How to Cook Bacon in the Oven Without Making a Mess
If you love bacon but hate the grease splattered all over the stove, cook it in the oven. I line a rimmed sheet pan with foil, lay out an entire pound of bacon, put it into a cold oven and set the temperature to 400°F. About 25 minutes later, I’ve got crisp bacon with no flipping, no standing over a skillet and very little mess.
Why I quit frying bacon on the stove
I have a love-hate relationship with bacon. My family loves it, which means I’ve cooked plenty of it. What I don’t love is standing over a skillet while bacon grease spits all over the cooktop, followed by that lingering smell for the rest of the day.
I’ve tried the stovetop, microwave, griddle and even the outdoor grill. The grill was my favorite for a while, but when it’s 10°F with a foot of snow outside? Bacon loses.
Then I started cooking it in the oven. An entire pound fits on one pan, I don’t have to flip it, the splatter stays contained and cleanup is ridiculously easy. Better yet, I start with a cold oven.
How to cook bacon in the oven without splatter
Here’s exactly how I do it:
- Start with a cold oven. Do not preheat your oven. You want to start out in a cold oven, which allows the bacon to heat gradually as the oven comes to temperature.
- Line a rimmed sheet pan. Cover a large, rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. The rim contains the grease, while the foil makes cleanup much easier.
- Arrange bacon in one layer. Lay the bacon strips in a single layer on top of the foil. For best results, don’t overlap the pieces.
- Optional: Add a sheet of parchment over the foil. I like the extra layer for easy cleanup, but you can cook the bacon directly on the foil, too.
- Put the pan in the cold oven and set it to 400°F. Place the pan in the cold oven, close the door and turn it on to 400°F.
- Bake until done to your liking. Start checking at about 20 minutes. Mine usually takes around 25 minutes, but bacon thickness and ovens vary. Pull it when it’s as browned and crisp as you like it.
- Transfer to paper towels. Using tongs, transfer the cooked bacon to a paper-towel-lined platter to drain excess grease.
That’s it. A whole pound of bacon, one pan and no greasy stovetop to clean afterward. I’ll take it.
Why start bacon in a cold oven?
I know, it sounds backward. We’re taught to preheat the oven before almost everything, but bacon is one place I happily break the rule.
Starting with a cold oven lets the bacon heat up gradually as the oven comes to temperature. The fat begins to render as the bacon cooks, and I get nicely browned, crisp bacon without having to hover over it. Best of all, there’s no waiting for the oven to preheat. Put the pan in, turn the oven to 400°F and walk away until the timer reminds you that breakfast is happening.
How to make oven bacon extra crispy
Baked on a sheet pan, bacon comes out crisp around the edges but still slightly chewy in the middle, the way many of us prefer. But if you like it extra crispy, no problem. Lay the bacon on top of a metal cooling rack set over the foil-lined sheet pan. The rack lifts the bacon above the rendered fat, which helps it cook more crisply on both sides. Just make sure the cooling rack you’re using is oven-safe.
The easiest way to clean up bacon grease
It’s so easy. If you want to save the bacon fat for cooking, let it cool slightly, then carefully pour it into a heat-safe container. Otherwise, let the grease cool and solidify before gathering up the foil and throwing it away. Whatever you do, don’t pour bacon grease down the drain. Then wash the pan with dish soap and water. Done.
Keep Your Aluminum Cookware Looking New
Never put aluminum cookware or bakeware in the dishwasher or soak it with dishwasher detergent. Always wash aluminum by hand using liquid dishwashing soap. Automatic dishwasher detergent can cause dark stains and unsightly marks on aluminum surfaces, leaving your cookware looking tarnished and dull. Keep your aluminum looking new by giving it a gentle hand wash every time.
Cook a whole pound at once
One of my favorite things about oven bacon is that I can cook an entire pound at once instead of working in batches. Arrange the strips in a single layer on a rimmed half-sheet pan and they’ll all be ready at the same time.
And no, you don’t need a special bacon pan or another countertop appliance. A rimmed baking sheet you already own will do just fine. If you need one, this half-sheet pan is the size I use.
- MORE: What is an Air Fryer? Why You May or May Not Need One
- MORE:Â How to Cook Eggs: Fried, Poached, Scrambled, Boiled
Perfect Oven-Baked Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon thin- or thick-cut
Instructions
- Do not preheat the oven. Start with a cold oven.
- Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Arrange the bacon on the foil in a single layer without overlapping.
- Optional: Add a sheet of parchment paper over the foil for an extra layer that makes cleanup easy.
- For extra-crispy bacon: Place an oven-safe metal cooling rack on the lined sheet pan and arrange the bacon on the rack.
- Place the pan in the cold oven, close the door and set the oven to 400°F.
- Begin checking the bacon at about 20 minutes. Mine usually takes around 25 minutes, but cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the bacon and how quickly your oven heats. Remove it when it's as browned and crisp as you like.
- Using tongs, transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined platter to drain excess grease. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Question: What’s your favorite way to cook bacon? Do you prefer the stovetop, microwave, or have you tried baking it in the oven? Let us know in the comments down below.
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We buy bacon on sale, 5 or more pounds at a time. Half-cook it all in the oven, well not all. Some gets eaten pretty quick. We lay the half -cooked bacon on parchment paper, roll it up, and into the freezer. It’s quick, easy and clean to finish cooking the half-cooked bacon in the microwave or in a pan. I always use parchment paper to line my baking sheet, as well as for rolling up and storing the bacon in the freezer. I find that bread bags fit my bacon roll. Bonus, we use the parchment that we cooked on for the back yard fire pit. Makes a great fire starter.
