Air fryer bacon

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I absolutely love making air fryer bacon! It is crisp, tasty and a great way to prepare a few sandwiches worth of bacon without messing up my hob or grill tray!

Using the air fryer is so convenient for me. I love that I can just throw things in, at countertop level, and not worry about firing up the oven - perfect in hot weather!

An air fryer allows me to make delicious treats for my family, while cutting back on a few of the calories too. Typically you need to use no oil or grease when cooking in the air fryer and it is a great way to get delicious crispy, tasty food too. I love to make up a batch of this to serve on my breakfast grazing platter.

While you're here be sure to check out my air fryer tips and tricks. Whether you're a total beginner to air frying, or just looking to get more from your air fryer, this is sure to help!

One time I served this cooked bacon in the middle of some air fryer cheese scones and they were perfection! I've also enjoyed these with this hash brown casserole, which was nice too. You could try something different and make these deviled eggs with bacon.

If you're going to be cooking up an air fryer full english then I would recommend checking out some of my other breakfast recipes including air fryer sausages, air fryer turkey bacon, air fryer frozen hash browns, air fryer toast and air fryer french toast.

Scroll down towards the end of this post for my air fryer bacon recipe card so you can get your breakfast started right away!

Ingredients for this air fryer bacon

Bacon of course!

Smoked bacon or streaky bacon work best in the air fryer. I'll be sharing timings for smoked bacon rashers, streaky cut bacon AND bacon medallions below.

Personally I typically cook an entire packet of 8-10 rashers of bacon, then we have some in the fridge for adding to sandwiches or pasta dishes throughout the week as required.

We love to serve smoked streaky bacon on the side of homemade pancakes (dairy and gluten free pancakes are super simple!) with a little golden or maple syrup for a real treat on the weekends and often on my meal plans.

Method for cooking bacon in the air fryer:

Preheat your air fryer to 200C for a couple of minutes.

Place your bacon of choice in a single layer in your air fryer basket. It is ok if it overlaps slightly, or the edges fold over slightly.

You may need to repeat the cooking a couple of times if you have a lot of bacon, or a smaller air fryer basket (like I currently do!).

Cooking times are as follows:

Smoked streaky bacon rashers - 200C (400F) - 11 minutes.

Smoked bacon rashers - 200C (400F) - 10 minutes.

Smoked bacon medallions - 200C (400F) - 8 minutes.

Do you have to flip bacon in the air fryer?

Personally I like to flip my bacon during cooking, just to ensure the most even cooking. If you are short on time, or effort, you can definitely skip this step as the metal rack in your air fryer will help to cook the bacon pretty evenly.

Is air fried bacon better than fried?

When you are air frying bacon the fat will drop through the rack and collect in the bottom of the air fryer basket.

When frying bacon you will often need an additional oil, which adds some extra calories. Air frying doesn't require this and you will still get delicious crispy results that are tasty and simple too.

What are the calories in air fryer bacon?

As you're cooking the bacon as it comes, without the addition of any extra oil or cooking liquids, you will only be consuming as many calories as are contained within the bacon. Next to no calories are lost while the bacon is cooking - sadly!

The smoked bacon that I use contains 108 calories per 2 rashers.

The smoked streaky bacon that I use contains 117 calories per 2 rashers.

Be sure to check out the packet for the nutritional information of the bacon you're cooking.

Do you need to use foil for air fryer bacon?

I never use foil in my air fryer. I always layer foods directly onto the rack of the air fryer basket and this is sufficient for things to crisp up.

You can typically use foil in your air fryer, at the bottom of the basket, but you'll want to avoid using it with any acidic foods.

Can you use baking paper for air frying bacon?

I have used baking paper or parchment paper with no problems. You will want to ensure that this is low in the air fryer basket, and weighed down, otherwise what will happen is that the baking paper may touch the element of the air fryer and catch on fire.

I always place the bacon on a little kitchen towel or paper towel when I'm finished cooking it as this allows me to dab some of the grease off.

Should you put water in the bottom of an air fryer when cooking bacon?

While I keep seeing people suggesting this, to prevent the fat released from the bacon to smoke, I do not recommend this as it can be a safety hazard. Mixing fat and water is not ideal and while I do use a splash of water when I'm cooking bacon on the hob, I would not do this when air frying bacon.

Can you cook air fryer bacon from frozen?

You could but personally I would recommend defrosting first. Most meats CAN be cooked from frozen, providing you cook them thoroughly, and check the temperature first, however, with bacon it's going to stick together and be hard to separate the bacon rashers.

What about cooking bacon medallions?

Whether you want to remove the bacon fat yourself or buy bacon medallions ready made you can reduce the calories, and the fat you consume, by cooking bacon medallions.

These will cook quicker, and you can use the leftover fat, if you cut it off bacon rashers, in this bacon mac and cheese pasta bake or this air fryer mac and cheese recipe.

Bacon medallions work great for air fryer hunters chicken too. This is air fryer chicken wrapped in bacon with BBQ sauce and topped with cheddar cheese. It's a pub classic and absolutely delicious.

What time and temperature is best for cooking easy crispy air fryer bacon:

As above I find cooking at 200C for 10 minutes the best for thick cut smoked bacon rashers. You may want to reduce the time a little if you're using streaky bacon (11 minutes) or bacon medallions (8 minutes).

What to serve with air fryer bacon

Why not cook up some air fryer bacon and air fryer sausages, and make your own bacon, sausage and egg wrap. I also love to make air fryer hash browns, or even air fryer chips to enjoy as a meal.

What else can you make in an air fryer?

There are tons of great recipes that you can make. For me I feel that some of the best recipes are those were the foods are either dry, lightly coated in oil or have a marinade. Anything that comes in the large sauce is probably best done in the oven or slow cooker, just to avoid drying out too much.

Want to make a tasty bacon sandwich?

For me, I feel that the best bread that works for a bacon sandwich would either have to be a nice sliced tiger loaf, fresh of course, or perhaps some soft white rolls to make a super tasty bacon roll.

Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!

Why not check out some of my other delicious air fryer recipes while you're here?

• Air fryer crumble topping
• Air fryer cheese scones
• Air fryer frozen chicken burger
• Air fryer frozen salmon
• Air fryer chips recipe
• Air fryer french toast sticks
• 14 of the best bratwurst toppings
• Chicken mini fillets in the air fryer
• Air fryer garlic bread
• Air fryer parsnips recipe (honey glazed)

How to make cooked bacon slices in an air fryer:

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.

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