Description
Oven Baked Bacon brings crispy, perfectly cooked strips right to your breakfast table without the stovetop splatter. Lay those bacon slices on a foil-lined baking sheet and watch them turn golden and delicious while you prep the rest of your morning meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 1 pound thick-cut bacon
Flavor Enhancers:
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
Finishing Touch:
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- Warm your oven to exactly 400F and position a rack in the center position for consistent heat distribution.
- Cover a rimmed baking sheet completely with parchment paper, allowing slight overhang to catch dripping bacon grease.
- Carefully place 1 pound of thick-cut bacon strips across the sheet, keeping each piece separated without touching neighboring strips.
- If desired, sprinkle 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper directly onto bacon surfaces, gently pressing seasonings into the meat.
- Slide the baking sheet into the preheated 400F oven and bake for precisely 17 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning.
- Check bacon’s crispness around 15-minute mark, rotating sheet if your oven has uneven heating zones.
- Remove sheet from oven using sturdy oven mitts, allowing bacon to rest on paper towels for 2-3 minutes to absorb excess grease.
- Optional final touch: Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup across bacon for enhanced sweetness before serving warm.
Notes
- Always use a rimmed baking sheet to catch bacon grease and prevent messy oven spills.
- Check bacon around 12 minutes since thickness affects cooking time, and every oven differs slightly.
- Save the bacon grease in a jar for cooking other dishes like roasted vegetables or scrambled eggs.
- For extra crispy bacon, place a wire rack on the baking sheet so grease drips down and bacon crisps evenly.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-20 minutes
- Category: Baked
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 580 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg