Air fryer bacon is crispy, hands-off, and fast. You’ll never want to make bacon another way again.

Frying bacon is always a chore – you have to be patient enough so that every strip is perfectly crisp, times two because one package of bacon does not fit in a standard frying pan.

There have been countless hacks to get around this: microwaved bacon, oven-baked bacon, heck, I’ve even seen bbq bacon. But the easiest, crispiest, best way has got to be in the air fryer.

Why you should cook bacon in the air fryer:

• no mess: it’s self contained with way less splatter than cooking on the stove top, microwaving, or baking in the oven.
• fast: it only takes 8 minutes for crispy bacon compared to preheating the oven and then baking for 20 minutes.
• hands free: you don’t have to baby this bacon, no more standing by the stove, flipping bacon 🙂

How long to cook bacon in the air fryer

8-10 minutes at 360°F.

Thick cut vs regular bacon

Both thick cut and regular bacon crisp up perfectly in the air fryer. Thin cut takes a little bit less time, so pop it in for 8 minutes; thick cut can take up to 10 minutes. As for which bacon is better, that’s up to you!

How to cook bacon in the air fryer

1. Open your pack of bacon and arrange in a single layer in the air fryer basket. If you have racks, you can arrange the bacon on racks, but it’s also okay if the bacon is a little crowded in the basket.
2. Cook at 360°F for 8-10 minutes, checking half way to rearrange if needed. When crispy, remove and let cool slightly on paper towels or a wire rack.
3. Empty out any bacon fat to avoid smoke before cooking your next batch.

How to cook an entire package of bacon at once

The best way to cook an entire package of bacon is to use air fryer racks. You can lay out the bacon (it’s okay if it touches as it’ll shrink when it cooks) on the racks. To ensure even crisping, check halfway and rearrange the bacon strips as needed.

Tips and tricks

• Cut your bacon in half – if you don’t want your bacon to touch and you want to to cook up extra fast, you can cut the strips in half so they lay flat in the basket.
• Use a rack to cook a whole package of bacon – I like to use air fryer racks so I can cook a whole package of bacon at once. You’ll have to rearrange the bacon a bit halfway through to make sure everything is evenly crisped.
• Empty out the bacon fat – if your air fryer starts smoking too much, the bacon fat in the basket is getting too hot. Make sure you empty it out before cooking subsequent batches of bacon.
• Let it cool – bacon crisps up as it cools, don’t let it get too crispy while cooking (unless you like it that way)!

Twisted Bacon

Regular flat bacon is great but even better is twisted bacon! These bacon-y straws are simultaneously crispy and chewy in the best way, and you can definitely make them in the air fryer. Read more about them here.

Perfect pairings

• perfect french toast
• extra fluffy Japanese pancakes
• the ultimate breakfast potatoes
• crispy sunny side up eggs
• or slow scrambled eggs too