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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Air Fryer Bacon – better than the oven

    Air Fryer Bacon – better than the oven

    BY: Courtney PUBLISHED: Nov 28, 2018 21 Comments UPDATED ON: Feb 21, 2022

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.
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    JUMP TO RECIPE

    Crispy, crunchy, Air Fryer Bacon cooked to perfection. Step-by-step photos and comparison of the Cuisinart Air Fryer Oven and Ninja Air Fryer.

    yellow plate with air fryer bacon, toast with butter, and scrambled eggs.

    You may be wondering, can you cook bacon in an air fryer? YES!! And it’s the best bacon ever. Before air fryer toaster ovens we would cook bacon in the oven, in the microwave, or even on a frying pan. It would take so long, and would mostly sit in the grease, but it was crispy, mostly. Make extra for our bacon egg salad, cheesy bacon potatoes, or breakfast egg muffins.

    air fryer bacon

    The air fryer is a game changer for making the best crispy bacon that everyone will enjoy and the cleanup is easy too!

    why should you make bacon in the air fryer?

    Cooking bacon has never been easier! Here are the top reasons:

    1. Cooking time is reduced thanks to the air circulating the bacon.
    2. Bacon grease drips down when air frying thanks to the holes in the racks or baskets.
    3. CRISPY bacon without burning.

    How to cook bacon in air fryer

    Simply place strips of bacon in a single layer onto the rack or basket. For the ninja we found that placing a whole strip caused them to curl up, so we find that slicing them in half works best for this basket air fryer.

    comparison photo of raw bacon in cuisinart air fryer basket and ninja air fryer basket.

    Our Cuisinart air fryer can fit 6 pieces of bacon, whereas we fit only 5 in our Ninja air fryer. That being said, we’ve been able to squeeze an entire package of bacon on the Cuisinart Rack with some manuvering.

    raw bacon in air fryer

    To prevent the fryer from smoking up we put a little bit of water or a piece of toast onto the bottom pan, this will catch the bacon grease.

    water in air fryer basket

    Otherwise, the grease would hit the bottom of the pan and start to smoke.

    bacon in air fryer
    air fryer bacon grease

    You may need to flip 5 minutes in depending on your air fryer.

    cooked bacon on a piece of paper towel

    Once the bacon is fully cooked you’ll want to remove the bacon from the air fryer and place it onto paper towels or whatever you use to absorb the bacon grease.

    crispy air fryer bacon on a white plate

    Recipe tips and notes:

    • If you’re using thick cut bacon you may need to add 1-2 minutes to the total cook time.
    • If you like your bacon chewy and less crispy you can cook for 8-9 minutes instead of 10 if using thin sliced bacon.
    • An air fryer oven can fit more bacon than the Ninja, but some basket air fryer models can fit more.
    • Basket style air fryers tend to use more air circulation than an oven style and the bacon will blow around a bit, just shake or flip as best as you can between the cooking time.
    yellow plate with air fryer bacon, toast with butter, and scrambled eggs with a gray napkin to the right.

    more air fryer recipes

    air fryer turkey burgers

    Air Fryer Turkey Burgers

    close up of inside air fryer oreo

    Air Fryer Oreos

    corn on the cob in the air fryer

    Air Fryer Corn on the Cob

    yellow plate with air fryer bacon, toast with butter, and scrambled eggs.

    Air Fryer Bacon

    Author: Courtney
    Make Air Fryer Bacon for breakfast, crispy crunchy, and cooked to perfection. Step by step photos and comparison of air fryer basket and air fryer oven.
    5 from 9 votes

    click the stars to rate this recipe

    Print Pin Recipe 🖤 Save Saved!
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: air fryer, air fryer bacon, bacon
    Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 3
    Calories: 183kcal

    Ingredients

    • 6 strips bacon
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Place the strips of bacon onto the air fryer rack.
      comparison photo of raw bacon in cuisinart air fryer basket and ninja air fryer basket.
    • Air fry the bacon at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes, flipping once in between.
      parcooked bacon in cuisinart air fryer
    • Once the bacon is fully cooked remove the bacon from the air fryer and place it onto paper towels or whatever you use to absorb the bacon grease.
      cooked bacon on a piece of paper towel

    Tried this recipe?

