Did you know that air fryer bacon is a thing? I will show you exactly how to cook bacon in the air fryer.
And y’all! It is the most perfect, most delicious bacon I have ever had. Seriously!
I am not even that big of a bacon eater, but this is sooooo good. After you try this method for cooking bacon, you may never do it any other way.
It’s a total game-changer, people. 🙌🏻
Why? It is so much easier and less messy than stovetop, microwave or baking in the oven. It is simple, mostly hands off, plus the grease effortlessly falls off into the lower reservoir.
And you can wash the pair fryer parts in the dish washer if you want to.💁🏼♀️ Double check your model for that dishwasher bit.
But my Avalon Bay Air Fryer (Amazon affiliate link) is dish washer approved.✅ I got that one because it has consistently great reviews, plus it wasn’t too pricey. I have been pleased!
But back to cooking bacon in the air fryer!
How to Cook Bacon in the Air Fryer
I was able to do a twelve ounce package from Trader Joe’s in two batches.
It is a twelve ounce package, and it had eleven slices, FYI. Just arrange them in the basket. A few folds are okay, but try not to overcrowd the pan.
And then ten minutes on 400 degrees will do the trick. I did take a peek half way through to see if anything needed to be re-spaced.
Tongs are extremely helpful for this. True to form, bacon shrinks down quite a bit when cooking.
Check it after ten minutes, and see if you want it any more done. I like mine pretty well-done, so I went an extra minute and a half. It was perfect y’all!👌🏻
I use the tongs to place the cooked pieces on paper towels, where I blot and drain off any remaining grease.
Crunchy outside, chewy inside, dark around the edges…just perfect!!!😍👌🏻
Heads up: I did empty out the grease prior to cooking my second batch. Just for the record, I may never make bacon any other way again.
And if you are a big bacon eater, I think cooking bacon alone would justify an air fryer purchase.😎👌🏻 Just sayin’! 🤷🏼♀️😉
By the way, this has inspired me to explore more cooking with my air fryer. So stay tuned for more of those recipes.
Also, if you love your air fryer, leave me a comment with your favorite things to make in it. OR, a wish list of foods you wish you knew how to make in the air fryer.
👉🏻👉🏻👉🏻And if you love air fryer recipes, check out my entire Air Fryer recipe archive here. 👈🏻👈🏻👈🏻
How to prevent air fryer from smoking
Update: after a few people have experienced smoke issues with this recipe, I wanted to share a few tips that will help prevent this smoking issue.
- Perhaps the easiest solution is to add a little water to the lower pan
- Alternatively, you can add a piece of bread to the lower pan to soak up the grease
- One reader mentioned he adds rock salt (not regular salt), like you use to make ice cream. The pieces are big enough that they won’t blow around from the air blowing in your air fryer, and they will soak up the grease.
- Use parchment paper to line your fryer basket. There are a few types of parchment paper that are made specifically for the air fryer. (Amazon affiliate) They are made specifically for air frying and have little holes in them to allow for air circulation. Check your specific model for the correct dimensions, as these can vary in size. There are several sizes of parchment paper available.
Recipes with Bacon
Here are some other recipes you may enjoy where I use bacon.
- Chicken BLT salad with avocado
- Classic club sandwich (pictured above)
- Cobb salad
- Irish potato leek soup
- Chicken corn chowder
Here are a few of my favorite breakfast recipes that pair well with bacon as a side.👌🏻
- Egg muffins
- Banana bread
- Breakfast veggie scramble
- Breakfast casserole
- Whole wheat pumpkin spice muffins
- Instant Pot hardboiled eggs
- Blueberry oat muffins
- Strawberry muffins
- Irish corned beef hash
- Double chocolate mocha muffins
- Pumpkin spice bread
- Tomato basil frittata
Air Fryer Bacon Recipe
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Air Fryer Bacon
I will show you exactly how to cook bacon in the air fryer. You may never make it any other way again because it is seriously the best!
Ingredients
- 11 slices bacon (I am using Trader Joe's, and it is a thick cut)
Instructions
-
Divide the bacon in half, and place the first half in the air fryer.
-
Set the temperature at 400 degrees, and set the timer to 10 minutes (possibly less time for thinner bacon).
-
Check it halfway through to see if anything needs to be rearranged (tongs are helpful!).
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Cook remainder of the time. Check for desired doneness. I like mine extra crispy so I did about 1.5 minutes extra for a total of 11.5 minutes, and mine was perfect. 👌🏻
Recipe Notes
If you are doing more than one batch, be sure and empty the grease from the lower basket before cooking the second batch.
I liked thicker bacon for this recipe. If you are using thinner cuts, watch closely because you may need less time.
Kenny says
I think this is the best way to cook bacon! Quick & so crispy! I have found my new way!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay!💖 I am glad you enjoyed it, Kenny.
Bri says
I used an Instant Vortex 6qt air fryer. The bacon came out nice and crispy! Since it was thin it only took 4 minutes. My air fryer did have some coming out despite my putting water in the bottom. Next time I’ll try the bread method.
Bri says
Smoke* my air fryer had some smoke coming out.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad you enjoyed the bacon, Bri! Yes, the bread method seems to work really well for most people in preventing smoke issues.👍🏻
Niamh says
Perfect bacon!! My 17yo son loves it!! Thank you!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback.💖
Gretchen says
Just got an air frier as a gift. Thought I’d try it out so I tried the bacon recipe. It came out perfect! Looking forward to trying other recipes with it. Thank you for the post
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Gretchen!
