20+ Important Recipes Starring Bacon (2024)

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Kelli Foster

Kelli FosterSenior Contributing Food Editor

Kelli is a Senior Contributing Food Editor for Kitchn. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks, Plant-Based Buddha Bowls, The Probiotic Kitchen, Buddha Bowls, and Everyday Freekeh Meals. She lives in New Jersey.

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20+ Important Recipes Starring Bacon (1)

Ah, bacon; its crispy snap and smoky flavor have a special way of making everything it touches even better. It’s nearly perfect on its own, but it really shines when it’s added to another dish — everything from breakfast bakes and salads to side dishes and soups.

Let these 20 recipes show you there’s no shortage of ways to use bacon from breakfast to dinner. I’m talking breakfast polenta squares, bacon and cheddar biscuits, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, and the bacon-cheddar twice-baked potatoes you’re going to be dreaming of this fall.

First, let’s start with all the basics of cooking bacon. Whether you prefer the stovetop, oven, or microwave, there’s no wrong way to cook this beloved meat.

Bacon Recipes

1

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Cook Bacon in the Microwave

Bacon. In the microwave. It seems so wrong, and yet…and yet…also a little bit right. You guys, this really works, and it’s perfect for when you just want a few quick slices of bacon without the fuss of pulling out a pan.

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Make Your Own Sodium-Free Bacon

For people on a low-sodium or salt-free diet, this is bacon that looks, smells, and tastes like the real thing - and it only takes an hour.

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Ready to start your day off right? Look no further than this breakfast sandwich. It starts with good bacon — just enough to add flavor and crispness to the sandwich, as well as a thin film of fat on the pan, perfect for cooking the kale.

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Meet the polenta breakfast bake — a no-stir, practically hands-off way to make a hearty breakfast that will last you all week.

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These lentils are cooked in chicken broth for extra flavor, then tossed with cooked bacon, fresh herbs, and a mustard vinaigrette, and served warm — perfect for lunch or a simple side dish.

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Brown Sugar-Glazed Bacon

If you need a new party trick, or just a delicious way to jazz up breakfast, brown sugar-glazed bacon is it. Whether you are serving a casual brunch or just serving co*cktails, it is guaranteed to wow.

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BLT Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

It’s hard to improve on a classic BLT, but this may do the trick. Think of this salad as a BLT in a bowl — fresh summer tomatoes with a bright vinaigrette, toasted croutons, and crispy bacon.

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Bacon Cheddar Jalapeño Poppers

Jalapeño poppers are definitely a decadent treat, but sometimes over-the-top comfort food is just what the doctor ordered. The bacon not only adds amazing flavor, but it also holds the cheese in place so it doesn’t ooze all over the pan. Leave it to bacon to save the day!

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Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

These potato bites are easy, delicious, and perfect for munching while you watch the game. Think of them like bite-sized, deconstructed potato skins, but way better.

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Bacon and Cheddar Cheese Biscuits

Sometimes you just need a biscuit; one that’s warm from the oven and pillow-soft in the middle … and studded with smoky bits of bacon

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Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Almonds

Bacon-wrapped dates will never be the prettiest dish on the table, but they more than make up for it with their flavor. When you bite into one, it’s salty at first, but then reveals an inner sweetness and — oh! — another salty crunch.

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Bacon-Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin

This easy weeknight dinner is pretty much pork on pork, which I think we can all agree is never a bad thing.

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Just an hour will give you a saucy dish of shredded chicken in a smoky bacon sauce. It’s ultra-comforting and perfect served with pasta or gnocchi, or over cauliflower rice, baked potatoes, or roasted vegetables.

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Baked Chicken with Bacon

Each piece of chicken isn’t just wrapped with it’s own slice of bacon — the bacon infuses the whole dish, right down to the potatoes in the bottom of the casserole.

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This is a fun play on Cacio e Pepe, the peppery, cheesy, comforting pasta dish. Bite-sized pieces of bacon add a nice saltiness, and also cut the bitter bite of the radishes.

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Baked Beans with Pineapple and Bacon

Baked beans are a classic; this hearty, comforting recipe takes it one step further with extra pieces of smoky, thick bacon and tender, sweet pieces of pineapple.

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Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

Roasted cabbage wedges are one of the easiest, most delicious ways to eat a hunk of vegetables for dinner, and the bacon just helps it along.

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As we move into fall, this is the soup you want to have in your back pocket. A white bean and bacon bowl, powered up by ham hock and red pepper, with a little bit of everything that makes a soup good: creamy, brothy, chunky, and rich with savory white beans and ham.

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Bacon Cheddar Skillet Cornbread

Traditionally, skillet cornbread is cooked with lard, but this version turns things around by cooking up some bacon and then folding it into the cornbread. It makes the bottom of the cornbread extra crispy and delicious!

