This is hands down the best bacon you’ve ever eaten. Here are easy-to-follow directions so you get perfectly crisp strip every time. Plus, I’ve mastered the way to cook bacon in the air fryer without it smoking. It’s super easy and will have you making it every week!
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You need to try Cooking Bacon in Air Fryer
If there is one breakfast recipe to make in the air fryer, it’s bacon. It’s crispy and best of all, clean up is easy.
I’ve tested this fail-proof recipe more than 50 times by now because 4 year old has been asking me to make it constantly. I’ve even made frozen bacon in the air fryer because he wanted it for breakfast and the whole block was frozen.
It takes just 10 minutes to get the best bacon in your life with no greasy splatter all over the stove.
Everything you’ll learn about cooking Bacon in the Air Fryer:
- Step-by-step instructions for cooking it in the air fryer
- My special trick for removing excess grease from your air fried bacon and keeping your air fryer clean!
- How to prevent your air fryer from smoking while cooking
- Techniques to make crispy and non-crispy versions in the air fryer
If you’re wondering how to cook bacon in the air fryer, you’ve come to the right place. After making this recipe, you’ll never go back to cooking it on the stovetop or microwave!
How to Cook Bacon in Air Fryer
STEP ONE: Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees F. Place 1-2 pieces of bread at the bottom of your air fryer, under the basket. This will help catch any excess grease from causing a mess in your air fryer.
STEP TWO: In an even layer, put the bacon in your air fryer. If you’re using a longer variety, cut the strips in half so they fit easily in your air fryer.
STEP THREE: Cook at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until it reaches your desired crispiness. Remove and enjoy immediately!
Looking for a change-up? Try cooking these 25 air fryer breakfast recipes! Includes turkey bacon, breakfast burritos, and even hash brown patties!
Tips for bacon in Air Fryer
If you’ve never made air fryer bacon before there are a few tips you need to know about before you get started:
- Use these long tongs to remove it from your air fryer. You’ll avoid burning yourself!
- Make sure that you use the thick, uncured variety for this recipe. It’s the most flavorful!
- When cooking in the air fryer, don’t overcrowd the basket with multiple layers.
- For the crispiest bacon, flip the strips halfway through.
- For added flavor, season it before air frying. Options include pepper, maple syrup, or brown sugar!
How to Prevent Smoke when Cooking Bacon in Air Fryer
There are two ways to prevent your air fryer from smoking while cooking:
- With bread: This method is my personal favorite. Place 1-2 pieces of bread underneath your air fryer’s basket. The bread acts as a sponge and soaks up any excess grease that could cause your air fryer to smoke!
- With water: Use this method if you don’t have any bread at home. Put a small amount of water in the drawer of your air fryer, which you’ll find under the basket. Be careful not to use too much water as this can make it soggy.
It’s also important to clean your air fryer right after cooking to keep the grease from getting baked on. Learn all you need to know about cleaning your air fryer here!
What to Use Cooked Bacon for
They say everything is better with bacon – because it’s such a versatile ingredient. Use it in chicken wraps, loaded fries, pasta salads, or served with green beans or brussels sprouts.
Some of my favorite ways to use these crispy strips are to include it in a turkey sandwich, BLTs, on top of green bean casserole, and my all-time-favorite – mac and cheese. It adds such a sweet and smokey flavor to the recipe.
Air Fry Bacon / Air Fryer FAQs
You can cook bacon in an air fryer, you just need to make sure that you cook it at the correct temperature. Verify that your air fryer is clean and preheat it to 350 degrees F.
This is the perfect temperature to get crispy strips.
If your bacon is frozen, use our air fryer frozen bacon recipe here.
Yes, every type of air fryer should be preheated to ensure even cooking. These popular cooking appliances are known for making foods crispy and delicious.
To get the crispiness you’re after, you need to preheat.
How long to cook bacon in the air fryer depends on the thickness:
– Regular Bacon: For a crispier strip, cook at 350 degrees F for 8-9 minutes. For non-crispy, cook for 7 minutes.
