Bacon lovers, rejoice! If you’ve been searching for a hassle-free way to cook your favorite breakfast treat to crispy perfection, look no further than your trusty air fryer.
The air fryer has gained immense popularity in recent years due to its ability to cook food quickly and with less oil than traditional methods. When it comes to bacon, the air fryer offers several advantages:
Over the past couple of days, I’ve been trying many different methods for cooking bacon. There’s baking bacon in the oven, cooking bacon on a stovetop, and even in your microwave to name a few different methods. If you have an air fryer you’re going to love cooking homemade bacon in it.
The air fryer is one of my favorite kitchen appliances. Check out some of these recipes! Air Fryer Omelette, Air Fryer Poutine, or Air Fryer Turkey Breast!
Jump to:
Why Use an Air Fryer for Bacon?
- Even Cooking: The air fryer circulates hot air around the bacon, ensuring that it cooks evenly on all sides. No more worrying about burnt edges or undercooked centers.
- Less Mess: Cooking bacon on the stovetop can be a greasy affair. The air fryer contains the grease splatters, making cleanup a breeze.
- Healthier Option: While bacon will never be a health food, cooking it in the air fryer allows the excess grease to drain away, resulting in slightly less greasy bacon.
- Consistent Results: With the air fryer, you can achieve consistently crispy bacon every time, without the guesswork.
Ingredients Needed
Bacon – The ingredient that makes every food tasty and 100 times better! Use thin or thick slices or different bacon
Note: If possible purchase bacon at a local butcher shop. It always tastes better than what you can get at a grocery store!
How to Make Air Fryer Bacon
Step 1: Place the bacon in the bottom of your air fryer basket. Use some tinfoil or parchment paper for easy clean up.
Step 2: Air Fry the bacon at 400 degrees for 7 to 9 minutes. Open up the air fryer and flip the bacon. Put the air fryer basket back in and cook for another 3 minutes or until however crispy you like your bacon.
Notes Place a wire rack or trivet over your bacon that came with air fryer. This is optional. If you don’t have a wire rack that came with your air fryer, then you don’t need one.
How to prevent Smoke in the Air Fryer
Have you ever tried cooking bacon in the air fryer and your smoke detector goes off? This has even happened to me when I’m cooking bacon in my air fryer. The smoke or steam comes out of the air fryer and reaches the smoke detector.
Parchment Paper: To prevent this from happening you can cook your bacon between two pieces of parchment paper or add some water to the bottom of your air fryer basket. If you try the parchment paper method you may need to cook the bacon a little longer.
Bread Method: Place 1 or 2 slices of bread on the bottom of the air fryer basket. The sponge will soak or pick up any grease that drips from the bacon.
Water method: If you don’t have any bread water works well too. The water goes underneath the air fryer basket.
Tips for Perfect Air Fryer Bacon Every Time
To ensure your bacon turns out perfectly crispy every time, keep these tips in mind:
- Don’t Overcrowd: Cook the bacon in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket. Overlapping strips can lead to uneven cooking.
- Check for Doneness: Keep an eye on the bacon during the last few minutes of cooking. Air fryer models and bacon thickness can vary, so adjust the cooking time as needed.
- Use a Rack: If your air fryer model includes a rack, use it to elevate the bacon strips. This allows the hot air to circulate more freely and helps the bacon cook evenly.
- Drain Excess Grease: Place cooked bacon on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess grease before serving.
Delicious Ways to Enjoy Air Fryer Bacon
Now that you have perfectly crispy bacon, here are some mouthwatering ways to incorporate it into your meals:
Classic BLT Sandwich
A bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich is a timeless favorite. Use your crispy air fryer bacon to elevate this classic to new heights. Layer crispy bacon, fresh lettuce, and juicy tomatoes between slices of toasted bread, and add a smear of mayo for the perfect bite.
Bacon-Wrapped Delights
Bacon makes everything better, and wrapping it around your favorite foods is a surefire way to enhance their flavor. Try wrapping bacon around jalapeño poppers, shrimp, or asparagus for a tasty appetizer or side dish.
Breakfast Upgrade
Crispy bacon is a breakfast staple, but why not take it up a notch? Crumble your air fryer bacon over a stack of pancakes, mix it into scrambled eggs, or use it to top a breakfast burrito. The possibilities are endless! Leftover bacon is great in these Air Fryer Egg Cups.
For a lighter option, add crispy bacon to a fresh avocado salad. Combine mixed greens, sliced avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and crumbled bacon, then drizzle with a tangy vinaigrette for a satisfying meal.
Bacon Mac and Cheese
Macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food, and adding crispy bacon takes it to the next level. Stir crumbled bacon into your favorite mac and cheese recipe, or sprinkle it on top before baking for a deliciously crunchy topping. Try this recipe for Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
Recipe FAQs
Every air fryer is different and some don’t require preheating and some do. Just follow the cooking instructions that came with your air fryer to see if it needs to be preheated.
Cook the bacon inside some parchment paper. Or, you can add some water to the bottom of the basket or rock salt.
Cook the bacon inside some parchment paper. Or, you can add some water to the bottom of the basket or rock salt.
Yes, it’s the same cooking time as regular bacon in the air fryer.
Cosori 4 Qt Air Fryer– This air fryer doesn’t require any preheating and has several different functions for cooking chicken, meat, frozen foods, etc. There are 5 different functions.
Always store leftovers in clean, food-grade containers. The type of container doesn’t really matter. Use zip lock, glass, plastic, whatever!
Other air fryer recipes
This youtube video shows you how to make Candied bacon but it basically is the same process. Just cook it for 8 minutes instead of 12 if not using any brown sugar. Check out my youtube channel.
If you tried this Air Fryer Bacon or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries
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Air Fryer Bacon
Prep Time: 3 min
Cook Time: 19 min
Total Time: 13 min
Yield: 6 1x
Category: Side
Method: Air Fryer
Cuisine: American
Description
Air Fryer Bacon – You’ll never want to bake bacon in your oven again!
Instructions
- Place the bacon in the bottom of your air fryer basket. I have a 3.5 quart air fryer and was able to get 6 strips of bacon on the bottom. Place the wire rack over your bacon that came with air fryer. This is optional. If you don’t have a wire rack that came with your air fryer, then you don’t need one.
- Cook at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes. Open up the air fryer and flip the bacon. Put the air fryer basket back in and cook for another 3 minutes or until however crispy you like your bacon.
Notes
myWW points Blue 5; Green 5; Purple 5
If possible purchase bacon at a local butcher shop. It always tastes better than what you can get at a grocery store!
Place a wire rack or trivet over your bacon that came with air fryer. This is optional. If you don’t have a wire rack that came with your air fryer, then you don’t need one.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 37
- Sugar: .1
- Saturated Fat: 2.8
- Carbohydrates: .1
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 2.7
