Ina Garten, the beloved Barefoot Contessa, revolutionized home bacon preparation with her simple technique for oven-roasting. Her roast bacon recipe yields bacon that’s beautifully crispy without the splatter and hassle of frying.
Oven-roasting allows you to prepare a large batch of bacon evenly and consistently. Once you learn how to make roast bacon Ina’s way, you may never go back to frying it in a skillet again.
Why Roast Bacon in the Oven?
Pan-frying bacon can be messy and you have to monitor it closely to prevent burning Oven roasting eliminates these issues for easier bacon prep
- No splattering grease
- Less babysitting at the stove
- Cooks evenly without curling
- Perfect results in large batches
- Keeps your stovetop free
Roasting bacon in the oven frees you up to make pancakes, cook eggs or prepare other components of breakfast or brunch while it cooks
How Ina Garten Roasts Bacon to Crispy Perfection
Ina’s roast bacon recipe utilizes a simple, foolproof method:
- Arrange raw bacon strips on a sheet pan
- Roast at 400°F for 15-20 minutes
- Drain on paper towels
The high heat helps render the fat while crisping the meaty bacon portion evenly. Elevating the bacon allows fat to drip off, leaving just the crunchy cooked bacon behind.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Oven-Roasted Bacon
Follow these steps for perfect oven-roasted bacon every time:
Prep
- Set oven rack to middle position
- Line sheet pan with aluminum foil
- Top foil with a wire cooling rack
- Arrange raw bacon strips on rack in single layer
Roast
- Roast at 400°F for 15 minutes
- Rotate pan and cook 5 more minutes if needed
- Bacon should be crispy and deeply browned
Drain
- Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate
- Blot top and bottom of each strip
- Let cool 1-2 minutes before serving
The wire rack elevates the bacon to allow air flow and fat drippage. Resist the urge to crowd strips or flip them while cooking.
Choosing Bacon for Oven Roasting
Thicker sliced bacon works best:
- 1/4 inch thick bacon slices roast up with a good meat-to-fat ratio
- Avoid thinner bacon which tends to overcook
- Choose bacon labeled “Center cut” when possible for more even fat distribution
- Flavored smoked or peppered bacon varieties are delicious roasted
Paper-towel draining removes excess grease for crisper roasted bacon.
Oven Roasted Bacon Tips
- For chewier bacon, roast at 375°F
- For extra crispy bacon, blot with more paper towels after draining
- Add brown sugar or maple syrup for candied bacon
- Save bacon fat in a jar for cooking and baking
- Make bacon bits by chopping and sprinkling over dishes
- Roast pork belly or slab bacon by slicing pan into strips first
Bring oven-roasted bacon to parties or brunch. The crispy strips make tasty toppings for sandwiches, burgers and salads too.
Common Oven Bacon Questions
What temperature should I roast bacon at?
400°F gives the best balance of rendering fat while crisping the meat. Go lower for chewy bacon or higher for extra crispness.
How long does bacon take to roast?
Most 1/4 inch sliced bacon takes 15-18 minutes. Thicker cuts take 18-22 minutes. Check often near the end.
Should I preheat the oven before roasting bacon?
Yes, preheating helps the bacon start crisping sooner. Arrange bacon in the cold pan then put it into a preheated 400°F oven.
How can I catch the bacon grease?
Place foil-lined sheet pan inside a rimmed baking pan to catch drips, or cook bacon directly on foil then pour off grease.
Can I reuse bacon grease after roasting?
Yes! Store cooled bacon fat in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Use for cooking veggies, eggs, brushing on meats before roasting, etc.
More Oven-Roasted Bacon Recipe Ideas
- Brown sugar oven bacon
- Maple oven roasted bacon
- Peppered oven-roasted bacon
- Oven bacon wrapped asparagus
- Oven bacon wrapped chicken thighs
Take oven-roasted bacon beyond breakfast with creative ways to incorporate it into dinners, apps and sides.
Enjoy the Crispy Bacon Results
Oven roasting bacon keeps your stovetop clear while you whip up the rest of breakfast or brunch. With Ina Garten’s no-fuss method, you’ll enjoy hands-off cooking plus perfectly crisped and flattened bacon strips every time.
