Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (2024)

In just 10 minutes you can have the BEST crispy Air Fryer Bacon ready to eat and without a ton of mess to clean-up! Because the strips are elevated in the air fryer basket, the fat drips away leaving you with a quick, easy, and foolproof way to cook bacon!

Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (1)

Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe

For years I have been cookingbacon in a skillet.I even got a little creative and started makingoven-baked baconon a sheet pan!

But when I discovered the magic ofAir Fryer Bacon, I was forever convinced: this was the BEST way to cook bacon and a total game-changer!

The first time I made a batch of Whole Foods thick-cut bacon, it was fully cooked and ready to eat in a fraction of the time with no hassle.

The open-air heat of convection baking makes the perfect environment for bacon tocrispevenlyon all sides, while also shedding excess fat along the way.

Making the baconleaner,crispier, andperfectly cookedevery single time!

Plus, since the bacon is contained, there’sno oil splatteringwhich makes an easy cleanup!

Table of Contents

  • Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe
  • Types of Bacon
  • How to Make Air Fryer Bacon
  • FAQs
  • Recipe Tips
  • Recipes with Bacon
  • Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe
Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (2)

Types of Bacon

Much like the oven, the air fryer is pretty forgiving when it comes to cooking just about anything in it. But there are a few general rules of thumb you’ll want to follow when selecting the best bacon and utilizing the air fryer method.

Thethickness of your bacondetermines how long you will need to air fry it.Thick-cut baconwill take a minute or two longer than regular-cut. Thin baconwill take a minute or two less.

The leanness of the bacon strips will also play a small role in cooking times. A leaner type of bacon will cook up more quickly since there is less fat to render off. Fattier slices will take a little longer to cook.

How to Make Air Fryer Bacon

Please see the recipe card below for more detailed ingredient amounts.

1. Preheat the Air Fryer

Despite the simplicity of the preparation method, there are still certain steps that must be followed carefully for the sake of quality and safety.

Preheat your air fryer oven to 350°F. This is the best temperature to give the bacon time to release all of its excess fat. But the hot air is fast enough that it can be ready in just 10 minutes.

If the air fryer smokes, you can add a small bit of water. But this risks making the bacon soggy. Placing a few slices of bread beneath the cooking basket to soak up the grease may also work to prevent smoking.

2. Arrange the Strips

Carefullyarrange the strips of bacon on the metal rack in a single layer. Try to leave a little bit of space in between the strips.

If the bacon is too long to fit, or if wavy pieces are desired, pieces may be carefully creased or cut in half.

With an oven-style air fryer, you can line the bottom with aluminum foil to save on cleanup.

Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (3)

3. Cook the Bacon

Cook bacon at 350°F for 9-10 minutes, adding or subtracting 1-2 minutes based on leanness and thickness.

The safest practice is to err on the side of 7-8 minutes, check the bacon, and then return it to the air fryer to finish cooking, if still underdone. If desired, you can flip the bacon strips at this stage in order to ensure even crisping, although this isn’t usually needed.

When the desired level of crispness has been reached, carefully remove the bacon strips from the air fryer with a pair of long tongs to avoid burning yourself.Lay out on a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up any remaining fat.

Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (4)

FAQs

Is it healthier to cook bacon in the air fryer?

Since food is suspended in the air fryer basket, most of the excess fat from the bacon will be rendered off during cooking. This makes air-fried bacon significantly healthier than bacon cooked in the oven or on the stovetop.

What are the downsides of frying bacon in an air fryer?

The downside of air frying bacon is, if you’re using a small air fryer, you have limited space. Overcrowding the bacon even a small amount can cause it to cook unevenly and turn out soggy rather than crisp.

Do I need to put oil in the air fryer when cooking bacon?

There’s no need to add any additional oil to the air fryer while cooking bacon, due to the amount of grease that the bacon will generate on its own as soon as it begins cooking.

Do I need to flip my bacon when air frying?

If the strips have been arranged in a single layer, there’s no need to flip the bacon in the middle of cooking. The convection oven-like setup of the air fryer will ensure even crisping throughout.

Recipe Tips

  • Give it space. Be sure no pieces are overlapping or touching to achieve a fully crisp texture.
  • Clean the bottom. If making multiple batches of bacon, take a moment to drain or wipe the excess grease out of the bottom of the air fryer.
  • Keep an eye out. Check regularly to determine when exactly the bacon is cooked to your preference.
  • Save the grease. Store rendered bacon grease in an airtight glass mason jar and keep it at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 6 months.
  • Make it sweet. Consider rubbing the bacon slices with a small amount of brown sugar before cooking to make candied bacon!
Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (5)

Recipes with Bacon

Once you’ve figured out how easy it is to make bacon in the air fryer, you’ll be looking for recipes to use it.

  • Broccoli Bacon Salad
  • Loaded Potato Skins
  • Avocado BLT Quinoa Salad
  • BLT Pasta Salad
  • BBQ Chicken Cobb Salad

Tap stars to rate!

5 from 13 votes

Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe

In just 10 minutes you can have the BEST crispy Air Fryer Bacon ready to eat and without a ton of mess to clean-up! Because the strips are elevated in the air fryer basket, the fat drips away leaving you with a quick, easy, and foolproof way to cook bacon!

Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (6)

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Ingredients

  • 4 oz. bacon about 4-5 strips

Instructions

  • Heat Air Fryer to 350°F.

