The method for baking bacon in the oven is much easier than frying it up in a pan. With oven-baked bacon slices, the strips come out straight and crispy. Plus, there’s no standing at the stove with grease splattering everywhere!
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Who doesn’t love the delicious taste of crispy bacon?
It’s such a great addition to recipes like my bacon cheeseburger casserole and my grilled cabbage steaks.
I absolutely hate the mess that results from frying the strips in a pan. The hot grease splatters everywhere and it seems I’m cleaning up for years after.
Plus, I end up spending a long time standing at the cooktop because the whole package never fits in one frying pan. Or, if I try to squeeze too much in, the bacon gets all shriveled.
Baking bacon in the oven solves all these issues! If you have not tried this cooking method, you must give it a try. You'll get perfect bacon every time with easy cleanup!
Cooking bacon in the oven is the easiest way to cook a lot of bacon at once! The best part is that a whole package can be cooked at once with less mess and better results.
Instructions
Here is the method for baking bacon plus a bunch of helpful tips, along with some questions people have asked about how to bake bacon in the oven.
Please note: Check out the recipe card at the bottom for a full list of steps used to make this low-carb recipe.
Place On A Large Baking Sheet
When cooking bacon in the oven, all you have to do is to lay the pieces out on an oven-safe cooling rack in a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or cookie sheet. Parchment paper can be used as a liner as well to catch the bacon fat.
I just use two standard-sized rimmed jellyroll pans. Then, I put wire baking cooling racks on top. A full package of bacon fits nicely on the two pans.
Because you use a wire rack, the strips are raised up while cooking, so they don’t get soaked in bacon grease. And, you don’t even need to flip the bacon once!
For the best results, arrange the strips in a single layer so they aren’t overlapping.
Oven Temperature
It’s best to bake bacon between 375°F and 425°F, but a temperature of 350°F should work too. It just takes longer to cook with a lower temperature. For crispy strips, it’s better to go with a higher temperature.
There’s also no need to pre-heat the oven. Of course, it does take a few more minutes to cook in a cold oven. However, the meat does cook as the oven heats up.
Bake Until It Is Crispy
Now that you know the cooking temp, how long do you bake bacon in the oven? The exact baking time depends on a few different things – the temperature of the oven and the thickness of the bacon.
To determine the cooking time, you can use the following times as a guide when baking in a preheated oven.
- 350°F: 23-27 minutes
- 375°F: 20-24 minutes
- 400°F: 18-22 minutes
- 425°F: 16-20 minutes
If the oven is not pre-heated, about 5 minutes should be added to each time range. And thick-cut bacon may need to be cooked longer.
FAQs
Before we get to the recipe card just a little further below, here are some questions people often ask.
Is baking bacon messy?
Unlike pan-frying, the grease doesn’t splatter everywhere while bacon cooks in the oven. Plus, most (if not all) of the grease should drip down from the rack into the baking sheet.
There’s very little cleanup after making baked bacon. You just have to pour off the grease in the pans and scrub down the racks. Even if using a dishwasher, it’s best to hand wash first.
How do you clean up after baking it?
You will need a good scrubber to wash the rack off. After the initial scrub, it’s best to run everything through the dishwasher because it’s the best way to clean the grease off.
To make cleanup even easier, you can line the pans with aluminum foil and make racks out of foil to lift the strips up. Then, when it’s all done, just toss the used foil in the garbage.
Is this really the best way to make bacon?
Once you give this cooking method a try, you’ll never go back to pan-frying. You may even want to have separate baking racks just to use for bacon. It really doesn’t get much easier than this.
The strips come out pretty flat and crispy when baking bacon in the oven. To make each one crispier, it’s best to blot up the grease on each strip with a paper towel.
Since learning this method, I use racks to cook anything wrapped in bacon like this chicken tenders recipe. It’s a great way to bake a lot of things instead of frying.
I love that the meat isn’t drowning in the grease. And, there’s less splattering mess as well. So, the food comes out nice and crisp on the outside.
Will fat drip off the sides of the pan?
Yes, this is a possibility. You do need to watch out for fat dripping off the sides of the pan. It may make a greasy and sticky mess on the bottom of the oven.
However, having some kind of catch pan underneath if the strips get too close to the edge can help. The other option is to just keep the strips away from the edges.
If you’re on a ketogenic diet, you’ll likely be eating lots of bacon. Some people have actually taken it to the extreme. Take a look at what happens when you eat only bacon for a month!
Related recipes
There’s a ton of recipes that call for cooked bacon. Here are some of my favorite keto-friendly recipes.
- Low Carb Breakfast Casserole can be prepared the day before and baked just before serving. It's great for holiday breakfasts!
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts Soup is a tasty way to eat your veggies. And roasting makes the vegetable slightly sweet.
- Bacon Ranch Chicken Crust Pizza is a nice change from the standard dough crust and red sauce.
- Southern Green Beans With Bacon is a staple side dish that is effortless to prepare.
- Bacon-Wrapped Egg Muffins are a fantastic grab-and-go breakfast food that fuels you first thing in the morning.
