How To Know When Bacon Is Cooked

When it comes to cooking bacon, you have options. Learn How to Cook Bacon in the oven, on the stove-top, in an air fryer, or even in the microwave depending on how much bacon you need.

I’m covering four different ways for making bacon, but my favorite way (by far) is cooking bacon in the oven.

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If you don’t already know this trick, cooking crispy bacon in the oven might be the best thing you’ll learn all year. And yes, even if you’re a diehard cast-iron skillet user, you can bake bacon strips in the oven in your favorite #10.

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But chances are you’ll be so impressed with how much more bacon fits on a sheet tray than in a pan, that once you try it, you’ll never go back to anything else.

The advantages of frying bacon in the oven:

• More bacon: In general, you can cook bigger batches of bacon slices in an oven than on the stovetop or in an air fryer. Go ahead, fill that oven up!
• Less mess, less clean-up: Contain the bacon splatters in the oven instead of all over your stove. Clean-up is even easier if you line your rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil to catch all those bacon drippings.
• Hands-off: You can do other things while the bacon is cooking, like make coffee or squeeze some OJ.
• Bacon loves low and slow cooking: The oven gives a nice, consistent heat, and the wire rack ensures even circulation for your desired level of crispiness.
• No flipping: Stove-top fried bacon needs to be flipped frequently. Not the case in the oven!
• Burns? What burns? No more hot bacon grease popping out of the skillet and hitting your arms. It’s a splatter-free zone!

Of course, if you only need a small amount of bacon or bacon fat, it definitely makes more sense to use a skillet on the stove. Hot Bacon Dressing, Green Beans with Bacon, Spaghetti Carbonara all come to mind. I also included instructions for air fryer bacon in the post. Cooked bacon is delicious in so many dishes, adding a welcome savory-salty flavor.

Ingredient notes

• Bacon: These recipes work for any kind of bacon: regular bacon, thick-cut bacon, turkey bacon, and cured or uncured bacon. The cooking time will vary between the type of bacon such as regular and thick-cut bacon, though.

Step-by-step instructions

To cook bacon in the oven:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed sheet pan with foil for easy cleanup. Set a cooling rack on top if using. Arrange the bacon in a single layer.

1. Bake until bacon is cooked to your desired doneness (start checking at 10 minutes; I usually bake it for about 15 minutes). Remove from oven and use tongs to transfer the bacon and drain on paper towels.

To cook bacon on the stove:

1. In a cold frying pan, arrange bacon in a single layer (don’t let it overlap too much).

1. Turn the skillet to medium heat and cook, flipping the pieces often to promote even browning, until they reach your desired doneness (8 to 15 minutes). Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.

1. You can also chop the bacon before frying and fry it up in small pieces.

To cook bacon in an air fryer:

1. Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees if your model suggests that (not all air fryers need to be preheated). To the basket of an air fryer, add 5 or 6 strips of regular bacon (use the amount that fits, cutting to fit if needed).

1. Fry regular bacon for 7 to 10 minutes and thick-cut bacon for 10 to 12 minutes (cook to desired crispiness). Remove from air fryer basket and drain on paper towels. Discard any leftover bacon grease in the bottom of the air fryer between batches.

To cook bacon in the microwave:

1. Line a microwave-safe plate with 2 layers of paper towels. Add bacon in a single layer and cover with 2 more layers of paper towels.

1. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Check and continue microwaving in 30-second intervals as needed for desired doneness.

Recipe tips and variations

• Yield: 1 pound of regular bacon usually has 16 slices, enough for 8 servings, 2 slices each. Thick-cut bacon will have 10-12 slices per pound.
• Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• Freezer: Add cooked bacon slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then, transfer to a freezer-safe bag, label, date, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat right from the freezer (in the microwave, a skillet, or air fryer).
• Keep the fat: Store bacon grease in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 months or freeze it indefinitely. Personally, I like to strain the warm grease through a fine-mesh sieve before I pour it into the jar, but you don’t have to.
• Soups with bacon: Crumbled bacon is a delicious topping on Loaded Baked Potato Soup, Corn Chowder, Split Pea Soup, New England Clam Chowder, and Manhattan Clam Chowder.
• Salads with bacon: Put your cooked bacon to work in Broccoli Salad (aka Piggly Wiggly salad if you’re from Wisconsin), Seven Layer Salad, Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad, a classic Wedge Salad, BLT Pasta Salad, Cobb Salad, and the Best Macaroni Salad.

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