Bacon in the air fryer is hands down the best way to cook it quickly. You don’t have to wait for an oven to preheat, line a sheet pan, and bake it. You don’t have to monitor it on your stovetop and deal with splattering oil.
The air fryer basket is dishwasher friendly which makes cleaning up after cooking in it an absolute breeze. Just drain any grease, let your air fryer cool, and then into the dishwasher it goes. This is a totally game-changing method of making bacon! Plus with that taken care of, it frees you up to make the other parts of breakfast or just sit down and enjoy your coffee.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Bacon — There are so many different cuts: American style, Canadian, Rasher, Irish, and more. We like using thick-cut bacon which is twice as thick as the regular ones. Keep in mind that if you use a thinner cut, you should decrease the cooking time by a minute or so.
How to Make Air Fryer Bacon
Step 1: Place bacon slices in the air fryer basket. It’s okay to overcrowd a little as the slices will shrink while cooking. You will need to cook in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
Step 2: Cook at 400°F for 6 minutes and 8-10 minutes if you like them extra crispy. Note that times will vary depending on the cut of the meat and air fryer you’re using so check on them halfway to see if doneness is to your liking.
Tips For This Recipe
- If you are new to air frying, I suggest taking a look into the basket around the halfway mark to see if they need to be shifted around or not. Since they shrink as they cook and may shift around, you can use tongs to quickly readjust them.
- If you are worried about smoke, you can add up to 1 cup of water to the basket before cooking. The water will keep the grease from causing smoke to form.
- If you are cooking two or more batches, be sure to drain any grease in the basket between batches. This will also help decrease the chance of smoking.
- I would not line the basket with parchment or foil as the benefit of the basket is that it allows the grease to drip off as well and allows the hot air to circulate all around the bacon.
- If you’re a fan of cooking with bacon grease, you can definitely strain the grease from the basket into a glass container to save for later.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you don't! That is the beauty of this recipe. Unlike making it in a pan where you have to keep an eye on it and flip/move it to avoid it burning, this method is absolutely hands-off. Cooked in less than 10 minutes with no effort? Yes, please.
Every model is different. If your model does not require preheating, you can skip it completely.
Other than eating it on its own, you can make BLTs, add it to salads, add it to a frittata, top egg cups with crumbled pieces, garnish soup with it, and more!
After being cooked, bacon keeps really well in the fridge. You can definitely make a batch ahead of time and reheat it in the air fryer before serving. Simply set your appliance to 400°F for 1 to 2 minutes. It shouldn’t take long for it to be heated through.
If you’re looking for some brunch ideas, try my Easy Sheet Pan Pancakes, Breakfast Tacos, Avocado Toast, and Oatmeal Banana Pancakes!
I suggest not cooking from frozen. It will not cook evenly when you cook from frozen and usually they're stuck together so you'll have to be constantly checking in to separate them.
You can freeze your bacon after it's been cooked. However, it takes 10 or less minutes to make this so I would personally just cook as needed or for the week. Storing it in the freezer can be tricky too as you don't want to crumble the slices when trying to pack it away.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Air Fryer Bacon Recipe then don’t forget to leave me a rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Air Fryer Bacon
Ingredients
- 10 slices bacon thick-cut
Instructions
- Place bacon in air fryer basket. It’s okay to overcrowd a little as the bacon will shrink while cooking. You will need to cook in batches depending on size of your air fryer.
- Cook at 400°F for 6 minutes and 8-10 minutes if you like your bacon extra crispy. Note that times will vary depending on the type of bacon and air fryer you’re using so check on them halfway to see if doneness is to your liking.
Video
Notes
- If you are new to air frying, I suggest taking a look into the basket around the halfway mark to see if they need to be shifted around or not. Since they shrink as they cook and may shift around, you can use tongs to quickly readjust them.
- If you are worried about smoke, you can add up to 1 cup of water to the air fryer basket before cooking.
- If you are cooking two or more batches, be sure to drain any grease in the basket between batches. This will help decrease chances of smoking.
- I would not line the air fryer basket with parchment or foil as the benefit of the basket is that it allows the grease to drip off as well and allows the hot air to circulate all around the bacon.
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