Easy Air Fryer Bacon – Crispy Bacon in Air Fryer | Recipes From A Pantry (2024)

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Air Fryer Bacon is the best thing since, well….bacon! Thanks to the air fryer, you can cook up a healthier version of crave-worthy bacon that turns out perfectly crispy every time.

Suitable for Gluten Free, Low Carb, Paleo and Keto Diets. Post includes Weight Watchers points.

Do you love Bacon? Then get ready to rejoice! This is the Crispy Air Fryer Bacon recipe that you’ve been waiting for.

Cooking bacon in the air fryer really is quick and easy, which means you can enjoy delicious Air Fryer Bacon for breakfast even on hectic busy weekday mornings. And thanks to the air fryer, our affection for bacon no longer needs to be considered a guilty pleasure.

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Like these Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs or easy Air Fryer Pork Chops and crispy Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings, it is super easy to make really crispy bacon in air fryer for breakfasts, sandwiches, deviled eggs, adding to salad or pasta or for weekly meal prep.

This recipe for easy Air Fryer Bacon removes the guilt so you can enjoy all that delicious bacon goodness.

Cooking Bacon in Air Fryer – Why You’ll Love It

There are so many times I want to add a bit of chopped bacon to a dish, knowing the smoky flavor and crunchy texture will really make the meal sing.

But the effort required to pan fry it on the stovetop (all that watching, turning and grease splatters) or needing to heat up the oven for just a couple of slices always seems like waaaaaay too much work.

The air fryer has changed all that. Now I can easily toss in a couple of strips, turn it on and let the magic happen with perfectly crispy bacon, while I continue with the rest of my meal prep.

In fact it is so easy to make perfectly crisp and perfectly delicious Air Fryer Bacon that I am now adding it to virtually everything. Need a quick breakfast, then serve up this Air Fried Bacon. Making soup? Top it off with some bacon crumbles. Bacon on pizza? Yeap, absolutely.

Folks, bacon really does make everything better.

Ingredient Notes

• Bacon – yeap only one ingredient in this recipe and that is bacon. I prefer streaky smoked bacon, but you can use whichever you like like thick bacon, Just be aware that thin sliced bacon will cook for a shorter time compared to thick sliced bacon.

So, are you ready to learn to make bacon in Air Fryer? Let me show you just how quick and easy it is……

How to Cook Bacon In Air Fryer

1. Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C.
2. Place bacon in the air fryer basket in a single layer. To cook all 12 slices you will need to air fry bacon in two batches.
3. Air fry bacon for 8-12 minutes, turn the air fryer bacon slices over halfway through the cook time using tongs. Transfer to paper towel lined plates.
4. If you want your bacon less crispy, then cook it for a couple of minutes less.
5. Thicker cuts of bacon may need more time in the airfryer.

Place the bacon in the air fryer basket…

Turn it halfway through the cooking time…

Then serve and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

• I used streaky smoked bacon,but you can select any style or cut of bacon you like. Try making some Applewood smoked bacon or even candied bacon for a sweet and salty treat (see more on this below).
• Thick cut batch of bacon will need a little longer in the Air Fryer.

• After frying the first batch, clean out the drip tray to avoid smoking.
• Air fryer bacon is a perfect meal prep and make-ahead lunch solution. The mini chefs just looooove it when they find I’ve packed peanut butter, bacon and honey sandwiches in their lunch boxes.

Delicious Variations

Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

• One of my all-time favorite dishes, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon just got even more amaaaazing thanks to the air fryer. Add Brussel sprouts to the air fryer basket along with your bacon strips. Cook at 350F / 180C for 8 – 12 minutes. Turn both the Brussels sprouts and bacon halfway through the cook time to achieve ideal crispy deliciousness Then serve and devour!
• Make Air Fryer Candied Bacon – Candied bacon is the ultimate indulgence, a delectable blend of sweet, salty and smoky flavors. To make it, simply coat both sides of your bacon with maple syrup and a sprinkling of brown sugar, place in the air fryer and cook according to this recipe. A word of caution though. Making candied bacon has been known to be quite habit forming.

FAQs

What is the Correct Temperature to Air Fry Bacon?

I found that cooking bacon at 350F / 180C gave me the perfect crispy results I was looking for.

How Long To Cook Bacon in Air Fryer?

As air fryer temperatures can vary depending on the make and model, and the thickness of your bacon, this recipe includes a range of suggested cook times. I have found that cooking 6 strips of bacon requires 8 – 12 minutes.

You will want to check your bacon at the halfway point, which is when you need to flip it. Then check it for doneness when you reach 8 minutes.

For thick cut bacon you want to air fryer bacon for 9-12 minutes depending on how you crispy you like it.

Is Air Fryer Bacon Healthier?

Air fryer bacon is healthier due to the fact that you are not frying it in masses of oil. Plus all the excess fat drips of the bacon into the air fryer basket. So it is certainly healthier compared to frying it on the stove top.

