Air Fryer Candied Bacon

A stack of glazed bacon slices piled on top of a wire rack.

This sweet and salty Air Fryer Candied Bacon is easy to prep, easy to cook, and best of all – easy to clean up! Just 3 simple ingredients.

Course Breakfast, Lunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Second batch 10

Total Time 25

Servings slices

Calories 90

Author Dorothy Bigelow

Ingredients

8 slices bacon
½ cup brown sugar packed
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the air fryer to 350ºF (180ºC) for 3 minutes, or according to the manufacturer's instructions. Prepare a wire cooling rack with a piece of parchment or paper towel folded underneath.
Combine the brown sugar and black pepper in a small bowl.
Lay 4 slices of bacon in your air fryer basket, taking care that no two slices overlap. If your bacon is long, it may go up the sides of the air fryer, and this is okay as long as it’s not extreme (you can wrinkle it a bit to help it fit). Otherwise, slice the bacon in half to form 2 shorter pieces, and work in 3-4 batches rather than the 2 outlined in the recipe.
Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture evenly on top of the bacon slices.
Place the air fryer basket in the air fryer and cook at 350ºF (180ºC) for 8-10 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp enough for your liking. Do not flip at any point.
Remove from the air fryer and use tongs to carefully transfer the candied bacon to a wire baking rack (with parchment or paper towel underneath) to cool and crisp up (this should take about 5 minutes).
Repeat with the remaining bacon and brown sugar mixture.
Once the candied bacon slices are cool they should be firm, crispy, and have a delicious candy coating. Serve immediately.

Notes

Adapted from my recipe for candied bacon (oven method).

Storing leftovers: Transfer the bacon to an airtight container once the bacon has cooled. Refrigerate for up to 4-5 days; discard if there are any signs of spoilage.

Reheating: To keep the bacon crisp, reheat it in an air fryer set at 300ºF for 2-4 minutes, or until heated. Allow it to cool on a wire rack for 4-5 minutes to crisp up before serving.

Can I drain on paper towels instead? Because the bacon is candied, it is very sticky and will adhere to a paper towel. A wire baking rack is the best option, but if you don’t have one you can use the air fryer basket trivet, or a parchment-lined tray. The bacon that cools on a parchment-lined surface will be softer, pliable, and more “glazed” than candied – but still delicious!

Spicy candied bacon (AKA millionaire bacon): Add ½-1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to the brown sugar and black pepper mixture. If desired, add up to ¼ teaspoon of cayenne.

Can I use maple syrup? I’ve tested this recipe using maple syrup instead of brown sugar, but because of the high moisture content, it doesn’t work very well. If you desire a maple flavor, brush the bacon slices with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup before sprinkling on the brown sugar and pepper mixture.

Nutrition