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Have you tried cooking Air fryer Bacon yet? We love air fryer recipes for making life in the kitchen more simple and this one is a favourite. Perfectly crispy bacon, no messy frying pan!
Whether you prefer back bacon or streaky bacon, smoked or unsmoked, here’s all of the tips and tricks you need to cook bacon in the air fryer perfectly every time.
Why you’ll love this Air Fryer Bacon recipe
⭐️ Perfectly crispy bacon
⭐️ Cooks quickly with little mess
⭐️ No oil, no faffing
The ultimate guide to air fryer Bacon
I have done LOTS of tests on this and I’ve found a few simple tricks to perfecting Air Fryer Bacon…
⭐️ How many rashers to cook at once
Quite simply, as many as your air fryer can fit in a single layer. Touching each other is fine (as they will shrink as they cook) but don’t lie them on top of each other.
I have a Russell Hobbs XXL and find it plenty large enough for 8 rashers.
⭐️ Oil
You don’t need any oil to cook! Simply put the rashers into the air fryer and it will cook in its own fat.
⭐️ Type of bacon
Feel free to use any bacon you prefer. In the UK, most people have the leaner back bacon for breakfast, but you can also cook streaky bacon the same way (this is the standard type eaten in the US).
The slight combination you get of the two found in Australia is also fine to cook like this.
⭐️ Lining the air fryer
Adding a liner such as foil doesn’t work with bacon in an air fryer as it’s not heavy enough to weigh it down, so it tends to fly around inside, which makes it a bit pointless!
If you’d like to use foil UNDER the tray instead to help with cleaning (so long as your air fryer design gives you this option), then this can be helpful.
⭐️ How to get it crispy
There are two ways you can cook the bacon – the quicker way or the crispy way.
There’s only one easy step and a few minutes between the two, however it’s up to you whether you want to do a little extra for crispiness.
➡️ Firstly, you can simply cook the bacon for 5 minutes, drain the fat off and eat it like that.
➡️ OR, you can cook for 5 minutes, drain the fat, turn over and pop it back in for another 2 – 3 minutes for delicious crispy bacon. (It’s a no-brainer for me but you do you!)
There is also a third option if you’re wanting slightly overdone bacon, which is great for bacon bits that will be crumbled in dishes like my Loaded Potato Skins (or if you just like well done bacon!)
➡️ After the first two steps, drain it for a second time, and add another 2 minutes of cooking.
⭐️ Best temperature to cook at
Cook at 200c (or 390f) on ‘air fryer’ mode.
METHOD: How to cook bacon in an air fryer
- Pre-heat your air fryer for 3 minutes.
- Place your bacon slices directly in the basket in a single layer.
- Cook 5 minutes. Drain and fat (if you’re not using a rack), turn the bacon over and eat (if you prefer a pale colour and lightly cooked).
- OR… once turned over, cook for a further 2 – 3 minutes for extra crispy bacon.
HINT: For bacon that’s perfect for crumbling in texture, drain again at the 7 minute mark and add another 2 minutes of cooking.
recipes with bacon…
Under 15 minutes
Creamy Bacon Pasta {10 Minute Meal}
Under 30 minutes
Oven Baked Risotto {with Bacon and Cheese}
Comfort Food
Easy Chicken Pie {with Bacon & Puff Pastry}
alternative for make-ahead bacon
There is another way to make air frying bacon even quicker…
I part-cook my bacon until it’s just cooked and not yet coloured, then keep it in the fridge for up to 4-5 days (4 – 5 minutes in the air fryer).
When I want a bacon sandwich, or bacon added to a dish, I place it in my preheated air fryer for just 3 minutes. (You can cook it a little longer than this for even crispier results.)
The benefit of this hack means you are always just a few minutes away from a bacon sandwich which can heat up while you fry an egg… just saying!
More Air Fryer Recipes…
Air Fryer
Air Fryer Cajun Chicken Traybake
Air Fryer
Air Fryer Chicken Tikka Traybake
Slow Cooker
Doner Kebab RECIPE {Slow cooker & Air Fryer}
FAQs
Yes! Cooking bacon this way does mean it tends to curl up a bit. My trick is to snip the fat layer with scissors when you flip the bacon over after the first cook. This allows it to cook for the final 2 – 3 minutes without curling more.
Back bacon is the most common kind we eat in the UK in meals such as a Full English or a bacon sandwich. It’s made up partly of pork loin and a bit of belly (where the fatty bit is).
Streaky bacon, which we also enjoy here in the UK, is the fattier, stripy bacon that’s just taken from the belly. This is the same as the most common type found in the US.
In Canada, the most common type is just back bacon (loin) without the fat, and in Australia there’s a combination of back and streaky!
Quite simply, it all depends on how long you cook it for. However, you will need to drain off the excess fat after 5 minutes or it won’t crisp up. It’ll stay moist in its own juices (especially important if your air fryer doesn’t have a rack).
Be careful not to overdo the timing after draining (it’s SO FAST making bacon in an air fryer!) as you don’t want to dry it out too much.
Yes, I would recommend preheating it for about 3 minutes before adding your bacon to stop sticking.
I found that the best results for cooking bacon in the air fryer came from using regular, supermarket type bacon (not the cheapest, not the most expensive).
When I tested thicker cut (more expensive) cuts of bacon, like the kind you might buy from a butcher, the texture wasn’t quite as good and could become a little chewy.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Perfect Air Fryer Bacon
Ingredients
- 200 g Bacon of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer for 3 minutes at 200c (or 390f).
- Place your bacon rashers directly into the basket in a single layer (touching is fine but try not the overlap them too much).
- Cook for 5 minutes. Drain any fat off, flip over and if you want to avoid back bacon curling up, use scissors to slip a small cut through the fat layer.
- Cook for a further 2 – 3 minutes to crisp it up.
For lightly cooked/pale coloured bacon:
- Serve at the end of step 3 above.
For crumbly/well done bacon:
- Drain again at the 7 minute mark and add another 2 minutes of cooking.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
