To do bacon in an air fryer, cook strips at 360°F for 8–10 minutes in a single layer, turning once, until the bacon is as crisp as you like.
Bacon in the air fryer hits a sweet spot: quick, crisp, and far less splatter than a skillet. You still get those wavy strips, salty edges, and chewy or crunchy bites, but most of the fat drips away into the basket drawer. Once you dial in time and temperature for your bacon and your machine, it turns into a simple routine you can repeat on autopilot.
This guide walks you through how to do bacon in an air fryer from start to finish, including timing for different thicknesses, food safety, and cleanup. The goal is simple: when you think, “how do you do bacon in the air fryer?” you have one clear method that works on busy weekdays and slow weekend mornings.
All timings here are tested in a basket-style air fryer in the 3.5–5.8 quart range. Your exact time can shift a little based on brand, wattage, bacon thickness, and how full the basket is, so treat the ranges as a smart starting point and adjust by a minute or two the first time.
Why Air Fryer Bacon Works So Well
Bacon behaves nicely in an air fryer because hot air surrounds each slice from all sides. The fan helps render fat faster than a sheet pan in the oven, while the basket keeps bacon out of most of the grease. You get a mix of crisp edges and tender centers without constant turning at the stove.
Another plus is consistency. Once you note the timing that matches your favorite texture, you can repeat it without much thought. If you cook bacon for a crowd, you can work in small batches while the first batch drains on paper towels, then pass a plate that looks the same every time you cook.
An air fryer also keeps heat more contained than a skillet. Your kitchen warms up less, and you deal with fewer splatters on the stovetop or nearby wall. Grease does collect in the drawer, though, so lining the basket and cleaning right after cooking makes life easier.
Air Fryer Bacon Time And Thickness Guide
Before we walk through the step-by-step method, this table gives a quick look at common bacon styles and a solid starting point for time and temperature. All timings assume a preheated air fryer and a single layer of bacon.
| Bacon Type | Temperature | Time Range* |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Pork Bacon (Standard Cut) | 360°F (182°C) | 8–10 minutes |
| Thick-Cut Pork Bacon | 360°F (182°C) | 10–14 minutes |
| Center-Cut Pork Bacon | 360°F (182°C) | 7–9 minutes |
| Turkey Bacon | 360°F (182°C) | 6–9 minutes |
| Canadian Or Back Bacon | 360°F (182°C) | 6–8 minutes |
| Lardons Or Bacon Pieces | 360°F (182°C) | 7–10 minutes |
| Frozen Bacon (Straight From Freezer) | 360°F (182°C) | 10–14 minutes |
*Time ranges are starting points. Your perfect point depends on how crisp you prefer your bacon and the exact air fryer model you use.
How Do You Do Bacon In The Air Fryer? Step-By-Step Method
Here is the core method that answers “how do you do bacon in the air fryer?” in a clear, repeatable way. It works for regular pork bacon and can be adjusted for thick-cut, turkey, or back bacon with slight timing changes.
What You Need
- 8–10 slices of bacon (regular, center-cut, or thick-cut)
- Air fryer basket or drawer-style unit
- Paper towels or a wire rack set over a tray
- Small piece of parchment or a silicone liner (optional, for easier cleanup)
- Tongs
Basic Air Fryer Bacon Steps
1. Preheat The Air Fryer
Set the air fryer to 360°F (about 182°C) and let it preheat for 3–5 minutes. Preheating helps bacon start rendering right away and reduces sticking.
2. Arrange Bacon In A Single Layer
Lay the strips in a single layer in the basket. A tiny bit of overlap is fine since bacon shrinks quickly, but large piles lead to soft spots that never crisp. For a compact basket, cooking 4–6 slices at a time works better than cramming in the whole package.
3. Air Fry The First Side
Slide the basket in and cook for 4–5 minutes. During this first stretch, the fat starts to melt and the edges curl. The bacon should look glossy and partly rendered but not deeply browned yet.
4. Turn The Bacon
Use tongs to flip each slice. Turn gently so you do not tear the strips. If grease is pooling in the basket, tilt it over a heat-safe bowl or carefully spoon off a little so the bacon can crisp instead of poaching in fat.
5. Finish To Your Preferred Texture
Return the basket and cook for another 3–6 minutes, checking once near the shorter end of the time range. For chewy bacon, pull it when the strips are browned with a bit of soft center. For crisp bacon, wait until the strips are deep golden with small, blistered spots along the fat.
6. Drain On Paper Towels Or A Rack
Transfer the cooked bacon to a plate lined with paper towels or to a wire rack so the fat can drip away. The strips firm up slightly as they cool, so pull them just shy of your final texture if you like bacon with a little bend.
7. Repeat With Remaining Bacon
For more bacon, pour off extra grease from the drawer, wipe the basket if needed, and repeat with fresh slices. Once you know your exact timing, you can run back-to-back batches with hardly any adjustment.
After one or two runs, you will have your own answer to “how do you do bacon in the air fryer?” that matches your machine and your taste. At that point you can cook breakfast bacon half-awake and still get great results.
Bacon In The Air Fryer Cooking Times And Temperatures
The 360°F setting hits a nice balance between crisp fat and gentle cooking for the meat. If your air fryer runs hot or you prefer slightly chewier strips, 350°F also works. Some cooks enjoy 375°F for extra crackle; in that case, shave a couple of minutes off the suggested ranges and watch closely near the end.
Pork bacon is a cured product, so you have more wiggle room in terms of doneness than you do with raw pork chops or roast. That said, you still want to treat bacon with care. A reliable food thermometer and solid food safety habits keep breakfast pleasant rather than risky.
For reference, pork steaks, roasts, and chops are considered safe at 145°F with a short rest, according to the
safe minimum internal temperature chart for pork.
