How to Cook Bacon in the Oven (425°)

4.54 from 13 votes

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Cooking Bacon in the Oven at 425° F has never been more easy or delicious. This simple cooking bacon in the oven technique gives you light, crispy, buttery slices of bacon without all the mess. It’s the perfect sidekick to my Protein Pancakes, or crumbled and added to a salad like my Broccoli Salad with Bacon. Everyone loves a good piece of bacon!

cooked bacon on baking sheet with rack

Why You’ll Love This Method!

I love cooking and smelling bacon in the oven. Whether you’re cooking it up for a crowd, meal prepping for the week or just wanting a few slices for a salad recipe, baking bacon in the oven is the easiest way, resulting in perfectly cooked bacon every time! Whenever I make this, my family goes bananas over it. It never ceases to impress. Whether you’re looking for chewy, crispy, or somewhere-in-the-middle bacon, this is the method for you! We are big fans of ‘somewhere in the middle’ and love the buttery, crispy texture this recipe yields.

Cooking Bacon: Oven vs Pan

Say goodbye to standing over a splattering frying pan of bacon on the stovetop, making a giant greasy mess! I have a better way! Imagine being able to stick a pan full of bacon into the oven, set a timer and come back to evenly cooked bacon! Are your taste buds watering yet? Yum! There’s no need to flip the bacon over either! You can cook bacon using one of two oven methods:

Elevated on a Rack – Baking bacon on a rack will take a little more time to cook because it’s elevated and not frying directly in the grease, but it is easier to get a crispy and chewy texture.

Directly on the Baking Sheet – Placing your bacon directly on the baking sheet will be a quicker cooking time, but it will be harder to get that chewy and crispy, middle of the road texture.

I prefer baking bacon on racks, even though it results in more dishes. Be sure to get my tip for easy clean up below!

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Here is step by step how to cook perfect bacon by using this oven method. If you want to print out the steps, the printable recipe card is down below.

Prep Baking Sheet + Preheat Oven

Preheat your oven to 425°. Prepare a foil-lined baking sheet and place a cooling rack on the baking sheet. Parchment paper can be used instead if you prefer. Lightly spray the rack with non-stick cooking spray (for easy clean up) and set aside. Be sure to use a large rimmed baking sheet! This bacon gives off a lot of fat and grease that you don’t want on the bottom of your oven. Yuck! If you are cooking a large amount of bacon, you’ll want to use more than one large sheet pan.

Lay Bacon Strips on the Rack

Next, grab your bacon of choice, open package and line strips of bacon onto your prepared wire rack. Regular thin cut bacon is all about the same thickness, so the cooking time should only vary slightly, based on your oven.

Bake

Once your bacon is lined up and ready to go, pop into a 425° F oven and bake 15-18 minutes or until it’s to your desired texture.

Every brand of bacon is different (some are super thick and some are very thin) and every oven runs differently as well. If you notice that your bacon is super thin, you may want to start checking at 10 minutes. Of course, thick-cut bacon will take more baking time. If you buy a good quality thick cut bacon (like Wright Bacon), it could take as long as 25-30 minutes on a rack. My best advice is to KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON YOUR BACON and determine yourself how much time is needed for your bacon of choice.

Cool Before Serving

Pull your bacon out of the oven and let it cool slightly before serving. Maybe 2 minutes or so. Remove bacon from the wire rack. I like to use tongs, and should come off easily. If you placed your bacon slices directly onto the baking sheet, you’ll want to drain the bacon fat on paper towels before serving. If you used a rack for baking bacon, the paper towel trick isn’t necessary.

If you like to save your bacon grease for cooking, I highly recommend this cute bacon grease container. It has a little strainer inside to catch the bacon bits so your grease stays cleaner.

cooked bacon on baking sheet with rack

Pro Tip: If you’re wanting to amp up your breakfast, brunch or this simple bacon in the oven situation, brush some maple syrup onto your bacon slices in the last two minutes of cooking. Makes for a sweet and savory treat! If you don’t have any maple syrup, you can try a light sprinkling of brown sugar as well.

Storing Leftover Bacon

I know, I know, you’re probably laughing…like who has bacon left to need to store it? Well sometimes I actually do! Allow bacon to cool completely to room temperature. Store in the fridge, in an airtight container or resealable bag for 3-4 days.

A Few Tips for Easy Cleanup

Here are a few tips for making your life easier when cleaning up after baking bacon in the oven.

  1. Line your baking sheets with foil.
  2. Spray your baking racks with nonstick spray.
  3. After your bacon is finished cooking, let everything cool completely; all the grease will solidify.
  4. Transfer the baking racks to the dishwasher.
  5. Remove the foil and throw away.
  6. Using paper towels, wipe away any excess grease from the pan and throw away.
  7. Wash the baking sheet with hot soapy water.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of bacon should I use?

