Should You Cook Bacon In an Air Fryer? We Test It Out

Yahoo recently published an article causing a stir among bacon sarnie lovers. In the article, dietitian Brenda Peralta advised against using an air fryer to cook bacon.

While the original Yahoo article has been removed, other publications like the Express and the Daily Record have echoed the advice.

To test the claim, we decided to try it out for ourselves.

The dietitian’s warning against air fryer bacon cooking included several points:

• Bacon’s high fat content can lead to smoking or splattering.
• Bacon strips are delicate and can be challenging to flip or remove from the air fryer basket without breaking.
• The air fryer basket may not be spacious enough to cook a large quantity of bacon evenly, leading to smoke and odors.

We disagreed with the description of bacon as “small and delicate,” as it is not typically associated with those qualities. Additionally, using silicone tongs can help easily remove bacon from the air fryer basket.

We decided to compare air fryer cooking to oven cooking and pan frying, using both streaky and back bacon for thoroughness.

Frying bacon in a pan

• Cooking time: 5.30 mins
• Cleanup: Fairly easy
• Post-cooking aroma: Very bacon-y

Frying bacon in a pan was a straightforward process, although it required occasional flipping. Cleanup was simple, but excess oil needed to be blotted off before serving.

Cooking bacon in an oven

• Cooking time: 30 minutes at 175C/350F
• Cleanup: Quick but wasteful
• Post-cooking aroma: Slightly bacon-y

Oven cooking bacon took longer than expected and resulted in a slightly wasteful process. Despite the convenience of cleanup, the bacon was not perfectly crispy even after extended cooking.

Cooking bacon in an air fryer

• Cooking time: Streaky bacon 5 minutes, back bacon 8 minutes at 200°C/390°F
• Cleanup: Fairly easy
• Post-cooking aroma: Slightly bacon-y

Cooking bacon in an air fryer proved to be quick and efficient. The limited cooking space in the air fryer required careful placement of the bacon strips to ensure even cooking. The fat dripped off during cooking, resulting in less oily bacon.

Tester’s feedback

After tasting bacon sandwiches prepared using different methods, the tester preferred the pan and air fryer-cooked bacon over the oven-cooked bacon. Overall, air frying bacon was deemed a suitable option as long as the air fryer is clean and the food is not overcrowded.

If you’re considering purchasing an air fryer, we have recommendations for various types, including dual-drawer air fryers, Ninja air fryers, air fryer ovens, and more.