How to Bake Bacon in the Oven
When in doubt, add bacon! And especially if it comes from the oven! If you don’t know how to bake bacon in the oven I can’t wait to help you learn!
I’m not sure where oven baked bacon has been all my life but the last several months we’ve been making it this way and I will never go back to making it in a skillet!
Will bacon splatter in the oven?
No! And this is exactly why I prefer this cooking method. When you cook bacon in a skillet you have splatters of hot grease coming at you while you are cooking it, and when it’s in the oven there is no splattering!
What pan do I use to bake bacon in the oven?
You must use a rimmed baking sheet. If you don’t you’ll have a lot of bacon grease all over your oven, and trust me, you don’t want that!
I recommend a large baking sheet, preferably a 14×20. If you don’t have one that large a 11×16 will work as well but there is a chance you won’t be able to fit all your bacon on one baking sheet depending on how much bacon you are cooking.
Recipe Notes
- Line the rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Some people recommend foil, but I personally think parchment paper is easier to clean up. I wait for the grease to cool down and harden a bit and then fold up each side and then place directly in the trashcan.
- Do not to overlap the bacon on the pan. If it overlaps you’ll end up with pieces of the bacon that won’t be cooked thoroughly.
- When removing the hot bacon from the oven BE CAREFUL not to spill the grease because it will be hot! Immediately transfer the bacon using tongs to a plate lined with a paper towels to soak up the excess grease.
Why I prefer oven baked bacon
- I don’t love it when my house smells like bacon for hours and cooking it in the oven helps the aroma of bacon not overtake the house all day!
- It’s crispier and so much yummier. Seriously, I’m not sure exactly why it tastes so much better but it does!
- It’s quicker! When you make bacon in the skillet you are standing there for a while… when it’s cooking in the oven you can prepare the rest of your breakfast, such as my homemade sausage patties, while it’s cooking!
- No splattering! You don’t have to deal with hot bacon grease while cooking because it’s in the oven and it’s not splattering in there either!
How to Bake Bacon in the Oven
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. I use a 14×20 baking sheet
- Place bacon in a single layer and do not overlap.
- Cook for approximately 18-22 minutes.Cook less for less crispy bacon, cook more for more crispy bacon.
- Carefully remove baking sheet from the oven, be careful not to spill grease.
- Transfer cooked bacon onto a plate lined with paper towels.
- Allow grease to cool down and then you can easily throw away parchment paper.
