Cooking bacon in the oven is one of Ina Garten’s favorite techniques for achieving perfectly crispy, evenly cooked bacon every time The Barefoot Contessa’s simple roast bacon recipe eliminates the mess and splatter of frying bacon on the stovetop so you can make breakfast or serve appetizers stress-free
Why Bake Bacon in the Oven?
There are several advantages to using the oven rather than a skillet to cook bacon:
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Cooks more evenly without burning. No need to constantly flip and monitor.
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Reduces splatters and mess. Contains it neatly in the oven.
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Allows you to cook large batches at once. Great for feeding a crowd.
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Frees up stovetop space for other cooking tasks. Multitask!
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Imparts nice flavor as the bacon fat renders out.
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Keeps the kitchen cooler than firing up the stove.
Ina Garten’s Roast Bacon Recipe
Ina’s simple roast bacon recipe only requires two ingredients:
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High-quality, thick-cut smoked bacon
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Black pepper (optional)
The keys are using high heat and lining the baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these simple steps for Ina’s crunchy roasted bacon:
Prep
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Preheat oven to 400°F.
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Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. The paper catches drips for easy cleanup.
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Arrange thick-cut smoked bacon slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Ina recommends applewood-smoked.
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Lightly sprinkle pepper over the bacon (optional).
Bake
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Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the bacon reaches your desired level of crispness.
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For chewier bacon, bake for closer to 15 minutes. For crisper, bake for full 20 minutes.
Finish
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Remove baking sheet from the oven. Be mindful of drips and splatters while removing.
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Use tongs to transfer bacon slices to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
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Blot bacon with additional paper towels to soak up excess grease.
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Serve the crispy roasted bacon warm and enjoy! Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
Tips for Perfect Oven-Roasted Bacon Every Time
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Choose high-quality, thick-cut smoked bacon for the best results. Stay away from thin or cheap bacon which tends to burn.
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Cut bacon slices in half for faster, more even cooking.
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Space slices out in a single layer so they crisp up nicely. Overcrowding leads to soggy spots.
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For less mess, bake bacon on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet to allow fat to drip through. Line the sheet below with foil for easy cleanup.
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Add a light sprinkle of brown sugar or maple syrup over the bacon before baking for candied bacon.
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Play around with different woods, spices, sugars, and seasonings on the bacon to flavor it up.
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Cook a few minutes less for chewier bacon or a few minutes more for ultra-crisp.
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Let bacon cool for a few minutes before eating. Be cautious of hot drips and splatters right out of the oven.
More Delicious Ways to Use Oven-Baked Bacon
Crunchy, oven-baked bacon is delicious eaten on its own but can also be used to enhance all kinds of savory dishes:
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Breakfast sandwiches and omelets
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Salads like wedge, Cobb, or spinach
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Baked potatoes or sweet potatoes
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Burgers, sandwiches, and wraps
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Pizza, flatbreads, bruschetta
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Soups like potato, tomato, bean, or corn chowder
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Pasta dishes like spaghetti carbonara or rigatoni alla vodka
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Roasted vegetables like Brussels sprouts or root vegetables
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Hearty baked beans or succotash
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Stuffings and potato gratins
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Bacon jam as a spread for chicken, pork, or sandwiches
With Ina Garten’s simple roast bacon recipe, you can stay out of the splatter zone while enjoying piles of perfectly crisp, evenly cooked bacon straight from your oven. Ditch the skillets and enjoy the easy cleanup too!
A life-changing way to get more bacon into your life
You don’t need an expensive new piece of equipment, or an obscure ingredient you have to hunt for. You just need a fresh way of preparing an old favorite. In “One Way,” we’ll use simple techniques you haven’t tried before to give old ingredients and dishes a new look.
I recently yelled at my TV the most because of how badly a contestant cooked breakfast bacon on “The Circle.” It was the most dramatic reality competition show I’ve ever seen. “I think that sloppily moving a few Oscar Mayer slices around in a pan should have been an instant blocking anywhere.” The only act against bacon more criminal would be microwaving it.
