Crispy Air Fryer Bacon
Making Air Fryer Bacon is so EASY! Enjoy crisp and evenly cooked bacon in under 10 minutes with the easiest cleanup.
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Air Fryer Bacon
We love Air Fryer Recipes like Air Fryer Chicken Wings, not only because they cook faster, but they turn out extra crispy with little to no extra oil. If you crave crispy bacon, then this recipe is for you!
The air fryer method is so much easier to make than stovetop or baking in the oven because it’s quick, less messy and there’s no need to pre-heat the oven. You can make that epic BLT Sandwich in half the time.
How Long to Cook Bacon in the Air Fryer
The cook time for this recipe can vary depending on the doneness of your bacon, the thickness of the bacon, and the style of your air fryer. Also, we do not preheat the air fryer for bacon.
- Regular Cut Bacon – for softer bacon, air fry at 350˚F for 7 minutes, and for crispy bacon, cook 8 to 9 minutes
- Thick-Cut Bacon – for softer bacon, air fry at 350˚F for 9-10 minutes, and for crispy bacon, cook 10-12 minutes.
Which Air Fryer is Best?
We have 2 air fryers so we can thoroughly test air fryer recipes, but it depends on your needs. Not all air fryers are created equal so get to know your air fryer, peek in on your food to check progress, and adjust recipe timings as needed.
- Basket Style Air Fryer – we have the 5.8 Qt Cosori Air Fryer which takes up slightly less counter space, works well for our family of 4, and has the easiest cleanup because the air fryer basket and liner are dishwasher-safe.
- Toaster Oven Style Air Fryer – takes up a little more space, but is great for bigger families and you can cook most recipes in one batch. Depending on your particular model, it can cook faster. I cooked the bacon in the toaster oven style for 8 minutes, while it took 9 minutes in the basket style.
Common Questions
Yes, if you want to use turkey bacon, this recipe works great. Just cook the turkey bacon as you would regular bacon with no changes.
This depends on your air fryer. Some air fryers recommend preheating, but it is not necessary for bacon.
The bacon will release grease so you don’t need to spray the bacon or tray of the air fryer for cooking.
Since the smoke point of bacon fat is 400˚F, we air fry at 350˚F to avoid any smokiness while cooking bacon. Also, if cooking in batches, be sure to drain the drip pan of any oil and wipe clean with a paper towel.
You only have to try cooking bacon in the Air Fryer once for it to become your new favorite way to cook bacon. It’s perfectly crisp every time and since the air circulates, there’s no need to flip the bacon halfway.
Use Cooked Bacon for
- Deviled Eggs – make the best Deviled Eggs with Bacon
- Sandwiches – air fryer bacon is perfect for a BLT Sandwich
- Omelets – so satisfying in our Egg White Omelete
- Wraps – adds great flavor to a Chicken Wrap
- Salad – a great addition to the Pasta Caesar salad
Crispy Air Fryer Bacon
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon , (6 oz regular bacon, or 8-12 oz thick-cut bacon)
Instructions
- Place the bacon strips in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cut strips in half if needed to fit more.
- Air fry regular cut bacon at 350˚F for 7-9 minutes, or until bacon is browned and reaches desired crispiness. Air fry thick-cut bacon for 10-12 minutes.
- Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate then serve. If cooking bacon in batches, be sure to discard any oil in the drip pan before repeating the process.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Wow. I’m trying to use my air fryer more and was making a BLT. Found your recipe. It is so simple but was perfect. I lined my air fryer basket with aluminum foil and followed your recipe. My turkey bacon came out perfectly. Crispy in 9 minutes. It is perfect. Thank you.
That’s great. Thank you for sharing that with me.
I place bread slices in the bottom of my air fryer to soak up the drippings
Great idea. Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I just made my first batch! Delicious, but curled up in a ball! Help!!!!!
