Tantalizingly crispy Air Fryer Bacon is hands-down the best and easiest bacon you can make! Evenly cooked and perfectly crisp, it cooks faster and makes less mess than the oven or stove top. You’ll want to add it to everything!
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Why You’ll Love This Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe
- Hands-Free Cooking. Like Oven Bacon (and unlike cooking bacon in a skillet on the stovetop), air fryer bacon cooks completely hands-free. You don’t even need to flip it!
- Mouthwateringly Crispy. The air fryer is fabulous for making your favorite foods extra crispy, whether you are making Air Fryer Chicken Wings, Air Fryer French Fries, Air Fryer Potato Chips, or today’s perfect, crisp bacon.
- Faster Than the Oven. Because the air fryer is compact and uses powerful convection cooking, it cooks foods more quickly than they bake in the oven.
- No Grease Splatters. One of the best parts of making bacon in the air fryer is the quick clean up. No greasy stove.
5 Star Review
Heaven on earth! We go through a lot of bacon. I usually hate making it, since it can take forever & grease gets everywhere, but not this way! It was perfect! Easy clean up & so much quicker!
— Kaila —
How to Cook Bacon in the Air Fryer
The Ingredients
- Bacon. Since it is the only true ingredient here, using good-quality bacon is very important. It will have the best taste and texture, resulting in the best possible bacon experience (yes, please!). You can use thick-cut or thin-cut bacon for this recipe.
- Black Pepper. For a twist, try adding a sprinkle of black pepper to your bacon.
The Directions
- Cut the Bacon Slices. Lay them in the air fryer basket in a single layer (if you do multiple layers, it won’t be as crisp).
- Air Fry. Air fry bacon at 350 degrees F for 5 to 9 minutes (for thin-cut bacon) or 10 to 12 minutes (for thick cut).
- Remove and Repeat. Repeat steps with remaining batches. DIG IN!
What to Serve With Air Fryer Bacon
- Salads. Add crunch to Broccoli Cauliflower Salad or make a BLT Chopped Salad.
- Sandwiches. It’s perfect for a classic BLT!
- Pasta. Take your pasta dishes (like this Cauliflower Pasta) up a notch with some crispiness from crumbled bacon.
- Pizza. You won’t regret topping your pizza with crispy bacon pieces (especially if it’s this delicious Brussels Sprouts Bacon Pizza).
- Eggs. Air fryer bacon and eggs are a match made in heaven! Add some to your Egg Muffins for an easy grab-and-go breakfast or serve them alongside a French Omelette.
- Baked Potatoes. You can’t go wrong topping your Air Fryer Baked Potato, Crock Pot Baked Potatoes, or a classic Baked Potato with bacon.
- Soups. Take a note from Crockpot Potato Soup, and top a bowl of your favorite soup with crumbled bacon.
- Breakfast Faves. Bacon pairs perfectly with Banana Oatmeal Pancakes or an Oven Pancake.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Make Sure the Bacon Fits in Your Air Fryer. Cut the bacon slices in half crosswise before adding them to the air fryer. This helps them cook more evenly and fit in the air fryer basket more comfortably.
- Avoid Smoking. The smoke point of bacon is 400°F (and grease leftover in your air fryer can start to smoke at 360°F, so this recipe air fries the bacon at 350°F to avoid the issue. If you do have problems with smoke when you air fry bacon, I read you can place a piece of bread in the air fryer basket to absorb extra bacon drippings. Also, make sure your air fryer is clean.
- Don’t Worry About Foil. While you can line the basket with it if you like, I found the air fryer was very easy to clean even without it. If you use foil, ensure it’s not touching any part of the heating element or fan.
- Know That Air Fryers Vary. Each air fryer model is a little different; this recipe has been tested in a Ninja air fryer and Philips air fryer. Check early to make sure your bacon doesn’t burn.
Air Fryer Bacon
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Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon thick or thin, cut in half crosswise
- Black pepper optional
Instructions
- Wipe out your air fryer to avoid bacon smoking. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F. If you’d like to keep the bacon warm between batches, preheat your oven to 250°F.
- Slide out your air fryer basket. With tongs, arrange the halved bacon slices in a single layer. Make sure they do not overlap (a little bit of touching at the edges is OK). If desired, sprinkle with black pepper. Depending upon the size of your basket and the number of strips you’d like to cook at once, you may need to cook the bacon in batches.
- Cook the bacon for 5 minutes (for thinner bacon) or up to 12 minutes (for thick-cut bacon), until it reaches your desired crispness. The bacon will curl as it crisps. Check the bacon’s progress frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and lightly blot. If desired, transfer the bacon to a baking sheet and keep in the oven.
- For further batches: Repeat with remaining bacon (no need to wipe out the air fryer in between unless it begins to smoke, in which case carefully pour out the grease and wipe it with a paper towel). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- If the bacon begins to smoke, this is likely old grease that was left in your air fryer (as long as your air fryer is set to less than 360°F, it should not smoke). Once your air fryer is cool, wipe it out with a damp cloth to prevent further smoking. I have also read you can place a slice of bread in the air fryer basket when making bacon to absorb excess grease and prevent smoke.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate bacon strips in an airtight storage container for up to 2 days.
- TO REHEAT: Recrisp bacon in the air fryer at 350°F.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze bacon strips in an airtight freezer-safe storage container or ziptop bag. Reheat from frozen as desired.
Nutrition
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Work really well. I cooked thick cut back bacon and only took10 minutes or less to cook but we like it crispy so we left it for about 12-14 minutes and it was lovely and crisp and not dry!
Yay! Thanks Julianna!
I put 2 pieces of bread in the very bottom of the air fryer, underneath the tray, to soak up the grease and prevent smoking.
Great tip! Thanks Camille!
I tried bacon for the first time in my Gowise air fryer. It was awesome!! I tried with two layers ( with a rack). Top got done in 10 minutes but had to bottom layer in for another 3 minutes.
Thanks for the feedback Eleonor, that’s great to hear!
For my airfryer I had to turn up the temperature. If I did it at 350 it would have to cook for 13 minutes. At 375 it cooked for 8. So I guess it just depends. But it was DELICIOUS!
Glad you enjoyed it Avery!
Heaven on earth!! We go through a lot of bacon. I usually hate making it, since it can take forever & grease gets everywhere, but not this way! It was perfect! Easy clean up & so much quicker!
Oh my goodness! Thank you Erin. Crisp and no greasy splatters all over the kitchen. Fantastic!
Love cooking bacon this fast and easy way. I do have to wipe down the inside of the oven air fryer but still so much quicker than the stove top.
Agreed! Thank you Mariel!
Thanks so much. I cooked at 176 deg C for 6 minutes, turned the bacon and did another 4 minutes and it was lovely. I did only 4 slices of streaky bacon and obviously mine was cut thick. Bacon was cooked perfectly. I’ll be cooking Bacon this way from now on.
Great to hear, thank you!
Should use White Pepper though ;)
You definitely can!
The only issue that I have is that the Phillips XXL is a mini-tornado inside and the bacon, thick cut even gets blown around inside. The Instant Air Fryer does not have this problem.
Thanks for letting me know!
An update, if one cuts an end off the thick bacon, so that they just fit inside the Philips XXL, (the cut off ends can be used for lardons later on) the bacon does not tend to “fly” about and cooks up nicely as per the recipe.
Thanks so much!