How to Cook Bacon in an Air Fryer

The air fryer solves the three main problems of stovetop bacon: (1) Grease splatter — the enclosed basket contains all the fat, keeping your counters and stovetop clean. (2) Uneven cooking — stovetop bacon must be watched and flipped constantly; the air fryer's circulating heat browns all surfaces simultaneously without attention. (3) Mess — grease drips from the strips into the drawer below, keeping the strips out of their own fat. The result is consistently crispy bacon with significantly less hands-on time and cleanup.

No preheating is needed for bacon — it benefits from starting in a cold basket as the fat renders gently at the start. Lay strips flat in the basket. Thick-cut or extra-long strips can overlap slightly at the edges; they shrink as fat renders and will separate. Cook at 400°F for 8 minutes, then check. For crispy results, most regular-cut bacon needs 9–10 minutes; thick-cut needs 11–13 minutes. The basket will fill with liquid grease — do NOT remove the drawer mid-cook to pour it out as the grease is extremely hot. Wait until after cooking, once cooled slightly.

Bacon produces the most grease of any common air fryer food. If your air fryer smokes during bacon cooking, there is too much accumulated grease near the heating element. Prevention: pour 1–2 tablespoons of water into the drawer under the basket before cooking — this cools the fat as it drips and prevents smoke. Some people also place a slice of bread in the drawer to absorb grease. After cooking, let the basket cool for 5–10 minutes before handling the grease-filled drawer — the grease remains very hot long after cooking stops.

Air fryer bacon is excellent for batch cooking. Cook 6–8 strips, let cool on a paper towel, then store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat individual strips at 350°F for 2–3 minutes for fresh-cooked crispiness. For very large batches, cook in multiple rounds — the basket is hotter for subsequent rounds, so reduce time by 1–2 minutes. Cooked bacon can also be frozen between sheets of parchment paper for up to 1 month; reheat from frozen at 350°F for 4–5 minutes.

How long do you cook bacon in an air fryer?

Regular-cut bacon: 8–10 minutes at 400°F (205°C). Thick-cut bacon: 10–12 minutes. Check at 8 minutes — ovens vary and bacon burns quickly once it starts to char. No need to flip; the circulating air cooks both sides. Lay strips flat in a single layer — overlap is fine for limp bacon but prevents crispiness. Empty and discard the grease from the drawer before it smokes. The air fryer contains grease splatter, making it cleaner than stovetop bacon cooking.

What temperature should you cook bacon at in an air fryer?

400°F (205°C) is the standard for crispy air fryer bacon. At this temperature, regular-cut strips finish in 8–10 minutes with excellent crispiness. If you prefer chewier bacon, reduce to 375°F and cook for 10–12 minutes — the lower temperature renders the fat more slowly without fully crisping the strips. Do not go above 400°F unless you are watching very closely — at 425°F bacon can go from done to burnt in 60–90 seconds.