Chewy Air Fryer Bacon: How to Cook Bacon in an Air Fryer

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You are going to love this air fryer bacon recipe! Bacon in an air fryer comes out perfectly crisp around the edges with a chewy center. It is so good that you may not want cook bacon any other way again!

I bought my air fryer a few months ago and have been testing it out ever since. Once I tried bacon (and again, and again), I knew this was the recipe I needed to share with you first! 

Update: We have experimented a lot with our air fryer! Here are some more easy recipes: air fryer frozen pot stickers, air fryer sausage, air fryer grilled cheese, air fryer frozen hash browns, and air fryer frozen chicken nuggets.

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Air Fryer Bacon

Not only does air fried bacon come out perfect every time, but it is way less messy than cooking it on the stove! You can say goodbye to a grease-covered stove forever, thanks to this yummy bacon cooking method! 

Cleaning an air fryer is also really easy! I just give mine a rinse and clean it in the dishwasher! *Check your owners manual to confirm your air fryer is dishwasher safe*

Plus, who doesn’t love bacon? Bacon really is my favorite thing to cook in my air fryer so far! If you like making bacon on the weekends, then it may just justify getting an air fryer.

How to Air Fry Bacon?

1. Start by preheating your air fryer. We recommend 5 minutes.
2. Create an even layer of bacon. Our basket-style air fryer holds about 6 pieces of bacon at a time.
3. Set your air fryer to 320 degrees for 10 minutes.
4. After 5 minutes, flip the bacon and continue cooking.
5. Remove from heat and drain any excess grease (there won’t be much).

Extra Crispy Air Fryer Bacon

This recipe makes a delicious chewy bacon that is crisp around the edges. If you want your bacon to come out crispy in the air fryer, we recommend increasing the cook time to 12 minutes. It’s important to keep an eye on your bacon to make sure it doesn’t burn.

More air fryer recipes:

• Maple Bacon Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
• Air Fryer Cauliflower
• Air Fryer Chicken Wings Recipe
• Air Fryer Whole Chicken

We have found that bacon will cook faster in an air fryer if there is less bacon in the basket. So, if you are only making one or two slices of bacon, you may not need the fully 12 minutes to make crispy bacon in your air fryer.

How to prevent smoking from an air fryer?

When cooking bacon, it is common to see some smoke come out of the basket of the air fryer. Our method for preventing smoking is to add 1 cup of water to the bottom of our basket-style air fryer. The water absorbs the grease and cuts the smoking way down. 

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Other people swear by the bread method. They simply place a slice of bread in the bottom of the basket to absorb any excess grease and prevent smoking. Either way, it’s important to do your research and ensure that these methods will work with your brand of air fryer. We used a Cosori Air Fryer for this air fryer bacon recipe.

Recipes with Bacon

• Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pasta
• Instant Pot Baked Beans
• Instant Pot Crack Chicken Recipe (with frozen chicken)
• Loaded Instant Pot Potato Soup
• Loaded Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

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Did you try this recipe for air fryer bacon? Let us know what you thought with a rating or comment. You can also tag us in your recipe creations on social media using @aileencooks.