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For a hand’s off, no-mess method, learn How to Cook Bacon in the Oven. Set the bacon on a rack to ensure air circulates evenly without flipping the bacon, and set the rack on a baking sheet with foil to minimize your cleanup.
Meggan’s notes
If you don’t already know this trick, cooking bacon in the oven might be the best thing you’ll learn all year. And yes, even if you’re a diehard cast-iron skillet user, you can bake bacon strips in the oven.
You’ll be so impressed with how much more bacon fits on a sheet tray than in a pan, that once you try it, you’ll never go back to anything else.
Why oven-cooked bacon wins:
- Quantity of bacon: You can cook bigger batches of bacon slices in an oven compared to a stovetop or an air fryer.
- Less mess: Confine your bacon grease to the oven instead of letting it splatter all over the stove. I always line my rimmed baking sheet with foil, too, to make clean-up a breeze. This also means fewer grease burns on your arms and hands.
- No flipping: Oven-cooked bacon is hand’s free. Once you get it in the oven, you don’t have to flip it (unlike stove-top bacon which needs to be flipped at least once, likely more frequently).
- Even cooking: The oven gives a nice, consistent heat, and the wire rack ensures even circulation for your desired level of crispiness.
There are so many delicious ways to enjoy cooked bacon (besides straight off the rack, that is!). Try Potato Skins, Quiche Lorraine, Bacon Cheeseburgers, Macaroni Salad, a Classic Wedge Salad, or BLT Pasta Salad.
Table of Contents
Ingredient notes
- Bacon: These recipes work for all bacon: regular bacon, thick-cut bacon, turkey bacon, cured or uncured bacon. The cook time will very between regular and thick-cut bacon, though.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy clean up. Set a rack on top if using. Arrange the bacon in a single layer.
- Bake until bacon is cooked to your desired doneness (start checking at 10 minutes; I usually bake it for about 15 minutes).
- Remove from oven and drain on paper towels.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: 1 pound of regular bacon usually has 16 slices, enough for 8 servings, 2 slices each. Thick-cut bacon will have 10-12 slices per pound.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Add cooked bacon slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then, transfer to a freezer-safe bag, label, date, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat right from the freezer (in the microwave, a skillet, or air fryer).
- Keep the fat: Store bacon grease in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 months or freeze it indefinitely. Personally, I like to strain the warm grease through a fine-mesh sieve before I pour it into the jar, but you don’t have to.
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How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon (see note 1)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy clean up. Set a rack on top if using.
- Arrange the bacon in a single layer. Bake until bacon is cooked to your desired doneness (start checking at 10 minutes; I usually bake it for about 15 minutes). Remove from oven and drain on paper towels.
Notes
- Bacon: These recipes work for all bacon: regular bacon, thick-cut bacon, turkey bacon, cured or uncured bacon. The cook time will very between regular and thick-cut bacon, though.
- Yield: 1 pound of regular bacon usually has 16 slices, enough for 8 servings, 2 slices each. Thick-cut bacon will have 10-12 slices per pound.
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.