For ultimate crispiness, the oven is generally better than a pan because it allows for even cooking and fat rendering with less hands-on effort, especially when using a wire rack to lift bacon out of its own grease; pan-frying can lead to uneven crisping or sogginess if crowded, but a well-managed stovetop method (like starting in a cold pan) also yields crispy results, though often with more splatter. The key for the oven is airflow (rack) and for the pan is rendering fat slowly.
Baking bacon on a foil-lined sheet pan at 400°F for about 22 minutes yields evenly crisp, flat strips and lets you cook up to 10 slices at once — the test kitchen's clear winner.
Recipe Notes
Even crispier bacon: For even crispier bacon, fit a metal rack over the lined baking sheet and place the bacon on the rack before baking, which allows the bacon allows to cook from all sides and become extra-crispy.
Adding a light layer of flour to your uncooked bacon will result in the flour cooking and collecting the excess bacon grease. This allows bacon to hold its shape and ends up extra crispy once cooked.
Cooking the bacon on a rack allows the heat to circulate all around the bacon, which means you don't have to worry about flipping it halfway through cooking. The rack also allows all the grease to drip down, meaning your bacon will get even crispier!
Snoop Dogg's trick for cooking bacon by simply dumping the whole slab in the pan and separating the slices in the pan is a lazy trip I can't get enough of.
Cooking bacon in the oven is less messy.
Cleaning up is a breeze when the baking tray is lined with aluminum foil.
Perfect Crispy Bacon
I had long been making bacon on a sheet pan in the oven. Rather than frying a few pieces at a time on the stove and getting grease everywhere, I loved that I could set up nearly a pound of bacon on a sheet pan, bung it into a hot oven, and move onto other breakfast duties.
My personal favorite way to cook bacon in the oven is on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil, because it cooks evenly and gets crispy on both sides. Lining your pan with aluminum foil will help protect it from grease; it'll need a quick rinse or run through the dishwasher at most.
Simply place the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat and cook it until crispy, flipping it occasionally to ensure even cooking. You can use a non-stick pan or add a little oil or butter to prevent the bacon from sticking.
The most unhealthy meats are processed meats (bacon, hot dogs, salami, deli meats) due to high salt, fat, and preservatives (nitrates/nitrites) linked to cancer, heart disease, and diabetes; followed by fatty red meats (beef, lamb, pork) and charred/burnt meats cooked at high temperatures, which form carcinogens; while even poultry becomes unhealthy with skin, heavy breading, and high sodium.
Her purpose, though, was to reduce the salty, smoky taste of the bacon in favor of a much subtler flavor. I did as Julia said and simmered, then fried, bacon pieces before adding them to a mix of beaten eggs, cream, butter and seasonings.
Fry on a medium-low heat for 10-15 mins until golden and super-crispy. Check the bacon halfway through cooking – increase the heat slightly if there's lots of liquid in the pan, and flip the bacon over. Keep cooking until the bacon is uniformly golden and crisp.
Gordon Ramsay was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a common and treatable form of skin cancer, which required surgical removal from his jawline near his ear in late August 2025, leading him to share his experience online to urge fans to use sunscreen and protect their skin. He posted photos of his bandages, emphasizing sun safety and thanking his medical team.
Don't preheat the oven.
Sure, you can preheat it. But why bother. Also, starting with a cold oven seems to help the bacon fat render more slowly and evenly, which is a requirement for Bacon Excellence. If your oven is already on for something else, don't worry — you don't need to let it cool down and start over.
If you love bacon with some good chew and crispiness around the edges, opt for baking it in the oven on a rimmed sheet pan with no parchment lining.
Simply baked
To bake bacon on a tray in the oven: Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lightly oil a non-stick tray then lay the bacon over (streaky or back) in a single layer. Bake for 10-15 mins, using tongs to flip the bacon halfway, until cooked and the fat is crisp around the edges.
For less mess, don't make the mistake of roasting bacon without parchment paper. This kitchen staple makes for easy cleanup, as all you have to do is carefully lift the paper off your tray and chuck it in the trash, then give your baking sheet a scrub.