Hi Sharon, If you have particularly thin or fatty pieces of bacon, they curl up on you as the water evaporates from the meat and the belly fat renders. You can research ways to help keep their shape, like placing a wire rack on top while they cook.
Thank you for posting this method of preparing bacon. I followed your instructions and the bacon was so good. I then cooked it for an addtional minute at a time (I think three times) until it was crispy. And when I let it cool, it crumbled perfectly for a salad!
Hi Robert! I’m glad you loved it. Thanks for the feedback.
Easy to follow recipe. Bacon was cooked perfectly. I’ll be cooking Bacon this way from now on.
Yay, great to hear that this is going to be your new favorite way of making bacon!
Put 2 pieces of bread in the very bottom of the air fryer, underneath the tray, to soak up the grease and prevent smoking
Either my cheap azz air fryer is weak or ur temp and time is way off. I did first batch at 350° as recommended. 10 minutes was still a bit raw.. 15 I guess edible.. 20.. I’m finally eating. All I’m saying is it’s a great way to keep ur house cool (as we all know the oven method is best). But you just need to know your air fryer.
Hi Christopher, I took a look through the comments since I haven’t had that experience, I would double check your air fryer temperature recommendation, Air Fryer’s could vary in temperature, but we found it was perfectly cooked by the recipe time. I hope you give it another try soon.
Recipe was just simply delicious I love the air fried bacon not only was it healthy but it really did taste good I definitely recommend this five stars like literally five stars this is yummy.😋👍😋😋😋😋😋👍👍👍👍🤤🤤🤤🤤
Hi Darrell! Thank you for the wonderful feedback and review. I’m so glad you loved it.
Such a wide variety of experiences! I have an InstaPot Omni. First try with bacon:
3 slices (thick cut), 350 deg for 4 minutes, drip pan under the basket, air fry (not bake – no preheat needed). Perfect; no splatter, no curling, bacon light crispy.
Read the comments and decided to try 370 F for 10 minutes and turned out perfect!
I’m glad to hear that, Lisa!
Tried this today! Be sure to check the bacon halfway through. The air will blow it around and it’ll get all curled up together and some pieces wont cook thoroughly.
Tried 350F for 10 min = cooked bacon but just barely crispy and still floppy.
370F is wussup for perfectly crisped bacon.
A cast iron skillet is the only way for us southern boys. The air fryer method is a mess to clean up. In the south, we sav e the bacon grease for cornbread, also cooked in the same cast iron skillet.
Not at my house. I don’t cook nothing in my cornbread skillet but cornbread!
Just a little tip I learned for air frying bacon in a ‘basket’ style fryer. Put one or two slices of bread under the basket part. It absorbs the grease and less likely to smoke/catch fire. Works great!
Thank you for the tip, we appreciate it!
Hi Natasha,
Love all your recipes. I hace the silver basket on the right. Where does all the grease get soaked up? Thank you. Jo❤️
Hi Jo! If you’re using a toaster oven air fryer, it should come with a tray that you would put the basket on top of to catch all the grease drippings. You can apply foil to the tray for easy clean up.
I just got an email from Amazon that the Cosori Premium 5.8 Quart Air Fryer I purchased is being RECALLED due to danger of electrical fire.
Thank you for sharing that info with us, Bonnie.
HI Daivd, I save the grease from the air fryer. I just pour it into my jar…all good. And then the greasy mess from cooking the bacon on my stove is confined to a little basket that I can quickly clean with a little running hot water and some Dawn. I guess it just depends on how you want to spend the time.
Thanks so much. I cooked at 176 deg C for 7 minutes, turned the bacon and did another 6 minutes and it is lovely. I did only two slices (streaky) and obviously mine was cut thick.
Hi Laraine! That’s great. Thank you for sharing your results.
Oh my goodness! Thank you Natasha.
Crisp and no greasy splatters all over the kitchen.
Fantastic, just fantastic.
Thank you, Heather! We love this method.
YES!!! This is my no. 1 issue with cooking bacon. Thank you Natasha!