  • Lay Out Bacon: Place bacon strips on the metal rack in a single layer. If the bacon is too long to fit or you’d like to get wavy pieces, place your pointer finger underneath a section of it to lift it up. Repeat this another time on the same piece of bacon and do this with all strips.

    4 oz. bacon

  • Air Fry the Bacon: Cook bacon for 9-10 minutes. Cook a minute less if very thin strips or 1-2 minutes more if really thick strips.

  • Drain and Eat: Remove bacon from Air Fryer and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Eat immediately and enjoy!

Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!

Tap stars to rate!

5 from 13 votes

Video

Notes

Storage Directions:

Cooked bacon may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Freeze cooked bacon in a freezer-safe container for up to 3-4 months. The best way to reheat bacon is in the air fryer, set to 300°F. Cook it for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Avoid using the microwave, as this will make the bacon soggy and limp.

Recipe Tips:

  • Give it space. Be sure no pieces are overlapping or touching to achieve a fully crisp texture.
  • Clean the bottom. If making multiple batches of bacon, take a moment to drain or wipe the excess grease out of the bottom of the air fryer.
  • Keep an eye out. Check regularly to determine when exactly the bacon is cooked to your preference.
  • Save the grease. Store rendered bacon grease in an airtight glass mason jar and keep it at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 6 months.
  • Make it sweet. Consider rubbing the bacon slices with a small amount of brown sugar before cooking to make candied bacon!

Nutrition

Serving: 1oz, Calories: 118kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 19mg, Sodium: 188mg, Potassium: 56mg, Vitamin A: 10IU, Calcium: 1mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Made this recipe?Leave a comment below!

Categorized as:
Air Fryer Recipes, Breakfast, Dairy-Free, , Gluten-Free, Low-Carb, Nut-Free, Paleo, Recipes, Refined Sugar-Free, Whole30

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Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe - Evolving Table (2024)

FAQs

How to make crispy bacon like a restaurant? ›

Bacon-Cooking Method: Baking on Parchment Paper

About This Method: Martha Stewart's technique promises a “spatter-free” way to get “perfectly crispy bacon.” You simply line one or two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, arrange the bacon on top, and bake at 400°F until it is crisped to your liking.

What is the key to crispy bacon? ›

Tried and true, this is the way I learned to cook bacon: Lay the strips in a cold skillet, place over medium-low to medium heat, flip and fry until you reach your desired doneness and then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Do you put foil in the air fryer when cooking bacon? ›

Place bacon in air fryer

If you're using an oven-style air fryer, you'll want to put the bacon on an air-fry basket (basically a mesh rack) with either a solid pan or a piece of aluminum foil folded up on the edges underneath to catch any bacon grease drippings.

How do you make bacon crispy every time? ›

Oven Baked Bacon – In 5 Steps
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
  2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Lay the bacon slices on the baking sheet.
  4. Cook the bacon for 10 to 20 minutes or until it's as crispy as you'd like.
  5. Remove the bacon from the oven and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Nov 20, 2023

How do restaurants get their bacon so crispy? ›

They cook it the best way possible, on a sheet pan in the oven. The bonus is while it takes longer to make this way, you can make more at once, the pieces are more or less flat and they come out crispy. Or they throw it in the deep fryer once it's done.

Does sprinkling flour on bacon make it crispy? ›

You take strips of bacon and place them on a baking sheet, then sprinkle all-purpose flour on top and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes. I was surprised to find out how great this worked. The flour definitely helped to give the bacon a crispier texture and nicer color than the other methods I tried.

Where does the grease go when you air fry bacon? ›

In just nine minutes, you can have hot bacon ready to serve. The best part about the air fryer is that the grease collects underneath the basket in the drawer, so there's no grease splatters in the kitchen and the grease is a cinch to discard (simply tip the drawer to pour off).

Does bacon need to be flipped in air fryer? ›

Like Baked Bacon in the Oven (and unlike cooking bacon in a skillet on the stovetop), air fryer bacon cooks completely hands-free. You don't even need to flip it!

How do you keep bacon from rolling up in an air fryer? ›

If the strips do overlap, they probably won't all cook fully and evenly. Bacon doesn't normally blow around too much in an air fryer, but if you want to keep it from curling, you can place a small rack directly on top. I used the trivet from my Instant Pot.

Why does my bacon never get crispy? ›

As with other meats, allow some room between strips, about an inch, when placing bacon in the pan. Crowding creates steam and prevents the bacon from cooking evenly, giving you limp bacon instead of crispy strips. Cook in batches if needed.

Is water the secret to crispy bacon? ›

According to Dawn Perry, Real Simple's food director, cooking bacon in water could keep it tender on the inside while still crisp on the outside. How? The bacon fat would render into the water. Once the water evaporates, the bacon would crisp in its own fat.

How do you make bacon crispy but not hard? ›

You make bacon crispy but not burned by not over cooking it. Keep in mind that bacon crisps up after you take it off the heat, so don't cook it until it's crisp in the pan. My favorite method of cooking bacon is in the oven. Put parchment or foil on your sheet tray first.

Why does restaurant bacon taste so good? ›

Lean bacon is key

The bacon chefs use in restaurants, however, is usually far leaner than the supermarket kind. Chefs often have the benefit of specifying with their suppliers how they like their meat-to-fat ratio, and this gives them less fatty bacon that has the perfect amount of lubrication without getting greasy.

What is restaurant style bacon? ›

Restaurant bacon is the thinnest option you can find, and it's usually cut into 1/32" slices. Because it's thin, this type of bacon crisps up quickly, and it's commonly found in diners, restaurants, and hotels.

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