My dear friend…here is my bacon secret. First, I found that the Original Pancake House in Dallas serves the best bacon ever. Found out from them it is from a Midwest outfit called Daily’s. You can only buy it through someone in the retail food business, so we lave a local diner who will order it for us and sell it to us for what they pay for it. The catch is it comes in 15# boxes. That may sound like a lot, but I put it up in 10 freezer bags and exhausting the air in the packages. It gives 1.5# of bacon per package which costs us about $7/pkg. I order the thickest bacon they carry and it comes in a variety of flavors. (BTW, the local diner ran out of bacon one time and had to use one of my boxes…they thought it was too expensive, but after trying it, it is now their go-to brand). We asked the OPH how they cooked it and they told us in the oven and then finished on their flat top. I use a Gotham Steel sheet pan with a slanted rack in which to stand up the bacon for cooking. I always use an aluminum foil sheet in the pan to minimize clean up. My version easily cooks 10-15 slices. I line the pan, stand up the 10 slices in the racks, cook at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. It’s about 80% done by then and most of the grease has dripped into the pan. I remove the bacon, pat dry and then finish to desired doneness in a huge non-stick skillet and drain between sheets of paper towels. The 10 slices easily feeds 4. BTW, it makes the best BLTs as well. Try it…you’ll like it.
I use my 30 year-old George Foreman electric grill to cook bacon. It cooks both sides at the same time and all of the grease runs down to the plastic trough. No splatters anywhere! I can get about 6 slices cooked at one time. I usually cook 2 pounds and freeze half, except when we’re eating BLTs with garden tomatoes!. The two pounds easily keep in the refrigerator during the BLE season.
My late husband did not like bacon cooked in the oven, but I did. He preferred it cooked in a skillet.
I lay a sheet of parchment over the bacon before putting in the oven. It minimizes splatter that gets blown around by the convection fan. Less splatter inside the oven = less smell lingering inside.
The best way to cook bacon is roll it in flour before baking it. It’s crispy and has an awesome flavor. It also doesn’t crinkle up, it lays perfectly flat
I’ve never heard of doing this, Lawana but you can be sure I’m going to give it a try. Thanks!
First, I want to mention when I discovered cooking bacon in the oven, I loved how the bacon came out and the fact you can cook a whole pound of bacon this way at once. However, I would like to let everyone know when you pull the pan out from the oven, be careful! I had a terrible burning accident due to not pulling the pan out slowly and evenly. I guess I was in a rush pulling it out. I had an oven mitt on my right hand, however, nothing on my left hand. Some of the grease from the pan ended up on my left hand causing severe burns on 3 of my fingers. Thankfully, I quickly removed my rings I had on my fingers and immediately went to the sink to immerse my hand in cold water. The damage had already been done though. The pain would not stop. By the next day, I had big blisters and ended up going to a burn clinic. Moral to my experience, do not rush taking the pan out of the oven and be careful! In the recipe, it mentions using parchment paper as an option. I would consider using it to soak up some of the grease. Thankfully, my had has healed with no scaring to speak of.
We love BLTs in our house. If you cut the bacon package in half you can take 6 half slices and weave them with 3 across and 3 down. One you bake them they meld together and create a slab of bacon that fits on a slice of toast perfectly.
Now that’s a cool idea!
I enjoy oven cooked bacon, but it’s hot here in South Texas for a large part of the year, so I avoid using the oven when possible. Instead, my husband cooks it outside on the grill in a small shallow pan. Turns out great every time, doesn’t heat up the house, and no lingering smell!
I read somewhere that if you don’t preheat the oven, the fatty parts of the bacon will crisp up much better. I tried it and it really works! So pop your bacon in the oven and then turn the oven on to 400 degrees. Bake for 15-20 minute. I don’t use a rack and I’ve never had a problem with soggy bacon.
I used a rack once, but I didn’t use it again. It’s so hard to clean it. I don’t think it’s necessary for crispy bacon! I also store the bacon grease in a glass jar with tight-fitting lid in the fridge. I use the bacon grease for cooking eggs or potatoes, etc
WHAT leftover bacon?
HAHAHAHA!
This is how we cook bacon, and we use a rack. I never have a problem with clean-up, and we don’t have leftovers!
I’ve been baking bacon this way all my adult life, thanks to my mother. She sometimes would drag the slices through a little flour with black pepper. Adding the flour seems to make the result just a little chewier; the pepper adds a nice zing.
Hi Mary,
We now cut the bacon slices in half, lay them in the fry pan and add a bit of water (1/8 C.)to the bacon in the pan. Much less spatter , bacon cooks more evenly , easier turning and quicker! Voila!
1 person household? Cook it all, remove what is needed at the time, and freeze the rest by portion size.
I’ve been using the oven to cook bacon for years now. I have metal grid racks that I use to avoid soggy slices. Cooking two packs of bacon at once (I have two cookie sheets and two racks) saves time and energy costs. IMHO, there’s no better way to cook bacon.
I’m a fan of oven baked bacon. When working as a line cook for a casino buffet, I baked about 30 lbs every morning. At home, though, I’m leery of the splattered oven walls. Do you think it would cook evenly in a roasting pan with 4″ sides?
Darlene, if it helps you, when I do one pound, I really don’t notice any spatter. It sizzles a little more when I take it out and the cooler air hits it. My oven stays clean—if I fry on the stovetop, there is always a spattered mess.