Air Fryer Bacon UK

Have you tried cooking Air fryer Bacon yet? We love air fryer recipes for making life in the kitchen more simple and this one is a favourite. Perfectly crispy bacon, no messy frying pan!

Whether you prefer back bacon or streaky bacon, smoked or unsmoked, here’s all of the tips and tricks you need to cook bacon in the air fryer perfectly every time.

The ultimate guide to air fryer Bacon

I have done LOTS of tests on this and I’ve found a few simple tricks to perfecting Air Fryer Bacon…

How many rashers to cook at once

Quite simply, as many as your air fryer can fit in a single layer. Touching each other is fine (as they will shrink as they cook) but don’t lie them on top of each other.

I have a Russell Hobbs XXL and find it plenty large enough for 8 rashers.

Oil

You don’t need any oil to cook! Simply put the rashers into the air fryer and it will cook in its own fat. 

Type of bacon

Feel free to use any bacon you prefer. In the UK, most people have the leaner back bacon for breakfast, but you can also cook streaky bacon the same way (this is the standard type eaten in the US).

The slight combination you get of the two found in Australia is also fine to cook like this.

Lining the air fryer 

Adding a liner such as foil doesn’t work with bacon in an air fryer as it’s not heavy enough to weigh it down, so it tends to fly around inside, which makes it a bit pointless!

If you’d like to use foil UNDER the tray instead to help with cleaning (so long as your air fryer design gives you this option), then this can be helpful.

How to get it crispy 

There are two ways you can cook the bacon – the quicker way or the crispy way.

There’s only one easy step and a few minutes between the two, however it’s up to you whether you want to do a little extra for crispiness.

Firstly, you can simply cook the bacon for 5 minutes, drain the fat off and eat it like that. 

OR, you can cook for 5 minutes, drain the fat, turn over and pop it back in for another 2 – 3 minutes for delicious crispy bacon. (It’s a no-brainer for me but you do you!)

There is also a third option if you’re wanting slightly overdone bacon, which is great for bacon bits that will be crumbled in dishes like my Loaded Potato Skins (or if you just like well done bacon!)

After the first two steps, drain it for a second time, and add another 2 minutes of cooking.

METHOD: How to cook bacon in an air fryer

1. Pre-heat your air fryer for 3 minutes.
2. Place your bacon slices directly in the basket in a single layer.
3. Cook 5 minutes. Drain and fat (if you’re not using a rack), turn the bacon over and eat (if you prefer a pale colour and lightly cooked).
4. OR… once turned over, cook for a further 2 – 3 minutes for extra crispy bacon.

HINT: For bacon that’s perfect for crumbling in texture, drain again at the 7 minute mark and add another 2 minutes of cooking.

Air Fryer Bacon UK

Print Recipe

Making bacon in your air fryer is super quick, convenient, energy efficient and the results are DELICIOUS. Follow these simple tips and tricks to getting perfect crispy Air Fryer Bacon, every time.

• Author: Julia
• Prep Time: 3 minutes
• Cook Time: 7 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 6
• Category: Breakfast, Main Course
• Cuisine: UK

Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz) Bacon of your choice

Instructions

1. Preheat your air fryer for 3 minutes at 200c (or 390f).
2. Place your bacon rashers directly into the basket in a single layer (touching is fine but try not the overlap them too much).
3. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain any fat off, flip over and if you want to avoid back bacon curling up, use scissors to slip a small cut through the fat layer.
4. Cook for a further 2 – 3 minutes to crisp it up.

For lightly cooked/pale coloured bacon:

1. Serve at the end of step 3 above.

For crumbly/well done bacon:

1. Drain again at the 7 minute mark and add another 2 minutes of cooking.

Notes

Type of bacon: The common types of back or streaky bacon found in the UK, US and Australia are fine to cook like this. Smoky or unsmoked is also OK.