If there’s anything that gets my family circling the kitchen, asking “Whatcha makin’?” it’s the smell of sizzling bacon. Whether eaten on its own (bacon snatchers, you know who you are), next to a stack of banana pancakes or a cheesy omelette, or added to soups, salads, or tacos for a smoky, salty pop of flavor, bacon makes almost any meal better. You can cook a few slices in a skillet or the microwave, but when cooking a big batch, the oven is the surefire way to go. This method is almost entirely hands-off and results in perfectly crispy, chewy, evenly-cooked bacon. The best part? Clean-up is a breeze.
What You’ll Need To Cook Bacon in the Oven
With this method, you can cook about 12 slices of bacon on a single baking sheet. To make more than that, just use two baking sheets and increase the cooking time by a few minutes.
Most supermarkets carry regular and thick-cut bacon. Uncooked, the only difference between the two is how thick the bacon is sliced – thick-cut bacon is 50% thicker. Once cooked, regular bacon is crispier while thick-cut bacon has a bit more chew. I think the oven method works best with regular bacon, as it doesn’t render nearly as much grease onto the baking sheet. All that grease makes the pan difficult to move in and out of the oven safely.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
For easy clean-up, line a 13 x 18-inch rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty wide aluminum foil and so that there is some overhang on all sides (this prevents the grease from leaking onto the baking sheet), then cover with a sheet of parchment paper. Lay as many slices of bacon as you’d like to cook in a single layer on the baking sheet. You should be able to fit about 12 slices (try to keep them from overlapping).
Bake 13 to 15 minutes for regular bacon and 17 to 20 minutes for thick-cut bacon, carefully rotating the baking sheet from front to back about halfway through cooking. Keep an eye on the bacon towards the end of the cooking time, as you may need to add or subtract a minute or so depending on how crispy you like your bacon.
Carefully remove the bacon from the oven – there will be a lot of hot grease – and, using tongs, transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate or cutting board. If you’d like to save the bacon grease for another use, strain it into a heatproof jar. Enjoy!
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