Perfect Oven Baked Bacon
Making oven baked bacon could not be simpler! This easy recipe results in perfect bacon every single time. You’ll never use the stove or microwave again!
Growing up, my mom never cooked bacon on the stove; it was always made in the microwave. To be perfectly honest, I’ve never found anything wrong with that – it seems to cook up perfectly crispy each and every time. However, if you need to make a large batch, it takes forever.
I can squeeze a few more slices into my large cast iron skillet, so I started cooking bacon that way. However, it’s insanely messy, also takes a long time standing over the splattering stove, and never seems to cook up evenly – I seem to always burn part of the bacon while part of it remains a little rawer than I’d like.
After experimenting with making oven-baked bacon over five years ago, I was 100% sold on making bacon in the oven. It’s the only way I’ve ever made it since. It bakes up evenly and is just flat-out perfect every single time.
How to Make Oven Baked Bacon
When I first started making bacon in the oven five years ago or so, I experimented with tons of different methods – baking the bacon on foil, on parchment, on a wire rack, in a preheated oven, in a cold oven, etc. Seriously, I made A LOT of bacon!
Below is the method I’ve found makes the absolute best oven baked bacon:
- Bake the bacon on parchment paper on a half sheet pan. I tried foil and it stuck a little and didn’t clean up as well as parchment. I tried a wire baking sheet, but I found the ends would burn a bit and cleaning the wire rack was a major pain.)
- Put the bacon in a COLD OVEN. This sounds crazy, right?! Especially for bakers who are taught to never put anything in an oven until it is preheated. However, I swear this makes the most amazing bacon! It is always evenly cooked and whether you like it softer or crispier, it seems to always be done absolutely perfectly. Baking in a preheated oven was hit or miss for me in terms of doneness and even cooking.
- Bake the bacon at 400 degrees F. I tried baking at temperatures ranging from 325 to 425 degrees F and settled on 400 degrees as being the sweet spot of perfectly slow-cooked oven bacon.
- Bake for 25 to 35 minutes. How long you cook the bacon in the oven really depends on her personal preference when it comes to doneness. We like crispy bacon in our house, so I tend to err on the higher end of cooking time, but if you like it done, but still a little soft and chewy, then you’ll want to use the lower end of the time range.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- This recipe is made using “regular cut” bacon. If you use thin-sliced bacon, you will need to decrease the baking time slightly, and if you use thick-sliced bacon, you will need to increase the baking time slightly.
- My favorite brand/type of bacon is Applegate Sunday Bacon. It’s uncured and since we found it and started buying it regularly, it’s totally taken our bacon to the next level. If you have another go-to brand or type, I’d love to hear about it!
- After removing the bacon from the parchment paper, you can pour the bacon grease into a jar or airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Use it to make nuts and bolts snack mix, fry eggs, make grilled cheese sandwiches, or use it to pop popcorn!
- Once the bacon has cooled, you can place it in an even layer on a clean, parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Place the frozen bacon in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, simply microwave for 15 seconds.
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
If you’re a life-long maker of bacon in the microwave or in the skillet, then I beg of you to try the oven! It’s totally hands-off, super easy cleanup, and it makes perfect bacon every. single. time.
Plus, you can make a massive batch at once and keep a stash in the refrigerator or freezer for a bacon emergency *wink*
QUESTION: What’s your favorite way to eat bacon?
Put the Bacon in These Recipes:
- Bourbon-Brown Sugar Bacon
- Bacon Jam
- Jalapeño Poppers
- Cheesy Bacon-Wrapped Dates
- Brown Sugar Bacon Buttermilk Waffles
Serve It For Breakfast With This:
- Buttermilk Waffles Recipe
- Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
- French Toast
Five years ago: Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
Six years ago: Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Oven Baked Bacon
Ingredients
- 8 to 12 slices bacon
Instructions
- Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Lay bacon slices in a single layer without overlapping on the parchment paper.
- Place in a cold oven, then turn oven on to 400 degrees F. Bake until desired degree of doneness, usually around 25 minutes for done and soft, closer to 30 minutes for done and crispy. Using kitchen tongs, remove bacon from pan and place on paper towel-lined plate to drain. Leftover bacon can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The bacon can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
Notes
- This recipe is made using “regular cut” bacon. If you use thin-sliced bacon, you will need to decrease the baking time slightly, and if you use thick-sliced bacon, you will need to increase the baking time slightly.
- My favorite brand/type of bacon is Applegate Sunday Bacon. It’s uncured and since we found it and started buying it regularly, it’s totally taken our bacon to the next level. If you have another go-to brand or type, I’d love to hear about it!
- After removing the bacon from the parchment paper, you can pour the bacon grease into a jar or airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Use it to make nuts and bolts snack mix, fry eggs, make grilled cheese sandwiches, or use it to pop popcorn!
- Once the bacon has cooled, you can place it in an even layer on a clean, parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Place the frozen bacon in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, simply microwave for 15 seconds.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in October 2013. Refreshed in October 2018 with an updated recipe method, new photos, and recipe tips.
This is exactly how I do mine too!
I’ve been cooking bacon slices in the oven for a couple years but I recently discovered that you can also chop up your bacon and cook it this way as well. I made your Barbeque Baked Beans recipe for Labor Day and I cooked the chopped up bacon in the oven while I cooked the hamburger and onions on the stove top at the same time. It saved me time and the bacon turned out great!
Oh my gosh- a paleo woman’s dream…bacon :) Thanks for this piece….I always make bacon and resprt to the microwave (yuck) because it is fast and easy. Trying this method this weekend!
