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.
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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.
Best way I’ve ever cooked bacon. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for your recipe.
Applegate Sunday Bacon is my go to brand since I found it in BJ’s years ago. I usually microwave or pan fry my bacon but will give the oven a try next time.
I honestly don’t know what I did before I discovered how versatile parchment paper is!
I cool my bacon grease and pour it in a egg carton /// then freeze///// pop the pods out when frozen///
put in freezer bags for when I cook beans of any kind so handy///pat cook Nitro wv
Michelle,
I have a question about the oven-baked bacon. I’m very tempted to try it because I hate the mess it makes on the stoveyot…..BUT what does the grease do to the inside of the oven? You don’t mention the fat bubbling up and spattering the oven, but it must….?? Tell me about that aspect, please!
Thank you, and Merry Christmas. I hope everyone in your house is beginning to feel a little better!
I’ve been making bacon in the oven for years! It’s great when you have guests – you can make the rest of your breakfast while the bacon is cooking. I don’t use foil or parchment paper but instead put the bacon on my oven’s broiler pan and flip halfway through.
Is Parchment Paper the same as Waxed Paper?
No, they are very different. Wax paper will melt in the oven. Parchment paper is made to hold up to the heat.
We love bacon but I honestly can’t stand the smell of bacon lingering on
I’m sorry
Any ideals ?
Thanks
Will this work with turkey bacon?
Best bacon ever! Very little clean up! Thank you!
How do you deal with the splatter? I have been covering loosely with foil… But even with that I end up having to clean my oven after cooking bacon 10 times or so, or i get a greasy oven smell. Any advice?
After reading thru all of the reviews, I tried my first batch of oven bacon. On one tray I used foil and on the other I used parchment paper. The foil got much more crispier which we like. PP was a little more soft. I switched the trays half way thru. The taste was exactly the same. I put it in a cold oven, set to 400 degrees and it took about 30 minutes for 1 pound. I also put a few grinds of pepper on top which someone else recommended. Excellent! I’ll never make bacon another way.
The Publix Store, here locally, didn’t have Applegate Sunday Bacon but I emailed them about carrying it, they wrote back saying to look for it the next time I’m in the store…SCORE it was there today!! Yay! Can’t wait to try it.
That’s awesome!
Yes…been oven baking bacon for a very long time!
However I cover my USA Pan cookie sheet with foil (so I don’t have a mess to clean) then use the smaller square cake racks to place the bacon. When the bacon is done there is virtually no fat to dab off the bacon, I pour off the fat into my bacon container, then I put those cookie racks in the dishwasher! The pan just needs a quick rinse with soapy water. Easy please no mess!
What is a USA pan😜
Hi Donna, It’s a brand name :) You can find them here –> https://amzn.to/3264PwN
Michelle,
I am so happy to hear that I’m not the only one that uses leftover bacon grease to make popcorn. My grandma taught me that little trick when I was just a kid. She’s been gone for at least 25 years, but whenever I make popcorn this way, I always think of her. She was a great cook and taught me a lot.
This is how we made bacon when I worked in a restaurant, except we stopped just as soon as it was done. Then when we needed to cook bacon for an order, it only took a minute or two on the grill to crisp up and get hot. Link sausages work the same way – bake until just done. They won’t brown much. Then when ready to serve, cook until hot and browned. A freezer bag of cooked bacon and sausages is perfect when you want to get it served quickly.
That’s brilliant! Thanks for the tip Elaine!
Bacon obsessive here, piping up to share my love for the Whole Foods store brand thick cut applewood smoked bacon and for Niman Ranch’s bacon, when I’m lucky enough to find it. Both are also uncured. Both are a bit of a splurge, but SO good. The Trader Joe’s brand thick cut uncured bacon is also pretty darn good, at slightly lower price point.
Hi Rachael, I was just at the grocery store this morning and spied Niman Ranch’s bacon, so I picked up a package of maple and a package of peppered. Can’t wait to try them! Thanks for the recommendation :)
I always cook bacon in the oven – and lots of it! Why cook enough for breakfast when you can have bacon in pasta or sandwiches, etc, throughout the week. I use foil and wrap it around the edges of the pan for quick clean up. I also season my bacon, usually with Montreal seasoning, and it is so much tastier. We season otherbcuts of meat, why not bacon?!
Michelle..
It takes my gas oven 15 minutes to heat. Do I add those 15 minutes on to the 25-35 minutes to cook the bacon?
If I don’t, will the bacon be cooked in the 10-20 minutes the oven was @ the full 400 degrees ?
Thank you so much….
Hi Janice, I do not count preheating times; I don’t even pay attention to it when I use this method. If you think your oven takes longer than normal to heat up, then the bacon may take a little longer to be done, but probably not by much!
Have been making bacon in the oven for years. So much easier and frees the cook up for making the rest of the meal. Our family loves it when we brush the bacon w/ real maple syrup or sprinkling on brown sugar about 5-7 minutes before it’s done. Delish!
Two of my favorite ways to spice up (well, sweeten, ha!) bacon!
I’ve been cooking bacon this way for years now and it’s the only way to go! It’ always comes out perfectly and so so so much easier to clean up because there is no splatter.
I would caution everyone to be extremely careful when removing from the oven. Once, around the holidays, while in a hurry, I removed the sheet tray and turned too quickly and sloshed the hot grease about 1/3 of the way up my arm. I had a serious burn…so just be careful!
I can’t wait to try this! I have been using wire rack and you are right, such a mess to clean it up.