Candied bacon is sweet and peppery - topped with sugar to form a delicious, smoky treat that takes almost no time or effort to make.
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Candied bacon is sweet and peppery - topped with sugar to form a delicious, smoky treat that takes almost no time or effort to make.
It’s incredibly easy to make, requiring just three ingredients and about 30 minutes of your time.
You can also customize it to your liking. If you want it to be a little spicy, you could add sriracha or crushed red pepper. You could add some fresh herbs along with the pepper for some variety. You could try different kinds of sugars, including honey or maple syrup to get a different flavor profile. The world is your oyster. Your bacon oyster, if you will.
You can absolutely eat this bacon as a meal on its own, but if you want something a little more substantial to go with it, might I suggest Apple Cider Scones? If scones aren't your thing, you could make Oat Milk Pancakes. And if you want something savory, try it with the Crispiest Hash Browns.
Ingredient List
- Bacon – regular cut, not thick cut
- Black pepper
- Light brown sugar
What to do with your bacon:
- Eat it. For real, it’s so good on its own.
- Crumble it over a salad.
- Crumble it over maple bacon donuts.
- Add it to deviled egg filling.
- Replace regular bacon in a breakfast sandwich
How to make the best Candied Bacon:
Starting with a regular cut of bacon is key for getting the bacon crispy. If you have very thick cut bacon, it will take longer to crisp up, and you run the risk of burning the sugar.
Sugar: I like light brown sugar for this. Dark brown sugar gets almost too caramelized, and white sugar doesn’t caramelize enough. Light brown sugar is perfect.
Bake the bacon: don’t try to do this in a skillet – the amount of fat released from the bacon will keep the sugar from caramelizing. Baking the bacon is the way to go. (It’s my preferred method anyway)
Lift the bacon: use a cooling rack to bake the bacon. Line your baking sheet with foil (I like to use either heavy duty foil, or to double line the sheet) for easy cleanup, and then place the rack on top of that. This lets the air circulate under the bacon, helping it get crispier.
Crispiness: the bacon may not come out of the oven perfectly crisp, but it will crisp as it cools, so don’t fret.
Hot Sugar: resist the urge to take a bite right away – hot sugar is dangerous. Let it cool down to a reasonable temperature before digging in.
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Candied Bacon
Ingredients
- 8-12 strips of bacon ¾ - 1 pound
- Black pepper
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375.
- Line a large baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack over the foil.
- Lay your bacon pieces out side by side - touching is okay, but no overlapping.
- Season the bacon with pepper and then sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bacon.
- Pat the sugar into the bacon - the moisture from the meat will sort of melt the sugar.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Start to check for doneness at about 20 minutes, but it may need to go as long as 25 to get fully crispy.
- Let the bacon rest for 5 minutes before eating.
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