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Every single bite of this bacon jam is full of rich, savory, oh-so-sweet goodness. We’re pretty sure you’ll want to slather it on everything from breakfast sandwiches to cupcakes.

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This quick and simple stew draws even more rich flavor, thanks to the addition of bacon.

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Bacon-Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes

Smoky, thick-cut bacon is perfect for this recipe. The thicker slices make for a bit of crisp and a bit of chew in every bite. And of course, the campfire flavor ends up permeating the entire potato.

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Recipe Roundup

20+ Important Recipes Starring Bacon (2024)

FAQs

What pairs well with bacon? ›

Alright, here are our top 10 bacon pairings you may have never thought of:
  • Bacon & Brown Sugar.
  • Bacon & Biscuits.
  • Pork Belly & Local Colorado Whiskey.
  • Big Wave & a BLT.
  • Apples & Bacon.
  • Bacon & Brownies.
  • Seafood & Bacon.
  • Popcorn & Bacon.
Apr 23, 2024

What to add to bacon? ›

With the help of some extra ingredients and spices for your bacon, you can take its original savory, salty, and smoky flavor and enhance it with things like chili powder and coffee, Sriracha, maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey.

How do you cook bacon? ›

Put 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil in a frying pan and heat over a medium-high heat until hot. Add the bacon and cook for 2-4 mins on each side, depending on how crispy you like it.

Is bacon better with oil or butter? ›

Can you use butter to cook bacon? No, because the bacon already has some fat in it, which will help grease the pan. Not to mention, you need to start bacon in a cold pan; if you add butter to it, it won't melt fast enough.

What not to do when cooking bacon? ›

Crowding the Pan

Crowding creates steam and prevents the bacon from cooking evenly, giving you limp bacon instead of crispy strips. Cook in batches if needed.

What is the secret to perfect bacon? ›

Always cook bacon on foil or parchment paper at 400°F. Cook regular sliced bacon for 14 minutes; thick-cut bacon for 18 minutes. If you cook less than a full sheet of bacon, check after 12 minutes. For extra-crispy bacon, bake it on top of a metal cooling rack set over the baking sheet.

How to make the best tasting bacon? ›

Brush uncooked bacon slices with a slurry of balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey, place them on a rimmed, foil-lined tray in a 400°F oven, check every five minutes or two to see how things are faring, flip and baste as needed, and when the bacon is cooked and the glazed thickened, cool the bacon on ...

Why do chefs cook bacon in water? ›

Why Does Cooking Bacon in Water Work? The addition of water keeps the initial cooking temperature low and gentle, so the meat retains its moisture and stays tender as the fat renders. Plus, since the water helps render the fat, there will be significantly less splatter as your bacon finishes in the pan.

What is the most popular way to cook bacon? ›

Baking bacon at 350 degrees F is the way to get crisp bacon without having to constantly turn it, watch over it, or get burnt by splatters of grease. It "fries" up flat and doesn't curl, which looks great beside a breakfast plate of eggs, and makes BLT sandwiches much easier.

Is it better to bake or pan fry bacon? ›

Cooking bacon in the oven doesn't take any longer than in a pan. Oven bacon gets just as crispy, if not crispier, and there's very little mess to clean up after. Making a batch of bacon in the oven also means you can do other things while it's cooking.

What to eat with bacon other than eggs? ›

Here are a few of our favorite recipes.
  1. Overnight Bacon Casserole. From Eat Pork Org. ...
  2. Bacon-Cheddar Breakfast Burritos. from Chowhound. ...
  3. Maple Bacon Corn Muffins. From Delish. ...
  4. Maple Bacon and Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits. ...
  5. Bacon and Egg Breakfast Pizza. ...
  6. Bacon Fried Rice. ...
  7. Shrimp and Gruyere Cheese Grits with Bacon and Mushrooms.
Jan 18, 2024

What does bacon not go with? ›

5 Foods That DON'T Go With Bacon
  • Cereal. Crumble some bacon into your next bowl of Froot Loops and let us know how it goes, especially once it all becomes soggy.
  • Grapes. We've never paired bacon with grapes, but something tells us that the combination wouldn't work very well.
  • Citrus Fruits. ...
  • Sorbet. ...
  • Black Licorice.
Mar 26, 2015

What goes well with bacon sandwiches? ›

If you're looking for the best bacon sandwich, look no further. Lightly pan-toasted bread, crispy slices of bacon, sweet caramelized onions, smoky chipotle mayo, thin slices of tomatoes, and a little arugula come together to make one irresistible sandwich.

What condiments go well with bacon? ›

On our bacon sandwiches, we both agreed that the sweet mustard was the winner, though my home grown spicy tomato is a pretty close second! My grandfather's recipe for spicy tomato ketchup is here.

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