Follow us on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and INSTAGRAM for even more tasty keto-friendly recipes!
Recipe
Baking Bacon
Video
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Set cooling racks on top of jelly roll pans and spray lightly with non-stick spray.
- Arrange the bacon on racks in baking pan. Be careful not to overlap.
- Bake for about 20 minutes.
- Transfer cooked slices to paper towels to absorb excess grease.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Notes on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Copyright
© LowCarbYum.com - Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes. Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
Originally published January 2011 and updated with new information on July 13, 2021.
Sidney Patin
I oven fry bacon in a bacon pan lined with parchment paper, put the bacon right on the parchment paper, 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Put the bacon on a paper towel to degrease. No clean up. Just let the bacon grease cool in the pan, then lift the paper out the pan by its four corners and put in the garbage can. Wipe out the baking pan with a paper towel and put it back where it goes. No cleaning necessary. Learned from Martha Stewart.
Lisa MarcAurele
Thanks so much for sharing those tips!
lanadee
Cooking bacon in the oven way too long and, contrary to your review, does splatter the inside of the oven. I make bacon for a crew and waiting 20+ minutes for each pan takes WAY too long.
I prefer the microwave bacon dish (it lifts up the bacon out of the grease as well). I cover my bacon with a paper plate, cook 1 minute per strip and add a minute for good measure. It comes out perfectly flat and crispy and I then discard all the grease in an old coffee can. 🙂
Cheryl
At what temp do you bake it in the air fryer?
Lisa MarcAurele
You can try 400°F for ten minutes or so. You may also wan to flip the pieces halfway.
Ruth Finck
I now use my oven broiler pans instead of your method prefer this type.
Lisa MarcAurele
The broiler pans are usually a bit more non-stick as well.
Gina
I bake it on a cookie sheet but without the rack. I line it with either tin foil or parchment paper. Bake for about 10 min and then flip each piece. The bake another 10 min. Sometimes it can go another. 5 min. I find it cooks better in the grease. You can still save the grease then fold up the tin foil and toss out. Parchment can go straight into the green bin. Pan isn't even dirty. I pat the strips with paper towels and store in a zip lock in the freezer. Zap as needed.
Lisa MarcAurele
Thanks for sharing your method Gina!
Sandy
I have tried twice to bake my bacon and both times my smoke alarms went off and smoke filled my kitchen. I place the pan of water on bottom rack also. Did not help!
I have made sure bacon stays on the rack also. Help what am I doing wrong? Is it better to put it in a cold oven? Lower temp?
Lisa
Recently, I've had the same issue. I think it's just a problem with the grease coming out while baking as I always put it in a cold oven. I'm not sure if a lower temp would help, but it's worth a try.
Connie Cordova
I cook my bacon in the oven like suggested BUT I twist it first (fits 1# easily on the pan/rack) AND I cook it at 300º for about an hour. Actually, I put in the oven when I get up at 0500 (early riser, go figure!) put it in a cold oven heat it to 300º turn it off after an hour and let it sit in the oven until we are ready to eat it. NO smoke ever and our bacon is crispy and delicious...no burned pieces...
Karen Hall
My husband has been doing this for some time. He did find (on Amazon) a rack which exactly fits the large jelly roll pan. If not using it immediately, you can just slightly undercook it, store in frig in a zip lock bag, and then briefly microwave to complete the cooking. We also save the bacon grease for cooking.
Lisa
Great tip for reheating later!
Betsy
To make cleanup even easier, once bacon is cooked and grease is poured out (of course I save the grease for cooking), then I put the rack back into the pan upside down and fill the pan with hot soapy water and let soak for a while.
Lisa
Great tip!
Lee Ann
I use the grill pan, rub it down with coconut oil, and bake at 375--time varies due to thickness of bacon...flip once, have no smoke, and clean up is real easy as the coconut oil keeps the bacon from sticking! Plus I have added fat and flavor when I save the bacon grease for cooking!
Bruna C.O.
I couldn't agree more!
It's a lot easyer! We don't ususally have smoke detectors at houses here in Brazil, so that's not a problem hahaha !!!
But I haven't notice smoke in my oven!!
A good tip is to store the grease in the refrigerator, and you can use it to other recipes!
=)
The other day I did a "baconnaise"! I used only bacon grease ant thought the taste was too strong, but my husband and my uncle liked it! I think next time I'll try with half bacon grease and half coconnut!
Thanks Lisa!
Lisa
Love the idea of baconnaise! It's such a great fat to add to other things.
Robyn
I was concerned about the smoke as well. I bake mine at 375° for 25 minutes. No smoke.
Lisa
My husband likes his well done so 400°F works best for us.
IDontCook
Would be a good idea if it didn't make my oven smoke like a chimney. Yes I put a cookie sheet under the bacon. Yes I covered it in tinfoil for good measure. Yes my smoke alarms went off. Yes I gave up with 6 minutes to go because I had that much smoke coming out. Just fry it for heaven's sake.
Lisa
I've had my smoke alarm go off a couple times, but it was when the bacon hung over the side and dripped down. I still prefer this method to frying because I can cook a lot more without having to stand and watch while it cooks.