Easy Microwave Bacon + 3 Rookie Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make!
Bacon is glorious. But it sometimes there just isn’t time to sit and fry bacon on the stove. Plus that’s quite the mess and you’ll be smelling like bacon grease for hours. Let me change your life right now people. Microwave Bacon, results in some fast crispy bacon and it’s easy enough that anyone can do it! Want to know how to cook bacon in the microwave? Read below and learn 3 rookie mistakes you don’t want to make! If you have a little more time or a LOT of bacon, learn how to cook bacon in the oven and how I batch cook it for the entire week!
Growing up, I pretty much only saw bacon cooked in a skillet on the stove top. Add bacon to the fry pan, heat it up, watch out for hot grease, and flip away. If this is the method you prefer, then have at it. The results are great and you can control the level of crispness if you keep an eye on it. But you have to keep your eye on it nearly the whole time and grease tends to splatter and it’s a mess to clean up!
How to Cook Bacon in the Microwave
This method is great if you need to quickly cook up 1-6 slices of bacon. It is also a really hands-off way to go, which is nice so you can work on other things while it cooks. The amount of bacon you can cook at once will depend on the size of your microwave-safe plate.
- Line your microwave-safe plate with a 3-4 layers of paper towel (or you can use newspaper as the bottom layers with paper towel as the top few layers.)
- Place the bacon in a single layer on the paper towel-lined plate, then cover with 2 paper towels.
- Microwave on high for 1 minute per slice of bacon, give or take a minute… it will depend on your microwave power, bacon thickness, and how crispy you like your bacon.
- No bacon flipping needed!
- Once you’ve hit the number of minutes (e.g.: 6 minutes for 6 slices of bacon), if you decide you want it cooked more, add about 20 seconds and then check it for desired crispiness. Keep adding 20 seconds until you get it just the way you want it!
- Remove from microwave and lift the paper towel (the plate will be HOT) and dump the bacon on a new plate (that isn’t lined) to cool slightly.
- Making more bacon? Start with a fresh set of paper towels!
I often use the microwave method if I am adding cooked, crumbled bacon to a recipe. NOTE: The bacon seems to shrink a bit more in the microwave and tends to be more on the crispy side.
Any microwave-safe plate or tray will do, but you can also purchase trays made just for cooking bacon in the microwave, if you want to. My sister-in-law has one that she uses all the time!
3 Mistakes To Avoid When Making Bacon in the Microwave:
- Don’t skimp on the paper towels! You need the layers to absorb the grease!
- Do NOT let the bacon touch! Otherwise the bacon will not cook through properly!
- Don’t overcook! Unless you want super dry crispy bacon (which might be nice for crumbles if you’re adding them to a salad). The first time you make it, keep a close eye on it to see how your microwave likes to cook the type of bacon you have.
Check out These Yummy Recipes with BACON:
- Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup Copycat Recipe
- Bacon Ranch Chicken (Low Carb and Keto!)
- Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf Recipe (Low Carb & Keto approved!)
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Bombs
- Broccoli Salad
- Easy Cheesy Bacon Dip
- Easy Cheesy Bacon Biscuits
- Baked Beans with Bacon
- Cheesy Cauliflower with Bacon
- Bacon Cornbread Stuffing
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza
- Chicken-Bacon Bites
- Bacon-Gouda Zucchini Quiche
- Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken
- BBQ Bacon Meatballs
- Pea Salad
- Dutch Oven Sprite Chicken
- Bacon Apple Cheddar Panini
- Creamy Chicken Bacon Pasta
- Easy Cheesy Bacon Chicken
- Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Chives
- BBQ Bacon Sliders
- Apricot Gouda Cheeseball
- Baked Omelette Roll-Up
- Tater Tot Breakfast Bake
- Smoked Turkey Club Panini
- Loaded Baked Potato Salad
- Cheesy Bacon Sourdough Pull Apart Bread
Oh my goodness. 🙂 Do you think we might like BACON?!
Easy Microwave Bacon + 3 Rookie Mistakes You Don't Want to Make!
Equipment
- Paper Towels
- Microwave safe plate
Ingredients
- 4 Bacon strips
Instructions
- Line your microwave-safe plate with a few layers of paper towel, about 3-4 will work. (Or you can use newspaper as the bottom layers with paper towel as the top few layers.)
- Place the bacon in a single layer on the paper towels, then cover with 1 or 2 paper towels.
- Microwave on high for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how many pieces of bacon and how crispy you like it.
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I only cook bacon in the microwave. Less fat and I like it crispy. I use paper plates to cook it on under the paper towels, not frugal but easy cleanup. I always cook a whole package at a time, from my freezer. I use 5-6 strips for my potato salad. then I use the rest for a breakfast/dinnner of french toast and bacon.
I love how easy and fast it is to cook bacon in the microwave! Love bacon in potato salad. Thanks for sharing your tips and know-how, Rebecca. 🙂
Great how-to on cooking the greatest food in the world! My wife convinced me to start cooking in in the oven some time ago, and is truly the best way. However, I must take exception to one comment made here, “Once cooked the bacon keeps in the fridge for a month or more”. I don’t know how it goes in y’alls house, but around here cooked bacon lasts about 10 minutes. If it lasts a month, it’s only because someone hid it for later and forgot about it!
Haha! Good point! Love your comment. Thanks, Phideaux.
Have you tried cooking it on the grill? That is our preferred method. We then keep it in the freezer and warm up a few pieces in the microwave when we want to eat it.
I haven’t tried that! Do you have to put it on a grill mat or a griddle for grills?
Oh my. Thank you so much. Just prepared our first batch of oven bacon and I’m SOLD!!! So good. So much faster and less messy than frying in my electric skillet. Thanks so much!
You are so welcome! I LOVE doing it in my oven too…. SO fast to clean up!
Is the bacon left uncovered in the oven method?
If so, then what keeps the grease from splattering all over the inside of the oven?
Hi Julie! You do not cover the bacon when cooking in the oven. Unlike stove top cooking, it doesn’t splatter all over. Another reason why baking it is so great!