Crispy, hands-off, and fast, Air Fryer Bacon recipe is the way to make bacon. You’ll never want to make bacon any other way after using this air fryer method. Ready in just 10 quick minutes, air fryer bacon is a great addition to any breakfast spread. This mess-free method gets you perfectly crispy bacon every single time.
Cooked quickly with no fuss, air fryer bacon is going to be your new favourite recipe! It cooks evenly with no extra oil and you don’t even have to keep an eye on it like when you’re cooking in the stovetop or oven.
No bacon grease splatters, easy cleanup, and super crispy, everyone will want seconds! Even better, there’s no flipping involved. Once you’ve put the bacon in the air fryer, you’re done. The bacon grease won’t splatter everywhere and you can work on the rest of breakfast or just relax for the next 10 minutes.
Need some serving ideas of what to enjoy with this crispy bacon? Try my Low Carb Raspberry Smoothie, Low Carb Green Smoothie Recipe, or Raspberry Chia Pudding. They are great recipes to start your day with.
How to Make Air Fryer Bacon
Ingredients
- Bacon — use high-quality bacon for the best tasting result. Use nitrate and sugar-free bacon to make sure the bacon is Whole30-friendly. Thicker bacon will take longer to cook than thinner bacon.
Instructions
Place the bacon in the air fryer
- Place the bacon strips in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- If you have a smaller air fryer, cut strips in half to fit well. Over overlapping the bacon strips.
Air fry the bacon
- Air fry bacon at 350˚F for 7-9 minutes, or until bacon is browned and reaches desired crispiness. I recommend to cook bacon in an air fryer at 350°F because when the bacon is cooked at lower temperature, the bacon can release all of its excess fat or excess grease. This lower temperature is also good for avoiding your air fryer from creating smoke with the bacon drippings.
- Check it halfway through and rearrange slices with tongs if necessary so they’re not overlapping.
- Place cooked bacon on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb extra oil. Then, add more bacon strips to the air fryer if you are cooking bacon in batches.
How long to cook bacon in the air fryer?
It really depends on the thickness of the bacon! Thick-cut bacon will take 10 minutes but thin bacon will take closer to 8 to 9 minutes. Check around the 8-minute mark to make sure your bacon crisps up to your liking.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Empty out any bacon fat to avoid smoke coming out of the air fryer before cooking your next batch.
- Avoid overlapping the bacon so it cooks evenly. A little overlap is fine as the bacon strips will shrink as they cook in the air fryer. Cook in batches of bacon if necessary.
- You can cut the strips in half so they lay flat in the basket or if you want them to cook up extra fast.
- Bacon will continue to crisp up as it cooks so make sure not to overcook the bacon.
- Preheat the air fryer if your air fryer model requires you to do so.
- I can’t stress enough how it’s important to lay bacon strips in a single layer. If you overlap, it may become soggy.
- You can season bacon! Try adding some cracked pepper, brown sugar, or maple syrup to the bacon strips before air frying.
- There is no need to add any oil to the recipe. The air fryer will make sure the bacon crisps up without additional oil.
Can I use turkey bacon?
You can use turkey bacon in place of pork bacon if you prefer. Just cook the turkey bacon as you would regular bacon.
How to prevent Bacon smoking?
Since the smoke point of bacon fat is 400˚F, it’s better to air fry at 350˚F to avoid any smokiness while cooking this easy air fryer bacon recipe.
Make-ahead tips
After you’ve drained the bacon strips on paper towels and cooled to room temperature, seal the bacon in a reusable silicone bag or glass container and place it in the fridge for about 5 to 6 days. Warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds for breakfast. Or add it back to the air fryer for 1 to 2 minutes.
You can pack up these strips of bacon to enjoy throughout the week or use it as a grab-and-go breakfast option. It’s such a versatile recipe as it can be used for anything from breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Can I Freeze Leftover Bacon?
You can! Place the bacon in a single layer with wax paper or parchment paper in between. Freeze in a reusable silicone bag or glass container for up to 2 months. Again, make sure you’ve cooled it to room temperature and drained any excess oil.
What Are the Advantages of Cooking Bacon in an Air Fryer?
There are lots of advantages of cooking bacon in an air fryer and here are some:
- An easier cleanup.
- The bacon calories are less when it’s cooked in an air fryer because the fat falls to the bottom pan (bottom of your air fryer). So, the bacon is separated from the grease. When you’re cooking in the stove top pan, the bacon and the grease are all together.
- Easy to collect the bacon fat from the Air Fryer drip tray and reuse it for cooking something else.
More Frequently Asked Questions
When you pan fry bacon, it sits in excess fat as it cooks which adds calories. When making air fryer bacon, extra fat immediately drips off and separates because the bacon sits atop a wire basket to cook. Therefore, I would consider air fried bacon healthier than pan fried! You also won’t need to use any extra oil when using your air fryer.
The process of air frying bacon is very hands off! There’s no need to flip the bacon because it cooks atop a wire rack or basket, which allows hot air to circulate all the way around each piece. This means you get the crispiest bacon ever with very little effort! I still recommend checking halfway through and re-arranging slices, if necessary, to prevent overlap.
Absolutely! Thin, thick cut and regular cut bacon can all be added straight to the air fryer raw. Air fry your bacon from raw at 350°F for 8-10 minutes and avoid increasing the temperature any higher as the bacon grease can begin to smoke around 400 degrees F. Thick cut bacon releases a lot of fat as it cooks, though this is really true of any cut.
Bacon Recipes
Need a few recipes that use bacon? Try one of these:
- Sausage and Potato Breakfast Casserole: this make-ahead breakfast casserole is easy to make and perfect for feeding a crowd.
- Brussels Sprouts Bacon Salad: this easy brussels sprouts salad makes for a satisfying and healthy lunch.
- Cabbage Steak Recipe: top off this low-carb recipe with chopped bacon.
- Easy Chopped Chicken Salad: this healthy chopped chicken salad is a healthy and easy meal or meal prep.
- Low-Carb Bacon and Cheese Scones: gluten-free and ultra-simple to whip up, these homemade scones are sprinkled with bacon, cheese, and chives!
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges: Easy, quick and delicious.
You can also use bacon to make sandwiches like BLT and eat in the morning with egg for breakfast.
More Air Fryer Recipes to Try:
Air Fryer Bacon
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Instructions
- First, place the bacon strips in a single layer in the air fryer basket. If you have a smaller air fryer, cut strips in half to fit well.
- Air fry bacon at 350˚F for 7-9 minutes, or until bacon is browned and reaches desired crispiness. Check it halfway through and rearrange slices with tongs if necessary.
- Place cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Then, add more bacon strips if you are cooking bacon in batches. Enjoy!
Tips
- Avoid overcooking the bacon as it will continue to crisp up as it cools.
- Make sure to not overlap the bacon so they cook evenly.
- Between batches, empty any grease in the air fryer basket to avoid the air fryer smoking.
- To store: Drain the bacon of any extra oil before transferring the bacon to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 5 to 6 days.
- To reheat: You can microwave or air fry the bacon for 1 to 2 minutes.
- To freeze: Freeze cooked bacon on a single layer on a sheet of parchment in a freezer-safe bag once the bacon has reached room temperature. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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