You’ll never go back to frying or baking after trying this Air Fryer Frozen Bacon recipe. It’s the supreme and easy cooking method that leaves you with crispy bacon every time!
Air frying is one of my favorite cooking methods. From chicken legs to bell peppers to slices of prosciutto, it’s a hands-off and foolproof way of producing crispy results with very little oil!
You can even make frozen bacon in the air fryer with no need to thaw first!
Making bacon in the air fryer always leaves you with evenly browned and crispy results. How? Because the air fryer blows hot air continuously, hitting every inch of every slice.
Clean-up is easy, too. The bacon fat drips to the bottom of the air fryer while containing the splatter. When it’s done, you can either save the bacon grease for later or wipe it up, then sit down to eat. How easy is that?
Reader
Love
Fantastic! Came out just how I liked bacon. New to airfrying and I would not have thought to cut the bacon.
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Ingredients needed
Bacon is, of course, the star of the show! Pick up your favorite kind, whether that’s classic-cut bacon, thick-cut bacon, and even turkey bacon. Most importantly, use good quality, marbled bacon with more visible strips of pink meat than white fat.
And while you only need bacon strips to make this recipe, you have the option of adding even more flavor with optional seasonings, such as black pepper, brown sugar, or maple syrup.
How to cook bacon in an air fryer
Preheat the air fryer to 350ºF while you snip the bacon slices in half. This helps you cook more at once without overlapping the strips.
Lay the bacon strips in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook, flipping halfway through, until the pieces reach your desired crispness (the Bacon Cooking Times below will help you with this part).
Use tongs to transfer the crispy cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Let the grease drain, then serve!
How to cook frozen bacon in air fryer
To air fry frozen bacon, cook it at 350°F just until you can pull apart the individual strips. Then cut the strips in half crosswise, place them in a single layer in the air fryer basket, and continue cooking at 350°F to your desired doneness. It will take 7-9 minutes for thin cut bacon, or 10-12 minutes for thick cut bacon.
Use tongs to transfer the crispy cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Let the grease drain, then serve!
Bacon cooking times
How long it takes to cook bacon in a 350ºF air fryer will depend on (1) how thick the bacon is and (2) whether you like extra crispy, well-done bacon, or soft and chewy bacon. Use the following cooking times as a guideline, then adjust as needed:
- Classic thin-cut bacon: Air fry for 7 to 9 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- Thick-cut bacon: Air fry for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Tips and tricks
- Overlapping the bacon slices will cause them to steam, not crisp. Always cook the bacon slices in a single layer and in batches if needed.
- Remember to drain the grease in between each batch of bacon.
- You can prevent the bacon grease from smoking in the air fryer by adding 1 cup of water or 1 slice of bread to the bottom drip pan.
- Not serving the bacon right away? Place the cooked strips on a baking sheet and in a 250ºF oven to keep them warm.
- Save the bacon fat! It’s an ultra-flavorful grease you can use to season roasted vegetables, fried eggs, and even popcorn. To save it, pour the cooled grease from the drip pan through a coffee filter into a wide-mouthed jar. Let it cool to room temperature before storing it in the fridge for 3 months or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
FAQs
Yes, and you don’t need to thaw it first! To air fry frozen bacon, cook it at 350°F just until you can pull apart the individual strips. Then cut the strips in half crosswise, place them in a single layer in the air fryer basket, and continue cooking at 350°F to your desired doneness.
Yes! Follow the recipe as written, cooking the turkey bacon at 350°F for 7 to 9 minutes for thin-cut or 10 to 12 minutes for thick-cut.
Serving suggestions
Bacon for breakfast is a no-brainer. And because cooking bacon in an air fryer free’s up your stovetop, you’re able to prepare all kinds of breakfast classics while it cooks, including scrambled eggs, pancakes, waffles, breakfast potatoes, and hash browns.
But bacon goes way beyond breakfast. Try it:
- As a topping – Chop up the cooked bacon and sprinkle it on top of deviled eggs, Irish nachos, potato soup, pizza, or baked potatoes.
- As a mix-in – Toss the cooked bacon into salads, egg scrambles, omelets, or macaroni and cheese.
- In sandwiches – Lay the strips in BLTs, cheesesteaks, cold-cut subs, club sandwiches, and so on.
Or use air fryer cooked bacon in these delicious recipes:
- Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup
- Healthy Wedge Salad
- BLT Pasta
- Creamy Pasta with Bacon and Peas
- Roasted Cabbage Steaks with Bacon
- Warm German Potato Salad
- Chicken Cobb Salad
Storing and reheating
- To store: Once the cooked bacon is cool, transfer it to an airtight bag or container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- To reheat: You can reheat both the thawed or frozen bacon in a 350ºF air fryer until hot and crispy again.
More recipes with bacon
More air fryer recipes
Did you cook frozen bacon in the air fryer?
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Frozen Bacon in the Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 package bacon
Instructions
From Frozen
- If starting with frozen bacon, cook it at 350°F just until you can pull apart the individual strips. Then follow the instructions below.
From Thawed
- Cut the bacon strips in half, so that you can fit more in the air fryer basket.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees.
- Place the bacon in the air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Cook bacon for 7-9 minutes for regular bacon, or 10-12 minutes for thick bacon, flipping halfway through.
- Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Or, if desired, transfer the bacon to a baking sheet and keep warm in a 250-degree oven.
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