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
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
shawn
I know this is an old post but I’m bored and randomly got the day off.
I can never get oven cooking right. I’ve tried with rack, without rack, and combinations of starting with a cold oven or preheating. The texture never comes out right.
Also Horemel Black label ugh, they never cook evenly for me (some parts over cooked and other parts barely cooked.), pan frying, oven or microwave never is right. I use regular cut as I don’t like thick so that may be differen. I prefer Oscar Mayer or second best for me is Acme/Jewel grocery store generic(and whatever others their parent company owns.)
I will say the oven is superior for making lots at once when having guests over even if I don’t quite like the texture.
Neysa Terry-Gray
I use foil to line the pan and one sheet of parchment paper to keep bacon from sticking. Then I place a piece of parchment paper on top of the bacon to catch spatters and keep my oven clean.
DrDan
Thanks for the comment and tips.
DrDan
Tish
I meant cook not cool. Oops
DrDan
Hi Tish,
I have had almost no spatter issues but I would think the parchment paper wouldn’t effect cooking much… just my guess.
DrDan
Karen
To prevent bacon from splattering oven walls (because it does) I place a sheet of parchment paper on top of bacon smoothing it out. Now you have no splatter in the oven and you still have nice bacon.
Tish
Does this affect the crispness of the bacon or does it cool the same just without the splatter?
Nita Brown
Do I start the count in minutes when I first put the bacon in a cold open or wait till it reaches 400 degrees and then time? I really like this idea!
DrDan
This version puts the bacon in a hot oven. It is fine to start in a cold oven but ovens heat up at different rates so time is unpredictable. Go ahead and put it in your cold oven and start. Watch closely for the done point then you will have your own method.
DrDan
Tish
Thank you! Fried up awesomely and such easy clean up. My pan must be smaller than yours because I could only fit 6 slices and leave a small space between as your picture showed, but since there were 12 in the pack, it worked out fine to do half at a time. I used regular foil since I didn’t have any heavy duty and just used an extra layer in case. I laid it flat like you suggested. When the first batch was finished, I spooned out the grease before laying down the second batch. I ended up only doing 18 minutes because that’s what worked in my oven to get it well-done. Thank you so much!
DrDan
I uses half sheet pans from a restaurant supply store. Cheap and durable.
Thanks so much for the comment.
DrDan
Traijan Jones
I’m cheap. The cost of $7.00 / lb of bacon is high enough so I skip the aluminum foil and the non stick foil and the parchment paper and simply use a “very well seasoned” cookie pan. Rarely does anything stick to these pans of mine. They are so dark that they make cast iron seasoned pans hang their heads in shame. Anyway, this morning was the first time we tried doing bacon in the oven, had to make 4 lbs of it for a friendly/family gathering and it worked great.
My wife used to do all the bacon cooking as she hated the splatter that I’d leave behind to be cleaned up, but that meant if she was cooking bacon on the stove it was about an hour or more process at super low heat to avoid the splatter, I think we’ve found out new method.
DrDan
The foil is only for ease of cleanup. I use super wide heavy duty that comes from Sams Club cheap.
So glad it works well for you.
Thanks for the note and rating.
DrDan
JamesP
This works Perfectly! Just cook it ’til it’s done! I like a bit less time for mine, since I like chewy bacon.
Black Label is yummy bacon, but whenever you feel like splurging on a treat, I suggest trying Nueske’s applewood smoked bacon. I get it without the pepper. It’s awfully expensive, but it is truly heavenly.
DrDan
Hi James.
I haven’t seen Nueske’s around here but check it out online. There is no price too high for bacon after all.
Except for cooking some cut up bacon for bacon bits, I haven’t done stovetop for several years now.
Thanks so much for the note and rating.
DrDan
Bill Blass
Hey there Mr. Dan, so you run a pig farm in Iowa?
Laura
The only way to cook bacon! Crumple the foil to prevent the bacon from getting too greasy.
DrDan
I have seen that. Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Lia
I was looking for a good oven bacon recipe, since I’ve never tried it before. I started reading yours, and I was thinking “she knows her bacon.” And then you mentioned one of my favorites – Hormel Black Label. I’m an Iowa girl myself, so when you mentioned this, I laughed and wasn’t surprised! If you ever get to Kansas City, the only thing I’ve ever found better than Black Label is Boar’s Head. It’s at Hen House grocery stores, and I highly recommend it. I haven’t tried you’re directions yet, but I’m about to for a recipe for my family back in Iowa!
DrDan
I do believe I’ve had Boar’s Head 35 plus years ago. We spent two years in Kansas City and loved it. We still have Gate’s BBQ sauce sent in by the case. I do highly recommend Black Label. An excellent bacon.