You’re very welcome!
I found that most pieces of bacon curled up while cooking in my air fryer and needed almost double the amount of cook time to get them close to crispy. I wasn’t a fan of this method of cooking bacon, although a few pieces came out tasty. I still think approximately 12 -14 minutes at 410 degrees in the oven for regular cut bacon (thick cut is about 18-22 minutes) can’t be beat! Love all the great recipes on this site! Thanks for all the hard work in putting the content of this website together for everyone to enjoy!
You’re welcome! Thank you for the feedback, Joe!
I had to cook thick bacon about 15 minutes, flip it, then do another 15. Next time, I’ll try at 400ºF and see if that makes a difference on cook time. It’s not as crispy as a pan fry, and I’m not a fan of soft bacon.
Hi, are you using an air fryer or a traditional oven? Here is our Oven baked Bacon recipe. Also, if using a thick cut bacon, it can take longer.
seems very easy im trying this as soon as I get home very helpful thanks xx
You’re welcome! 🙂
I’m sorry but to say any sort of crispy bacon is going to be done at 350 for 7-9 minutes.
These are made in the air fryer, not the oven. So they crisp up nicely at 350˚F for 7-9 minutes for regular-cut bacon and 10-12 mins for thick-cut bacon.
Yes they were crispy. Thanks for sharing. This was an easy recipe and easy clean up. Just like most of us busy Mom’s need.
I’m so happy I found this recipe. Making bacon in the air fryer frees up time. And doesn’t make the whole house hot like the oven would. I did have to cool my bacon about twice as long as recommended to get it crispy.
Love cooking bacon this fast easy way. I do have to wipe down inside of oven air fryer but still so much quicker than stove top.
Bacon in the air fryer is a game changer!! Thanks for the easy recipe that cooked my bacon perfectly and no splatters all over my stove!
You’re very welcome! 🙂
I have a Ninja Foodi and this recipe works perfectly. No mess either. I do three thin slices in each basket and all the grease ends up in the bottom but you still get the good smell of bacon frying!
I’m so glad you tried this recipe, Edith! Thank you for your review and feedback!
I have a Foodi too. Do you put the sheet pan at on the rack to catch the oil or let it drip down to the crumb tray?
I have a Ninja air fryer too, I worry about the bacon spitting all over the inside top of the oven, does it do this or just drip to the bottom?
What a game changer!. I’ve been using a bacon grill in the microwave for years. I don’t like it at all. My husband isn’t picky. The only month we use the oven is Feb. Too hot, otherwise. Then I discovered the air fryer. Cue a choir lol The flavor was outstanding. The texture was amazing. It wasn’t dried out jerky, or crumbly crispy that you can’t actually taste the bacon. It was perfect. I didn’t have any splatter or smoke. For cleanup, I drained the grease and used paper towels. Easy.
For reference, I have an Instant Vortex Plus. There is no way to bypass the preheat, so I put my bacon in, set it at 350 for 7 minutes, letting it preheat but not removing or turning the bacon. Perfection.
As an aside, when I cooked my bacon in the microwave, I always covered in paper towels. No splatter.
Wonderful feedback, Christy. Thank you for sharing that with us.
It is much faster to just do it in the microwave unless you are using paper thin bacon. Less prep cutting the strips. Less cleanup. Less power. Throw it on a plate and zap it. Turns out much more cripsy than soft bacon jerky. And yes. I kept putting it back in and putting it back in. I even turned the heat up to 400 and then 450. The benefit is it is definitely not as greasy. If you are trying to make enough bacon for a family? Forget it. This can only handle little batches at a time and by the time you are through you’ve spent more than double the amount of time you would have to make the way you were used to making it. Everything isn’t always the best in an air fryer and this one is definitely a thumbs down.
I personally don’t enjoy microwave bacon; to me not even thoroughly cooked bacon should have the texture of jerky; it should almost splinter when you bite into it. I know tastes differ, but I greatly appreciate your recipe and clear, thorough instructions!
