Oven baked bacon is the easiest way to cook bacon with no mess and no splatter while you do something else—perfect crispy bacon every time from your convection oven on an aluminum foil covered tray.
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đź‘ŤWhy you should bake your bacon
- No standing at the stovetop flipping bacon, trying to get it flat, and getting splatter burns on your hands,
- You get perfect crispy flat bacon every time.
- The cleanup is easy by baking on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet. And no splatter like the stovetop cooking.
- No need to bake on a rack and no rack to clean.
- By using a convection oven at 400°, you will get extra crispy oven-baked bacon from the circulation of the air.
- This method works for thick and thin bacon; the timing is different.
- A great way to batch-cook bacon.
- You can even bake bacon without preheating.
👨‍🍳How to cook bacon in the oven
- Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional oven.
- Prepare a rimmed baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. No rack is needed; if you have sticking problems, add a piece of parchment paper to the foil.
- Arrange the bacon slices in a single layer, not touching or overlapping on the tray.
- Bake until the bacon reaches the desired color—about 20 minutes for medium-thick bacon.
- Drain on paper towels.
⏰How long to bake bacon
18-20 minutes for medium-thick bacon in a 400° convection oven. It will vary by the thickness and type of the bacon, exact oven temperature, and your desired level of browning—cook to the crispiness you want and never by time, so always check it a few times early.
Thinner bacon will cook faster, while thick-cut bacon will take a few extra minutes to achieve perfect results. Some brands of bacon are cured differently, and time may vary.
🌡️What oven temperature to use
400° convection cooks both thicker and thinner bacon well. But I have used as low as 350° up to 450° in conjunction with baking other dishes simultaneously.
Convection is recommended for crispier bacon that will cook more evenly. So use it if you have it but cooking without convection or at different temperatures will only have minor effects on your results.
The bacon can go into a cold oven, but it adds time.
âť“FAQs
No, it is not needed.
While you can cook turkey bacon in the oven like pork bacon, it is thinner and much leaner. So, it will tend to stick without parchment paper. Cooking time will be 8 to 12 minutes—pay close attention.
The bacon fat can be strained and refrigerated in a glass container with a lid for 3-6 months. Great for frying an egg or using it to add more flavor to sauteed or roasted vegetables and other places where you want to add a hint of bacon.
The fat can turn bad quickly if unstrained as the food particles decay.
❄️Storage of Leftovers
Refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. Reheat in a microwave wrapped in a paper towel. Cooked bacon can also be frozen for up to a month.
đź“‹Breakfast Recipes
How To Cook Sausage in the Oven
Smaller French Toast Casserole
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.
Line an 18-inch × 13-inch rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil. Place bacon close together but not touching. 8-10 pieces, about ½ pound, will usually fit.
Bake to a crispy brown—about 20 minutes. Time will vary with the thickness of the bacon and your taste. Thinner bacon will cook faster, and thick-cut bacon may take a few minutes more, so check a few times early.
Drain on paper towels and pat off any fat.
đź“– Recipe
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven—Quick and Easy
Ingredients
- 8-10 slices bacon
- aluminum foil - to cover tray
- parchment paper - if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.
- Line an 18-inch × 13-inch rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil. Place bacon close together but not touching. 8-10 pieces, about ½ pound, will usually fit.
- Bake to a crispy brown—about 20 minutes. Time will vary with the thickness of the bacon and your taste. Thinner bacon will cook faster, and thick-cut bacon may take a few minutes more, so check a few times early.
- Drain on paper towels and pat off any fat.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- A half-pound of bacon or a bit more will usually fit an 18-inch × 13-inch sheet pan.
- You do not have to preheat the oven. It just takes a bit longer.
- I have done this with oven temperatures from 350° to 425°. With or without convention. Just adjust the time some.
- Thinner bacon cooks faster. Very thick bacon will take a few minutes longer.
- Thinner bacon and bacon with more sugar will tend to stick. Use a layer of parchment paper if you are unsure or have a problem.
- No flipping or rack is needed, although some people will use them.
- It is done when it looks cooked to your taste.
- I generally do two sheet pans at a time in a convection oven. I rotate them front to back and switch the top to bottom at 10 minutes.
- Cooked bacon is good refrigerated for 4-5 days and frozen for one month.
- Reheat bacon in a microwave covered with a paper towel for about 8-10 seconds per piece. If frozen, thaw first.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally published October 8, 2011, and updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Linda Jones
I used the instructions to cooking this bacon and it was wonderful. Nice and crispy is what I like. This is the only way my husband will eat it now.
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
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