    We’d love to know what you think! Please leave a rating and comment to share your thoughts on this recipe. Your feedback helps us continue sharing free, high-quality recipes with you. Thank you so much!

    Video

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 183kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 291mg | Potassium: 87mg | Vitamin A: 16IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg

    The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.

    nutrition disclaimer
    Tried this recipe?Mention @courtneyssweets or tag #courtneyssweets!

    POSTED IN: Air Fryer Recipes Breakfast Pork Recipes

    About Courtney

    Family, Food, and Photography are Courtney's passions and you'll see all of that on this blog. She is happily married to her husband Chris and together they have two amazing kiddos!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. CM

      August 31, 2019 at 7:40 am

      So which level do you place the basket? Top or bottom?

      Reply
      • Courtney Lopez

        September 09, 2019 at 10:18 am

        We do thin on the bottom thicker on the top. 🙂

    2. B

      January 20, 2020 at 6:40 pm

      cannot wait to try this. thanks

      Reply
      • Courtney Lopez

        January 26, 2020 at 8:15 pm

        You’re welcome! We hope you enjoy 🙂

    3. Debbie

      February 05, 2020 at 10:40 am

      I am new at this air fry thing. Do I need to preheat?

      Reply
      • Courtney Lopez

        February 05, 2020 at 11:50 pm

        With our Cuisinart Air Fryer we do not need to preheat, it may depend on your air fryer. 🙂

      • Michele

        July 12, 2023 at 11:11 am

        I did not add water to the tray, and 10 minutes was way too long in my Cuisinart air fryer-the bacon was burnt. After some tweaking, I found that 6 minutes made the perfect bacon.

      • Courtney

        July 14, 2023 at 4:32 pm

        Great tip about timing! It will definitely vary by thickness. I notice my Cuisinart is taking much longer since it’s older now 😮

    4. Sue

      May 22, 2020 at 8:01 am

      How much water do you add to the tray?

      Reply
      • Courtney Lopez

        May 22, 2020 at 8:09 pm

        I usually add about 1/3 cup to my Cuisinart tray, hope that helps! 🙂

    5. Amy Jones

      August 28, 2020 at 8:12 pm

      I have the same air fryer you used. Followed your recipe exactly and found I actually had to add a minute to get the crispness I like. But, I know, as do *ahem* MOST people, things like altitude, humidity and your ovens actual temp vs set temp affect cooking times. I liked your idea of adding the water to the bottom, too. All in all, this is a great recipe! Thanks, Courtney!!

      Reply
      • Courtney Lopez

        August 31, 2020 at 11:26 am

        Thank you for the review, Amy!! Yes, so many different variables even down to the cut and type of bacon with this one. 🙂 Glad it turned out great for you as well!

    6. Chris

      October 07, 2020 at 7:49 pm

      Won’t the bacon make an oily mess in the oven from the splatter- even if its not as bad as it would be in the oven or stovetop? What is the clean up like? That would be the bigger deterrent for wanting to try this in my air fry oven.

      Reply
      • Courtney

        January 13, 2021 at 8:15 pm

        We suggest cleaning with a wet cloth when it’s cool enough to do so safely.

    7. Rodessa Robbins

      January 17, 2021 at 12:49 pm

      You don’t give complete instructions as to what pans to use

      Reply
      • Courtney

        January 21, 2021 at 10:17 am

        We use the pan that is provided with our air fryer. No additional or added pans.

    8. betty dallas

      August 02, 2021 at 3:20 pm

      I air fried bacon last night before I read this. Now I know why my air fryer oven was smoking. Thanks for the tip about adding water. Love my air fryer oven.

      Reply
      • Courtney

        August 08, 2021 at 5:20 pm

        yes!! definitely try it! 🙂

    9. Frustrated

      August 21, 2021 at 11:01 am

      Epic fail followed directions exactly cooked for 10:00 mins still not cooked cooked another 5:00 mins still not cooked went another 5:00 still not al the was cooked gave up

      Reply
      • Courtney

        August 30, 2021 at 11:03 am

        I’m so sorry you didn’t have a good result with air frying the bacon. Would love to help troubleshoot for you! Did you use a Cuisinart air fryer? What kind of bacon did you use? Thanks!

    5 from 9 votes (8 ratings without comment)

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