Thank you, Susan.
I microwave bacon too in paper towel and a splatter cover…perfect, but I prefer the grill over all. I can’t imagine the air fryer being mess free so I won’t even bother with that method…although recrisping already cooked bacon in the AF is a distinct possibility.
Awesome! However I used one of those non stick pads under the bacon turned out great! Had to cook a few minutes longer and clean up was soooooo easy!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Diana!
Thank you very much Natasha for sharing all great recipes to us !❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍👍🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
You’re very welcome!
How is this less messy someone explain. I have the toaster style and it’s a disaster with the Grease. What am I missing?
I wondered the exact thing! I think there is something they are not telling us.
I have a basket style Ninja Foodi air fryer. I put a couple of pieces of bread under the basket to help absorb grease as it cooks. Contains the mess a bit.
Have you tried putting foil on the bottom drip tray in your toaster style?
Would still need to do a wipe down, just like with a hamburger, its so much easier
Gentle reminder – the great majority of the world INCLUDING the English speaking world, does not use imperial measurements. Please at the very least provide a big link to a converter.
Great recipes!
Thanks for your understanding.
Rosie in New Zealand
Hi Rosalene, if you click Jump to recipe then click Metric, it converts the ingredients. Hope that helps!
Definitely do NOT cook bacon with an oven air fryer. It is the messiest thing when cooking bacon. Your basket gets super dirty, it takes longer to cook than with regular bake, the drip pan gets all the oil from the bacon and the heating source also gets dirty (try to figure how to clean that part). It creates tons of smoke even at 350 F and even after 13 minutes the bacon was not as good as when I use bake for 9. I tried it following this recommendation, but it is not worth it at all. Keep using a cooking sheet with parchment paper and bake at 375 for 7-9 minutes. Much, much better.
I bought a gadget called a Yummy Can. You use it in the microwave to cook bacon. no splatters, easy to clean. Much better than oven, micro,, or air fryer.
I tried bacon for the first time in my Gowise basket fryer. It was awesome!! I tried with two layers ( with rack). Top got done in 10 minutes but had to bottom layer in for another 3 minutes. Wonderful!
That is great! Thank you, Patricia.
my air fryer (LNC) has heating elements on top and bottom so bacon grease smoked like crazy when dropping on the bottom
For my airfryer I had to turn up the temperature. If I did it at 350 it would have to cook for 13 minutes. At 375 it cooked for 8. So I guess it just depends. But it was DELICIOUS!
My daughter, who lives with me, bought herself a Cuisinart toaster oven airfryer just like yours. Which level do you put your basket on? Right now I’m at the trying to figure it out phase! I am dying to try it. I also want to try your chicken wings.
Hi Peggy, There are 2 rack levels. I keep the little drip pan that it came with on the bottom level and line that with foil so I can replace it making the cleanup a breeze. I then put the air fryer basket on the upper rack level which is the center of the toaster oven and the best spot to air fry in the toaster oven style air fryer from my experience.
Simple easy and delicious! As a novice to air frying, I was so confused by all the comments on FB on how to cook bacon (really people, it’s bacon!)
Thanks for keeping it simple, this was absolutely delicious! I’ll be back for more tips and recipes : )
So simple and so good! I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Made you air fryer bacon in. Kalorik Max … In 2 layers basket and it was INDESCRIBABLY DELICIOUS!!!!
I just watched the baskets toward the end of the time for thick slice bacon. My husband and I couldn’t be happier!!!
Yay, that’s awesome! I’m happy that you loved it.
Just curious if you can use a rack to stack bacon letting you cook more at one time
Hi Mark! I personally haven’t tried that myself, I imagine it may work If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi and right off let me shout out a great big “Thank You”! I wanted an Air Fryer for ever ~ My sweet daughter surprised me ~ We tired it right out! Were totally disappointed in the results! After two years of “it” just sitting hidden~ we are gonna try it again!! Can’t wait to taste the result! Thanks to all!
