How to Make Perfectly Crunchy Bacon in the Oven
Roasted bacon on cutting board
Every day is a good day when you kick it off with bacon. Cooking bacon is a tried-and-true technique any home cook should master, but if you're trying to skip the frying, grease and cleanup, cooking bacon in the oven is a smarter way to go. Here's what you need to know about this easy and foolproof method, from how long to cook bacon in the oven for, the right temperature to use, best storage methods for oven-cooked bacon, and tasty ways to put it to good use.
Related: 70 Best Bacon Recipes
How to Cook Bacon in the Oven
What's the best way to coax slices of bacon into perfectly crunchy strips, for crumbling into bits, for topping a baked potato loaded with melted cheese, or layering in a breakfast sandwich? Cook your bacon in the oven.
Cooking bacon strips in a skillet can result in the bacon rendering the fat, but the strips can shrink and start to curl up at the edges. It takes a lot of paper towels to thoroughly drain the pieces using the stove-top method as well.
An easy and foolproof method is to place a wire cooling rack in a rimmed sheet pan lined with foil and arrange the bacon strips on top of the cooling rack. Place in a 350° oven for about 15 minutes. Any residual grease will drip off the bacon, drain through the holes of the cooling rack, and pool on the foiled sheet pan below, making cleanup super easy. As the bacon cooks on the rack it will get crispy and will also bake up flat (instead of curly), so you can build a better BLT.
Related: 'Aldi Bacon Conspiracy' is Trending—Here's Why
Can You Refrigerate Bacon?
You can refrigerate bacon slices in an airtight plastic bag for one week, or freeze for a few months. Wrap bacon slices in paper towels and store in airtight plastic freezer bags or containers. Once you defrost, you'll be able to assemble a breakfast sandwich in the morning with bacon, make toasted waffles with bacon or eggs with bacon, with ease.
What to Make With Bacon
The smoky flavor of bacon is insanely good in a chili hot dog that will have everyone at your table asking for more. Looking for the combination of sweet maple and bacon in a treat? Take a look at a simple recipe for Maple Bacon Pretzel Blondies that will be a hit with kids and adults.
Plan to use up those end-of-summer tomatoes and make a BLT. Crispy pieces of bacon, slices of ripe juicy tomato, creamy mayonnaise and lettuce leaves in a sandwich of toasted bread slices. Is there anything better in life?! Bacon is also delicious in pasta, on deviled eggs, in burgers and mixed with popcorn. Now that you have a cheat sheet for making bacon in the oven the recipe combinations are endless!
More Bacon Recipes You'll Love:
Up next: I Tried Adam Sandler's Famous 'World's Greatest Sandwich' and It's My New Favorite Lunch
