Can I cook turkey bacon in the air fryer?
Yes, you can cook turkey bacon the same way as the regular bacon recipe above. In fact, you can use regular bacon recipes regardless of the animal that the bacon is from.
Should I preheat my air fryer before cooking bacon?
Yes, it will be better if you preheat the air fryer before cooking. However, since bacon is a fatty meat, you can skip the preheating.
Do I need to add oil before cooking bacon in the air fryer?
No. In fact, it is not recommended to add oil before cooking bacon in the air fryer. Bacon has its grease anyway so it does not need additional oil. It will be healthier and the risk of smoking bacon will be avoided when no extra oil is used.
How long should bacon stay in the air fryer?
Please follow the Air Fryer Bacon Cooking Chart below to decide how long and at what temperature you should cook bacon in the air fryer.
| Bacon Cut | Process | Desired Air Fryer Bacon Texture | Air Fryer Cooking Tempreture | Air Fryer Bacon Cooking Time |
| Regular | Cooking | Crispy | 350˚F | 8-9 min |
| Softer | 350˚F | 7 min | ||
| Thick | Crispy | 350˚F | 10-12 min | |
| Softer | 350˚F | 9 min | ||
| Both | Reheating | Both | 350˚F | 2-3 min |
Can I cook frozen bacon in the air fryer?
Yes. Frozen bacon can be safely cooked in the air fryer without defrosting it. Just follow the regular bacon recipe above to cook frozen bacon in the air fryer.
Can I cook raw bacon in the air fryer?
Yes, you can cook raw bacon in the air fryer. Just follow the regular bacon recipe above to cook raw bacon in the air fryer.
Why should I cook bacon in the air fryer?
First of all, making bacon in the air fryer is much easier than the traditional stovetop. When you make bacon on the stove, the texture usually changes from slice to slice. Because of the temperature changes in the pan some bacon slices will be perfectly crispy while others are just floppy. Oil splatters all around the kitchen so you have to be busy scrubbing different places in the kitchen after eating bacon. You have to stand before the stove for the whole cooking process otherwise bacon slices would burn very easily. So making bacon on the stove has never been easy. It is somewhat easy in the oven but they always lay flat when made in the oven and most of the time they get dried out when you try to make them crispy.
Making bacon in the air fryer, on the other hand, is very easy and always yields the crispiest delicious bacon. You put bacon slices in the basket and start the air fryer and you are free until they cook. And when they cook, all bacon slices are evenly cooked and crispy. All the grease mess is within the air fryer and that is to be cleaned up in a dishwasher.
Air fryers are the best choice to cook bacon because it is much easier to cook bacon in the air fryer than the traditional methods. Air fryers make bacon crispy with very little or no oil, do not dry out bacon, do not create any mess in the kitchen, and they are easily cleaned up after work, mostly in the dishwasher. So, once you start cooking bacon in the air fryer, you will not turn back to the other methods again!
How to Cook Bacon in the Air Fryer
You need no ingredients but only bacon to make bacon in the air fryer. Since the air fryer will make it crispy anyway, there is no any treatment needed to have the crispiest bacon. But you may add some black pepper or brown sugar if you like to have these flavors in your bacon. You can also choose more or less meaty bacon cuts according to your taste while buying bacon.
As mentioned before, when you try to make bacon in the air fryer, you will not look for other methods again. It will be quick, easy, healthy with less or no oil. The grease from the bacon itself will leave the bacon pieces and go down to the drip tray, and thus you will have the crispiest bacon on your plate.
Here are the steps to make a crispy bacon in the air fryer:
- Take the strips of bacon out of the package. You can cut the bacon strips in half if you want.
- Arrange the bacon strips in your air fryer basket. If your air fryer is oven type, then you should use the mash rack to arrange the bacon slices.
- Please pay attention to avoid overlapping while arranging bacon strips. You can cook bacon in a couple of batches if all bacon strips do not fit into the basket or mash rack without overlapping.
- Choose the “Bacon” function on your air fryer. If it doesn’t have that function, cook the bacon at the temperature of 350°F (177°C) for 6-8 minutes. The bacon slices should be browned and reach the desired crispiness when cooked.
- The fat should have already ended up at the bottom but you should take the bacon slices over a paper towel so that it can absorb any remaining grease on the bacon.
- Serve your bacon and enjoy it!
Additional Tips to Cook the Crispiest Bacon in the Air Fryer
There are some important points you should pay attention to while making bacon in the air fryer:
- Never overcrowd the basket. It results in unevenly cooked, soggy bacon.
- If you’d like to make bacon only in one big batch anyway, then you should stir it during cooking and extend the cooking time.
- Avoid smoking and burning the bacon. To avoid smoking the air fryer bacon, pay attention to the points below:
- Do not use extra oil while cooking bacon in the air fryer. First of all, it is healthier not to use extra oil since bacon has its own grease anyway. Then, extra oil also causes smoking in the air fryer.
- Make sure that the oil drip tray of your air fryer is clean before starting to make bacon. Any food or grease remains will also cause smoking in the air fryer. If you make bacon in batches, you should remove the grease in the oil drip tray between each batch.
- Try to put some bread pieces on the oil drip tray. These bread pieces will serve like a sponge and prevent the grease from splattering and smoking.
- If you don’t have bread at home, you can also put some water in the oil drip tray, but this risks having a soggy bacon at the end.
