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Air Fryer Bacon
We love Air Fryer Recipes like Air Fryer Chicken Wings, not only because they cook faster, but they turn out extra crispy with little to no extra oil. If you crave crispy bacon, then this recipe is for you! The air fryer method is so much easier to make than stovetop or baking in the oven because it’s quick, less messy and there’s no need to pre-heat the oven. You can make that epic BLT Sandwich in half the time.
How Long to Cook Bacon in the Air Fryer
The cook time for this recipe can vary depending on the doneness of your bacon, the thickness of the bacon, and the style of your air fryer. Also, we do not preheat the air fryer for bacon.
Regular Cut Bacon – for softer bacon, air fry at 350˚F for 7 minutes, and for crispy bacon, cook 8 to 9 minutes Thick-Cut Bacon – for softer bacon, air fry at 350˚F for 9-10 minutes, and for crispy bacon, cook 10-12 minutes.
Which Air Fryer is Best?
We have 2 air fryers so we can thoroughly test air fryer recipes, but it depends on your needs. Not all air fryers are created equal so get to know your air fryer, peek in on your food to check progress, and adjust recipe timings as needed.
Basket Style Air Fryer – we have the 5.8 Qt Cosori Air Fryer which takes up slightly less counter space, works well for our family of 4, and has the easiest cleanup because the air fryer basket and liner are dishwasher-safe. Toaster Oven Style Air Fryer – takes up a little more space, but is great for bigger families and you can cook most recipes in one batch. Depending on your particular model, it can cook faster. I cooked the bacon in the toaster oven style for 8 minutes, while it took 9 minutes in the basket style.
Common Questions
You only have to try cooking bacon in the Air Fryer once for it to become your new favorite way to cook bacon. It’s perfectly crisp every time and since the air circulates, there’s no need to flip the bacon halfway.
Use Cooked Bacon for
Deviled Eggs – make the best Deviled Eggs with Bacon Sandwiches – air fryer bacon is perfect for a BLT Sandwich Omelets – so satisfying in our Egg White Omelete Wraps – adds great flavor to a Chicken Wrap Salad – a great addition to the Pasta Caesar salad
title: “Crispy Air Fryer Bacon” ShowToc: true date: “2024-11-11” author: “Christopher Schempp”
Did you know that 50% of the fat in bacon is monounsaturated fat? This includes oleic acid, which is also found in olive oil. Unlike some brands of margarine, it also has no trans fat, so the leftover bacon grease makes a popular choice for cooking, if you’d like to save the rendered bacon grease for later. (Tips on that below!) Use this quick cooking method the next time you want an easy salad topping, or a flavorful addition to egg muffins.
Why You’ll Love It
It cooks quickly. Depending on how thick the bacon is sliced, it will cook in just 8-10 minutes. It’s energy efficient. This is an easy way to cook bacon without supervising it over the stove, or heating up your entire oven to cook just a few pieces at a time. It doesn’t sit in grease. Unlike bacon that is cooked on a sheet pan in the oven, or in a skillet on the stovetop, the air fryer allows the bacon grease to drip into the pan below as it cooks, so the bacon strips will be less greasy when they are done. It’s hands-off. Since the air fryer allows air to circulate under the bacon as it cooks, you don’t need to worry about flipping the bacon. You can just press a button and walk away until it’s done! It’s flexible. This method will work with regular bacon or turkey bacon.
Note: There is one downside to cooking bacon in the air fryer. You can only cook 4 to 5 strips at once in a typical basket-style air fryer, so if you want to cook more than that, you’ll need to work in batches. If you need to cook 2 or more batches of bacon, it might be faster & easier to cook them on a large sheet pan in your oven instead. (I usually bake bacon at 400ºF for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping halfway through the cook time.)
How to Cook Air Fryer Bacon
Arrange in the basket. For crispy bacon, be sure to arrange the bacon in a single layer, without overlapping the pieces. It’s okay if the bacon goes up the sides of the air fryer basket slightly, as it will shrink significantly as it cooks. Note: Some air fryer models (like the Instant Pot Vortex and Breville Smart Oven) will force you to preheat the air fryer before the cooking cycle will start counting down. If you own an air fryer model that requires a preheating, be sure to preheat the oven fryer before adding the bacon to the basket. If you are using an oven-style air fryer, be sure to place a rimmed baking sheet UNDER your air fryer tray, so it will catch the bacon drippings. You don’t want the grease to drop onto a heating element, or it could make a huge mess in the bottom of your oven.
Air Fry. Cook the bacon at 350ºF for 10 minutes, if you’re using a thick-cut bacon. If you are using thinly sliced bacon, you may want to start with just 8 minutes, since it will cook faster. After the timer goes off, check the bacon for crispiness. I sometimes have to add 2 more minutes of cook time, but this will vary based on your preferences. If you like your bacon more chewy, rather than crispy, then 10 minutes should be plenty, but I like to add the extra 2 minutes for super crispy bacon. I think it’s always best to check after 10 minutes, however, just to make sure you don’t burn the bacon. The air fryer can cook things faster than you might expect, and each air fryer model will give you slightly different results.
Note: If you need to cook multiple batches of bacon, you can reheat the cooked bacon all together in the air fryer for 2 minutes at 350ºF, to make sure it’s all warm for serving. In this case, you don’t need to worry about keeping the bacon in a single layer, since it will already be crispy. 3. Enjoy! Use tongs to remove the bacon from the air fryer, and place it on a paper towel (or regular towel) if you would like to help absorb any excess grease. The bacon will crisp up even more as it cools. Serve right away for the best taste and texture.
How to Save the Bacon Fat
The grease from bacon is a popular cooking fat, with a similar texture to softened butter when it cools. The air fryer makes it easy to save bacon grease, because the basket at the bottom will catch all of the drippings! To render the bacon fat, arrange a fine mesh sieve over a storage jar, and pour the warm bacon grease through it to catch any small bacon pieces that may have fallen through the air fryer basket. Bacon fat is best stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months, but be sure to smell it each time you use it to make sure it hasn’t gone rancid. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months or more.
Storage Tip: Leftover strips of bacon can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. To reheat the cold bacon, you can reheat it again in the air fryer at 350ºF for 5 to 8 minutes. (It will be warm in just 2 minutes, but with a much softer texture; it requires a longer cooking time to become crispy again.) You can also freeze cooked bacon in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
How to Use Cooked Bacon
If you are wondering what to do with leftover bacon, try it in one of these recipes:
Bacon & Gruyere Breakfast Casserole. This recipe has a sneaky serving of veggies in each bite, but it tastes unbelievably rich! Perfect for a holiday brunch. Cobb Salad. Cooked bacon makes an excellent topping on this classic salad, if you don’t need a vegetarian version. (Try mushroom bacon, when you want a more plant-based approach.) Vegan Alfredo. Adding bacon to this dish will no longer make it vegan-friendly, but it will make it taste like a carbonara pasta! Instant Pot Egg Bites. These remind me of the sous-vide egg bites from Starbucks!
Common Questions
Why is my air fryer smoking? The smoke point of bacon fat is 400ºF, so it’s important to cook bacon at a lower temperature in the air fryer. This is why I recommend sticking to 350ºF, and some machines will even recommend 320ºF as their “bacon” setting. Smoking can also occur if your air fryer basket is not clean when you get started. Make sure to remove any crumbs and grease residue from the drip tray before using your air fryer. What else can I cook in the air fryer? Check out all of my air fryer recipes, including Air Fryer Chicken Breasts and Air Fryer Baked Potatoes. If you try this Air Fryer Bacon recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
