In just 10 minutes you can have the BEST crispy Air Fryer Bacon ready to eat and without a ton of mess to clean-up! Because the strips are elevated in the air fryer basket, the fat drips away leaving you with a quick, easy, and foolproof way to cook bacon!
Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Recipe
For years I have been cooking bacon in a skillet. I even got a little creative and started making oven-baked bacon on a sheet pan!
But when I discovered the magic of Air Fryer Bacon, I was forever convinced: this was the BEST way to cook bacon and a total game-changer!
The first time I made a batch of Whole Foods thick-cut bacon, it was fully cooked and ready to eat in a fraction of the time with no hassle.
The open-air heat of convection baking makes the perfect environment for bacon to crisp evenly on all sides, while also shedding excess fat along the way.
Making the bacon leaner, crispier, and perfectly cooked every single time!
Plus, since the bacon is contained, there’s no oil splattering which makes an easy cleanup!
Table of Contents
Types of Bacon
Much like the oven, the air fryer is pretty forgiving when it comes to cooking just about anything in it. But there are a few general rules of thumb you’ll want to follow when selecting the best bacon and utilizing the air fryer method.
The thickness of your bacon determines how long you will need to air fry it. Thick-cut bacon will take a minute or two longer than regular-cut. Thin bacon will take a minute or two less.
The leanness of the bacon strips will also play a small role in cooking times. A leaner type of bacon will cook up more quickly since there is less fat to render off. Fattier slices will take a little longer to cook.
How to Make Air Fryer Bacon
Please see the recipe card below for more detailed ingredient amounts.
1. Preheat the Air Fryer
Despite the simplicity of the preparation method, there are still certain steps that must be followed carefully for the sake of quality and safety.
Preheat your air fryer oven to 350°F. This is the best temperature to give the bacon time to release all of its excess fat. But the hot air is fast enough that it can be ready in just 10 minutes.
If the air fryer smokes, you can add a small bit of water. But this risks making the bacon soggy. Placing a few slices of bread beneath the cooking basket to soak up the grease may also work to prevent smoking.
2. Arrange the Strips
Carefully arrange the strips of bacon on the metal rack in a single layer. Try to leave a little bit of space in between the strips.
If the bacon is too long to fit, or if wavy pieces are desired, pieces may be carefully creased or cut in half.
With an oven-style air fryer, you can line the bottom with aluminum foil to save on cleanup.
3. Cook the Bacon
Cook bacon at 350°F for 9-10 minutes, adding or subtracting 1-2 minutes based on leanness and thickness.
The safest practice is to err on the side of 7-8 minutes, check the bacon, and then return it to the air fryer to finish cooking, if still underdone. If desired, you can flip the bacon strips at this stage in order to ensure even crisping, although this isn’t usually needed.
When the desired level of crispness has been reached, carefully remove the bacon strips from the air fryer with a pair of long tongs to avoid burning yourself. Lay out on a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up any remaining fat.
FAQs
Since food is suspended in the air fryer basket, most of the excess fat from the bacon will be rendered off during cooking. This makes air-fried bacon significantly healthier than bacon cooked in the oven or on the stovetop.
The downside of air frying bacon is, if you’re using a small air fryer, you have limited space. Overcrowding the bacon even a small amount can cause it to cook unevenly and turn out soggy rather than crisp.
There’s no need to add any additional oil to the air fryer while cooking bacon, due to the amount of grease that the bacon will generate on its own as soon as it begins cooking.
If the strips have been arranged in a single layer, there’s no need to flip the bacon in the middle of cooking. The convection oven-like setup of the air fryer will ensure even crisping throughout.
Recipe Tips
- Give it space. Be sure no pieces are overlapping or touching to achieve a fully crisp texture.
- Clean the bottom. If making multiple batches of bacon, take a moment to drain or wipe the excess grease out of the bottom of the air fryer.
- Keep an eye out. Check regularly to determine when exactly the bacon is cooked to your preference.
- Save the grease. Store rendered bacon grease in an airtight glass mason jar and keep it at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 6 months.
- Make it sweet. Consider rubbing the bacon slices with a small amount of brown sugar before cooking to make candied bacon!
Recipes with Bacon
Once you’ve figured out how easy it is to make bacon in the air fryer, you’ll be looking for recipes to use it.
- Broccoli Bacon Salad
- Loaded Potato Skins
- Avocado BLT Quinoa Salad
- BLT Pasta Salad
- BBQ Chicken Cobb Salad
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Ingredients
- 4 oz. bacon about 4-5 strips
Instructions
- Heat Air Fryer to 350°F.
- Lay Out Bacon: Place bacon strips on the metal rack in a single layer. If the bacon is too long to fit or you’d like to get wavy pieces, place your pointer finger underneath a section of it to lift it up. Repeat this another time on the same piece of bacon and do this with all strips.4 oz. bacon
- Air Fry the Bacon: Cook bacon for 9-10 minutes. Cook a minute less if very thin strips or 1-2 minutes more if really thick strips.
- Drain and Eat: Remove bacon from Air Fryer and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Eat immediately and enjoy!
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Notes
- Give it space. Be sure no pieces are overlapping or touching to achieve a fully crisp texture.
- Clean the bottom. If making multiple batches of bacon, take a moment to drain or wipe the excess grease out of the bottom of the air fryer.
- Keep an eye out. Check regularly to determine when exactly the bacon is cooked to your preference.
- Save the grease. Store rendered bacon grease in an airtight glass mason jar and keep it at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 6 months.
- Make it sweet. Consider rubbing the bacon slices with a small amount of brown sugar before cooking to make candied bacon!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am confused by the nutrition label you included. How can a 4 gram serving of bacon have 11 grams of fat, 1 gram of carbs, and 4 grams of protein.
Thank you for catching that! There are four servings in the recipe as written, each serving being around 1 ounce. I made that more clear.
How long do you cook bacon in an oven type air fryer?
Hi Lynda! I don’t have an oven-type air fryer so I am not 100% sure, but I would assume the same time! You can always take a peek at it at the 8 minute mark to see how it’s doing though!
Great recipe. They always succeed. Great taste, just how I think it should be.
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, John! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!