Make the best bacon ever by learning how to make Air Fryer Bacon! It’s so easy to do and once you try it, you won’t ever want to go back to your old cooking methods! You will make perfect bacon!
Whether you’re brand new to using an air fryer or you’ve been using yours for quite a while, you might not have realized that one of the best ways to get crispy bacon is the fryer. Learn how to cook bacon in the air fryer to get the perfect addition to breakfast, sandwiches, and more!
Scroll down for the printable recipe or read on for detailed instructions, tips, and tricks!
AIR FRYER BACON
I’m a huge bacon fan but it can be such a mess to cook at home. I don’t make it that often at home because of the mess. I’ve tried making bacon in a frying pan on the stovetop, in the microwave, and baking bacon in the oven.
They all have their own mess factor that I don’t love cleaning up. The great part about using the air fryer is that the bacon grease drips down into the lower part of the air fryer basket. For me, it makes the clean-up a lot easier than having to scrub grease off the top of my stove or the inside of my microwave and oven.
We own two air fryers, including a 6 quart model. In the 6 quart fryer, I can make 6 to 7 pieces of bacon at once. The bacon is ready in less than 10 minutes too! That makes it perfect for adding to your favorite breakfast foods or whipping up some bacon for a BLT sandwich!
If you love it, you should definitely try making our Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Brussel Sprouts!
HOW TO COOK BACON IN THE AIR FRYER
I can cook a full package of bacon in about two batches. Depending on the size of the package and the size of your air fryer, you may be able to do it in fewer batches or it may take a few more. It all depends on how much bacon you’re trying to make and the size of your fryer.
If you want to make one batch of bacon, this is one of the quickest ways to do it!
For the quickest cooking time, I recommend using thinner bacon. You can use thick-cut bacon if you prefer, but you may need to add additional cooking time for thicker bacon.
For this easy recipe, you don’t need a lot of ingredients! All you need is a package of your favorite bacon!
Start by placing the bacon slices into the air fryer basket. You can put in as many as will fit in a single layer.
You don’t want the bacon to be crowded and you want to have space for the hot air to circulate around them, so don’t overlap any of the strips.
Cook the bacon for 8-10 minutes at 400°. If your air fryer model requires you to preheat it, be sure to do that.
I recommend using tongs to check the food halfway through the cooking time. If you need to move any of the pieces of bacon around, use the tongs. The bacon will curl and shrink a bit while you cook it just like it does with any other cooking method.
After 8 minutes, check to see if your bacon is cooked to your liking. If not, cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until you get your desired crispiness.
If you like your bacon extra crispy, cook for about 10 minutes.
Take the bacon slices out of the basket and lay it on a plate covered with a paper towel to drain the grease before serving.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO COOK BACON IN THE AIR FRYER?
It takes eight to ten minutes to make air fryer bacon.
Thin bacon cooks faster than thick bacon. If you use some of the thickest bacon slices, you may need more than 10 minutes.
The basic rule is that the thicker your bacon slices, the longer they will take to cook.
The most important part is to only cook a single layer at a time, no matter what bacon cut you use. If you overlap the pieces or pile them on top of each other, they won’t cook evenly.
WHY IS MY AIR FRYER SMOKING?
You may discover that your air fryer is smoking when you’re cooking bacon in it. When you’re cooking greasy food this can happen. You may see some white smoke come out of the top of the fryer.
There are a few ways to stop the air fryer smoke. You can choose whichever one of these options works best for you:
- Add about 2 Tablespoons of water to the bottom of the air fryer under the basket.
- Place a piece of bread in the bottom of the lower pan/tray to absorb the excess grease that drips down.
- Line the bottom of the basket with parchment paper. (I have not tried this one myself but it’s something a friend recommended.)
- Try cooking at a lower temperature (try 350°)
- Wipe out the inside of the air fryer with a paper towel when it is cool to remove any grease that may have splattered on the cooking element.
If bacon smoking is a continual issue with your appliance, then consider trying a different cooking method or consider getting a larger fryer model. I’ve found our smaller air fryer doesn’t work well with strips of bacon!
HOW TO CLEAN AN AIR FRYER
The clean-up is one of the biggest perks for me. Before the fryer cools down, pour the grease out and get rid of it safely. If you save the grease for cooking, you can save this too!
Once the fryer has cooled completely, use a damp paper towel to wipe down the interior of the air fryer. You want to make sure you wipe off the heating element as well. That can help you avoid bacon smoking next time!
Once you’ve wiped everything down, you can clean your air fryer the way that you normally do.
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Air Fryer Bacon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4-6 strips bacon (thin sliced)
Instructions
- Place as many strips of bacon as will fit in the air fryer basket in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the bacon.
- Set the air fryer to cook at 400° for 8 minutes. If you want to make the bacon crispier, cook for an additional two minutes.
Notes
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