Sounds like a good plan, Helen. I hope you love all the recipes that you will try with it!
Hi Helen,
I am compelled to drop a note to you after reading your post.
I had a few hits and a few misses at first with my air fryer, but for a couple years now, it is my go-to cooking appliance. One of my favourites is air fried parsnips. Or zucchini, or French fries, or bbq-ish chicken hind quarters. Lots of foods are including air fryer instructions on the packaging, which is handy. I Google most of the recipes I use, and modify them to my taste.
I almost don’t use my big oven anymore…
A few things just do not belong in the air fryer, at least for me. e.g., I have destroyed a couple great steaks. I wouldn’t cook shrimp or scallops in an air fryer either, they are too delicate, and I like to plop them in sauces for the final cooking of them.
I have a friend that has an air fryef, and we trade experience es/recipes – it really helps…
My humble advice is to do some experimenting with 5 star recipes like this one, if you are like me and my friends, you will fall in love with your little appliance, and it will never leave your kitchen counter.
Oh, a hint, lining your fryer with foil will reduce cleaning significantly…
Enjoy, Bill
(Sorry, no time to edit this for typos…)
You say crispy air fry bacon is easy to clean up after, but don’t say how to do it. When I cook bacon in the microwave, it splatters all over, but is a pretty easy wipe down. The toaster oven air fryer has exposed heat tubes running through it. I don’t see how cleanup can be easy, or even achievable. Please explain.
Hi Judy, when we use the toaster oven-style air fryer, I line the basket with foil and that catches the oil drips. In the basket style air fryer, we just put the components into the dishwasher.
What about the sides and the top of the AF? Doesn’t the bacon grease splatter everywhere, just like it would in a microwave?
Hi Julie, when we use the toaster oven-style air fryer, I line the basket with foil and that catches the oil drips. In the basket-style air fryer, we just put the components into the dishwasher.
That still doesn’t explain how to clean the inside top of the oven AF. They heating elements will get splattered and they are hard to clean. Are you saying, all the grease will go to the bottom and not splatter? Can you please let us know.
Hi Dorothy! I don’t have a video or instructions for this but I have seen helpful tutorials on youtube using a damp cloth with dish soap or a mixture made of baking soda. I would research and see what method is convenient for you based on the style of air fryer you have.
Fold paper towel and place in bottom of basket and the grease will be in the paper towel and can just be tossed in trash when bacon is done. Simple clean up.
This worked really well but some of my bacon (normal thickness) curled too, and inside the curl, it was not cooked quite as much as the rest of the strip. Not a big deal as I cook my bacon really crispy anyway. Next time I will try the old trick of rinsing the bacon strips under cold water before frying and see if that makes a difference in the curls. In any case, tThank you from a recent air fryer convert!u!
Hi Terry, I haven’t heard about rinsing bacon. That’s interesting.
Actually, I read a tip somewhere that sounded silly at first, but water works as a great starter for frying bacon on the stove. The idea is that the bacon soaks up some of the water. Let the water evaporate while the bacon cooks on medium, and then when it’s done, it’s still crispy without being brittle or too hard.
I agree with you…I’ve actually tried this method and it comes out crispier than expected! Great idea!
How do you keep the bacon from curling up, mine did not look like your pictures
Hi Madeline, it can curl up moe if the bacon is very thinly sliced. Also, flipping the bacon halfway helps but it’s not really necessary for it to cook properly.
Hi Madeline, I haven’t had that experience, but we also don’t do anything special besides laying the bacon down flat and following the recipe tips. I would make sure your temperature isn’t set higher than called for so it’s not cooking too fast. I hope it works better for you next time!
Try snipping the outside edge in a few places. Even though there is no rind it helps.
38 calories?!? I need to find this magical bacon!! 😁 I actually want to thank you for putting up the nutrition facts on your recipes. It really helps arrange our day, in terms of spending calories. Although, this one seems a little off target 🎯
Can you cook two racks of bacon at the same time?