Not to sound like the, “What took you so long” club but, I have been doing bacon this way for several years. Foil lined pan equals no muss, no fuss. As much as I LOVE bacon, I seldom save the grease due to that voice on my shoulder saying, “Find a low fat way…”.
I do make an entire pan at a time so that I have extra in the freezer when I need it.
I have made it in the oven when I have large batches to make. Honestly whenever I cook bacon, I always do a pound at a time and it is usually gone in a few hours! Also, bacon lasts for awhile after cooked – I just wrap in a paper towel, put in a bag and eat it all week long for breakfast – as long as there are leftovers that is!
I love to save the grease from bacon to add to cornbread, beans, peas etc for seasoning. Could thus b done if I cooked it n the oven? I’ve nevr tried. Thanks for ur research & sharing in thus method. I definitely plan to try it.
I don’t see why not!
It’s very easy to save the fat this way, just don’t wait to long or it will congeal.
Absolutely! Just pour it off while it’s still warm.
I always make my bacon this way… by far and away the most tasty, and least messy!
I’ve been doing bacon like this for a few years. I first saw it being done in a cafe I used to work out. It’s amazingly easy. Only different I do, is that I use parchment paper instead of foil. MMMMMMM……..BACON!
I discovered this method a couple of years ago. Only a slight variation for me is that I use a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. A layer under the bacon and over top. This stops the splatter from going all over the oven. Its perfect when the stovetop is busy with scrammbled eggs, hashbrowns etc for Sunday Breakfast.
Congrats on joining the “Never Fry Bacon Again Club!”
oven fried bacon is my favorite – easy & delicious!
Love this idea! I am definitely going to try it. I hate frying it in the pan, to messy and I’m afraid of getting grease splattered on me :) I always make hubby do it :) Thanks for the tip. Hope you enjoy your new oven :)
I’ve been making bacon this way for about 3 years. I use nearly the same process to make it on our gas grill during the summer (minus the baking sheet). Super easy!
I have been doing this for years, it’s the only way to go, I agree!
This is such a great way to cook bacon! Great post!
Been cooking bacon in the oven for years..don’t miss frying it at all. A trick to use crumble up your foil first and spread it over a large cookie tray I never have bacon stick to the foil.. I have a limpy bacon eater and me it has to be crispy so I remove his early and crisp mine up..yummmm just throw the foil out, save the grease and wipe the tray down and all done..
I have a family of 6 – this is by far the easiest way to make large quantities of bacon! Love it! :D
the only way to cook bacon! but I do use a cooling rack also in a jelly roll pan, I spray both with cooking spray, so cleanup is easy..don’t like bacon sitting in the fat..once in awhile I sprinkle on a bit of brown sugar….very tasty!
I too have been doing this for a bunch of years – however I want to know what took us ALL so long to try it! Stovetop is a NIGHTMARE – pain, mess, time suck
Glad you’re having the revelation – I keep saying I am going to do the ‘sugar/syrup’ thing but have yet to do it – report back!
Maybe if you baked a pan of Corn Bread / Muffins at the same time as the Bacon, it would impart a Baconey (?) Smokiness to the Corn Bread? mmmmm…….. bacon…….
I use the large bar pan from the pampered chef, no need to line with foil because clean up is super easy and the grease helps to season the stone! I am a pampered chef consultant but I tell everyone about this.
Thank you for doing the comparison with the rack and w/o. I made a batch of oven bacon for brunch on Labor Day and used a rack. It would be great to skip that extra cleanup so it’s great to know it works even better just lying on the foil. Baking the bacon did come out great and was so convenient for a crowd…i just need to prepare my smoke detectors, which like to go off and wake the whole neighborhood! : )
Your new ovens are gorgeous – I have total kitchen envy :) I’m late to jump on the oven-fried bacon bandwagon too. I tried it once a long time and my bacon didn’t get very crispy, I think it’s time to try again!
I like to eat mine right out of the pan. Even better with a fresh tomato slice from the garden on toasted cheese bread.
While I have done bacon in the oven, I like to save the bacon grease as well, especially for freshly dug potatoes sliced and fried with onions. Usually just use the skillet on the stove.
I cook mine in the oven on a stone (Pampered Chef). I used to use a foil lined pan but it cooks more evenly on the stone and clean-up is so easy!
PS. I don’t work for Pampered Chef!
Leeann-
You are brilliant! My sister gave me her Pampered Chef stone bar pan as she did not use it. It has been sitting in my garage. After reading your comment I went and found it and baked bacon in it this morning. It is perfect!!!!!
Thanks!
Awesome, you’re welcome!
I’ve cooked bacon this way for years. It’s so much easier! Like you, I line the pan for aluminum foil. If the bacon is for sandwiches I cut the whole pack in half and it comes out the perfect size.
I’ve never tried this, but it sounds easy enough. The only time I eat bacon is in this soup – http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/florentine-white-bean-soup.html
Also, it is much less dangerous. I’m currently sporting 7 or 8 little burn spots on my arm from bacon grease popping unexpectedly. So why do I keep forgetting I know how to do it in the oven?!
The oven is the only way I cook bacon nowadays. I use a cooling rack under the bacon because I am convinced that more of the fat drips away ;-) I might try freezing it, it will make it easier in the future!
My Mom has been cooking bacon this way for years and taught me to use the same method! My Mom also taught me to save the bacon oil for later to use as seasoning for other dishes like Beans, Fried Cabbage, and Collard Greens!
I LOVE the Precooking, then freezing for later tip! Never thought about it but will now be using it all the time! Thanks! :D