The Best Way to Make Bacon Is Not in a Frying Pan

Bacon? More like bakin’. We’ve discovered the best way to make the king of breakfast meats and it’s not on the stovetop in a skillet. It’s not even in the air fryer — sorry, too small — although the air fryer is good if you only need a few strips of pork perfection. 

When it comes to making bacon, there’s not much to complain about except a messy stove and greasy pans that need cleaning after. The best way to make bacon clears you of those dirty dish duty after and allows you to spend more time enjoying your breakfast or brunch. Making bacon in the oven is a set-it-and-forget-it affair, and if you line a baking tray with parchment paper, you’ll have nothing to clean up after.

Cooking bacon in the oven on a tray is my new go-to for making big batches of the Sunday morning staple. Here I’ll explain how easy and clean it is to make bacon in the oven. You can make an entire package in one session which is not possible with most a typical frying pans.

Below, you’ll find the simple steps needed to cook perfect bacon in the oven. When it’s done, I’ve outlined 9 genius ways to use leftover bacon fat.

How to cook perfect bacon in the oven

Here are my tips for cooking perfectly crisp bacon in the oven. Spoiler alert: There aren’t many steps, and none of them take very long.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I would avoid air fryer mode if your oven has it since the fast-moving air is more likely to blow grease around the inside. We’re aiming for a mess-free scenario. 

Line a baking tray with aluminum foil, or use a nonstick sheet pan for a more eco-friendly approach. If you’re going the foil route, make sure the edges ride up the sides of the tray so the grease doesn’t spill over the sides and down onto the tray. 

If you’re using nonstick bakeware, I prefer a ceramic sheet pan or tray but Teflon works well, too.

Arrange bacon on the tray. The strips shouldn’t overlap, but it’s fine if they touch since they’ll shrink down significantly while cooking. If you prefer super crispy bacon with a bit less grease, you can arrange the slices on a wire rack above the tray for the fat to drip down below.

Cook for eight to 10 minutes. Be sure to keep one eye on the bacon as some ovens run hotter than others. If you like your bacon crispy and well done, give it another few minutes. Remember, bacon does a lot of its crisping after it comes out and cools. 

Read more: Make Your Next Burger in an Air Fryer and Thank Me Later

Drain the bacon on a sheet or two of paper towels. After a few minutes, you’re ready to serve those crispy strips with eggs, in a BLT or crumbled to fancy up boxed mac and cheese. 

The best part? After cooking bacon in the oven, all you’re left with is a small ball of foil to heave effortlessly into the trash.

A few countertop ovens for cooking bacon

For bacon, I love using a smaller countertop convection model. A large oven works just as well but takes longer to preheat and, dang it, we want bacon now. 

The Ninja Double Oven and Breville’s Smart Oven Air are two multifunction ovens that work well. Both are large enough that bacon grease won’t splatter on the ceiling, but are small and powerful enough to preheat quickly and cook bacon to a crisp in under 10 minutes. (We’ve also got tips for how to clean your cast iron skillet and how to make boxed mac and cheese taste so much better.) 

Can you make bacon in an air fryer?

Absolutely. Easy air fryers are perfect for making bacon in a very similar manner to oven bacon. Here’s a step-by-step guide to making bacon in an air fryer.