Have you been cooking bacon wrong your whole life? Do you not even know it? Friend, I used to be the same way you are now. Then the Barefoot Contessa showed me the way.
I doubt Ina Garten invented putting bacon in the oven, but she definitely perfected and popularized it. Her method has one ingredient, two steps, and is absolutely foolproof. You cook the bacon on the oven. Thats it, thats the recipe.
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When you use oven bacon, you don’t have to think about cooking your bacon while you do other important things, like making pancakes, boiling pasta, or putting tomato and lettuce on bread. It means each slice is evenly cooked, with no weird flabby, fatty bits curled around charred ones. It means your stovetop is not covered in grease splatters. It means youll want to cook bacon more often. That alone makes things better and easier, and I can’t think of many other changes that do that for free.
For looks’ sake, you can make the bacon very flat by putting a smaller pan on top of it while you roast it. You can try different flavors by adding things like chopped garlic, a lot of pepper, or maple syrup to the pan. But you don’t have to do any of it. It’s just something to do with all the extra time you have now that you don’t have to clean oil off the walls. Youll never go back to the stovetop again.
Oven roasted bacon Inspired by Ina Garten
Makes 10 – 12 slices of cooked bacon
Ingredients:
- 1⁄2 pound of thick cut bacon
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
- Place the bacon on the pan so that the slices don’t touch. (Otherwise theyll stick together. ).
- Roast about 20 minutes, until browned and crisp. Check back in about 15 minutes later to see how things are going. You dont even need to flip the bacon over. If your oven isn’t stable, you might want to turn the pan.
- Place your bacon to drain on a baking sheet or plate lined with paper towels. Be amazed.
Bonus: A big pool of bacon fat and a hot oven are a terrible thing to waste. If you plan ahead, you can roast some vegetables. Just have them cut up and ready to go when you’re done with the bacon. Put them in the pan with some salt and pepper. Stir to mix in the fat, and roast for about 30 minutes. The other day I did this with diced butternut squash and then just heated it all up for dinner. NO REGRETS.
More of our favorite breakfast recipes:
By Mary Elizabeth Williams
Mary Elizabeth Williams is a senior writer for Salon and author of “A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles.”
How to Bake Bacon in the Oven
How long do you cook bacon in the oven?
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Lay the bacon on top of the parchment paper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the bacon is really crispy. Drain on paper towels and serve. I used thick cut bacon, cooked 23 minutes, flipped and cooked 5 more minutes. This is the best way to cook bacon.
How do you cook bacon on a baking sheet?
Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil, making sure the pan is completely covered. Check that the foil extends up the sides of the pan so it captures all the bacon grease and cleanup is easier. Arrange the bacon strips on the prepared baking sheet, or on the rack if you’re using one.
Did Ina Garten invent putting bacon in the oven?
I doubt Ina Garten invented putting bacon in the oven, but she definitely perfected and popularized it. Her method has one ingredient, two steps, and is absolutely foolproof. You cook the bacon on the oven. That’s it, that’s the recipe. Want more great food writing and recipes? Subscribe to Salon Food’s newsletter.
How to cook bacon in the oven with foil?
Make sure the rims are deep enough to prevent bacon fat dripping. Lay the strips of bacon on the foil in a single layer. Put on racks in the middle of a cold oven and turn the oven on to 400F. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the sheets around and switch shelves to encourage even cooking.
Can You bake Bacon at the same temperature?
No two ovens bake at exactly the same temperature. You’ll probably need to test this method a couple of times to find the right time/temperature that works for you. Prevent oven splatters. This from Cindy Capps Lepp: Lay a layer of foil over the bacon; this will keep grease from spitting all over the oven.
How long do you cook bacon in a crock pot?
Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon begins to brown. Remove the pan carefully from the oven; there will be hot grease in the pan! Brush the bacon slices with maple syrup and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the bacon is a warm golden brown.