Making oven baked bacon could not be simpler! This straightforward recipe results in reliable bacon every single time. You’ll never use the stove or microwave again!

A plate with slices of oven baked bacon.

Growing up, our mom never cooked bacon on the stove; it was always made in the microwave. To be evenly honest, we've never found anything wrong with that – it seems to cook up evenly crispy each and every time. However, if you need to make a large batch, it takes forever.

We can squeeze a few more slices into our large cast iron skillet, so we started cooking bacon that way. However, it’s insanely messy, also takes a long time standing over the splattering stove, and never seems to cook up evenly – we seem to always burn part of the bacon while part of it remains a little rawer than we'd like.

After experimenting with making oven-baked bacon over five years ago, we were 100% sold on making bacon in the oven. It’s the only way we've ever made it since. It bakes up evenly and is just flat-out reliable every single time.

Slices of uncooked bacon on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

How to Make Oven Baked Bacon

When we first started making bacon in the oven five years ago or so, we experimented with tons of different methods – baking the bacon on foil, on parchment, on a wire rack, in a preheated oven, in a cold oven, etc. Seriously, we made A LOT of bacon!

Below is the method we've found makes a house standby oven baked bacon:

Bake the bacon on parchment paper on a half sheet pan. We tried foil and it stuck a little and didn’t clean up as well as parchment. We tried a wire baking sheet, but we found the ends would burn a bit and cleaning the wire rack was a major pain.)
Put the bacon in a COLD OVEN. This sounds crazy, right?! Especially for bakers who are taught to never put anything in an oven until it is preheated. However, we swear this makes the most memorable bacon! It is always evenly cooked and whether you like it softer or crispier, it seems to always be done absolutely evenly. Baking in a preheated oven was hit or miss for us in terms of doneness and even cooking.
Bake the bacon at 400 degrees F. We tried baking at temperatures ranging from 325 to 425 degrees F and settled on 400 degrees as being the sweet spot of evenly slow-cooked oven bacon.
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes. How long you cook the bacon in the oven depends on her personal preference when it comes to doneness. We like crispy bacon in our house, so we tend to err on the higher end of cooking time, but if you like it done, but still a little soft and chewy, then you’ll want to use the lower end of the time range.

Freshly cooked oven baked bacon on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Baker notes

This recipe is made using “regular cut” bacon. If you use thin-sliced bacon, you will need to decrease the baking time slightly, and if you use thick-sliced bacon, you will need to increase the baking time slightly.
Our favorite brand/type of bacon is Applegate Sunday Bacon. It’s uncured and since we found it and started buying it regularly, it’s totally taken our bacon to the next level. If you have another go-to brand or type, we'd love to hear about it!
After removing the bacon from the parchment paper, you can pour the bacon grease into a jar or airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Use it to make nuts and bolts snack mix, fry eggs, make grilled cheese sandwiches, or use it to pop popcorn!
Once the bacon has cooled, you can place it in an even layer on a clean, parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Place the frozen bacon in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, simply microwave for 15 seconds.

If you’re a life-long maker of bacon in the microwave or in the skillet, then we beg of you to try the oven! It’s totally hands-off, straightforward cleanup, and it makes reliable bacon every. single. time.

Plus, you can make a massive batch at once and keep a stash in the refrigerator or freezer for a bacon emergency *wink*

QUESTION: What’s your favorite way to eat bacon?

Put the Bacon in These Recipes:

Serve It For Breakfast With This:

Five years ago: Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
Six years ago: Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in October 2013. Refreshed in October 2018 with an updated recipe method, new photos, and recipe tips.

Yield: 12 slices of bacon
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 35 minutes

Ingredients

8 to 12 slices bacon

Method

Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
Lay bacon slices in a single layer without overlapping on the parchment paper.
Place in a cold oven, then turn oven on to 400 degrees F. Bake until desired degree of doneness, usually around 25 minutes for done and soft, closer to 30 minutes for done and crispy. Using kitchen tongs, remove bacon from pan and place on paper towel-lined plate to drain. Leftover bacon can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The bacon can also be frozen for up to 1 month.

Notes

This recipe is made using “regular cut” bacon. If you use thin-sliced bacon, you will need to decrease the baking time slightly, and if you use thick-sliced bacon, you will need to increase the baking time slightly.

Our favorite brand/type of bacon is Applegate Sunday Bacon. It’s uncured and since we found it and started buying it regularly, it’s totally taken our bacon to the next level. If you have another go-to brand or type, we'd love to hear about it!

After removing the bacon from the parchment paper, you can pour the bacon grease into a jar or airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Use it to make nuts and bolts snack mix, fry eggs, make grilled cheese sandwiches, or use it to pop popcorn!

Once the bacon has cooled, you can place it in an even layer on a clean, parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Place the frozen bacon in a freezer-safe zip-top bag and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. To reheat, simply microwave for 15 seconds.

Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in October 2013. Refreshed in October 2018 with an updated recipe method, new photos, and recipe tips.

Reliable Oven Baked Bacon