• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Sign Up for Emails
  • Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Sides
    • Cocktails
  • Instagram
  • Contact
    • About
    • Work With Me
  • Privacy Policy

Basil And Bubbly logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Sign Up for Emails
  • Recipes
  • Find Recipe from Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

    February 23, 2021 Breakfast/Brunch

    How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

    • Share
    • Tweet
    • Email
    • Print

    Sick of grease splatters on your kitchen cabinets? Don't feel like babysitting breakfast? Yeah?! It's time to learn how to cook bacon in the oven.

    Jump to Recipe
    how to cook bacon in the oven

    This is the easiest way to cook bacon

    You don't need anything fancy. You'll even cook the bacon without a rack! Just need a sheet pan with a rim to catch the grease that will cook off, and some aluminum foil to make cleanup easy.

    how to cook bacon in the oven without foil?

    For some reason the anti-foil people always come at me. So if you like spending your time attacking food bloggers for not following your own personal code of foil ethics, or heck, maybe you are just out of foil ( it happens ), here is how you cook bacon in the oven without foil:

    Exactly the same way as if you were cooking bacon in the oven with foil: just don't use the foil. You can also use parchment paper if you'd like - it also reduces the mess and doesn't get the foil people angry.

    The REAL question here is "How do I clean up after cooking bacon without foil or parchment paper?"

    how long to cook bacon in the oven

    After you've followed the directions below and have removed your bacon from the pan, allow the pan to sit out on the counter, away from a heat source. The bacon fat will solidify as it comes to room temperature. Once this happens, use a spatula to scrape all of the grease into a mason jar (the right way), or into the trash (the way that makes Southerners cry.)

    You're now left with a pan that is still greasy, but not nearly as hard to clean as if you'd started with liquid grease. Proceed with washing it at this point just like you would a normal pan. Your kitchen pipes will thank you.

    bacon cooked in oven with foil
    how to cook bacon in the oven without making a mess

    how to cook bacon in the oven without making a mess

    The oven baked bacon cooking process is inherently less messy than other methods of cooking bacon. The easiest way to reduce any residual mess is to use a pan much larger than your bacon, so that any splatters are more likely to be caught on the pan and not in a firey ball at the bottom of your oven.

    do you have to flip bacon in the oven?

    Nope! Just let it do its thing without flipping. Depending on how even your oven heat is, you may want to rotate the pan during the cooking process to make sure all of the pieces cook at the same rate.

    baked bacon in oven

    how long should bacon be cooked in the oven?

    A few things determine how long to cook bacon in the oven:

    • thickness of the bacon
    • temperature of the oven
    • the pieces of bacon themselves ( how much fat, how it was cut, how was it cured/not cured, etc )

    For instance, the time it takes to cook thick bacon in the oven at 350 F, is of course going to be different than how long it takes to make thin bacon in the oven at 425 F.

    The cooking times below are guidelines, not hard rules. Your oven may also play a part! So start checking the bacon for a nice brown color at the lower bound of the ranges given, and if it's still not as cooked as you'd like it at the upper bound, don't be afraid to add another minute or two.

    Bacon will continue to crisp up once it is removed from the oven! I like to remove my bacon from the oven when it is JUST shy of being my perfect crispiness, and then it's perfect after it drains for a minute or two out of the oven.

    Cooking times and temperatures for thick bacon:

    • 450 F, 15-20 minutes
    • 425 F, 18-25 minutes
    • 400 F, 22-28 minutes
    • 375 F, 25-30 minutes
    • 350 F, 28-33 minutes

    Cooking times and temperatures for regular to thin bacon:

    • 450 F, 10-15 minutes
    • 425 F, 13-18 minutes
    • 400 F, 15-21 minutes
    • 375 F, 18-25 minutes
    • 350 F, 22-28 Minutes
    how to cook bacon in the oven

    How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

    A complete guide to making bacon in the oven. Please reference the post for complete directions and timetables for making different thicknesses of bacon.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Breakfast, Brunch
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: bacon
    Prep Time: 2 minutes
    Cook Time: 24 minutes
    Total Time: 26 minutes
    Servings: 12 strips

    Ingredients

    • 12 slices thick cut bacon Applewood smoked is my favorite

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 425° F.
      Prepare a large rimmed sheet pan by lining it with foil. Make sure to wrap the foil up and over the edges of the rims of the pan to catch all the drippings.
      Prepare a space to drain the cooked bacon by layering paper towels on a plate. ( see Note )
    • Arrange the uncooked bacon strips in a single layer on the pan.
    • Place the pan in the preheated oven and cook for a total of 24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through to account for any uneven heat in the oven.
      You do NOT need to flip the bacon slices as they cook.
    • Remove the pan from the oven.
      Using tongs, carefully remove the strips of bacon from the hot pan and place them on the paper towels to drain off any excess grease.
      Let the bacon drain and cool off for a minute or two, or until it is safe to the touch.
      Serve!

    Notes

    Note about using paper towels:   bacon is super greasy and can ruin your kitchen towels with grease.  If you don't use paper towels, some good alternatives are:
    •  a dedicated grease towel ( keeping in mind washing this towel does pose some hazards to your plumbing)
    • a paper grocery bag - still disposable but at least giving something a second life before disposing 
    • a metal rack - let the grease drop off of the bacon instead of being sopped up by something absorbent 
    Tried this recipe?Mention @basilandbubbly or tag #basilandbubbly!
    « Boiled Lobster Tails with Garlic Lemon Butter
    Air Fryer Fried Oreos »

    Reader Interactions

    Please share your thoughts on this recipe! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Heyyyyyyy!

    My name is Marianne, and I'm two parts food, one part booze, and a dash of snark. I live in Atlanta, GA with my two cats. My personal motto: Champagne and stretchy pants. Sign up for my mailing list to keep up with the new and seasonal recipes!

    as seen in

    Recent Posts

    • Pineapple Infused Vodka (Stoli Doli)
    • Roasted Peruvian Chicken with Aji Verde
    • Air Fryer Onions
    • Espresso Martini
    • Buffalo Shrimp Tacos

    Most Popular

    Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese

    Perfect Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese

    air fryer sweet potato fries

    Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

    Sweet Potato Casserole Bites

    Sweet Potato Casserole Bites

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Copyright© 2023 · Cookd Pro by Shay Bocks