Cooking Bacon in Oven
Wondering how to cook bacon in the oven? Follow this easy culinary school method to start cooking bacon that is perfectly crisp every time, without any splatters of grease on your stovetop!
I learned about Cooking Bacon in the Oven in culinary school
Going to culinary school certainly introduced me to fancy kitchen techniques like making French pastries and hollandaise sauce.
But it also introduced me to something so simple, so basic, so obvious, that I was left scratching my head as to why I hadn’t thought of it before: how to cook bacon in the oven (also: how to cook sausage in the oven). Truthfully, it might have been the most useful thing I learned!
This guide has been visited over 900,000 times and made in households across the world. Let’s find out why.
Why Cooking Bacon in Oven Will Change Your Life!
- No stovetop splatters. Oven bacon doesn’t splatter nearly as much as skillet bacon does, and even if it does, the splatters are inside your oven and not all over your counters.
- Leaves you free stovetop space for a griddle. Plenty of room to make pancakes or fried eggs without having to jostle a bunch of pans around between burners.
- The best way to prepare large quantities. You can fit much more bacon on a rimmed baking pan than you can in a skillet.
- Great when you’re preparing a brunch menu for a crowd (think Easter or Mother’s Day). The bacon can just cook away, unattended to, while you’re finishing up the rest of the meal.
- You end up with cartoon-like perfect crispy bacon. It’s not shriveled up little pieces – it’s mostly flat, perfectly cooked bacon. If you want to pull out your phone and take a picture of it, well, I won’t judge!
Readers love this guide for bacon in the oven
“I tried this today, and this is an absolute genius way to cook bacon. It doesn’t smell up the house, doesn’t splatter, and I’m sure my husband will love not having to clean up the stove after I cook bacon. So this is a winner all the way around. Thank you!!!”
—Susan
“I will never fry bacon again.”
—Cheryl
“As you promised, it really is “cartoon bacon” as it’s ridiculously perfect.
—Jenny
Your recipe’s the keeper. I’m going to dig deeper into your site, thank you!”
What you’ll need for Bacon in Oven
- Bacon slices – 8 ounces for 4 servings, or as many as desired.
- Rimmed baking pan(s) – make sure it has a rim or you’ll have a huge mess on your hands! Use multiple pans if you are cooking a large amount of bacon.
- Parchment paper – for lining the baking pan(s).
- Paper towel – for blotting the bacon when it’s finished cooking.
- Plate – that you’ll line with the paper towel.
- Tongs – for handling the cooked bacon, because it will be hot.
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
1. LINE PAN. Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. I love using pre-cut parchment paper sheets for ease. Please make sure the pan is rimmed, or you’re going to have a huge bacon grease mess on your hands.
2. LAY OUT BACON. Lay your bacon out on the prepared pan in a single layer. If you need two pans, use two pans. Make sure the bacon pieces aren’t overlapping or anything.
3. BAKE. Cook the bacon in the oven at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on bacon thickness) or until it reaches your desired level of crispness. You don’t even need to flip it. Just let it do its thing for 20 minutes or so.
4. BLOT. When the oven baked bacon is fully cooked, use tongs to transfer it to a paper-towel lined plate to blot some of the extra grease before serving.
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Best way to Cook Bacon in Oven
How long does it take to cook bacon at 375?
The biggest question most people have about how to cook bacon in the oven is, “how long”? Here’s a guide to cooking times when cooking bacon in the oven at 375 degrees F:
| Type of Bacon | Approximate Baking Time at 375 degrees F |
|---|---|
| Original (i.e. Meijer Hardwood Smoked Bacon, Smithfield Hometown Original) | 20 to 22 minutes |
| Center Cut (Oscar Mayer Center Cut, Kroger Private Selection Center Cut) | 20 to 22 minutes |
| Thick Cut (Hormel Black Label Thick Cut, Wright Brand Hickory Thick Cut Bacon) | 23 to 25 minutes |
No matter what you use, keep an eye on it as it cooks.
Your timing for bacon in the oven is also really going to depend on how you like to eat your bacon. Myself, I like it on the softer side of crispy. Some people like it super crispy. Cook it until its doneness suits YOUR taste buds.
I cook bacon in the oven at 375 degrees, but the temperature is flexible.
Don’t stress out about oven temperature too much. You have some flexibility when cooking bacon. If the only thing I’m making in the oven is the bacon, then sure, I like a 375 degree oven for baked bacon.
However, if you have other items going in the oven at the same time (say, my vegetarian quiche recipe), and those require a slightly different temperature (like 350 or 400), don’t worry about it.
Just put your bacon in the oven at the temperature for your other dish, and adjust the cooking time up or down by a few minutes based on the temperature. The bacon may only need 14 to 16 minutes at 400 degrees, or as much as 25 to 27 minutes at 350 degrees.
As long as you check it semi-frequently and take it out as soon as it’s done, it will turn out just fine.
Cooking Bacon in the Oven: How to store leftover bacon
Allow bacon to cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container or zip-top bag. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Bacon in the Oven FAQs
I’ve tried baking bacon in both a preheated and non-preheated oven multiple times, and I’ve included both methods in the recipe card below.
If you start with a preheated oven, baking bacon at 375 generally takes about 20 to 25 minutes.
