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There must be strong scientific evidence somewhere that bacon makes everything better. The smell has been known to wake children without alarms and bring hungry spouses to the kitchen. The flavor takes most dishes from great to amazing and the drippings make the perfect cooking fat for things like scallops and cast iron shrimp.
If you thought that bacon couldn’t get better, then you must try Air Fryer Bacon. In this post, I use the Ninja Foodi to crisp sugar-free bacon easily without the hassle, mess, or time of cooking it in a skillet, pan or oven.
Why Make Bacon in the Air Fryer?
You may have heard that the secret to making evenly cooked, crispy bacon is to make it in the oven. And while the oven certainly is easy, it takes nearly twice as long as air frying.
Overall, using an air fryer is fast, easy, and involves less splattering compared to making it on the stovetop.
How to Cook Bacon in an Air Fryer
To make bacon in the Ninja Foodi or another air fryer, add two tablespoons of water to the bottom of the cooking pan.
Next, add the basket to the cooking pot and place 6-7 slices of bacon in the basket. You need to avoid overlapping the bacon slices so they cook evenly.
Once the bacon is in the air fryer, you can set the timer to 5 minutes and 400 degrees. Flip the bacon and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.
If after 10 minutes the bacon needs more time to crisp, you can add an additional two minutes. Don’t be afraid to pop open the lid and check to make sure it is as crispy as you want it.
Air Frying Tools
When cooking bacon in the air fryer, you need to have good tools and an air fryer on hand. Some of my favorite products are:
- Ninja Foodi XL Deluxe: this comes with a dishwasher safe cooking basket and pot that you can use to make your bacon without a mess. I have the original version, but it seems it might be getting phased out for the newer prettier option that I linked above
- XL Air Fryer Accessories Kit: this is completely optional. I love this accessory set because, besides a rack, it also includes things like tongs and pans to make baked goods in your air fryer
- Tongs
How Long to Cook Bacon in an Air Fryer
In the air fryer, bacon takes about 10 to 12 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon and how thick of a cut of bacon you get.
Sugar-free Bacon Options
If you are keto or low carb, remember not all varieties of bacon are your friends. Some include added sugars, which can kick you out of ketosis.
Some of my favorite options for sugar-free bacon are:
- Butcher Box: This was the very first sugar-free bacon I tried and it’s awesome! It only comes in one flavor and as part of a meat order. If you order using my link, you will always get some amazing deals including free bacon and savings on your first box.
- Naked Bacon: I love that these are Whole30 approved and that they tend to have foodie flavors like Jalapeno and Chipotle. If you’d like to try them, use DRDAVINAHS for 10% off.
How to Not Set off Your Smoke Detectors: Tips to Minimize the Smoke
When you bake bacon in the oven or cook it in an air fryer, it can get smokey. And, if you live in a house that has sensitive fire alarms, you should follow these tips:
- Set your air fryer up near the stove and turn on your range’s exhaust fan
- Don’t skip adding the water to the bottom of the air fryer as I have listed in the recipe
For the most part, I don’t notice the smoke as much when I use my air fryer, but this is definitely a list to follow when cooking bacon in the oven.
Recipes to Enjoy Air Fryer Bacon With
Though you can improve almost all recipes with bacon, here is a sampling of my favorites to use air fryer bacon with:
You can also use it as a side dish for keto breakfast favorites like keto pancakes and Mexican frittata.
Other Ninja Foodi Recipes
The Ninja Foodi is an amazing, multi-purpose device that is a great addition to any kitchen. If you are looking for more Foodi recipes, check out my entire Ninja Foodi recipe collection. My top recipes from that collection are:
Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Bacon
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 slices sugar-free bacon
- 2 tbsp Water
Instructions
- Add the water to the bottom of the cooking pot
- Place the air fryer basket (or a rack) in the cooking pot. Add the bacon.
- Air Fry the bacon for 5-6 minutes per side
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