Cooking Bacon in an Air Fryer Safely

If you are worried about your meat moving around in the air fryer, then simply place an air fryer rack over the bacon before you cook it.

What is the Difference Between Cured and Uncured Bacon?

Thedifferenceis that the solution used in uncured bacondoes not contain artificial nitrates. Instead, the nitrates come from natural sources, such as celery juice or sea salt.

Other Methods used to cure bacon are dry curing (dry rubbed) and smoking. Dry cured bacob has a dry mixture of seasoning and other ingredients applies to the surface, instead of liquid solution being injected into the meat. It takes weeks and even months for this method to completely cure the meat, whereas conventional curing takes mere minutes.

Different Types of Bacon

You can find bacon in a wide range of curing methods and in different cuts ranging from thin to very thick. Some of the most common varieties on the market include:

• Sidebacon, orstreaky bacon, comes from pork belly. It is very fatty with long layers of fat running parallel to the rind. This is the most common form ofbacon sold in the United States.
• Pancetta is an Italian-style bacon cured with peppercorns, salt, and cloves, pancetta is packaged in a roll similar to sausage and sold by the slice.
• Canadian Bacon is cut from the pork loin from the back of the pig. It has fewer calories and less fat than American-style bacon. It also tastes more like ham than other types of bacon.

Why Make Bacon In The Air Fryer

And using the air fryer to cook bacon is so much healthier too. Here’s how it works. By circulating heat all around the food, air fryers allow you to ‘fry’ foods using the smallest amount of oil. Or in this case, using absolutely no oil at all.

Since the bacon is cooked in a raised basket,the drippings end up in the tray below. When your bacon isn’t sitting in oil and drippingsduring the cooking process, it contains less fat and calories overall.

The circulating heat also gives you consistent results compared to cooking on the stovetop. Yeap, you will have evenly cooked, super crispy bacon every time. And bonus points for no grease splattering all over you whilst frying.

Can You Put Foil In An Air Fryer?

Yes you can put foil in an Air Fryer as long as it is weighed down by food. However, remember that the Air Fryer needs air to circulate so the foil will slow air circulation down and food will take longer to cook.

So if you do use foil, make sure it does not cover the whole base of the basket. And for this bacon recipe it is best not to use foil so that the fat drops off the bacon. Alternatively you can use foil in the air fryer basket base so that cleaning is much easier

Smoked bacon is just what is sounds like: bacon that is cured by being smoked over burning wood chips for up to 24 hours. The most common wood chip varieties used are Applewood, Mesquite and Hickory.

How To Prevent Your Air Fryer From Smoking

CHEF’S TIP: ADDING WATER TO THE DRAWER PREVENTS SMOKING

When cooking greasy or fatty foods, adding water to the drawer underneath the air fryer basket helps prevent the resulting grease and oil drippings from smoking. You certainly don’t want air fryer bacon smoke around if you can’t help it.

Another thing you can do to prevent smoking is wipe out the grease from your air fryer basket before you cook up a second batch of bacon.

I find the tips helpful when cooking bacon in air fryer, sausage and other fattier cuts of meat.

If for any reason your air fryer starts smoking, please stop cooking and switch it off.

More Air Fryer Recipes

Looking for even more tasty air fryer recipes? Then you will want to check out these:

• The Best Air Fryer Pork Chops.
• Air Fryer Hs
• Air Fryer Cauliflower Wings {Buffalo}.
• Air Fryer Chicken Thighs.
• Golden Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Breasts.
• Air Fried Plantains.
• Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas.
• Easy Air Fryer Steak.
• Easy Air Fryer Baked Potatoes.
• Check out all my Air Fryer Recipes Here.

Air Fryer Breakfast Recipes

• Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs.
• Air Fryer Breakfast Frittata.
• AIr Fryer Cinnamon Rolls.
• Air Fryer Apple Fritters.

Bacon Recipes

Use your leftovers to make these delicious dishes:

• A real crowd-pleaser, thisBacon Cream Cheese Dipis perfect for game day gatherings.
• Sweet and savory Bacon and Nutella Stuffed Waffleswill make your Sunday brunches even better.
• Bacon Pumpkin Bread is full of fall flavors. And bacon!

Why I love bacon…

My family and I have had a longstanding love affair with bacon. A few years ago F and I were fortunate enough to go on an amazing cruise, where we started each day indulging in a delightful all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.

The buffet included everything you could possibly imagine, but we were most impressed by the fact that there were two different types of bacon to choose from (crispy and extra crispy).

We’re talking heaping silver trays full of bacon. We were all so enamored with that daily bacon offering the trip went on to be officially known as the Two-Bacon Cruise.

Crispy Air Fryer Bacon Weight Watchers Points

There are 6 Blue Plan SmartPoints Pointsin one serving of Crispy Air Fryer Bacon.

Air Fryer Bacon Recipe Video

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