Making Bacon in the Oven

There are a lot of ways to make bacon, but my go to method is making bacon in the oven. It is a clean and forget-about-it way to make flavorful bacon. You will get delicious crispy bacon every time and you can make the other food items while it is baking. 

Jump to Recipe

What ingredients will I need for making bacon in the oven?

You will need a large pan with a lip, foil, and bacon. That’s it. Really! I have a huge pan that I like to use for my bacon. This pan is one of my favorites for a lot of things. It is an extra large sheet pan made from USA Pan. Their products are made in the USA from globally sourced materials. It is a good pan, period. You will need to line the pan with foil. We seem to only buy heavy duty foil anymore. Depending on the size of your foil, you may have to use two sheets of it. As far as the bacon goes, that is your preference. I buy what is on sale, so we use a variety of different types. I can honestly say that out of all the types we have made, we have never thrown any out. 

What steps do I take to make bacon in the oven?

-You do not need to preheat the oven for bacon. I go ahead and set mine to 420 degrees, but I have the bacon in it within a couple of minutes. It doesn’t even reach 200 degrees before I get the bacon in the oven. If you are going to take a long time getting the bacon onto the pan and getting it into the oven, then don’t turn the oven on yet.

-Get out a large sheet pan with a lip.

-Use foil to cover the sheet pan. You want to foil to be longer and wider than the pan itself. Flip the foil up around the edges so that it helps to hold the grease in. The main purpose of the foil is to help with the clean up process.

-Cut open the bacon and lay it out on the pan. It is ok if the edges are touching. 

-Set the oven temperature to 420 degrees.

-Put the sheet pan of bacon in the oven and set the timer for twenty-five minutes. If you want chewy bacon, set it for twenty minutes and start watching it to see when it reaches your liking. If you like crisper bacon, you will want to start watching it at twenty-five minutes to make sure you cook it long enough. 

-While the bacon is cooking, get out a plate or a large serving dish. 

-Cover the plate or serving dish with paper towels. They help absorb the extra grease. 

-Take the bacon out of the oven and use a spatula or fork to carefully remove the bacon from the pan. 

-Lay the bacon on the paper towel covered plate and serve.

Why should I not preheat the oven?

Cooking the bacon in a cold oven that slowly heats up will help you get a crispier bacon because it is cooking it slowly. When it heats up slowly, it allows for the bacon to render its fat. Basically, the fat cooks out of the bacon which gives you a crispier bacon.  

Do I need to put seasoning on the bacon?

Nope! Bacon is ready to go as it is. That is another great thing about bacon. It is ready to cook when you get it out of the package. You don’t have to season it before or after. There are several types of seasoned bacon that you could try. Maple bacon is my favorite. Some other types are peppered, smokehouse, hardwood, and applewood. I am sure there are lots more out there, but these are some of the common types you will find at your local grocery store. 

Can I store bacon in the freezer? 

I like to buy several packages of bacon when it is on sale and keep it in the freezer. I try to remember to put it in the fridge no later than the night before we are going to have it. This gives it time to thaw out completely before baking it. Cooking it in the oven works great for me. It is nice to be able to pop it in the oven and work on whatever else we are going to have with it. 

What can I serve bacon with?

Bacon is one of those breakfast items that seems to go with a lot of different things. You can serve it with pancakes, waffles, buttery biscuits, eggs, toast, muffins, and even with fruit or yogurt. 

Ideally, I like to have protein and carbs for breakfast, but that doesn’t always happen. I definitely lean towards the carbs. Bacon is a pretty decent protein that isn’t difficult to make. I love that you don’t have to season it and it is ready to go. It has great flavor without having to add any extra seasoning to it. 

What can I do with the leftover grease?

There are a couple of things you can do with the leftover grease that is on the foil. Give it time to cool and solidify. Once it has cooled, take a rubber spatula, scrape it up, and put it in a coffee cup. Cover it with foil and save it in the fridge to use for homemade sausage gravy or a roux. You can also just take the foil, gather it up, and throw it in the trash. Now you can just wash your pan and the clean up process is all done. 

Hopefully this gives you the encouragement you need for making bacon in the oven and you are ready to try it out. Enjoy!