Pay attention since there is some variability due to your oven, thickness of bacon and sugar content of the bacon.
And really “she knows her bacon”… hummmm… DrDan
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Jenny
Why the aluminum foil? I avoid aluminum because of the links to Alzheimers. It the foil necessary?
DrDan
The foil is for easy clean up only. Not required.
DrDan
DrDan
This is variable with bacon thickness and your oven. It may stick more if you bacon is high in sugar. I only use thick black label and it take 20-22 minutes every time and almost never has any sticking. I like the “deep fry” effect also and this does it. Some people use a rack or wrinkle the foil. Not for me.
Thanks for the comment and have fun experimenting.
DrDan
fritz buzzard
This definitely has possibilities. My first attempt went a little too long (~14 minutes) but I used bacon of normal thickness. Next time I will try 10 minutes.
Up until now I had done bacon in the skillet with olive oil. That, plus the fat released by the bacon created an almost ‘deep fry’ effect and the result was light, crispy bacon – really not too bad. I will have to run the oven method by my wife. She is the bacon lover in the family. Interesting experiment, though. Thanks.
Leslee Florea
Try tossing in flour then shaking off the excess… Even crunchier :) thanks!
Sarah
Thank you so much for your amazing recipes. We tried your drumsticks last night and they were the best. I’ll try this one soon!
DrDan
Thanks Sarah
DrDan
Tiwana
Awesome! I will try this tonight. We are having BLT’S.
DrDan
I love BLT’s
Thanks for the comment
DrDan
Bill
Most people like BLT’s. For a variation, leave off the lettuce an put on a fied egg.
WARNING, you will be hooked forever!!!!!
DrDan
In my much younger days I would eat bacon sandwiches. Then med school ruined it for me…:(
Aubrey
Really I never knew i was supposed to eat it
brownsbacker9255
Try parchment paper, it won’t stick to that. A little messier clean up though.
Dan Mikesell
Mine rarely stick any. The occasional minimal sticking isn’t worth the mess to me. However some of the thinner and higher sugar bacons may stick more and then the parchment might be worth it.
SwampCatNana
Like e144840, I prefer to put the bacon on a rack in the pan. That way you don’t have to use all those paper towels!
Dan Mikesell
I really do not like cleaning greasy rack. But I could just soak them…
Dan Mikesell
Rarely. Maybe a sticky one every third or forth pan. I do believe a higher sugar bacon would stick more.
Laura
Will it stick to the foil? Haven’t yet found an oven method where my bacon doesn’t stick, but could be the type of bacon I’m using.
Sandie Staub
I used a cooking stone instead of regular pan and it worked way better (no sticking) and it seasoned the pan in the process.
TexasOllie
Non-stick foil. I can’t live without it.
Dan Mikesell
great idea if you’re worried about sticking. I have done over and over and never had significant sticking.
Lynne
I put mine on parchment paper on a jelly roll pan….it never sticks and for clean up I just wait to grease is hard…. Well till we have had breakfast and it grease just peels right off pan with just some residual grease left to clean off pan when you toss paper out….I have been doing my bacon like this for years now and my family loves it:)
THester
You can also get non stick aluminum foil
dan
Try a silicon pad they are a bit pricey $25 30 but well worth it and last for ever
MollysMama
Use parchment paper…no sticking ever.
Jtn
I guess you missed the part about using parchment paper? Every restaurant in the country uses the same method of cooking in the oven, and parchment is the common and best way.
J. R. Horner
Spray the aluminum foil with Pam before putting
Bacon on it.
Heather O'Gorman
Use the foil with sides raised and put a layer of parchment paper. The parchment won’t burn unless it’s over 400°f. The foil keeps the grease in the sheet pan…the parchment keeps it from sticking to pan &/or foil…keep an eye on it…I prefer 375°f so I have the control….Hubby doesn’t like his brown & crispy…I do…so I have to watch and pull his bacon out sooner, then I pop it back in to get my desired crispinaess.. . Hone a t…it won’t stick to the parchment. ~Heather O
Dr Dan
This is definitely a “your time may vary” recipe. The bacon, the oven and the crispiness you want dictates the time. Just remember it is done when it looks done.
Joy
Had too cook it a few minutes longer, but EASY clean up & I didn’t get popped with grease or have to stand there flipping bacon! Turned out perfect & was able to cook all the rest of breakfast, while bacon took care of itself :)
d.dale
The best. Will never ‘fry’ again.
vinny
had a deli in nyc the only way i made lbs of bacon was in the oven you can also cook the bacon 3/4 of the way then reheat later!