Cooking bacon for a family or crowd has never been easier and I just figured out the ultimate hack: the perfect make ahead bacon recipe. Store in the freezer and simply reheat when ready to eat! It is SO easy. Not convinced? Keep reading – I promise this will be a total game-changer.
I’ve got one word for you: Bacon.
Did that get your mouth watering? Not yet?
What about the smell of bacon? You know the smell – smokey, savory, salty. Mouth-watering. The smell fills the entire house. Everyone knows that smell – it’s the literal definition of “delicious.” In fact, in the dictionary next to the word delicious is a picture of bacon. No further description needed.
When you finally take a bite of bacon? It’s game on! Queue that video of the adorable toddler trying bacon for the first time.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtMVMNST_g4)
I know you feel me on that! It is simply divine!
Let’s be honest here, making bacon is a dangerous sport. Oil popping, hot grease, the risk of burning the bacon. That’s a faux pas no one wants to experience. Plus, you can only make so much bacon at a time, and EVERY time you make it you’re spending 5-10 minutes keeping a close eye on it. Delicious but tedious, and this gal is a momma who doesn’t have time for that – I need quick and convenient.
When I first realized I could make ahead bacon for a crowd, it was a TOTAL game changer. That Stuffed Butternut Squash that I’m famous for at family gatherings, I seriously cut down the time it takes me to make those by prepping the bacon ahead. Deviled eggs, dips, salads, you name it, and I saved time making it! Now I can make a huge batch in one go, and tuck some into the freezer for a rainy day or a quick fix to a meal. So easy, and so worth it!
I don’t know what took me so long to figure this out, but I got this now!
Busy mom juggling kids and everything else life has to throw at you – let me help you out with this oven baked bacon recipe! You can thank me later, during all that time I just saved you (take a hot bath – you deserve it).
HOW LONG CAN I FREEZE BACON?
Bacon is one of those foods that last months in the freezer when properly prepped. We recommend using it up within 4 to 6 months of freezing, not that it’ll be hard to do! You’ll find so many uses once you have it ready to go, and it’s so easy when you need a piece or two. Simply remove from the freezer and allow to thaw. You can quickly throw it into the microwave for 15 seconds if you’d prefer.
HOW CAN I USE PRE-COOKED BACON?
How can’t you use it!? Bacon should be treated just like salt and pepper, it goes with everything. Have you ever tried mac ‘n cheese with bacon? Try it – trust me! It’ll become your new favorite comfort food. You could toss it into potato salad, baked beans, or soup (such as my Sausage and Spinach Soup). The uses are endless!
Or if you’re like me and sometimes the day just completely gets away from you, it’s so so so easy to pull a few of these out, heat ‘em up, and toss them onto a BLT sandwich or bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.
Eating healthy and want to cut the grease? If you dab the grease off, it becomes healthy, right? Let’s just pretend.
Make Ahead Batch Bacon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees or if using convection mode preheat to 400 degrees. Place oven racks on lower middle and upper middle positions.
- Arrange the bacon in a single layer on two rimmed foil lined baking sheets. Place both baking sheets in oven and bake until crisp and browned, about 18-20 minutes. Make sure and rotate the pans halfway through the baking process.
- Remove from oven and transfer bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate. Serve immediately or freeze ahead for later.
TO FREEZE
- Remove foil from baking pans and discard. Place parchment or wax paper on baking sheet.
- Arrange bacon in a single layer on baking sheet, add another piece of parchment or wax paper and layer another layer, making sure pieces aren’t touching. Freeze until hard, about 2 hours. This is a critical step, so don’t skip this.
- Transfer to gallon sized freezer safe bag and remove one piece out at a time as needed.
To make it even more amazing, bake originally on parchment paper, not aluminum foil, make sure the edges of the parchment completely cover baking sheet so no grease gets on your pan. After removing bacon, let the grease dry on the paper then throw it all away. Turns out better, and no oops of tearing the foil and still having a pan to clean after!
I totally plan to make this big batch of bacon going forward, I always need it for something, thanks!
When asked about reheating -this shows cooking instructions. Suggestions for how to reheat?
TWo ways – You can remove from the freezer and allow to thaw and then add in recipes or you can throw it into the microwave for 15-30 seconds. Sometimes if I want it crispier I will it in a pan to crisp it up. It crisps up in about a minute or two.
May I suggest that you add the “re-heating” instructions to the printable recipe and to your commentary? I read both thoroughly and had to read the comments to find out how to reheat a few slices. Thanks.
When you reheat the bacon, does it maintain its crispness? I’m looking at doing this for a breakfast buffet for my parent’s 50th Anniversary Party 🙂
Yes it will!
Thank you!!
What do you recommend for reheating a full batch (1 lb) in the oven?
In case you didn’t google this, here is a couple ways.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place bacon strips on the pan overlapping each other and bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes.
When you’re ready to reheat your frozen cooked bacon, simply place as many strips as you want onto a microwave-safe place and microwave for about 30 seconds! If you prefer, you can transfer your bacon from the freezer to thaw in the fridge on the night before you want to eat it.