Hi Pete, if your Air Fryer allows for that, you can try it out! I hope you love this recipe!
I was gifted an air fryer & tried this recipe 1st with 2 racks & took 12 min but was delish! I had 3 strips left so cooked those alone & took 7 min. I like it well done, bacon was thin cut & my air fryer is Gourmia from Costco. You have to let it sit for a few minutes to get crispy. Was
Thank you soooo much for this recipe. It is the best! In the past I have avoided cooking bacon on th stove or in the oven because of the greasy mess. After trying your recipe in my air frier, as you stated, I will be cooking bacon this way from now on. It is so quick and easy. As for messiness…there was NO MESS! I followed your recipe to the letter. The only thing I basically needed to clean was my air frier. I drained the grease after ever batch so all I had to do was put the washable basket unit in the sink with soap and hot water. Rinse, let dry and Done! GREAT!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Sheila!
Great recipes I don’t use mine much
I hope you use it more with our recipes, Lynne!
What air fryer is recommended fr a family of 2?
Quality important not price
Hi Rita, for a family of 2, I would go with the basket-style air fryer.
I recommend Ninja XL grill … LOVE IT!!! Only for 2 of us!
I really wanted to love this bacon but it just isn’t the same or as good as even microwaved bacon. It was crispy but chewy too which was weird .. and it wasn’t thick cut bacon, and that’s exactly why I don’t buy thick sliced bacon.
I wonder if you over-fried it? I haven’t had that experience with it being chewy. Maybe it was a certain type of bacon? Also, keep an eye on it since not all air fryers are created equal. You can always open and check on it and keep cooking if needed.
i had this isse too. I think it was because i put too much thick sliced baccon in basket. will try again with fewer slices and see what happens.
My oven has an air fryer mode so is it the same?
Hi Marlene, I would recommend checking your owner manual to see if any adjustments need to be made, but I bet that could work similarly!
I tried it out the first time in the air fryer and it came out perfect. Thanks Natasha.
You are very welcome, Rosemarie. Glad you loved it!
Can you do the trending wool roll bread
Hi Hana, thanks for your suggestion. I’ll try to add that to the list.
Natasha, I just read your air fryer bacon experience. My question, was it really a very easy clean up, no mess on the machine? What about inside?
We love bacon, I hate the mess of grease, everywhere, especially in the oven when I have cooked it in the oven.
Also, I just love all your recipes and your videos. Thank you for sharing your cooking passion.
Thank you so much for your good comments and appreciation. Yes, it was very easy and not messy compared to other methods that I have tried. You should give it a try!
I’ve seen posts where people put a slice of bread under the basket to soak up the fat. Personally speaking I save the fat for cooking (roasted veggies/potatoes, yorkshire’s, fried eggs, etc.)k. I will definitely give AF bacon a try now. Thanks so much for all your great recipes and cooking tips and videos Natasha.
You’re Welcome, Sue!
For greasy things like this, I line the inside/bottom of the air fryer with foil to collect the grease and stay clean. Not the basket, but under the basket, so air still flows properly. With Bacon, I even save the fat from the foil to use in my pan when frying eggs. I used to bake bacon in the oven, and even then, foil is your best friend. But of course, if you are worried about cleaning, and don’t use foil, just wash while its still warm before the grease hardens, like with any other non-stick pan. No worries!
Heaven on earth!! We go through a lot of bacon. I usually hate making it, since it can take forever & grease gets everywhere, but not this way! It was perfect! Easy clean up & so much quicker!
Yay! What a wonderful comment and review, thank you for sharing that with us. Glad you loved this recipe, Kristyn!
I think this is the best way to cook bacon! Quick & so crispy! I have found my new way!
That’s just awesome, Natalie!
Ah, I’m going to try the basket and see how it turns out! Thanks for the tips.
You’re welcome, Kim! I hope you enjoy this recipe!