Give Ina’s famous roast bacon recipe a try for your next weekend brunch or bacon craving. Once you discover how easy it is, oven-roasted bacon may become your new go-to preparation method.
By Mary Elizabeth Williams
Mary Elizabeth Williams is a senior writer for Salon and author of “A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles.”
A life-changing way to get more bacon into your life
You don’t need an expensive new piece of equipment, or an obscure ingredient you have to hunt for. You just need a fresh way of preparing an old favorite. In “One Way,” we’ll use simple techniques you haven’t tried before to give old ingredients and dishes a new look.
I recently yelled at my TV the most because of how badly a contestant cooked breakfast bacon on “The Circle.” It was the most dramatic reality competition show I’ve ever seen. “I think that sloppily moving a few Oscar Mayer slices around in a pan should have been an instant blocking anywhere.” The only act against bacon more criminal would be microwaving it.
Have you been cooking bacon wrong your whole life? Do you not even know it? Friend, I used to be the same way you are now. Then the Barefoot Contessa showed me the way.
I doubt Ina Garten invented putting bacon in the oven, but she definitely perfected and popularized it. Her method has one ingredient, two steps, and is absolutely foolproof. You cook the bacon on the oven. Thats it, thats the recipe.
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When you use oven bacon, you don’t have to think about cooking your bacon while you do other important things, like making pancakes, boiling pasta, or putting tomato and lettuce on bread. It means each slice is evenly cooked, with no weird flabby, fatty bits curled around charred ones. It means your stovetop is not covered in grease splatters. It means youll want to cook bacon more often. That alone makes things better and easier, and I can’t think of many other changes that do that for free.
For looks’ sake, you can make the bacon very flat by putting a smaller pan on top of it while you roast it. You can try different flavors by adding things like chopped garlic, a lot of pepper, or maple syrup to the pan. But you don’t have to do any of it. It’s just something to do with all the extra time you have now that you don’t have to clean oil off the walls. Youll never go back to the stovetop again.
Oven roasted bacon Inspired by Ina Garten
Makes 10 – 12 slices of cooked bacon
Ingredients:
- 1⁄2 pound of thick cut bacon
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or foil.
- Place the bacon on the pan so that the slices don’t touch. (Otherwise theyll stick together. ).
- Roast about 20 minutes, until browned and crisp. Check back in about 15 minutes later to see how things are going. You dont even need to flip the bacon over. If your oven isn’t stable, you might want to turn the pan.
- Place your bacon to drain on a baking sheet or plate lined with paper towels. Be amazed.
Bonus: A big pool of bacon fat and a hot oven are a terrible thing to waste. If you plan ahead, you can roast some vegetables. Just have them cut up and ready to go when you’re done with the bacon. Put them in the pan with some salt and pepper. Stir to mix in the fat, and roast for about 30 minutes. The other day I did this with diced butternut squash and then just heated it all up for dinner. NO REGRETS.
More of our favorite breakfast recipes:
How to Bake Bacon in the Oven
FAQ
How does Ina Garten make bacon in the oven?
How does Martha Stewart cook bacon in the oven?
How does Rachael Ray cook bacon in the oven?
How long do you cook bacon in the oven for?
How to cook bacon in the oven?
DIRECTIONS 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 2 Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. 3 Lay the bacon on top of the parchment paper. 4 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the bacon is really crispy. 5 Drain on paper towels and serve.
How long do you cook bacon in a pan?
Lay the bacon on a sheet pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the bacon is really crispy. Dry on paper towels and serve. Copyright 2003 by Ina Garten. All rights reserved. Looking for Something Else?
How do you cook bacon on a rimmed baking sheet?
For easy clean-up, line a 13 x 18-inch rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty wide aluminum foil and so that there is some overhang on all sides (this prevents the grease from leaking onto the baking sheet), then cover with a sheet of parchment paper. Lay as many slices of bacon as you’d like to cook in a single layer on the baking sheet.
How to cook bacon in the oven with foil?
Make sure the rims are deep enough to prevent bacon fat dripping. Lay the strips of bacon on the foil in a single layer. Put on racks in the middle of a cold oven and turn the oven on to 400F. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the sheets around and switch shelves to encourage even cooking.