Bacon in the Oven
Published April 2, 2021 • Updated March 11, 2026
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Want perfectly crispy bacon every time? I cook mine in the oven at 400 degrees on a foil-lined sheet pan. Hands-off, evenly caramelized, and zero oil splatters.
I started cooking bacon in the oven about eight years ago, and I have not touched a frying pan for it since. The whole pound cooks at once, every strip comes out evenly crispy, and I don’t have to stand over the stove dodging grease pops at 6 AM.
Here’s my usual routine. I preheat to 400 degrees, line a rimmed sheet pan with foil, lay the strips out with about a quarter inch between them, and walk away. Fourteen to fifteen minutes later, I’ve got caramelized bacon with crispy edges and zero cleanup beyond crumpling up the foil. That’s it.
I’ve tested different temperatures over the years. 375 gives you chewier strips if that’s your thing. 400 is my sweet spot for crispy. And if you want them almost shatteringly crisp, push it to 415 and pull them a minute early. The timing difference between chewy and extra-crisp is only about four minutes, so keep an eye on it the first time you try a new temp.
One thing I do differently than most people is I skip the wire rack. I know a lot of recipes swear by it, but I actually like the way the strips caramelize when they sit in a thin layer of their own fat. The bottoms get this golden, almost candied edge that you lose with a rack. If you want leaner, crispier results though, the rack method works great.
Thick cut is my go-to. Thin cut works too, but I pull thin bacon at 11-12 minutes because it goes from perfect to burnt fast. With thick cut, you have a wider window, and the texture is better for meal prep because it reheats without getting brittle.
Speaking of meal prep, this is how I batch cook for the whole week. I’ll do two sheet pans on a Sunday, let everything cool on a paper towel-lined plate, and store the strips in a container in the fridge. They reheat in the microwave in about 20 seconds or back at 350 for a couple of minutes if I want them re-crisped. I also freeze extras in a zip-top bag with parchment between layers, and they keep for about two months. Frozen strips reheat straight from the freezer in about 30 seconds.
If you’re doing a full breakfast spread, throw in a pan of sheet pan eggs at the same time. I run both on the same temp and everything finishes together. Pair it with mini frittatas or a breakfast bowl and you’ve got a legit weekend brunch with almost no active cooking time. On days I don’t want to run a full oven, my air fryer bacon method is faster for just a few strips.
I save my bacon grease in a mason jar in the fridge. It’s my favorite cooking fat for sauteing veggies and it adds this subtle smoky depth to everything. I use it to fry up keto hash browns on weekends, and it makes scrambled eggs taste completely different.
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Ingredients
12 slices bacon (thin or thick cut)
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Preheat oven and add your bacon
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil to catch the grease and make cleanup easy. Lay each bacon slice on the sheet from end to end with about 1/8 to 1/4 inch between slices so they caramelize instead of steam. You can use parchment paper instead of foil, but if grease leaks underneath you’ll need to wash the pan.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Should I start bacon in a cold oven or preheat first?
I always preheat to 400 degrees first. I've tried the cold oven method where you put the bacon in before preheating, and it does render more fat slowly, which some people like for extra crispiness. But I found my strips came out more consistent with a preheated oven. The cold start adds about 5 extra minutes to the total time and I couldn't tell enough of a difference to justify it.
Can I cook two sheet pans of bacon at once?
I do this almost every Sunday. I put one pan on the upper rack and one on the lower, and I swap their positions halfway through (around the 8-minute mark). The pan closer to the heating element always finishes a minute or two faster, so swapping keeps them even. Total time is about the same, maybe an extra minute. I get a full two pounds done in under 20 minutes this way.
How long does thick-cut bacon take at 400 degrees?
My thick-cut strips usually take 16-18 minutes at 400 degrees. I start checking at 14 minutes because every oven runs a little different. Thin cut is faster, more like 11-12 minutes. I always set a timer for the low end and then watch closely from there, because bacon goes from perfect to burnt in about 60 seconds.
Can I use a convection oven for bacon?
I use convection when I have the option and it's great. The circulating air crisps the bacon faster and more evenly. I knock the temperature down to 375 degrees on convection and check it at 12 minutes. My strips come out a little crispier around the edges with convection, which I prefer.