However, also feel free to put your bacon in a cold oven. The fat will slowly begin to render as the oven preheats, which is just fine!
If you put the bacon in a cold oven and then turn the oven on, it will take around 28 to 30 minutes to bake. The oven baked bacon turns out great either way, so just do what works for you!
I do NOT flip it as it’s cooking! You’re certainly welcome to flip it if you feel like it, but I never have (we didn’t in culinary school, either), and it still turns out perfectly crispy and delicious.
Be sure to leave your bacon uncovered when cooking it in the oven. This allows the air to circulate around the bacon and crisp it up! If you cover the bacon, it will steam and turn out very soggy.
This comes down to personal preference, and both methods have their merits.
Cooking bacon in the oven is great for larger quantities, and keeps the stovetop clean. It’s also a more hands-off method, allowing you to accomplish other kitchen tasks as it cooks.
On the other hand, cooking bacon in a pan allows more control over its exact level of crispness, as you’re standing right over it watching it, and is quicker when you want to cook a small amount.
I almost always choose to go the oven route, but feel free to experiment with both methods and choose the one you like best!
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Cooking Bacon in Oven
Ingredients
- 8 ounces sliced pork bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line rimmed baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Arrange bacon over parchment or foil in single layer.
- Transfer to oven and cook 20 to 22 minutes for traditional or center cut bacon, or 23 to 25 minutes for thick cut bacon, or until bacon reaches your desired level of crispness. Use tongs to transfer bacon to paper-towel lined plate to blot excess grease, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Home Chef Tip: Don’t have time to preheat the oven? You don’t have to! Place bacon in cold oven, then turn oven on to 375 degrees F. Increase cooking time to 26 to 30 minutes or until bacon reaches your desired level of crispness.
Interesting! Nope, I’ve never flipped it, and it’s always turned out great! I think my husband tried to flip it halfway through once, and hot grease splattered everywhere, so it was sort of dangerous. Not worth it! haha.
Woot woot!
I learned this about a year ago, but I didn’t know that you didn’t have to flip. The way I was told was 7 minutes and flip – I have wondered if it could skip flipping 🙂 Thanks!
I learned this about a year ago, but I didn’t know that you didn’t have to flip. The way I was told was 7 minutes and flip – I have wondered if it could skip flipping 🙂 Thanks!
Interesting! Nope, I’ve never flipped it, and it’s always turned out great! I think my husband tried to flip it halfway through once, and hot grease splattered everywhere, so it was sort of dangerous. Not worth it! haha.
Yeah – it’s not pretty!! 🙂
do I need to pre heat oven? I am starting culinary school in the fall!!! Im so so excited!! I have been doing hair for 26 years but always wanted to go to culinary school, so I’m going for it!!
Oh gosh, so sorry this took me so long to reply, Amy. Yes, these instructions were intended for an already-preheated oven. Although, sometimes I’ll get lazy and put it in while the oven is preheating, and it works just fine. Just takes a few minutes longer 😉
I am so excited for you as you head to culinary school. Please stay in touch and let me know how it goes. I think you’re going to love it!
I just found out about this recently too- and felt like an idiot for not knowing it. So much less messy and still tastes great!
I just found out about this recently too- and felt like an idiot for not knowing it. So much less messy and still tastes great!
Woot woot!
Oh it will next time I can actually turn my oven on (so hot here) that is how I will make bacon. It’s a revelation.
Hi Tiffani – Oh definitely, I think that would work really well, and allow the excess grease to drip away from the bacon. It might take a little less time to bake that way, so I would just keep an eye on it the first time you do it. Good luck!
I know, I seriously wondered “how have I never thought of this?!?” when I learned. I hope it changes your life a little bit 🙂
Hello! Can you also bake bacon on a baking rack that’s been set inside a rimmed pan? I’m looking for a way to crisp up bacon yet have them almost entirely grease-free, if that’s even possible with….bacon.
Hello! Can you also bake bacon on a baking rack that’s been set inside a rimmed pan? I’m looking for a way to crisp up bacon yet have them almost entirely grease-free, if that’s even possible with….bacon.
Hi Tiffani – Oh definitely, I think that would work really well, and allow the excess grease to drip away from the bacon. It might take a little less time to bake that way, so I would just keep an eye on it the first time you do it. Good luck!
I’ll join you in the 20% that didn’t know or never thought of this, years of spatter, grease, dread when cooking it, well next time I will use this method. Like it so much better. Thanks. It’s one of those slap your head moments, why didn’t I think of that??? I do love bacon!!
I’ll join you in the 20% that didn’t know or never thought of this, years of spatter, grease, dread when cooking it, well next time I will use this method. Like it so much better. Thanks. It’s one of those slap your head moments, why didn’t I think of that??? I do love bacon!!
I know, I seriously wondered “how have I never thought of this?!?” when I learned. I hope it changes your life a little bit 🙂
Oh it will next time I can actually turn my oven on (so hot here) that is how I will make bacon. It’s a revelation.
Hahaha so true!!
Cooking bacon is smelly, but eating it is oh so wonderful! ja
Cooking bacon is smelly, but eating it is oh so wonderful! ja
Hahaha so true!!