How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Cooking bacon in the oven is easy and hassle free! Make enough deliciously crispy bacon for the whole family with this simple oven-baked bacon recipe. We’ll show you how to make perfect skillet cooked bacon too!

It’s a known fact: bacon makes everything better. I love it crumbled onto cheeseburger zucchini boats, baked into keto egg bites or all on its own with a helping of scrambled eggs on the side.

Why Cook Bacon in the Oven

Like most cooks, I first learned how to cook bacon on the stove. It’s not difficult, but it can be time consuming–especially if you’re cooking bacon for a crowd. It’s also incredibly messy, with splatters all over the stove, and me!

Once I learned how to cook bacon in the oven, it became my go-to method.

• Oven cooked bacon cooks evenly to crispy perfection!
• It creates less mess than stove top cooking.
• You can make LOTS of bacon at once.
• No flipping necessary!
• Hands off cooking method leaves you free to multi-task.

Sometimes though, you need to cook bacon in the microwave or on the stove top. I’ve got tips and tricks for all the cooking methods!

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Oven baked bacon couldn’t be any easier!

Pro Tip: If you’re using foil, make sure to put the non-stick side up.

1. Line a rimmed baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Make sure the baking sheet is rimmed to catch the bacon grease drippings!
2. Place bacon strips in the pan. For crispy, evenly baked bacon, make sure the bacon strips do not overlap. It’s okay if they touch.
3. Bake at 400 F. Bacon takes anywhere from 12 – 20 minutes to cook in the oven, depending on the thickness of the strips and how crispy you want it!
4. Drain the grease. When the bacon is cooked to your desired level of doneness, transfer it to paper towels to drain the excess grease before eating.

How to Cook Bacon in the Skillet

Oven cooking is the most practical choice for making larger batches of bacon. But if you only need a few strips for a meal, old-fashioned skillet cooking is the way to go.

In testing, we also noticed that the skillet cooked bacon was less greasy than the oven cooked version, although both were delicious.

1. Add bacon to a COLD skillet. This is important to allow the fat to render as the pan heats, creating flavorful bacon with crisped edges.
2. Cook. Once the bacon is added to the skillet, set the stove to medium-high. Cook until the bacon begins to lift off the skillet. Now use tongs to flip the bacon and cook on the second side until browned.
3. Drain. Transfer skillet cooked bacon to paper towels to remove excess grease. Serve and enjoy!

How to Cook Bacon in the Microwave

Let’s say you’re really short on time. Maybe you don’t feel like washing a skillet or baking dish. But you still want bacon!

Cooking bacon in the microwave is an easy hack that can save you time and energy if yo only need a few strips to add to a recipe.

1. Place bacon strips on a plate. Line a microwave safe plate with paper towels. This will absorb the excess grease from the bacon as it cooks. Place desired amount of bacon strips on top.
2. Cook. Microwave the bacon for 30 second to 1 minute per strip to desired doneness. Thinner strips will need less cooking time than thicker strips.

Microwaving bacon is my least favorite way to prepare it. While it does get crispy (and is still delicious because it’s BACON!) it will be dry without the shine of the other cooking methods.

Recipe FAQs

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How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes

Cooking bacon in the oven is easy and hassle free! Make enough deliciously crispy bacon for the whole family with this simple oven-baked bacon recipe. We'll show you how to make perfect skillet cooked bacon too!

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Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon
• Maybe some more bacon 🙂

Instructions

Oven Cooked Bacon

1. Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2. Place slices of bacon on baking sheet, spaced evenly. They can touch but shouldn’t overlap.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes until bacon is cooked to desired doneness.
4. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the extra grease after cooking.

Skillet Cooked Bacon

1. Place strips of bacon in a large skillet.  They can touch, but should not overlap.
2. Cook bacon over medium high heat until the bacon begins to lift off the skillet and can be easily flipped.
3. Using tongs, flip bacon uncooked side down. Continue to cook until the bacon has browned, is crispy, and is no longer translucent.
4. Transfer the strips of bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.

Microwave Cooked Bacon

1. Line a microwave safe plate with a double layer of paper towels.
2. Place bacon strips in a single layer. They can be touching but should not overlap.
3. Place another layer of paper towels on top of the bacon.
4. Cook on high for 30 seconds - 1 minute per slice of bacon, depending on desired doneness. The longer the bacon is cooked, the crispier it will be.

Notes

Oven Cooked Bacon

• The length of baking will depend on the thickness of bacon and the desired doneness. Start checking the bacon at 12 minutes (for thin strips) and 15 (for thick strips).
• No need to flip the bacon.
• If cooking on foil, be sure to put the “non-stick” side up. And after cooking, carefully remove the bacon because it can still stick to the surface of the foil.

Skillet Cooked Bacon

Start with a cold skillet. Heating the skillet before adding the bacon will result in the bacon being cooked in less fat and resulting in bacon that isn’t crispy.

Cooking bacon on the stovetop is a good method for a smaller number of servings.

Microwaving Bacon

Cooking time depends on thickness of bacon and desired doneness, but is around 30 seconds - 1 minute per slice of bacon. Example: If you are cooking 4 slices of bacon, your cooking time will be somewhere between 2 minutes for less done bacon and 4 minutes for bacon that is crispy.

Check the bacon at the least amount of time recommended to see how it’s cooking and adjust additional cooking time from there.

Be careful when removing the plate from the microwave as it will be hot from being in there for a lengthy amount of time. Use potholders to protect from burns.

Test was done with 2 and 4 strips of bacon. This method is recommended for a smaller batch - either one or two servings. 4 strips was the most I could get on a large dinner plate. If more reader is preparing more than 4 strips, I would recommend a different cooking method. The 2 strips took 1:30 for crispy and the 4 strips took 3:30.

Least favorite of all the methods. Microwave bacon was crispy, but DRY. No savory shine of fat. It is the least messy, as it contains the grease with all the paper towels. But if someone isn’t in a pinch for time and doesn’t mind washing a pan or skillet, I would recommend one of the other methods.

Storage for all cooked bacon: Cooked bacon will keep in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 4 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 2 slices
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 354Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 1273mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 26g

Knowing how to make bacon in the oven, the skillet and even the microwave means you’re always ready to add more satisfying flavor to your meals. Bacon is always a good idea!