How do I make candied or maple bacon?
I do this pretty often. I sprinkle a light layer of brown sugar substitute (or brush on sugar-free maple syrup) during the last two minutes of baking. The timing matters because adding it too early lets the sweetener scorch before the bacon finishes. Thick cut handles the caramelizing better than thin because there's more surface area and the strips don't curl as much. The edges get this golden, almost toffee-like crust. I've tested it with real maple syrup too (just a thin brush), and the results are even stickier and more caramelized.
How do I keep the oven from getting greasy when cooking bacon?
I lay a second sheet of parchment paper loosely over the top of my bacon strips before they go in. It catches the grease splatters that would otherwise hit your oven walls. I started doing this after scrubbing baked-on grease one too many times. The parchment doesn't affect how the bacon cooks because heat still circulates underneath and around the edges. I toss it with the bottom liner when I'm done.
How do I store leftover bacon?
I let my bacon cool completely on a paper towel-lined plate, then layer the strips in an airtight container with parchment between layers. It keeps in the fridge for 4-5 days. I reheat strips in the microwave for about 20 seconds or pop them back at 350 degrees for a couple of minutes when I want them re-crisped.
Can I freeze cooked oven bacon?
I freeze extras all the time. I let the strips cool completely, then layer them in a zip-top freezer bag with a piece of parchment between every few strips so they don't fuse together. They keep for about two months. When I want a few strips, I pull them straight from the freezer and microwave for 25-30 seconds. The texture isn't quite as crispy as fresh, but for crumbling over salads or chopping into scrambled eggs it works great.
My husband grabbed a piece straight off the pan before I could plate it (burned his fingers, zero regrets) and declared it the crispiest bacon he's ever had. The man eats bacon every single weekend, so I'll take it.
Brought this to a spring brunch last weekend and the bacon was gone before the eggs, the fruit, anything else on the table. 400 degrees on foil is the only way I'm doing it from here on.
I meal prep on Sundays and bacon always felt like too much work to batch, so I just never bothered. Tried this last week with two full pans at 400 degrees and now I have bacon ready all week sitting in the fridge. The foil thing is what got me, I was already dreading the pan scrubbing and there was genuinely nothing to scrub. Reheating a few slices in the microwave for about 20 seconds and they crisp right back up, which I did not expect at all.
The 20-second microwave thing surprises everyone. I put mine on a paper towel for that reheat, pulls out the steam so it actually crisps instead of just warming.
Tried brushing on a little maple syrup for the last two minutes and the caramelization on thick-cut is something I did not know I needed.
Thick-cut is built for that. I've done brown sugar the last two minutes too, same timing, and the edges get this caramel crust that's almost hard to leave on the pan.
Honest question I kept asking myself: why would I run the oven just for bacon when a pan takes 8 minutes. The answer, apparently, is that the pan actually takes 12 if you count standing there flipping things and wiping down the stove after, and every strip still comes out uneven. Did 15 minutes at 400 on a foil-lined sheet pan (checked at 12 because I was skeptical it'd be done), and every piece came out uniform in a way I never get on the stove. Fat renders more evenly and you get caramelization from edge to edge instead of the weird curled-up situation when it hits a hot pan. Foil had all the grease collected, I folded it up and the pan was clean. I've been making bacon wrong for probably 10 years and I'm a little annoyed about it.
The wipe-down never factors into the math. Ten years isn't bad, my husband still reaches for the pan sometimes and I just let him.
I went keto in the fall and basically gave up on making real bacon at home (the stovetop was always a disaster). Made this on a snow day and the foil pan caught everything. It came out crispier than anything I was getting from a skillet, which I was not expecting.
Snow day bacon is the best bacon. The fat renders out and drips away instead of pooling under the strips. That's why it gets crispier than a skillet.
Just tried this and figured out that rotating the pan halfway through gets the bacon way more evenly crispy. Mine was done in 13 minutes at 400 instead of the full 14-15, and no flipping needed!
Rotating halfway is a solid move, especially if your oven has hot spots. 13 minutes sounds right for thin cut at 400.