Making perfect bacon at home can be quite challenging. There is a fine line between delicately crisp, slightly juicy bacon and soggy undercooked, or burnt overcooked bacon. There are many methods out there for achieving perfect bacon, but my tried and true favorite is to bake it!

Yes, no more grease splattering all over the stove just to get unevenly cooked bacon. Throw it on a baking sheet, pop it in the oven and that’s it! I avoided making bacon for a long, long time because I couldn’t stand having bacon grease all over my stove, not to mention when you go to flip it and the grease splatters on you – ouch!

Using the oven to cook your bacon is nothing new, but a lot of people will tell you to use a broiler pan or a rack that’s placed over a baking sheet. I don’t like to do that for 2 reasons: it’s a pain and more to clean up, and the bacon sticks very easily.

All you need to make perfect bacon is a baking sheet, an oven, and bacon of course! You can cover the baking sheet with foil for even easier clean up – sometimes I do this and sometimes I don’t, but it’s definitely super easy to remove the foil and be done!

Ok, time to make bacon!

1. Lay your desired amount of bacon slices on your baking sheet (foil-lined if you wish!
2. Place the baking sheet in a cold oven. You don’t want the oven to be preheated here; the bacon will cook unevenly in a hot oven. 
3. Turn the oven to 400º and then set your timer for 15 minutes. Don’t touch the bacon during this time – just let it cook!

After 15 minutes, take a peak and if the bacon is golden and looks to be just about done – take it out. It will continue to cook a little bit when you pull it out of the oven. Once it stops sizzling, move the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess grease – after the grease drains off the bacon will crisp up.

If the bacon doesn’t look done after 15 minutes, let it go for another 2 minutes or so, but watch it closely – if it gets too brown in the oven it will be overcooked when you take it out.

This cooking process can take 15-20 minutes; it really depends on your oven. It also depends on the thickness of the bacon –regular sliced usually takes 15-17 minutes in my oven, and the thick-sliced takes closer to 20 or longer. Don’t worry though, after the first time you’ll know exactly how long you need – just keep a close eye on it after 15 minutes.

Who knew so much thought went into bacon, right? Well, it really is easy and once you do it and get the perfect cooking time you will have perfect bacon every time! Another great thing about this method is that you’ll have perfectly flat bacon, so that’s good for things like BLT’s. If you prefer your bacon to be a little more imperfect in shape, just twist it around when you take it out of the pan and let it cool that way. That’s what I did for my breakfast that you’ll see pictured below!

Next time you want to make a great breakfast at home, follow my tips and tricks for perfect fried eggs and bacon! You’ll be thrilled with how easy it really is, and the little clean up you’ll have. 

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Perfect Bacon

Perfect bacon made easy at home! Delicately crisp, slightly juicy bacon is fool proof using your oven! The best part? It’s mess free and you get perfectly cooked bacon every time!

| Cook Time: 15-17 Min |

INGREDIENTS

Desired Amount of Sliced Bacon, 2-3 slices per person

DIRECTIONS

Lay out your bacon slices on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in a cold oven and turn the oven to 400º. Allow the bacon to cook, undisturbed for 15-17 minutes. Remove the cooked bacon from the oven and allow it to stop sizzling in the pan, then move the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and let it cool slightly and crisp up. Serve with your favorite breakfast or use in your favorite recipe!

*Note: If you are making thick-sliced bacon, you’ll need closer to 20+ minutes for it to cook.