An easy way to cook turkey bacon in the oven! Bake it until floppy or crispy to get the perfect bacon, just the way you like it! Top a turkey burger, serve it alongside these pancakes from scratch or eat it just the way it is!
Quick Overview: Bake at 400° F: – See post for tips on how to make this the BEST!
For crispy bacon – 18 to 20 minutes (flipping half way)
For floppy bacon – 10 to 12 minutes (flipping half way)
Now honestly, I’m an air fryer bacon girl at heart. However baking bacon in the oven is just as easy and some even feel it’s the best way to cook bacon!
When it comes to turkey bacon, even though it is different than regular bacon (pork), cooking it in the oven is delicious but you’ll want to watch it differently than you do pork bacon.
I’ll share all the tips in the post to make this healthy option the very best!
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Why You’ll Love This
- Turkey bacon has fewer calories than traditional bacon (pork bacon)
- You can have a sheet pan of bacon in minutes if cooking for a large crowd, especially on busy mornings
- I’ve broken down cooking times for you, so you can make this bacon recipe according to your taste preference!
Ingredients
Brand of Turkey Bacon: If using turkey bacon like Butterball turkey bacon (below), you can see that it’s smoked and cured. Some think it’s ok to eat this like it is… but it’s best to cook this bacon for the times recommended in the recipe card below for best results.
Other brands like, Applegate turkey bacon that is uncured bacon, definitely needs to be cooked before consuming.
You’ll Need
- The amount of oven baked turkey bacon that you want to cook
- A rimmed cookie sheet (or baking sheet) large enough to hold the amount of bacon, without the slices overlapping
- Parchment paper to cover baking sheet
- Paper towel – to place the cooked bacon on after pulling out of the oven
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit
- Begin by covering your sheet pan with parchment paper. This will help make it an easy cleanup.
- Next, line the bacon strips on to the pan, in a single layer, making sure there is no overlap.
(Some use a baking rack to cook bacon in the oven to help the juices drip down while cooking. You can definitely do this but I don’t mind doing it without. It’s just less sheet pans to clean.)
- Place bacon in preheated oven and set a timer for a cook time of 10 minutes.
What you see below is my turkey bacon slices, cooked for 10 minutes. You can either remove them at this point for a floppy bacon or keep cooking for a crispy turkey bacon.
If you’re wanting crispier bacon, flip the bacon at the 10-minute mark and bake for an additional few minutes, watching to see it reach the level of crispiness that you prefer.
NOTE: it may be crispier than it looks! Pulling a piece out and trying a taste-test — careful HOT! — is my best tip. Because once it cools, it becomes crispier than it looks.)
- Once the pieces of bacon have reached the perfect turkey bacon, texture or crispiness, you can pull it out of the oven.
- Place strips of turkey bacon on a plate that is covered with paper towels and serve!
Crispy vs. Floppy Turkey Bacon
As you can see in the images below, the crispy bacon on the left was cooked in a 400° oven for 18 minutes.
In the photo on the right, the bacon was pulled out of the oven only after 10 minutes.
FAQ’s and Tips
- Remember, turkey bacon is more of a thin cut than some thicker cut, regular pork bacon slices, so it can cook in less time.
- You can also cook turkey bacon in the microwave oven, in a frying pan or even have air fryer turkey bacon.
- Slices of turkey bacon can be a healthy alternative to pork belly slices.
- Sprinkle black pepper on top of slices of bacon before baking for some extra flavor
Storage
Store leftover turkey bacon in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.
Recipes for Turkey Bacon
If you’re looking for new ways to use your turkey bacon, you’ll love enjoying it by itself, on a tuna sandwich, on a breakfast sandwich like this brioche bacon and egg sandwich, in these bacon egg rolls, on these cute mini waffle breakfast sandwiches, or in a healthy broccoli salad!
What to Serve Turkey Bacon With:
If you’re looking for more breakfast recipes to serve along with this bacon, then you’ll love this biscuits and gravy casserole!
More oven-baked Recipes
If you love oven-baked recipes, then you’re really going to love these baked cheeseburgers, pork steaks, and chicken legs!
Recipe
How to Cook Turkey Bacon in the Oven – Crispy OR Floppy!
Equipment
- oven
Ingredients
- 24 slices turkey bacon
- black pepper if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Line rimmed cookie sheet (large enough to hold all of the bacon you wish to cook) with parchment paper, in a single layer.
- Place bacon in oven and set a timer for 10 minutes.
For floppy turkey bacon slices
- Remove turkey bacon from oven. Using tongs, place turkey bacon slices on a plate that is covered in paper towels to soak up any bacon grease. Enjoy!
For crispier bacon slices
- Carefully slide out oven rack and flip slices over (using tongs), and slide rack back in to bake longer, cooking an additional 5 minutes or so until desired crispiness has been reached.
- NOTE: Watch bacon slices carefully, to make sure they do not overcook and burn. Also, bacon will be crispier than it looks while baking in the oven. You may want to pull a piece out to test it before deciding to cook longer.
Notes
- Remember, turkey bacon is more of a thin cut than some thicker cut, regular pork bacon slices, so it can cook in less time.
- You can also cook turkey bacon in the microwave oven, in a frying pan or even have air fryer turkey bacon.
- Slices of turkey bacon can be a healthy alternative to pork belly slices.
- Sprinkle black pepper on top of slices of bacon before baking for some extra flavor
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Natasha says
I followed the recipe exactly as written and it turned out perfect, so crispy – we loved it!
Jessica says
Yay!! Crispy bacon in the oven is my favorite too! 🙂 Thank you for sharing and for leaving a review!
Andrea Thueson says
This was such a great guide! I love my bacon crispy, not floppy, which has always been an issue with Turkey bacon. So glad I now know how to make it perfectly crisp!
Jessica says
I’m so glad that you found this turkey bacon guide helpful!! I too like it crispy!
katerina @ diethood.com says
I loved this! I made if for breakfast and it was SO delicious!! Thanks for sharing!
Jessica says
Oh good!! I love turkey bacon for breakfast! Thank you so much for letting us know that you liked it!