How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Baking bacon in the oven has never been more easy or delicious. This simple ‘cooking bacon in the oven’ technique gives you light, crispy, buttery slices of bacon without all the mess. 

I love cooking bacon in the oven. Whether you’re cooking it up for a crowd, meal prepping for the week or just wanting a few slices for a salad recipe, baking bacon in the oven is the simplest technique, resulting in perfectly cooked bacon every time! Whenever I make this, my kids go bananas over it. It never ceases to impress. Whether you’re looking for chewy, crispy, or somewhere-in-the-middle bacon, this is the method for you! We are big fans of ‘somewhere in the middle’ and love the buttery, crispy texture this recipe yields.

Bacon in the Oven

You can cook bacon in the oven using one of two methods:

Elevated on a Rack – Baking bacon on a rack will take a little more time to cook because it’s elevated and not frying directly in the grease, but it is easier to get a crispy and chewy texture.

Directly on the Baking Sheet – Placing your bacon directly on the baking sheet will be a quicker cooking time, but it will be harder to get that chewy and crispy, middle of the road texture.

I prefer baking bacon on racks, even though it results in more dishes. Be sure to get my tip for easy clean up below!

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

1. Start out by lining a baking sheet with foil and place it in a cooling rack or two. Lightly spray the rack with cooking spray (for easy clean up) and set aside. Be sure to use a baking sheet with sides! This bacon gives off a lot of greases that you don’t want on your oven floor. Yuck!
2. Next, grab your bacon of choice, open and line onto your prepared racks. Regular sliced bacon is all about the same thickness, so the cooking times should only vary slightly, based on your oven. Of course, thick-cut bacon will take more baking time.

3. Once your bacon is lined up and ready to go, pop into a 425-degree oven and bake 15-18 minutes or until it’s to your desired texture. Like I mentioned above, every oven varies slightly, so start checking at 15 minutes and keep a watchful eye.
4. Pull your bacon out of the oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Maybe 2 minutes or so. If you placed your bacon directly onto the baking sheet, you’ll want to drain the bacon on paper towels before serving. If you used a rack for baking bacon, the paper towel trick isn’t necessary.

Pro tip: If you’re wanting to amp up your breakfast, brunch or this simple bacon in the oven situation, brush some maple syrup onto your bacon slices in the last two minutes of cooking. Makes for a sweet and savory treat! If you don’t have any maple syrup, you can try a light sprinkling of brown sugar as well.

How long do you cook bacon in the oven?

• 15 to 18 minutes at 425 degrees for slightly chewy and slightly crispy bacon.
• 18 to 2o minutes at 425 degrees for mostly crispy bacon.

Easy Clean-Up

If you have followed me online for any amount of time, you know I hate dishes with a passion. So, any time I can take a few short cuts to make my life easier, I take them! Here are a few tips for making your life easier when cleaning up after baking bacon in the oven.

1. Line your baking sheets with foil.
2. Spray your baking racks with nonstick spray.
3. After your bacon is finished cooking, let everything cool completely; all the grease will solidify.
4. Transfer the baking racks to the dishwasher.
5. Remove the foil and throw away.
6. Using paper towels, wipe away any excess grease from the pan and throw away.
7. Wash the baking sheet with hot soapy water.

If you are one wanting to save the bacon grease, I would recommend pouring the warm (not hot!) grease into a glass jar. Store with the lid on in the refrigerator.

Delicious Bacon Recipes you will love:

• Strawberry Spinach Salad with Bacon
• Bacon Mushroom Risotto
• Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders
• Apple Pecan Salad with Bacon
• Honey Mustard Chicken Bake with Bacon

Have you ever cooked bacon in the oven before? Do you want to try this? If you end up making this in the near future, be sure to leave a comment! Was it better than the regular stovetop bacon? I’d love to get your feedback! Have a great day, friends!!

Print Pin It

5 from 6 votes

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Baking bacon in the oven has never been more easy or delicious. This simple 'cooking bacon in the oven' technique gives you light, crispy, buttery slices of bacon without all the mess. 

servings 10 slices bacon

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Ingredients

• ▢ 10 slices bacon

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sided baking sheet with foil and place cooling racks into the pan. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• Line bacon slices onto rack and bake 15-20 minutes, depending on the desired texture. Remove from oven, cool 2 minutes and serve warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 91kcal | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 43mg | Vitamin A: 10IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, bacon in the oven, how to cook bacon in the oven