The Best Way to Cook Bacon in the Oven Without Making a Mess

Cooking bacon can be a delicious way to start your day. However it often leaves behind a big mess to clean up afterwards. Grease splatters all over the stove and counter, dirties pans and can even get on your clothes. Not to mention having to constantly watch and flip the bacon to make sure it cooks evenly.

Luckily there is a simple solution to avoid this mess and headache – baking your bacon in the oven! After years of trial and error I’ve finally discovered the perfect method for how to cook bacon in the oven without splatter. This technique results in crispy, evenly cooked bacon every time. And the best part? Hardly any messy cleanup required afterwards!

In this article, I’ll walk you through my proven step-by-step method for baking bacon in the oven. I’ll also share some tips for choosing the right bacon, recommended cook times, oven settings to use, and more. After trying this splatter-free bacon cooking method just once, you’ll never want to cook bacon on the stovetop again!

Why Bake Bacon in the Oven?

Baking bacon in the oven has several advantages over cooking it in a skillet on the stovetop:

• Even cooking: The oven heat surrounds the bacon from all sides, ensuring it cooks evenly. No need to constantly flip or rotate pieces.

• Less splattering: Baking contains the grease better than a skillet. With the right prep, you can avoid almost all mess.

• Cooks more bacon: Oven baking allows you to cook a lot more bacon at once compared to a skillet. Great for feeding a crowd!

• Hands-free: Once it’s in the oven, you can walk away. No need to stand over the stove monitoring it.

• Fewer dishes: All you need is a rimmed baking sheet. Much easier cleanup than dealing with a grease-splattered skillet.

• Frees up stovetop: You can use your stove or cooktop’s burners for making other recipes at the same time.

For these reasons, oven-baking is my preferred cooking method for crispy, splatter-free bacon every time.

How to Choose the Best Bacon for Baking

Not all bacon is created equal. Choosing the right type of bacon can make a big difference in how well it bakes up. Here are a few factors to consider when selecting bacon for oven cooking:

• Thickness: Thicker sliced bacon holds up better in the oven. Look for thick-cut or centre-cut bacon. Regular sliced bacon works too.

• Package style: Bacon that comes in flat uniform packages bakes more evenly than crumpled up pouches.

• Wood smoked: Bacon labeled as “wood smoked” has extra flavor that comes through beautifully when oven baked.

• Ingredients: Look for bacon with minimal added preservatives or chemicals. The fewer ingredients, the better.

• Skinless: Skinless bacon slices lay flatter and cook more evenly in the oven. Bacon with skin can curl.

With those tips in mind, my favorites to use are wood smoked, thick-cut, skinless bacon in flat packages. Choosing the best quality bacon you can find makes a big difference in getting perfect oven-baked results every time.

Step-By-Step Guide to Baking Bacon Without Splatter

Follow these simple steps for mess-free, perfectly cooked bacon from your oven:

1. Line a Rimmed Baking Sheet with Foil

Start by lining a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Be sure to crimp up the sides a bit to catch any stray drips. The foil will contain the grease and make cleanup a breeze.

2. Arrange Raw Bacon Slices in a Single Layer

Lay your raw bacon slices in a single layer on the foil-lined pan. Make sure not to overlap the slices too much so that they’ll cook evenly.

Depending on how much bacon you’re cooking, you made need two pans. Space the slices about 1/2 inch apart.

3. Cover Bacon Completely with Extra Foil

Here’s the special trick for avoiding oven splatter: Cover the bacon completely with a second layer of foil crimped around the edges.

This protects the oven from grease pops while the bacon cooks.

4. Bake at 400°F for 15-20 Minutes

Put the foil-wrapped bacon into a COLD oven. Then, turn the oven to 400°F and set a timer for 15 minutes.

The gradual preheating helps render the fat slowly, reducing splatter. Bake for 15-20 minutes until crispy.

5. Remove Foil and Let Cool Before Serving

Once cooked, remove the pans from the hot oven. Carefully peel off the top foil layer and let cool for 5 minutes. This helps make the bacon less likely to stick.

After it cools a bit, your perfectly crispy, splatter-free bacon is ready to enjoy!

Oven Bacon Baking Tips

• Use Heavy Duty Foil: Thin foil can tear and let grease leak. Opt for extra-thick heavy duty foil.

• Make Tents if Needed: If the foil starts to sag towards the bacon, create little foil tents to prop it up and prevent contact.

• Preheat Slowly: Letting the oven gradually come to temperature helps minimize popping and splatter.

• Bake at 400oF: I find 400°F gives the best balance of crispy bacon without overcooking.

• Watch Thickness: Thinner bacon will bake faster than thick-cut bacon so adjust cook times.

• Blot Excess Grease: After baking, blot bacon on paper towels to soak up any extra grease.

• Save the Drippings: Bacon fat has tons of uses. Pour drippings into a heat-safe container for storing.

With the right prep and these oven bacon tips, you’ll have picture-perfect bacon with no mess to clean up. Let’s look at approximate cook times based on bacon thickness.

Recommended Bacon Cook Times

To ensure your bacon reaches the ideal level of crispness, here are some approximate oven cook times to follow based on slice thickness:

• Regular sliced bacon: 15-18 minutes

• Thick-cut bacon: 18-22 minutes

• Extra-thick bacon: 22-25 minutes

Of course, oven temperatures can vary slightly so keep an eye on it. I recommend checking thinner bacon around 10-12 minutes and thick-cut bacon around 15 minutes. Just look for an evenly golden crispy color.

If baking a large batch, rotate the pans halfway through for the most even finish. Now that you know how long to bake bacon, let’s look at some serving ideas.

Fun Ways to Serve Oven-Baked Bacon

This splatter-free oven bacon method lends itself to all kinds of easy serving ideas:

• Bacon avocado toast
• Bacon lettuce tomato sandwiches
• Cobb salad topped with crumbled bacon
• Baked potatoes with bacon bits
• Bacon wrapped chicken breasts
• Bacon cheeseburger sliders
• Chopped bacon in mac and cheese
• Bacon fried rice

Crispy oven-baked bacon also stores well for several days. You can prepare a big batch on the weekend and use it throughout the week on salads, in breakfast tacos, as a pizza topping, or however you enjoy it!

More Oven Bacon Tips

Here are a few additional oven bacon cooking tips for you:

• Use a thermometer: An instant-read thermometer takes the guesswork out. Cook to ~145°F.

• Mix up flavors: Add maple syrup, brown sugar, pepper, or spices to the foil packet.

• Make bacon bits: Crumble leftover bacon into bits for sprinkling on dishes all week.

• Freeze pre-cooked bacon: Let it cool completely then freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 2 months.

• Cook bacon shirtless: Splatter-free oven cooking means you can skip the apron!

Now that you know exactly how to bake bacon in the oven without any mess, you can enjoy this tasty treat anytime. This method frees you from hovering over a skillet and produces perfect crispy bacon every time.