Cook Perfectly Crispy Bacon Every Single Time
Posted: 07/14/2020Updated: 06/29/2021
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If you want to Cook Perfectly Crispy Bacon Every Single Time, you have to bake it! It’s as simple as that. Follow these basic instructions to bake your bacon and make cleanup a breeze.
If you’re gonna have bacon, its gotta be crispy bacon
I love bacon. I especially love perfectly crispy bacon If you follow me on Instagram, you definitely already know that. If it’s not crispy I am not interested.
And you probably also know that I catch a lot of flack for posting bacon as frequently as I do. I get all kinds of comments like, “good luck with your bacon cancer!” Yikes!
Beyond the angry comments I get lots of comments asking me how I make my crispy bacon. The short answer is that I bake it.
I never cook it in a frying pan unless I know I am going to immediately use the grease for cooking. The long answer is detailed here so that you can also make crispy bacon.
Check out these other delicious breakfast recipes
- How Long to Cook Hard Boiled Eggs
- Paleo Breakfast Meal Prep
- Cheeseburger Breakfast Casserole
- Chocolate Cherry Chia Seed Pudding
Bake your bacon in the oven! It’s as simple as that.
I have to give my older brother all of the credit for opening my eyes to the magic of baked bacon. It makes the bacon perfectly crispy every single time. Which is a huge cooking win!
The other plus of cooking bacon in the oven is the clean up. When you cook bacon in a pan the grease can splash around and dirty the kitchen. Then you need to find a way to dispose of that grease.
I will say that there are times when it is necessary to cook bacon in a pan. I do this for my paleo breakfast meal prep so I can preserve the bacon grease to cook in. If I cook bacon in a frying pan, I always cook it slow and low.
You can bake a big batch of bacon at once for meal prep
The other thing I like about making perfectly crispy bacon in the oven is that I can make a big batch for meal prep. During my first Whole30 I realized that I could prep bacon ahead of time, store it in the fridge and then heat it up whenever I need it. I like reheating mine in a toaster oven.
Since I am baking my bacon I can easily make a full pack of bacon. I sometimes need to space the bacon out in more than one tray. If I am using more than one tray in the oven at a time, I just switch them out half way through cooking.
Of course, I usually have my bacon at breakfast time, but if it is prepped and in the fridge I like it at other times of day as well. I like to grab it as a quick snack on the go with some cheese. I also love to have a crispy piece of bacon crumbled over my salads.
Simplify clean up with baked bacon
I use this method every time I cook bacon, but it is particularly useful for meal prep! I just cook the bacon and transfer the strips to a paper towel lined plate. Then I save them in an airtight container in the fridge for the rest of the week.
I find clean up to be easier with this method because I catch my grease in my parchment and then toss it in the trash. All I have to do then is rinse out my baking sheet and I am good to go.
Keep reading to find the full instructions and be sure to tag me on Instagram in your images of perfectly cooked bacon so I can see them!
Recipe
Cook Perfectly Crispy Bacon Every Single Time
Bake your bacon in the oven for perfectly crispy bacon every single time.
Prep: 5 minutesCook: 20 minutesTotal: 25 minutes
Servings: Slices of bacon
Ingredients
- 1 pack of bacon about 12 slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Arrange the strips of bacon on the baking sheet – the strips can be very close, but try to not have them overlap
- Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes – I usually check mine at 15 and leave them cooking for the full 20 to be extra crispy
- Remove from the oven and enjoy!
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Joni says
This feels like such a simple recipe but it is a game changer! I hate frying bacon because of the mess it makes but this was so easy (to make AND to clean up). The bacon was perfectly crispy and delicious!
★★★★★
Madeline says
amazing!! I am so glad and feel the exact same way.
Nalley says
I work long hours and made this salad with some shortcut steps.
I purchased precooked bacon(i like the taste but not smell of bacon cooking) precut broccolli florets, and a rotisserie chicken from the deli. I added diced red onion to the salad and a 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. To the ranch dressing I added to minced garlic cloves and mixed well for added flavor.
Mary jane says
Best bacon ever never to fry again. Have 15 children 35 to 56 so at a brunch that’s one thing we need much of
★★★★★
Madeline says
oh yay!!
Ashley says
Wow this was really a game changer! I LOVE bacon. Love it. I grew up with microwaved bacon (don’t judge too harshly please), so I thought my pan-fried bacon was THE way to go. I was wrong. This was so easy to make a bunch at once, I didn’t have to keep watching it to make sure it doesn’t burn. Best of all – it was perfectly crisp and not even a little bit overcooked. This helped me make a batch to use in different recipes throughout the week. I don’t think I’ll go back to any other method after this. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Madeline says
YAY!! amazing
Sarah says
Such a time saver when making breakfast for more than one! Bacon comes out so good and just crispy enough. Would definitely recommend leaving in for the full 20 minutes (it was still a little soft at 15 for my oven)
★★★★★
Madeline says
Thanks for the review, Sarah!