?? It’s the easiest, quickest, and cleanest way to cook bacon. Cooking bacon on the stove is SO messy. The oils get everywhere – on the counters, on the floor, and on you! Skip this all together by baking the bacon in the oven.
Cooking bacon in the oven also frees up space on the stove. This is great when you’re cooking a big breakfast and need room to make pancakes, eggs, sausage, etc. Just put it in the oven, set the timer, and forget about it until it’s done cooking.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay out the bacon onto a rimmed baking sheet – it’s important that it has a rimmed edge so grease doesn’t drip down and start an oven fire. Lining the baking sheet with foil makes for easier clean up, but that’s up to you! Bake it in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until it’s cooked to your liking. No need to flip it! It will cook perfectly on both sides.
Other oven temperatures you can try are:
- 375 for 20 minutes
- 425 degrees for 15 minutes
- 450 degrees for 12 minutes.
Sometimes it will take a couple minutes longer or faster depending on the cut of your bacon. Cook it for less with thin cut and cook it for longer with thick cut. Just keep an eye on it every few minutes at the end.
Cleaning up oven cooked bacon is a breeze. If you’re lining the pan with foil, let the oil cool, fold it up and toss the foil. Then wash the pan with soap and water to get rid of any lingering oils.
How do you keep bacon from splattering in the oven?
The bacon shouldn’t splatter too much, but sometimes if your bacon is a thicker cut, it will produce more grease. Make sure your pan is in the lower third of the oven, and try putting a sheet of wax paper under the bacon.
Do you cover bacon while cooking in the oven?
It’s not necessary, but if you find your bacon is still splattering, you can lay a sheet of tin foil on top, but remove it for the last 5 minutes so the bacon can get perfectly crispy.
Have I convinced you to try this method? Once you cook bacon in the oven, you’ll never do it the other way!
For recipes that use cooked bacon:
- Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball
- Bacon Pancakes
- Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
- Bacon Potato Corn Chowder
- Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta
Oven Bacon Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb bacon (or as much bacon as you like)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil (optional, but allows for easy cleanup), and lay out as many bacon slices as you want on the sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until it's cooked to your liking. It will cook perfectly on both sides, no need to flip it!
I love cooking bacon in the oven!! With just 2 of us in the home, I hated messing up the stove for just a few slices of bacon. Now, I cook a whole pack in the oven until slightly underdone, and then freeze it in a zipper bag. Now, when the bacon cravings hit one of use, we just remove a few slices from the freezer and reheat in the microwave or in the dish we’re preparing. So very convenient!
It is so convenient! That’s perfect for 2! Thank you so much!
I Literally never thought to make my bacon in the oven until I saw a post about it on IG. Hello busy mom this is amazing! We have been hAvIng brinner (breaKfast for dinner)haha and making our bacon in the oven is so easy!
Isn’t breakfast for dinner the best?! And, yes, it’s so much easier!
Bacon is the most sought after breakfast item in our home. Putting it in the oven is the eAsiEst way to cook this up. It turns out just right for us.
Why have I not done this sooner!? This was so much easier & the bacon came out perfectly!! I will be doing this from now on!
we love bacon in the oven. NO mess and the bacon is cooked EVENLY and is crisp. Best ever!!! thanks for the tip
I love bacon. My husband lovEs bAcon. My kids love bacon. i do Not lovE smelling like bacon. Cooking in thE oven provides us with the bacon we love without the lingering smell. Thanks for sharing!
Love cooking in oven. But I always pour off my bacon grease into a foil lined dish that I keep in the fridge. I use it to cook chicken, Sautee veggies, fry an egg.
Great idea!! Thank you for sharing!
This may be silly, but every time i try to cook my bacon in the oven my house fills up with smoke. What am i doinG wrong?
It could just be grease in the oven???
You havE instrutions On how to cook with foil line pan but what about with the bacon on a rack?
I use the foil to catch the grease & for easy clean up. You don’t have to line the rack with foil.