How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

Invest in a baking sheet and a cooling rack if you don’t already have them, because you’re going to make bacon in the oven. But what about cooking bacon in the oven, and not a skillet? Don’t you go worrying—it’s almost too easy. Lay strips of bacon on top of a cooling rack and the fat will drip down onto the baking sheet, leaving you with perfect crispy bacon. The best part? You can cook an entire pack of bacon all at once. No flipping involved. And, you’ll free up some space on the stovetop for other good things like eggs, hash, and pancakes.

Think of it this way: Cooking bacon on the stove is not unlike a bad relationship. It’s messy and you’ve probably gotten burnt, but you still keep going back for more because it’s bacon. It’s just too good to give up. But if you have to make bacon in batches for a crowd, you’re tied to the stove flipping each piece, and once you’re done, you’ve got a grease-coated kitchen to clean while everyone else is busy enjoying the fats of your labor. That blows. Avoid all that and only ever cook bacon in the oven—really.

Here's how to make bacon in the oven. Start by preheating your oven to 400°F. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking dish and layer however many slices of bacon you desire on top. Slide it into the oven and go do something else for 15 to 20 minutes. Make your clean-up even easier by covering the baking sheet in aluminum foil or parchment paper. Once the bacon is done cooking, scrunch it up, and toss it in the bin. There ya go, no grease splatters coating your stovetop.

Once your perfectly crisp bacon strips have finished cooking, strain and save the leftover bacon grease. You can fry your eggs in the fat or mix it into a vinaigrette. If you prefer to dispose of bacon grease (in which case you have no soul), then do it properly by allowing the fat to solidify in a container before tossing. Whatever you do, please don’t throw leftover bacon grease down the drain of your kitchen sink or flush it down the toilet.

Now, go forth and use your extra crispy bacon to make bacon jam and bacon chocolate pancakes.