Breakfast / Bacon, sausage & potatoes
Oven Bacon on a Sheet Pan
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Slide the pan into a cold oven and the smell finds every bedroom before the timer does. The bacon comes out flat and evenly crisp, and nobody has to stand over a skillet to get it.
The short version
Lay bacon in one layer on a parchment-lined rimmed sheet pan, slide it into a cold oven, then set the oven to 400°F. Bake 25 to 35 minutes until deep golden, drain on paper towels and save the fat. Pull it a shade early; it keeps crisping.
What makes ours better
what we fixed so you don’t have to
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Start in a cold oven. The bacon warms as the oven heats, so the fat renders gradually and the strips cook evenly and stay flatter. A preheated oven sets the edges before the fat melts and curls them.
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Line the pan with parchment. Bacon grease sticks hard to bare metal and can scorch onto foil. Parchment lets the strips lift off and makes cleanup a matter of tipping out the fat.
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Bake on the pan, not on a rack. On a rack the ends dry out and burn while the middle stays soft, and the rack is a pain to wash. Bacon on the pan fries gently in its own fat.
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Finish with maple and pepper, if you like. A brush of syrup in the last 5 minutes caramelizes into a glossy, sweet-salty coating.
yes, all of the butter
Steps
nobody opens the oven door. looking at you, Dad.
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Line the pan
Line a rimmed half sheet pan (about 13 by 18 inches) with parchment. Make sure the pan has a rim, or the fat will run into the oven. Leave the oven off, with a rack in the center.
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Lay out the bacon
Arrange the bacon in one layer, with the slices side by side and just touching but not overlapping. Use a second pan if you have more than a pound.
Overlapped slices stay soft and stuck together where they meet.
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Start in a cold oven
Slide the pan into the cold oven and set it to 400°F. Don't wait for the oven to heat. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
About 20 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Check and rotate
At 20 minutes, check the bacon. Thin slices may already be close. Rotate the pan front to back so it cooks evenly, and keep baking.
Hot fat sloshes. Pull the rack out partway before you move the pan, and use two hands.
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Bake until crisp
Cook until the bacon is deep golden brown and bubbling, with only a few pale spots, 25 to 35 minutes in all. Regular-cut is usually done around 25 to 30 minutes; thick-cut needs 30 to 40. Pull it when it's a shade lighter than you want; it crisps more as it cools.
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Glaze, if using
For glazed bacon, stir the syrup and pepper together. When the bacon is about 5 minutes from done, pull the rack out partway and brush a little over each slice. Watch closely, because syrup burns fast.
About 5 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Drain and rest
Lift the strips onto a paper-towel-lined plate with tongs and let them sit for 2 to 3 minutes. Let the fat cool on the pan before you handle it.
About 3 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
Good to know
read this before somebody asks for seconds
- Save the fat. Once the pan has cooled for 15 minutes, pour the fat through a fine sieve into a jar. It's good for frying eggs, potatoes or greens.
- Ovens vary. For the first batch, check at 20 minutes and write down the time that worked.
- Center-cut and turkey bacon have less fat and cook faster. Start checking them at 15 minutes.
- For a crowd, use two pans on two racks and swap their positions halfway through, which adds a few minutes.
- Storage. Cooked bacon keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for 5 days and in the freezer for 1 month. Reheat on a paper towel in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds, or in a skillet or 375°F oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Strained fat keeps in the fridge for a month.
Questions, answered
the questions my cousins text me
Do I need to flip the bacon?
No. In a cold-start oven it cooks evenly from one side. If your oven has hot spots, rotate the pan once, as in the steps.
Should I preheat the oven for bacon?
You can, and it's a few minutes faster, but the bacon comes out less evenly cooked and more curled. Cold-start is gentler. If you preheat to 400°F, start checking at 15 minutes.
How do I know when oven bacon is done?
Look for deep golden brown with bubbling fat and just a few pale spots. It looks slightly underdone when hot, but it firms up and gets crisp in 2 to 3 minutes after you take it out.
Can I use foil instead of parchment?
Yes. Foil is fine at this temperature and some people say it makes the bacon crisper. Bacon can stick to it, so lightly grease the foil.
How do I get thick-cut bacon crisp without burning it?
Give thick-cut bacon 30 to 40 minutes in the cold-start oven and lower the temperature to 375°F if it browns quickly. The fat needs time to render before the edges dry out.
From the table
Made it? Tell me everything. Especially if somebody said it was better than their mother’s. I’ll keep your secret.
Made it?
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Published October 29, 2026.