How Long Does Bacon Take to Cook in the Oven?

Can you count the different ways you can cook bacon? There are almost too many ways to count, but which way is your favourite? The air fryer is quick, the grill is easy, but what about the oven? How long does bacon take to cook in the oven? And are there any advantages to cooking it that way?

Why don’t we take a closer look?

Can You Cook Bacon in the Oven?

Yes, you can cook bacon in the oven.

If you were to ask five different people in my family how they liked their bacon cooked, they’d each say a totally different answer. My sister likes to cook hers in an air fryer, but my aunt cooks hers using a George Foreman grill. My mother, on the other hand, is very much an oven-grill person, but my dad always cooks bacon in the frying pan. And then there’s my brother-in-law, who always cooks bacon in the oven.

The oven is also my personal favourite way to cook bacon. In my opinion, it results in crispy, flavoursome, and properly cooked bacon. I do like mine crispy rather than soft, though.

Image by Robert Owen-Wahl from Pixabay

How Long Does Bacon Take to Cook in the Oven?

Bacon will take approximately 10 to 20 minutes to cook in the oven.

This is providing you preheat the oven, set the oven to the right temperature, and cook the bacon in the oven in the right way. It will also depend on how well-done you like your bacon.

If you have thin, small pieces of bacon, they will cook quicker than larger, thicker pieces of bacon. You will need to factor this in when choosing how long to cook bacon in the oven.

How you like your bacon cooked will also alter the cooking time. If you like it well done, you should cook the rashers for 15 to 20 minutes.

If you prefer your bacon soft, taken out of the oven before it gets to the brown and crispy point, you’ll want to cook it for 10 to 15 minutes.

Photo by Andrew Molyneaux on Unsplash

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven

You could just turn the oven on, throw your bacon in, and hope for the best – but here’s the best way to cook bacon in the oven so it tastes great and has the right kind of texture for you:

Step one:

Preheat the oven to 220°C (400°F) / gas mark 7.

Step two:

Put the bacon on a baking/oven tray, in a single layer. Try to ensure the rashers aren’t touching each other.

To prevent the bacon sticking to the tray, add a layer of aluminium foil. Alternatively, if you have a raised rack, you can lay the rashers of bacon over it and let the fact drip down into the tray below.

Step three:

Cook the bacon for around 10 to 20 minutes, depending on your preference. You should turn the rashers over halfway through to ensure it cooks evenly on both sides.

Image by Freepik

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven: Timing

If you like your bacon to be nice and crispy, give it 20 minutes, but keep watching it from about 15 minutes onwards because it’ll turn from crispy to burnt in a flash.

If you prefer your bacon cooked but still relatively soft and pink, give it 10 minutes, then give it another minute or two if it’s not quite cooked to your taste. Repeat for another couple of minutes if it’s still not quite how you like it.

Top Tip: You can’t go back and un-cook or un-burn something. You can, however, put food in the oven for a little longer, to let it cook for a little more. It is best to set a timer for less than the time it takes for the bacon to cook, so you can keep an eye on it for the last few minutes of cooking. In doing so, you’ll reduce the chances of burning your breakfast!

Different Ways of Cooking Bacon

As well as in the oven, you can also cook bacon in the following ways:

• Air fry
• George Foreman-style grill
• Barbecue
• Fry
• Grill
• Microwave
• Boil
• Poach

Each method brings something new to the table. Air frying bacon results in crispy, quite dry rashers. Microwaving bacon can leave you with tough, chewy, not-crispy bacon. Frying bacon often leaves it quite greasy unless you pat it dry with kitchen towel before serving. Why not try them all and see which one you prefer?