Here's An Easier, Less-Messy Way To Cook Bacon

Sheet-pan dinners are a lifesaver on busy weeknights. But a baking sheet can also work wonders at breakfast time if you love bacon but hate grease splatters, standing over the stove and a house that smells like fatty, smoked meat for days. It's time, dear reader, to put your sheet pan to work and start cooking bacon in the oven.

Why should you cook bacon in the oven?

Instead of using a frying pan to cook a few measly strips of bacon at a time, you can cook an entire pack at once (or about a dozen strips) on one sheet. Line your baking pan with foil or parchment paper and after cooking, you can simply discard it and rinse off your sheets instead of scrubbing a frying pan. And unlike with a frying pan, you can cook all your strips to your desired consistency (extra-crispy, please). So the real question is: Why aren't you cooking bacon in the oven yet? To get started, try this method with our maple-fennel bacon, maple bacon French toast or gourmet BLT sandwich, delicious on its own or as a garnish on a brunch-time caesar.

How to cook bacon in the oven

• Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil or parchment and lay your bacon slices down side-by-side—it's OK if they slightly overlap. The lined pan will catch all the drippings while the bacon cooks, making cleanup a breeze.
• Stick the sheet in the oven and bake until the strips are cooked through and crispy (it should take approximately 15-20 minutes, but be sure to start checking the bacon after the 12-15 minute mark). You don't have to flip the bacon, not even once! Could it be any easier?
• To remove some of the oil, just transfer the strips to a paper-towel-lined plate before serving.

Watch: how to make egg tartlets and maple-fennel bacon

This story was originally published in 2021; updated in 2023.