Linda Riker says
Just tried the bacon in my air fryer followed your instructions and it came out perfect
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay Linda!💖
Sylvia says
Hello new to air frying! Did the cinnamon rolls and bacon both turned out fine! Utilizing your suggestions and working with my model and ingredients clean up was a snap (no need for anything additional ) cooked refrigerator temperature bacon 4 or 5 slices at a time 400 degrees about minutes (I at 4 and turned them) totally think from prior comments it depends on the design of your fryer and bacon placement. Also no recipe is matter fact always tweak. Thank you for a wonderful kick start!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Jennifer Terwilliger says
First time using air fryer loved it. I used bread on bottom of basket cooked for 8 minutes . From now on this is how I will cook it. Family loved it. I checked on bacon every 5 minutes to make sure it didn’t burn it.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Jennifer!
Eli says
The bacon didn’t really come out better than in the oven, but it did make a mess. I used bread to sop up the grease and it still got under the drip tray and even leaked out of the air fryer and onto my counters. Not to mention the inside of air fryer was completely covered in grease. To be fair, the air fryer I used is also a toaster and convection oven so it may not have a great design for cooking bacon. For me personally, I will stick to the oven method which produces the same end result with way less mess.
Violet says
This sounds like a problem with your particular air fryer and as you said, a convection toaster oven, rather than the recipe. I love using the air fryer for bacon because the grease is contained and easier to clean up than with a pan on a rack in the oven. If you use a bucket type air fryer with a basket in a bowl type, it’s a much better experience for bacon.
Cindy Bosscher says
Those having trouble, may want to check with the book on their particular air fryer! Mine has a bacon preset & it comes out beautifully. Mine says you may want more or less time depending on the thickness of your bacon! I remove the basket , pour the bacon grease out and wipe with a paper towel. Very easy!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am glad it is working well for you Cindy💖
Tanisha says
Yeagh not sure what kind of air fryer you are using but that doesn’t work at all. Thanks to you I burnt almost all our bacon. 10 min it’s burned to a crisp. Tried 7 minutes, still burned. Stop giving people bad advice.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Tanisha. I am sorry that the recipe did not work for you. I’ve made this recipe in 4 different air fryers, 100+ times with success. There are models that run hot, which sounds like what you may be dealing with. Several things you could try: (1) reducing temperature, (2) reducing cook time even more, (3) buying thicker cuts of bacon and (4) preheating ahead of cook time. Good luck!
Megan says
Don’t blame the writer for your bad mistakes. She’s just giving people some different cooking options. You don’t have to be so rude. Just move on to a different recipe and see if that works for you. Geez people. Have some respect!
Violet says
Your comment says more about you than it does the recipe. There are various types of air fryers, various types and thicknesses of bacon and different racks, baskets, airflow, etc. The recipe is simply a guide. It’s up to you to use common sense to think to lower the temp for a longer time, use thicker bacon, check more frequently.
john archer says
bacon came out fine. a have great luck with pankow coated chicken thighs and porkchops
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad to hear it, John! And those sound delicious👍🏻
Susan says
The bacon flys all round the air fryer. How come no one else seems to have this problem
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yikes Susan! It may be your model of air fryer. I have made this in 4 different air fryers without that happening.
anita underwood says
Love this idea. Hubbly loves bacon & eggs which I also do in the air fryer. Hubby loves calf liver I know most would say ewwwww. I breaded it like I always do, sprayed the air fryer and top of the liver, turned it half way through and it turned out great. Hubby loved it and wondered if the air fryer could make the gravy also. LOL funny man.
I love your site and all your ideas, great job.
I’ll keep reading.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
LOL, that is awesome.😆 And thank you.💖
Sally Bacon (yes, really! 🥓 says
My air fryer had a smell to it (you’ve seen comments about that!) so yesterday I put it on the porch and baked it over and over again t 400 degrees for 20 minutes/ empty or with vinegar.
So this morning I had some bacon in the freezer from 6 months ago. I popped it in the air fryer with bread on the bottom and added peppercorns instead of ice cream salt!
Bacon is delicious! Lining the bottom with bread to cover the base does work! Peppercorns- nope!
I have some residual hard fat on the bottom, so I am using the trick of cooking tomatoes – that we use with a Dutch oven!
Thank you. The bacon did NOT taste like a new air fryer!
I will use this method in the future outside to keep the bacon smell out of our home!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Thanks Sally! I am glad you enjoyed it.💖
Jesseca says
Wasn’t impressed. I tried this a few times and adjusted the times. Bacon either always came out underdone or burned.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Sorry to hear that. If you want a suggestion: Just check it a bit quicker next time, if you feel like trying again. That’s the great thing about the air fryer…super easy to check and keep an eye on progress.
Allison says
Just as described, perfectly cooked and delicious.
As well as the possibility of the smoke detector going off!
We ate every piece!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad you enjoyed it, LOL.💖 Hopefully the parchment or bread trick would help with smoke.
Margaret Carmen says
This truly is the very best way to cook bacon. For those who have an air fryer and have not given this a try, I strongly recommend it. Thanks for sharing this technique!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad it turned out delicious for you💖
Aimee says
Works great! I(loosely) roll the bacon and place them on their sides for better air flow. Turned out awesome
Sharon Ventress says
I put oatmeal in the bottom to soak up the grease
Lisha says
What is the easiest clean up for the bacon grease? I think I’m doing it wrong 😂
WT Gator says
I line the drip tray in the bottom with foil then dispose of it afterwards.
Jeri Donaldson says
Most fabulous bacon told all my grandchildren and kids
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay!💖
yulia says
Great recipe! The bacon is tasteful. I think I’ll do 7mins at 400F since mine started getting too shrivelled up before it hit the ten minute mark.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay! Yes, feel free to tweak, of course, to your preferred crispiness.😉👍🏻