How To Cook Bacon In The Oven Step By Step

What could be better than a delicious pan of crispy bacon? Apparently, the average American eats 18 pounds of bacon every year. While bacon is a staple in the American diet, it can be a pain to cook, especially when you have to clean up afterward. From splattering bacon grease all over the stove to disposing of the leftover bacon grease, you might wonder if the delicious taste of bacon is worth all the mess. One solution to this is learning how to cook bacon in the oven.

After you try cooking bacon in the oven, you might never cook bacon on the stove again! Cooking it in the oven provides you with all the crispiness of fried bacon but without the mess. If this is the first time you’re trying it, we’ll first dive into some tips for cooking the perfect bacon in the oven.

Tips for Cooking Bacon in the Oven

While bacon purists might say that cooking bacon in the oven isn’t the same as frying it in a pan, if you’ve never tried it before, you’ll find that the crispiness of the bacon is remarkably similar when you cook it this way. Cooking bacon in the oven can give you the same crispy bacon with a lot less hassle.

If you’re cooking bacon in the oven for the first time, here are some tips:

• Use a double layer of aluminum foil
  For the easiest cleanup, use a double layer of aluminum foil. With a second layer, it keeps grease from soaking through and covering your baking sheet. It also makes it simple to clean up afterward.
• Check the bacon at the minimum time to see if it’s ready
  How long the bacon takes to cook will depend on your oven and how crispy you want the bacon to be. 400 degrees F should suffice, but you may need to cook it for longer than the minimum time if you like your bacon super crispy.
• For the most even cooking, rotate the pan halfway through
  Depending on the type of oven you’re using, you may need to turn the pan halfway through. If you’re using a convection oven, it will cook more evenly.
• Store the bacon grease for later
  While cleaning up and disposing of the bacon grease is a breeze with this method, you still have the option of storing the bacon grease for later if you choose. It’s not difficult to pour the grease from the foil into a jar or other storage container.

Cooking perfect bacon in the oven is simple and easy, even if you’ve never done it before. Let’s take a look at how to cook bacon in the oven step by step. 

Preheat Your Oven to 400 Degrees F

The first step is preheating the oven. 400 degrees F should suffice whether you’re using regular-cut bacon or thick-cut bacon. However, the bake time may vary depending on your oven and what level of crispiness you prefer.

Additionally, if you’re using a convection oven or your oven has a convection setting, this will help ensure the bacon cooks evenly. Without this setting, you may need to flip the pan around halfway through the cooking time.

Line a Large Baking Sheet With Aluminum Foil

While you can choose to bake bacon in the oven without lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil, this is the part that makes clean-up so easy. Instead of worrying about getting the bacon grease off a skillet, you can simply grab the foil from each end and fold it up to easily dispose of it.

You’re usually better off adding a double layer of foil to keep the grease from soaking through. If you don’t have any aluminum foil, you can also use parchment paper. Some state that the bacon is more likely to stick to the aluminum foil, but you can spray the foil ahead of time to prevent sticking.

If you choose to use parchment paper, double-check that it’s parchment paper, not wax paper, since wax paper isn’t safe for oven use.

Lay Your Bacon Slices on the Foil

One of the benefits of cooking bacon in the oven instead of in a skillet is you can cook more bacon at once. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you may even be able to bake an entire pack of bacon in one go.

To allow the bacon to cook evenly, try not to overcrowd the baking sheet. You can use two baking sheets both lined with foil if necessary.

Cook the Bacon Between 15 to 20 Minutes

The time it takes to cook your bacon will depend on two factors: how well your oven heats and how crispy you like your bacon. If you prefer really crispy bacon, it may take closer to 20 minutes. 

However, to prevent your bacon from burning, be sure to check it after 15 minutes and reset the timer if necessary. Once you get a feel for how long it takes to create the desired amount of crisp in your oven, you can set the timer for that specific amount of time next time you cook up some bacon.

Remove the Bacon From the Oven

Once your bacon is crispy enough, it’s time to remove it from the oven! There’s nothing quite like the delicious aroma of bacon spreading throughout your house. Be careful when you remove it from the oven since the bacon grease will be incredibly hot.

After you’ve removed your baking sheet, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel so that the bacon can dry. It’s not necessary to transfer it to a cooling rack since it doesn’t impact the crispiness of the bacon and letting it dry on a paper towel-lined plate should suffice.

Cooking Perfectly Crispy Bacon in the Oven

There are few things more delicious than fresh, crispy bacon. But for many, it doesn’t seem worth the hassle or mess to fry it. The solution to this problem is cooking delicious crispy bacon in the oven. When you bake it long enough, it can be just as crispy and is much less hassle.

Cooking it in the oven also makes cleanup a breeze since you can simply remove the aluminum foil and dispose of the grease without having to worry about cleaning the grease off a pan. Next time you’re concerned about the mess you might make while you cook bacon, try cooking it in the oven instead.

Best Bacon Recipes

• Bacon Macaroni and Cheese with Smoked Sausage and Applewood Bacon
• Southwest Bacon Burgers
• Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta
• Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Bites
• Bacon and Cheese Quiche

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com.