Candied bacon is crispy, sweet, savory, and spiced with a pinch of cayenne pepper and cracked black pepper. Oven baked bacon is taken to a whole new level, and it takes just 22 minutes!
Serve spicy candied bacon over French toast, pancakes, or next to swedish cinnamon buns. It’s also great as a snack – jerky style.
What is Candied Bacon
Candied bacon is simply bacon baked with brown sugar.
We make it with 4 ingredients:
- Bacon
- Brown sugar
- Black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
The sugar melts while the bacon cooks. As it cools, the sugar re hardens like caramel, to give the bacon a delicious sweet and savory flavor.
Candied bacon can be dressed up or down with different spices and flavours. Black pepper and cayenne and to the savoriness of the bacon without losing any of the sweetness from brown sugar.
How To Make Candied Bacon
To make candied bacon:
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Place a wire rack over rimmed baking sheet.
- Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on the rack. Make sure the bacon slides aren’t parallel to the lines so they don’t fall through while they cook.
- Once bacon is arranged, sprinkle with brown sugar. Each piece of bacon should have 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Then, add fresh cracked black pepper and a pinch of cayenne – a little goes a long way!
- Bake until the bacon is dark but not burnt, and almost all of the fat has rendered off of the bacon (it won’t be stiff quite yet).
- Remove from the oven and cool right on the rack. Once the bacon is mostly cool, the sugar will harden, giving it the signature candied bacon stiffness.
How To Store Candied Bacon
Treat candied bacon like normal bacon when storing – it shouldn’t be left out for more than a couple hours and will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.
To reheat candied bacon – place it on a baking tray in the oven at 375°F for 3-4 minutes or until it’s warm – ensuring the sugar doesn’t completely melt and bacon doesn’t burn.
Candied bacon doesn’t freeze well, but never lasts that long around here anyways!
Candied Bacon Tips and Substitutions
- When choosing bacon for candied bacon, look for the perfect medium. Look for bacon that isn’t too thick but isn’t too thin, and bacon that isn’t too fatty, but not too lean.
- For 2 ingredient candied bacon, just use brown sugar and bacon. Omit the black pepper and cayenne.
- For a kid friendly version of candied bacon, just omit the cayenne pepper.
- Make sure the bacon is fully cooked (it should be very crisp).
- Use dark brown sugar, not golden brown sugar. It will caramelize better.
- Add foil to the baking sheet before placing the wire rack on it. Brown sugar drippings will burn when they come in contact with the baking tray, and this will make clean up a breeze.
More Delicious Bacon Recipes
- Hot Bacon Salad Dressing
- Bacon Wrapped Brussel Sprouts
- Bacon Green Beans Almondine
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
- Spinach Cranberry Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
Candied Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 package bacon about 12 pieces
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and place wire rack on tray.
- Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on wire rack. Sprinkle each slice with about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Add black pepper, and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.
- Bake bacon for 22-25 minutes or until dark and crisp (bacon won't be firm yet). Remove from oven, and cool on rack for 5-7 minutes or until sugar has hardened.
Notes
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