- Follow the cooking time and temperature, especially if your air fryer does not have a preset “Bacon” function. You will find below the Air Fryer Bacon Cooking Chart for the recommended cooking time and temperatures for different cuts of bacon.
Air Fryer Bacon Cooking Chart
Please be aware of the fact that different air fryers have different cook times and bacon can easily get burned. So, follow the instructions of your air fryer and keep an eye on the bacon as it cooks until you gain some experience.
How to Serve Air Fryer Bacon
There are various ways to serve air fryer bacon. First of all, you can serve air fryer bacon along with scrambled eggs for breakfast, or as the iconic duo of bacon and eggs toast. Some green leaves, a homemade bread, and some tea, coffee or orange juice can perfectly complete your menu for breakfast.
You can crumble bacon strips after they get cold and add these bacon crumbles into a salad of your choice. Bacon crumbles will improve the nutritional value of the salad and make it more filling because they increase the protein level of the salad. Bacon crumbles will also enhance the omelet recipes.
Air fryer bacon can also be used to make sandwiches to eat either for breakfast on the go or for lunch in school or at work. Air fryer bacon sandwich with egg, cheese and some green leaf topping will be a very nutritious, tasty and filling meal for you and your family. You can also add grilled cheeses, grilled apple or avocado to your bacon sandwich.
Lastly the soup, pasta and pizza will be more attractive and nutritious with bacon added. Air fryer bacon crumbles will go with soup and pasta, and bacon strips will go with pizza.
How to Store Air Fryer Bacon
You can store your air fryer bacon leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You should reheat them at 350°F(177°C) for 2 - 3 minutes to make them crispy again. You can also freeze bacon strips and reheat from frozen without thawing when needed. If you are to freeze a large amount of bacon then make it in a single layer for easy reheating afterwards.
Delicious Recipes With Air Fryer Bacon
Here are the best air fryer bacon recipes for you to enjoy with your family, friends, or by yourself!
Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich in the Air Fryer
Here is a delicious breakfast sandwich to make in the air fryer. You only need bread, cheddar cheese slices, egg, bacon and salt & pepper if you’d like. Once you have the ingredients, just follow the steps below:
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (177°C).
- Place two slices of bread in the air fryer basket. You can spread some butter on them if you want before putting them in the basket.
- Put one slice of cheddar cheese and bacon over one of the slices.
- Crack one egg on the other slice.
- Set the basket into the air fryer. Let them cook for 6-8 minutes.
- Combine the slices of bread.
- Enjoy your breakfast!
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp in the Air Fryer
Bacon wrapped shrimp is a great appetizer, side dish, and sometimes a meal. It can be very easily made in the air fryer as you can see below.
Ingredients for bacon wrapped shrimp:
- Bacon
- Cooked jumbo shrimp
- Garlic powder
- Chili powder
- Soy sauce
- Barbeque sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
Directions for bacon wrapped shrimp:
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (177°C).
- Mix garlic powder, chili powder, soy sauce, barbeque sauce and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl.
- Add shrimps into the mixture and make them coat with the sauce by stirring.
- Wrap each shrimp with bacon and and fix it using a toothpick. You can use the whole bacon strip for wrapping or cut the bacon strips into half, whichever you think is better.
- Add the bacon wrapped shrimps into the air fryer basket and cook them for 8 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon in the Air Fryer
Bacon wrapped filet mignon in the air fryer is golden browned and seared on the outside while tender and juicy inside. Filet mignon is a cut taken from the end of tenderloin. Grilled or air fried filet mignon is already a very delicious meal. However, wrapping filet mignon with bacon will add extra taste and flavor to it. Surprise your loved ones with this delicious recipe in the air fryer!
Ingredients for bacon wrapped filet mignon:
- Filet mignon
- Bacon
- Salt
- Steak seasoning (You can also use your favorite seasoning or no seasoning at all.)
- Toothpicks
- Avocado oil
Directions for bacon wrapped filet mignon:
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200)°C.
- Wrap a bacon slice around the filet mignon until the bacon ends overlap and fix with a toothpick.
- Cover each side of filet mignon with avocado oil. Avocado oil will be good to avoid smoking.
- Add some salt and seasoning to the filet mignon if you’d like.
- Put the filet mignon into the air fryer basket and set it in the air fryer. You should use a mash rack to put the filet mignon on if you have an oven type air fryer.
- Cook it for 9 minutes flipping it halfway through cooking.
- Remove the filet mignon from the air fryer and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Bacon Roses in the Air Fryer
This is not only delicious but also a beautiful meal and also very easy and quick to make. It will be a tasty gift and a big surprise for your loved ones on Valentine’s Day. To make bacon roses, you only need bacon, brown sugar and toothpicks and then following the directions below.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (177°C).
- Lay down one slice of bacon and roll it up until it resembles a rosebud or a relatively open rose. The tighter you roll, the more it resembles rosebud, and the looser roll up resembles more of an open rose.
- Fix the shape with a toothpick or you can place it in a small cupcake pan filling the remaining empty places in the pan with foil to prevent the bacon rose from losing its shape.
- Place the prepared bacon roses into the air fryer basket or onto the mash rack if your air fryer is oven type.
- Cook bacon roses for 8 minutes.
- Serve them according to your imagination.
- Enjoy!
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