How to Cook Bacon in the Oven Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does bacon take to cook in the oven? ›

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on 2 aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheets, or, for extracrispy bacon, arrange on 2 wire racks set over 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets. Bake until the bacon is browned and starts to ripple, or to desired doneness, 10 to 20 minutes.

Bacon should be cooked at 400°F.

Medium-thick bacon slices will need 18 to 20 minutes to reach the perfect level of crispiness. But check the bacon at 10 minutes, and adjust your cooking time to your preferred degree of doneness.

Nope! You don't have to flip it while cooking. You just lay the bacon on a baking sheet, stick it in the oven, and set a timer. The strips of bacon bubble away in the oven (no splattering!) and gradually become the crispy, golden-hued, irresistible bacon we know and love.

We recommend baking bacon at 400 degrees F. For most recipes, you'd wait for the oven to preheat before you start baking. When baking bacon, however, we suggest sliding the sheet pan into the cold oven so the bacon sits inside as the oven comes to temperature.

Regular, thin-cut bacon will typically bake in 12 minutes at 400 degrees F. If you want it extra crispy, you can let it bake a little longer, but keep a close eye on it. For Thick-Cut Bacon. Thicker bacon will take 14 to 20 minutes, depending upon your thickness and how crisp you would like it to be.

Here's what you need if you want to cook bacon in the oven

Parchment paper or aluminum foil – aluminum foil will make your cleanup a bit easier because you can completely cover the pan. But parchment paper works too if you have an aversion to aluminum foil. I've made it plenty of times both ways.

You can cook a few slices in a skillet or the microwave, but when cooking a big batch, the oven is the surefire way to go. This method is almost entirely hands-off and results in perfectly crispy, chewy, evenly-cooked bacon.

A baking sheet or parchment paper? The best way to cook bacon in the oven is on parchment paper because it allows for an easy cleanup. Once you're done and it's cooled down, simply roll all that grease up into the center of the parchment paper and throw it away!

Instructions to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Place a large piece of aluminum foil on your baking sheet or sheet pan, use enough that you can wrap it over the rim of the baking sheet because this will prevent grease from leaking onto the pan.

Why add water when cooking bacon? ›

The addition of water keeps the initial cooking temperature low and gentle, so the meat retains its moisture and stays tender as the fat renders. Plus, since the water helps render the fat, there will be significantly less splatter as your bacon finishes in the pan.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the bacon slices on the baking sheet. Cook the bacon for 10 to 20 minutes or until it's as crispy as you'd like.

I top one or two rimmed baking sheet pans with sheets of parchment and a row of bacon slices, then bake them at 400°F for 15 minutes. It's just as simple and efficient as it was at the hotel.