How to Cook Air Fryer Bacon

Enjoy incredibly crispy air fryer bacon cooked perfectly in under 10 minutes cooking time with minimal mess and easy cleanup. Learning how to cook air-fried bacon is a breakfast game changer.

Delicious Bacon may be the king of breakfast, but getting splattered with hot oil first thing in the morning is not my cup of tea. To combat the greasy mess of cooking bacon, I've experimented with methods such as microwaving and even cooking bacon on a sheet pan in the oven.

Microwave bacon never seemed to crisp as I liked. Cooking oven bacon was hands-off, but cleaning up the tray and the baking rack was a pain, and I often ended up with bacon grease splattered about my oven. If I am going to make bacon in the oven, it will be this Candied Maple Bacon. This is an over the top oven bacon recipe drizzled with a brown sugar and maple syrup mixture. I say go big or go home!

I'd considered making air fryer bacon but had heard conflicting reports about the ease and success. I finally decided to try it for myself and discovered that it's my favorite way to cook the crispiest bacon with less mess. Air fryer bacon comes out perfect every single time, the process is entirely hands-off, so there is no risk of getting splattered by hot grease, and clean up is a breeze.

In just a few minutes, you'll have the best bacon that you can serve for breakfast, pile on a BLT or add to soups, salads, casseroles and more. My family especially likes it next to my Blueberry Stuffed French Toast Casserole for a really decadent brunch. I also will make some simple scrambled eggs and pan fried potatoes for a hearty but easy breakfast. It's also great next to Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes.

Ingredients

• Bacon

The only ingredient needed is bacon! But that doesn't mean you don't have options. There are different types of bacon and it comes in various thicknesses and flavors. From low sodium to pepper bacon to maple bacon or thick-sliced butcher bacon, you can't go wrong. You can even cook turkey bacon in air fryer. I actually have a separate post for that because the fat and grease content is much less when cooking turkey bacon so the tips can be very different.

See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and instructions.

How to Cook Bacon in the Air Fryer

Hint: Thoroughly clean your air fryer's drip tray before cooking bacon if you want to save the bacon drippings.

Bacon Cooking Tips

• Smoking is a concern for some people when cooking bacon. Keeping the temperature at 350 degrees F ensures that you will have minimal smoking.
• If your bacon is long, you may need to cut it in half.
• Arrange the bacon strips in a single layer. The bacon can touch but avoid a lot of folds or overlapping.
• If cooking multiple batches, empty the grease tray before continuing.
• If you still have trouble with smoking, you can add a piece of bread to the drip tray to help soak up the grease.

Bacon Cooking Times

• Thin Sliced Bacon – 5 minutes
• Regular Bacon – 7 minutes
• Thick-Cut Bacon – 9 minutes
• For Chewy Bacon - 5 minutes

Note: Bacon cook time is approximate and can vary depending on your air fryer and the thickness of the bacon you select.

Equipment

The two most common types of air fryers are basket air fryers and oven style air fryers with racks. Both types of air fryers cook bacon well, but the basket tends to cook faster and more evenly, so it is my preferred method. If you use an oven-style air fryer, I recommend rotating the rack halfway through cooking to ensure even browning.

Storage/ Leftovers

Leftover bacon slices can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for several days.

Reheat the bacon in the air fryer at 350 degrees F for several minutes to re-crisp it. I love using the leftovers in this Chicken Bacon Salad as it makes a delicious lunch or dinner.

Cooked bacon can be frozen in a freezer bag for several months. For larger quantities of bacon, line the strips onto a sheet pan and flash freeze before adding them to the freezer bag. This makes it easy to pull out just a few slices when needed. I love having already prepped bacon for when I am making these Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes.

Bacon Food safety

Bacon doesn't stay fresh forever, so if you can't use your entire package, you'll want to be sure that you safely store your bacon so you don't get sick. Here are a few tips:

• Check for a "sell by" or "use by date" and discard bacon that has exceeded that date.
• Check the odor. Raw bacon should smell slightly smoky but should not smell sour.
• Bacon should not be slimy and slimy bacon should be tossed.
• Bacon should also have a slightly pink color. Bacon that is gray, brown, green or shows any signs of mold should be discarded.

Serving Suggestions

Need recipes to use cooked bacon in or suggestions on how to use bacon? Of course, serving bacon with your toast and eggs is a given and who doesn't love a good, old-fashioned BLT? Bacon also adds delicious flavor to salads, soups, casseroles and vegetables.

• Buffalo Chicken Flatbread with Bacon
• Savory Cauliflower Flan
• Tomato, Bacon and Avocado Crostini
• Instant Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Soup from Maria's Mixing Bowl

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RECIPE

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