– Thick Bacon: For the crispiest version, cook at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes. For non-crispy, cook for 9-10 minutes.
The best way to keep the grease from splattering is to monitor your temperature. I find cooking bacon higher than 350 degrees F causes it to splatter as it’s cooked faster.
If you find the grease is still splattering, you can place a piece of bread under the basket or use ½ cup to 1 cup of water instead depending on the size of your air fryer.
For air fryer ovens, use a drip tray or piece of aluminum foil right underneath the crisper tray.
Other Recipes like Air Fry Bacon:
- Air Fryer Turkey Bacon
- Bacon Wrapped Shrimp in the Air Fryer
- French Bread Pizza in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Scallops
- Bacon Wrapped Asparagus in the Air Fryer
- Country-Style Ribs in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Eggs (Scrambled!)
- The Best Air Fryer Keto Recipes
- Air Fryer Bacon Jalapenos
Air Fryer Bacon
Ingredients
- 7 ounces of bacon approximately 8 slices
Optional
- 1-2 pieces of bread to prevent smoking
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees.
- Place 1-2 pieces of bread at the bottom of your air fryer underneath the basket* then place bacon in the air fryer evenly in one layer. Cut bacon in half if too long.
- Cook in the air fryer for 8-10 minutes, until it’s at your desired crispiness.**
- Enjoy immediately.
Love how complete your directions are, especially as someone who has never used an air fryer. That bacon looks delicious!
I have an air fryer that has 3 racks. How would I cook bacon in that?
Hi Sharon, you can cook the bacon on each of the racks in single layers. I always recommend leaving enough room for air to circulate between the layers.
Wonderful article thank you
I just got a new stove that has an air fryer setting in the oven. I have never used an air fryer – do I use it just like a counter top air fryer?
Hi Linda, yes it will work just the same, but the recipes may need a few minutes longer to cook and get as crispy as a smaller air fryer. This is just due to the extra space.
I found another thought on another site stating: “The smoke point of bacon fat is 400˚F. Air frying at 350˚F avoids smokiness while cooking bacon.”
I’ve been saving bread heels in the freezer to use under the fryer basket, as you suggest, but I’d like to reserve the rendered bacon grease, for other uses and the bread would negate that.
Any thoughts?
Smoke point and dripping grease are separate things. All bacon will have grease drip off no matter what temperature you cook it since it’s a fatty food. If you’re looking to save the bacon grease for the future, I recommend using the water method by putting about a tablespoon or two of water in the bottom. It will work the same, but make it easier to use.
Can I use the crisper rack in addition to the bottom rack to cook more back at one time?
Hi Jim! Yes, you can use both racks, but I recommend swapping the bacon or racks halfway through to enjoy even cooking. The top rack will cook faster since it’s closer to the heating element if yours is on top.
And any ideas about the grease soaked bread😵💫😵💫? I mean it’s still fairly two good pieces of bread, well except for…….
Croutons, filler in your meatloaf???
You could use it for that! We constantly have leftover bread in the house, so we use our older bread or the end pieces that we typically don’t eat.
Cut mine in half. 7 minutes. Perfection. Cosori 6 AF
We need a chart for the weight & item to find out how long to cook it, like above.
E.g 2kg chicken.
Hope to get one soon as the other cooking time chart really helps!
I tried cooking bacon in my fryer. While a few small pieces cooked and crisped perfectly most of the batch appeared raw no matter how long I cooked it.
Hi Antonio, the part where some pieces were still raw no matter how you cooked it concerns me that there might be something wrong with your air fryer, if it wasn’t fat that just looked like it wasn’t cooked, but was.
When cooking bacon in the air fryer, do you do anything with the bread you use?
Hi Rob, I personally toss it as we always have extra bread, but you could eat it or cut it up for bacon-greased croutons if you would like!
I like your style! Very , good description and through. Will use this site often. I have just winged it in the air fryer, mostly frozen food. This will be easy learning. Thanks sooooooo much.