Learn the easiest way to cook bacon perfectly. Totally flexible—any bacon (thick or thin), any oven (convection or regular), any temperature—even start with a cold oven. Simple, splatter-free cleanup every time.
🤔 Quick Answer: How long and at what temperature to cook bacon in the oven
- Temperature: 400°F convection or 425°F regular suggested—other temps work too
- Time: About 20 minutes, depending on thickness
- Done: When it looks just right for your crispiness preference
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Featured Comment by Rosalina:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"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!"
🧡 Why You’ll Love This Method
- No flipping or babysitting — the oven does all the work
- No rack needed — easier cleanup and perfect results
- Consistent crispiness — every slice cooks evenly
- Flexible — works for any bacon thickness or oven setup
🥓 What You’ll Need
- Bacon – any style or thickness
- Rimmed sheet pan – catches the grease safely
- Heavy-duty foil – easy cleanup
- Optional: parchment paper – helps prevent sticking
👨🍳 Quick Overview: How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
1. Prep the Pan: Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.
✅ Pro Tip: If your bacon is thin, sugar-cured, or tends to stick, place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the foil.
2. Arrange the Bacon:
Lay bacon strips close together but not overlapping.
3. Bake: Bake at 400°F convection for about 20 minutes—other settings work, and time depends on thickness. Stop when the fat has rendered and the bacon reaches the color and crispiness you like.
✅ Pro Tip: You can also cook bacon from a cold oven. It just takes a few extra minutes to bake your bacon to your crispiness.
4. Drain on paper towels and blot off extra fat.
👇 Scroll down for the printable recipe card and complete step-by-step photo instructions—or keep reading for tips and serving ideas.
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⏰ How Long to Cook Bacon in the Oven
Cook medium-thick bacon for 18 to 22 minutes at 400°F convection (425°F regular) for most situations.
- Thickness: Thinner bacon cooks faster; thick-cut takes longer.
- Oven temperature flexibility: Anywhere from 350°F to 450°F works.
Lower temps cook more gently and render fat slowly; higher temps brown faster but need closer watching near the end. - Oven type matters: Convection circulates hot air for even, crisp results in less time. Regular ovens may take a few minutes longer—especially if the rack sits lower.
- Cold oven start: You can skip preheating. Place the pan in a cold oven, set the temperature, and add 2–3 extra minutes to the total cook time. Results are nearly identical.
- When is it done? The fat has mostly rendered and the bacon is the color and crispiness you like.
✅ Pro Tip: If you prefer extra-crispy bacon, leave it in for another minute or two—but check often near the end, since it can go from perfect to overdone quickly.
💡 Pro Tips for Perfect Bacon
- Convection cooks faster and crispier. If you have the option, use it for the most even browning.
- Use heavy-duty foil for easier cleanup.
- Add parchment on top of the foil if your bacon tends to stick—especially with thin or sugar-cured types.
- No rack needed. Bacon renders perfectly right on the pan, and cleanup is simpler.
- Watch near the end. Bacon goes from perfect to overdone quickly—check early the first time you try a new brand or thickness.
- Drain on paper towels to remove excess fat and keep the crisp texture.
❓ FAQs
Nope. The oven cooks both sides evenly—no flipping needed.
No. The bacon cooks fine right on the foil. Add parchment on top if your bacon tends to stick.
Yes, but it’s leaner and cooks faster—start checking around 5–11 minutes. It won’t get quite as crispy as pork bacon. It is very thin and tends to stick to foil, so always use parchment paper.
Absolutely. Place the pan in a cold oven, set the temperature, and add 2–3 minutes to the total cook time. The results are nearly identical.
Strain and store it in a glass container in the fridge for 3–6 months. It’s great for eggs, roasted veggies, or anything that needs a bacon boost. Unstrained grease spoils quickly because of food particles, so always strain before storing.
👨🍳 Serving Ideas & Breakfast Recipes
Oven-baked bacon goes with just about everything—from scrambled eggs and pancakes to breakfast sandwiches or BLTs. It’s also perfect for meal prep or freezing for quick breakfasts later.
Try it with:
- How to Cook Sausage in the Oven
- Baked Blueberry Pancakes
- Small Cinnamon Coffee Cake
- Small French Toast Casserole
🎄 Holiday Tip: Oven bacon is perfect for Christmas morning, Easter brunch, or any big breakfast crowd—easy, no mess, or make ahead and reheat in the microwave in seconds.
❄️ Storage of Cooked Bacon Leftovers
- Store cooked bacon in an airtight container in the fridge for 4–5 days, or freeze for up to one month.
- Reheat in the microwave for 5–7 seconds per slice, wrapped in a paper towel, until hot and slightly crisp.
- Cooked bacon can also be frozen for up to a month, per the USDA
📖The Recipe Card
Oven-Baked Bacon (Crispy, Easy, and No Mess)
Ingredients
- about ½ pound 8–10 slices of bacon - thick-cut preferred but others work
- aluminum foil - to cover tray
- parchment paper - if needed
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (convection bake) or 425°F (conventional). Line an 18-inch × 13-inch rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil.
- Place bacon close together but not touching—8 to 10 slices (about ½ pound) will usually fit.
- Bake until browned and crispy, about 18–22 minutes. Time will vary depending on thickness and your preferred doneness. Thinner bacon cooks faster; thick-cut may need a few extra minutes—check early.
- Drain on paper towels and pat off any excess fat.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
Notes / Pro Tips (streamlined with convection mention)
- A half-pound of bacon (8–10 slices) will usually fit a standard 18×13-inch sheet pan.
- Bake at 400°F convection or 425°F regular. Convection crisps a little faster, but either way works. Temps from 350°–450°F are fine—just adjust the time.
- Thin bacon cooks quickly; very thick bacon can take longer. Always stop at your perfect crispiness.
- Sugary bacon and turkey bacon tend to stick—use parchment if needed. Turkey bacon also cooks fast (about 8–12 minutes).
- No rack or flipping required.
- Cooking two pans at once? Use convection if available, rotate pans front to back and top to bottom halfway through for even cooking.
- Store cooked bacon in the fridge 4–5 days or freeze for about a month. Reheat in the microwave under a paper towel for 8–10 seconds per slice.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally published October 8, 2011, it was updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Cindi says
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 says
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 says
Cindy, maybe covering it did it.I cook it likethis exclusively and it works great!
Sharon says
Number 5
MsMarm says
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 says
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 says
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 says
I was wondering do I need to turn the bacon over in the middle of the cooking time or anything?
DrDan says
Nope, no flip needed.
Dan
Dr. Horshenschwartz says
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 says
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 says
I need to cook 5 lbs for an Easter morning brunch. Can I cook the day before and reheat?
DrDan says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Thanks for the comment and tips.
DrDan
Tish says
I meant cook not cool. Oops
DrDan says
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 says
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 says
Does this affect the crispness of the bacon or does it cool the same just without the splatter?
Nita Brown says
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 says
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 says
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 says
I uses half sheet pans from a restaurant supply store. Cheap and durable.
Thanks so much for the comment.
DrDan
Traijan Jones says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
Hey there Mr. Dan, so you run a pig farm in Iowa?