The most common type of bacon is American Bacon. It comes from the belly of the pig and is fatty cut of meat. If you want to use thick-cut bacon, it does great in the oven. You’ll likely need more baking time than a thin sliced bacon requires. Turkey bacon is also an option, and is leaner in fat. It requires less baking time, so that it doesn’t dry out.

How long do you cook bacon in the oven?

Average cook time is 15-18 minutes at 425° F for slightly chewy and slightly crispy bacon. 18-20 minutes at 425°F for mostly crispy bacon. Also know that every oven varies slightly, so it’s best to keep an eye on it until you have it at the level of crispiness that you like. Depending on the thickness of the bacon, you may need to add a few more minutes to the cook time.

Can I freeze bacon?

Yes! Uncooked bacon stores really well in the freezer! Allow to thaw overnight before attempting to separate the pieces to bake. Cooked bacon can be stored in the freezer too! Use it within 3 months for the the best results and flavor.

Can I save the bacon grease?

If you are wanting to save the excess bacon grease, I would recommend pouring the warm (not hot!) grease into a glass jar. Store with the lid on in the refrigerator. If you don’t want to save the bacon grease, make sure to dispose of it properly by soaking it up with paper towels and throwing in the garbage, or pouring into a can or container from the garbage and allowing it to solidify before putting in the garbage. Never pour bacon grease down the sink drain. 🙂

Do I need to flip the bacon half way through cooking?

No, that’s one of the best things about baking it in the oven- no need to flip it. The exception might be when using thick-cut bacon. Sometimes it’s necessary to flip it over to ensure an evenly cooked bacon.

Can I cover the pan to avoid splattering grease?

You certainly can, but it’s not a must. If you want, lightly lay a piece of aluminum foil across the sheet pan. This will prevent some splattering.

Why won’t my bacon get crispy in the oven?

Overcrowding the pan, or overlapping bacon could be the reason. If you are cooking a lot of bacon, it might be necessary to split the bacon into two baking sheets, laying the bacon in a single layer and rotate the pan placement in the oven half way through baking. You may need to add a few more minutes to baking.

What to do with Cooked Bacon

I hope this was helpful and you give this method a try! I think this is the absolute best way to cook bacon! The printable directions are below. Have a great day, friends!

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.

cooked bacon on baking sheet with rack
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4.54 from 13 votes

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven (425°)

Baking bacon in the oven at 425° has never been more easy or delicious. This simple 'cooking bacon in the oven' technique gives you light, crispy, buttery slices of bacon without all the mess. 
servings 10 slices bacon
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 10 slices bacon regular thickness

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a sided baking sheet with foil and place cooling rack into the pan. Lightly spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.
    raw bacon on baking sheet with rack
  • Line bacon slices onto rack and bake 15-20 minutes, depending on the desired texture. Remove from oven, cool 2 minutes and serve warm.
    cooked bacon on baking sheet with rack

Notes

Every brand of bacon is different (some are super thick and some are very thin) and every oven runs differently as well. If you notice that your bacon is super thin, you may want to start checking at 10 minutes. Of course, thick-cut bacon will take more baking time. If you buy a good quality thick cut bacon, it could take as long as 25-30 minutes on a rack. My best advice is to KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON YOUR BACON and determine yourself how much time is needed for your bacon of choice.

Nutrition

Calories: 91kcal | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 145mg | Potassium: 43mg | Vitamin A: 10IU | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bacon, bacon in the oven, how to cook bacon in the oven

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Recipe Rating




19 Responses
  1. Karen T

    5 stars
    This is how I have been doing it for years. When I make it ahead, I simply put it in a pan on top of the stove or on my griddle while I am making my pancakes. I typically let the bacon fat solidify in the pan lined with foil and wrap it all up and toss it .

  2. Barb

    5 stars
    This is a great idea I used to use a flat cookie sheet and put foil on it and then half way through flip the bacon so this works better & less mess

  3. Mary

    5 stars
    I have made it in the oven before but I don’t use the rack I just line cookie sheet with overhang with parchment paper stays straight and less mess than stove

  4. Tony

    I’m sure someone sheet said this but just in case, the oven method is way easier if you use parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Merry Christmas! (Cuz every day is Christmas!)

  5. Joy

    5 stars
    Excellent results. Baked 25 minutes for extra crispy bacon. Question — is the “per serving” listed in the nutritional values 1 or 2 slices? Thanks! Joy

    1. Lauren

      This is why I say several times within the post to check your bacon as you go and know your oven. I’ve made this recipe three separate times with three separate ovens and 425 for 19 minutes is perfect for me!

  6. Sue

    I cook my bacon in the oven, but I start with a cold oven and then set the temperature. The bacon fat renders slowly as the oven heats up. I still check the bacon for how done we like it at about 20-25 minutes from when I put it into the cold oven.

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