Bacon slices are thin and cook past this point quickly, so you rarely need to measure them directly, but this chart is handy for any other pork you cook alongside your bacon.
Tuning Time For Bacon Style
For regular pork bacon, start tasting at the shorter end of the range. If the strips seem pale or rubbery, add 1–2 minutes and check again. For thick-cut bacon, your perfect point might land at 12–13 minutes total. For turkey bacon, keep a closer eye on the edges; the leaner meat dries faster, so pull the strips as soon as they reach a light to medium brown color.
Center-cut strips often have less fat. That leads to less splatter and slightly faster crisping. You can run them for a minute less than standard strips or keep the same time if you prefer a firm, crunchy strip that stands up well next to eggs or in a breakfast sandwich.
Food Safety And Doneness For Air Fryer Bacon
Even though bacon is cured and sometimes smoked, you still treat it like raw meat until it is cooked. Keep packages cold in the fridge, wash hands after handling, and keep raw bacon away from ready-to-eat foods. The
USDA bacon and food safety guidance
stresses careful handling and quick refrigeration for leftovers.
Air fryers cook with hot air and a compact chamber, so the danger zone where bacteria grow shrinks faster than it does in a crowded oven. Still, treat cooked bacon like any other cooked meat: cool leftovers quickly, store them in a shallow container in the fridge, and reheat to steaming hot before eating.
For mixed trays with bacon and other foods, think about the slowest-cooking item. If you cook thick pork sausages alongside bacon, gauge doneness with a thermometer in the sausage first. Let the bacon timing follow that schedule so both components land on the plate safely cooked.
How Crisp Should Air Fryer Bacon Be?
Texture comes down to preference. Some people like soft centers that bend easily; others want shatter-crisp strips that snap when you bite them. With an air fryer, you can match both tastes in a single batch by pulling lighter strips early and letting darker strips run a minute or two longer.
Keep in mind that bacon firms up as it cools. If you want a softer texture, pull the strips when the meat is fully colored but still has a gentle sheen of fat on the surface. For stiff strips that crumble over salads or baked potatoes, let the edges darken and small bubbles form in the fat before you pull the basket.
Frozen Bacon In The Air Fryer
Frozen bacon can go straight into the air fryer, which helps on mornings when you forget to thaw the night before. The trick is to separate the slices early in the cook so the strips can crisp properly.
Place the frozen block of bacon in the basket and run the air fryer at 360°F for 3–4 minutes. At that point the outer edges soften enough that you can pry the slices apart with tongs or a butter knife. Spread them into a single layer and continue cooking, checking every couple of minutes until you reach your preferred level of browning.
Because frozen bacon starts colder and the slices may stick together at first, expect total time to fall near the upper end of the ranges in the first table. The flavor stays the same; you only add a small thawing stage at the start.
Common Air Fryer Bacon Mistakes
Even a simple method can go sideways if the basket is packed too tightly or grease builds up. This table covers frequent air fryer bacon problems and quick fixes so your second batch comes out better than the first.
| Problem | Likely Cause | Quick Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Soggy Or Limp Bacon | Basket crowded; too much overlap; low time | Cook fewer slices per batch and add 2–3 minutes |
| Burnt Edges, Raw Centers | Temperature too high; uneven slice thickness | Drop to 350–360°F and flip slices halfway through |
| Heavy Smoke From Air Fryer | Grease pool in drawer or basket holes | Pour off grease between batches; use a small layer of water under the basket |
| Sticking To The Basket | No liner; basket not seasoned; no preheat | Preheat and use parchment or a silicone liner with holes |
| Bacon Shrivels Too Much | High heat and very thin strips | Choose thicker bacon or cook at 350°F for a bit longer |
| Uneven Browning | Hot spots in air fryer; slices touching | Rotate the basket and shuffle slices partway through |
| Grease Spatters When Opening Basket | Opening mid-cook while fat is vigorously bubbling | Pause the cook for a few seconds, then open slowly with the basket angled away |
Batch Size And Crowd Cooking Tips
Cooking for a crowd with an air fryer just means planning a few batches. As each batch finishes, transfer the strips to a wire rack set over a baking sheet and keep them in a low oven around 200°F. The bacon stays warm and stays crisp while you finish the next round in the air fryer.
You can also cook bacon slightly lighter than you like it, hold it on the rack, and give the full tray a quick blast in the air fryer or oven right before serving. That final heat wave evens out texture so every strip on the table feels freshly cooked.
Cleaning Up After Cooking Bacon In The Air Fryer
Cleanup feels easier when you deal with grease while it is still warm but not scalding hot. After the last batch, unplug the air fryer and let the basket sit for a few minutes. Pour liquid fat into a heat-safe container rather than straight into the sink, where it can harden in the pipes.
Once the basket and drawer are safe to handle, wipe them with paper towels, then wash with hot, soapy water. Many baskets are dishwasher safe, but hand washing extends the coating on nonstick parts. Check your manual and match your cleaning method to the parts your model can handle.
If bacon smell tends to linger, run the empty air fryer at 350°F for a few minutes after cleaning. That helps dry any hidden moisture and takes the edge off the scent so the next dish you cook does not pick up smoky notes by surprise.
Air Fryer Bacon Made Simple Every Time
Once you run this method once or twice, bacon in the air fryer turns into one of those kitchen habits you hardly think about. Lay out strips in a single layer, set the temperature around 360°F, and give yourself a window of 8–10 minutes, with a flip in the middle.
The next time the question “how do you do bacon in the air fryer?” pops into your head, you will already know the rhythm: preheat, lay out, flip, drain, enjoy. Adjust the timing slightly for turkey, thick-cut, or frozen slices, lean on a reliable food safety chart when you cook other pork, and air fryer bacon will keep showing up on your table exactly the way you like it.