Learn How to Cook Bacon in the Oven for perfectly crispy baked bacon every time in your oven. This fool-proof no-mess alternative to skillet fried bacon on the stovetop is a time and energy saver with no more splatters! Plus, it’s Whole30, Keto, Paleo and Low Carb!
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Easy Oven Baked Bacon
Bacon is both full of flavor and versatile – you can add it as a savory side to breakfast egg muffins or crumble it on top of a low-carb, Keto Cobb salad.
With bacon, your options are endless. Simply put, bacon makes everything better. Lucky for us and our healthy lifestyle, it’s gluten-free, low-carb, Keto friendly, and you can find Whole30 compliant brands, too!
Why Make Bacon in the Oven Instead of a Skillet?
While many people love crispy bacon, most of us don’t love making it in a skillet. Making bacon in a skillet can be quite messy and cumbersome. There’s always grease splatter and it requires a constant watching eye.
By contrast, baking your bacon in the oven is so easy. It frees up your hands for other needs and keeps the stove-top clean and grease-free.
You may be wondering if oven baked bacon will be as crispy as skillet cooked bacon. Not only can it be crispy, it will also cook more evenly. I’ve got a secret for super crispy oven baked bacon and I’ll share it below!
Once you start cooking bacon in the oven, you will never go back to the skillet again. It’s the best way to make bacon and the easiest! And if you have an air fryer, be sure to check out our air fryer bacon post that is just as easy too! Cooking bacon in the air fryer keeps your oven and stove off in the summer so you don’t have to heat up the house.
Tools for Making Oven Baked Bacon
To make your perfectly cooked oven bacon, you’ll need a few tools.
- We use both aluminum foil and parchment paper to avoid splatter and easier clean-up
- You’ll also want to grab a large rimmed baking pan. If you are looking for crispier bacon, you’ll need your oven-safe cookie rack / wire rack that fits inside your baking pan.
- Finally, you’ll need a paper towel lined plate for transferring your cooked bacon.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
To make delicious oven baked bacon, I use Whole30 compliant bacon. My favorite options are ButcherBox or Applegate No Sugar Uncured bacon.
- Prepare: First, you’ll need to set your oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with foil. This makes for much easier clean-up.
- For Crispier Bacon: If you’ll be using a wire rack for crispier bacon , place it on top of the baking sheet. Otherwise place a large parchment paper on top of the foil.
- Arrange Bacon: Place your bacon in a single layer onto your wire rack or lined baking sheet. Make sure your bacon slices don’t overlap.
- Bake: Place your baking sheet in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until desired crispiness. For even cooking, rotate the pan half-way through. Remember, cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the bacon.
- Drain: Remove your pan from the oven and use tongs to transfer your bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. This will absorb any excess grease. Your bacon will continue to crisp up as it cools.
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Tips for How to Cook the Best Oven Baked Bacon
- choose a high quality nitrate-free bacon – Our favorite brands include: ButcherBox, AppleGate and TruLocal
- if you like chewier bacon – choose thinner cuts of bacon
- for perfectly crisp bacon – choose thicker cuts of bacon
- use a baking sheet with a rimmed edge to prevent grease from dripping out
- drain your baked bacon on a paper towel-lined plate
- save the leftover bacon grease (bacon drippings) for cooking. We call that pure gold and usually pour the leftover fat into a glass jar to add extra flavor.
How Long Do You Cook Bacon in the Oven?
We bake my bacon for 15 to 20 minutes. This time varies depending on the thickness of my bacon cut. We also opt to rotate the pan at about the 8 to 10 minute mark for more even cooking.
What is the Best Temperature for Baking Bacon?
I’ve found that 400°F is the best temperature for cooking bacon in the oven. At 400F, bacon cooks relatively quickly and also develops my ideal level of crispness. If you’d like to use a lower temperature, you’ll also want to increase the bake time. I wouldn’t recommend going any higher than 400F as the chance of burning will also increase.
How to Store Leftover Bacon
Leftover cooked bacon can be refrigerated for up to 1 week in an airtight container or resealable bag. Bacon can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat Leftover Bacon
To reheat precooked bacon, we put it on low in a skillet for Bacon and Eggs or you can simply use at room temperature in a salad.
What to serve with crispy bacon
Besides having bacon for breakfast with eggs and toast, why not chop some up and add it to this Breakfast Casserole, add it to these Breakfast Tacos, Sweet Potato Hash or even this delicious Shakshuka.
More bacon recipes:
Keto Sunny-Side Up Eggs and Bacon
Learn How to Cook Bacon in the Oven for perfectly cooked bacon every time. This fool-proof no-mess alternative to skillet fried bacon is a time and energy saver!
- 12 slices *bacon
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with foil (makes for easier clean-up).
If using, place a wire rack on top of the baking sheet, otherwise place a large parchment paper on top of the foil.
Arrange bacon in a single layer onto wire rack or lined baking sheet, making sure not to overlap.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until desired crispiness desired, rotating pan half-way through. The time will vary depending on the thickness of the bacon.
Remove pan from oven and use tongs to transfer bacon on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess grease. Bacon will crisp up as it cools.
naomi -
Very easy recipe! my bacon came out perfectly. thanks.