Easy step by step photo instructions to cooking bacon in the oven. Nothing is better than great bacon. Now you can have bacon with no mess and minimal work.
Editor’s Note: Originally published October 8, 2011. Updated with some updated text, re-edited photos, and dog photos.
How many times have you stood at the stove cooking bacon? You splatter everything including those annoying “burns” on your hands. It wrinkles and rolls up. You have a hard time getting the ends to uncurl and cook. And if you’re cooking for company, you are missing all the action.
Well, I here to tell you, it is not necessary. On to the tray and into the oven. You can preheat or not preheat. Done in about 20 minutes.
I initially thought the taste would be different if oven baked. Nope, it tastes the same.
My Rating
A five. How could great bacon be anything else?
Pro Tips: How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
What oven temperature to use to bake bacon?
400 degrees convection or 425 conventional oven is a good starting point, but you may use as low as 375 conventional to 425 convection if doing other cooking. Time will vary by oven temperature and thickness of the bacon used.
The general rule, of course, is convection runs 25 degrees “hotter” than conventional. So 400 degrees convection is considered equivalent to 425 degrees conventional.
If cooking other things in the same oven at the same time, I use the temperature recommended for what else I’m cooking: a coffee cake, an oven-baked pancake, etc.
I believe even 350 would be ok. Of course, adjust your time a little. You can also start with a cold oven and add a few minutes.
What type of bacon to use?
I usually use thick sliced Hormel Black Label bacon from Sam’s Club. I highly recommend this as one of the top bacon commonly available. But this will work with the bacon of your choice.
Thinner bacon will cook faster and does tend to stick more so parchment paper may be preferred to foil.
How long to cook bacon in the oven?
Most often this will be about 20 minutes. Your variables are the oven, the bacon, and finally, the crispiness you want.
The oven and bacon are discussed above. You have convention vs. conventional, the starting temperature and the actual temperature of the oven. And you have thin vs. thicker bacon.
Your done point is that it “looks done.” Don’t expect it to look different from pan-fried. I like my bacon very crispy, so I use 18-22 minutes depending on the oven and the bacon.
Variations in methods
To use a rack or not.
Many feel it will make the bacon crisper. I don’t seem to have that problem, so I don’t use a rack. They are a pain to clean vs. folding up the foil.
Foil vs. parchment paper.
Parchment paper will be less likely to stick. Another problem I don’t have. I like the foil since it will contain the fat and make cleanup a breeze.
As I have already said, thinner bacon tends to stick more to me, and parchment paper is probably preferred for thinner bacon. But “non-stick” foil is another option.
Some methods “wrinkled” the aluminum foil to get more wave in the bacon. I tried both methods, and I will stay “flat” since it still had some wave in it.
For comparison of several of these methods, please check The Pioneer Woman.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees convection. Or start with a cold oven and add a few minutes.
Line a sheet pan with a large sheet of aluminum foil (heavy-duty preferred) and turn up edges. Place bacon on sheet close together but not touching. 9-10 pieces will usually fit. If you are doing thinner bacon or have issues with sticking, then parchment paper may be a better choice for you.
Place in the middle of the oven for 18 minutes and come back to check. Time will vary with the thickness of the bacon and your taste.
It is done when it looks done. I like my bacon very crispy, so I use 20-22 minutes with thick bacon. Drain on paper towels.
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How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees convection. Or start with a cold oven and add a few minutes.
- Line a sheet pan with a large sheet of aluminum foil (heavy-duty preferred) and turn up edges. Place bacon on sheet close together but not touching. Up to 9-10 pieces usually fit. If you have issues with sticking or using thinner bacon, then parchment paper may be a better choice.
- Place in the middle of the oven. Do something else for 18 minutes and come back. Time will vary with the thickness of the bacon and your taste. It is done when it looks done. I like my bacon very crispy, so I use 20-22 minutes with thick bacon.
- Drain on paper towels and pat "dry" with another paper towel.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You do not have to preheat the oven. It just takes a bit longer.
- I have done this with oven temperatures of 350 to 425. With or without convention. Just adjust time some.
- Thinner bacon cooks much faster.
- Some bacon has more sugar and will tend to stick. See discussion in the post. Use a layer of parchment paper if you are unsure or have a problem.
- No flipping or rack is needed although some use them.
- It is done when it looks done to your taste.
Check Out Other Great Recipes
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Originally published October 8, 2011
Rosalina Villarruel
This is, hands down, the best way to cook bacon. Thanks for sharing a really helpful post on how to bake bacon the right way!
Web
Do you need to preheat the oven? A lot of people swear by starting with a cold oven, and then setting the oven to 400 F at the same time you put the bacon in. With this method, the bacon fat renders slowly and can result in evenly cooked bacon excellence. However, some ovens heat up much faster than others, so when you don t preheat it s more difficult for us to tell you how long to cook bacon in the oven since we re not at your house using your oven and eating your bacon. Try both methods next weekend and let us know which you prefer!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Web,
Welcome to the blog.
I don’t think it matters. I have done both and to me, the texture is the same.
The amount of time it takes to get to a specific temperature does vary A LOT. I have two ovens, both high-end things. One will preheat to 400 in 5 minutes if it uses rapid mode and 10 otherwise. The second take closer to 15 minutes but will brown bake cooks better.
I almost always use Black Label thick cut. I turn on oven #1 and spread the bacon on a tray. And is close to 400 when I put the trays in. But the cooking time still varies by 2-3 minutes. So even the “same” bacon cooks somewhat differently – it is a natural product.
I sometimes forget to flip the oven on and it will take 3-4 minutes longer is my sense of the timing for the faster oven. But the same even cooking and results overall, just a few minutes longer.
So either is fine. As with all meat cooking, you cook to the final endpoint you want and not by time.
Dan
KimarieSings
I made 6 slices of extra thick bacon in my counter top convection oven. Aluminum foil @ 400 deg for 20 minutes and I will NEVER go back to a frying pan again. Every slice was evenly cooked and crisp. No huge mess as far as splatters. Thank you for posting your method. It works wonderfully.
DrDan
Hi Kimarie,
Welcome to the blog.
It is so simple and glad it worked for you well in the countertop oven.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Cindi
This didn’t work for me at all – 425 degree oven, foil below & parchment above because I DID want to keep oven clean. It took much longer than 20 minutes for “crispy” & then only 2 strips of about 10 were actually crisp (both on 1 end of the pan). The rest was floppy & saturated w/ grease. Very disappointing & a waste of bacon.
DrDan
Hi Cindi,
Sorry you had issues with this. I have done this perhaps 50 times with no issue and it is fairly standard.
I’m thinking the parchment paper above the bacon probably was a contributing factor to the issue. The bacon do not need to be covered.
Dan
monti markell
Cindy, maybe covering it did it.I cook it likethis exclusively and it works great!
Sharon
Number 5
MsMarm
So, for what one of my friends calls “crack bacon,” also called candied bacon or maple bacon, how would you use this cooking method?
DrDan
No, I would modify it some. See my Spicy Candied Bacon post at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/spicy-candied-bacon/. I use a rack due to the sugar and some other changes. If you don’t have a rack, use parchment paper and not foil.
Dan
halfadime7
When the bacon is finished, I prop the pan up and put all the bacon at one end (long ways) and let the fat drain down. Then I put the grease into several small plastic containers and freeze (think… little hockey pucks) and save in a freezer bag for other use while cooking various other recipes. Bacon is good in almost anything and great in New England Clam Chowder.
Rick V TUCKER
I was wondering do I need to turn the bacon over in the middle of the cooking time or anything?
DrDan
Nope, no flip needed.
Dan
Dr. Horshenschwartz
Suggestion for the battle of parchment vs aluminum foil: Line pan with foil for the ability to contain the grease and easy cleanup but put a piece of parchment on top of foil for the anti-stick properties.
DrDan
God bless the compromiser. It does seem to be a great debate that many take very seriously. I admit to being a foil person due to laziness. I did two trays of bacon this morning with no sticking. But if it is an issue for the readers, I love your idea. So everybody, go with the other good doctor’s suggestion. Foil line with parchment paper on top of the foil. The best of both worlds.
Thanks Doc
Dan
Loretta
I need to cook 5 lbs for an Easter morning brunch. Can I cook the day before and reheat?
DrDan
To some extent yes but… My experience is that it is just not quit the same. So you have the tradeoff between convince and time vs taste and texture.
Google reheat bacon and you will find several recommendations.
DrDan