This is how I cook Bacon in Air Fryer Ninja using smoked back bacon and streaky bacon. I've provided a couple of cooking options for you depending on how crispy you like your bacon ranging from 6-10 minutes in cooking time. Enjoy your air fryer bacon with eggs, in a bagel, or burger!
Cooking bacon in the air fryer is so quick and simple. For this recipe, I've used my ninja foodi air fryer because it's my favourite air fryer ever. It's consistent in cooking, has two compartments, and is easy to use. I've provided cooking instructions for both smoked back bacon as well as streaky bacon, so let's get into it!
If you've got an air fryer and you're obsessed with cooking everything in it, then you will love my Greek yoghurt air fryer chicken, air fryer turkey meatballs, great served with pasta or in a sandwich, or if you're looking for a fish recipe, then my stuffed salmon in the air fryer is a great option.
Jump to:
- Why you'll love this recipe
- Ingredients
- Ninja Foodi Air Fryer
- Step by step instructions with photos on how to cook back bacon in the air fryer
- Step by step instructions with photos on how to cook streaky bacon in the air fryer
- What to do with leftovers
- Air fryer bacon FAQs
- More recipes you might enjoy!
- Bacon in Air Fryer Ninja
Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy to follow.
- I provide different cooking options. In this blog post, I provide recipe instructions on how to cook bacon if you're using back bacon or streaky bacon, and if you like it crunchy, or soft.
- No oil, no frying, just cooking. This air fryer bacon is much healthier than cooking it in a pan.
Ingredients
Smoked back bacon (top of the image above): This type of bacon comes from the loin of the pig (aka the back of the pig). Pork loin is one of the healthiest parts of the pig because of its low fat content. Back bacon is pretty popular in the UK and Canada, but less so in the US because it's not as fatty as streaky bacon and doesn't get that level of crispiness that streaky bacon does either (see more on that below).
Smoked streaky bacon (bottom of the image above): Streaky bacon on the other hand is from the belly of the pig, resulting in a much fattier cut of meat. The more fat, the tastier the cut. Streaky bacon is heavily marketed in the US, hence its popularity in comparison to back bacon.
It's quite interesting because the two cuts of bacon are so totally different. Both are delicious but streaky bacon is considerably tastier due to its fat content and can get to higher levels of crispiness which is just so satisfying to eat. However, its fat content does mean that it's not as healthy for you. Back bacon is also a "chunkier" piece of meat, providing more to its bite.
Ninja Foodi Air Fryer
For this air fryer bacon recipe, I'm using my Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer. I love this piece of equipment. It's got two compartments so you can cook two different things at the same time. There are 6 different cooking functions, although I must admit I tend to just use the air fryer function!
It's a very consistent and reliable piece of kit, and I highly recommend it. A lot of air fryers can burn your food really easily, but the ninja foodi air fryer is just brilliant.
If you're cooking with a different air fryer, just be wary that cooking times may differ. I'd recommend cooking on a lower heat and cooking for longer, keeping an eye on the bacon as it cooks!
Step by step instructions with photos on how to cook back bacon in the air fryer
Step 1: Place your bacon into the air fryer and cook for 8 minutes at either 180C (355F) or 200C (390F) depending on how crispy and cooked you like it.
Step 2: You can optionally flip the bacon halfway, but I didn't. Once you've cooked your bacon how you like it, serve up with the rest of your meal!
This bacon has been cooked at 200C (390F) for 8 minutes. You can see the fattier parts of the bacon have crisped up and are slightly charred. If this is how you like bacon, cook it this way.
This bacon has been cooked at 180C (355F) for 8 minutes. You can see the fattier parts on the edge of the lean meat are less crispy and more white. The ends are still crispy but not as much compared to the 200C/390F bacon. If this is still too crispy for you, cook the bacon at 160C (320F) for 8 minutes.
Step by step instructions with photos on how to cook streaky bacon in the air fryer
Step 1: Place the streaky bacon in your ninja air fryer and cook for 6 minutes at 200C (390F) or 180C (355F) depending on how crispy you like your bacon.
Step 2: You can optionally flip the bacon halfway, but I didn't. Once you've cooked your bacon how you like it, serve up with the rest of your meal!
This bacon has been cooked for 6 minutes at 200C (390F) and as you can see, it's very crispy and the fattier parts of the bacon have charred slightly. If this is how you like your bacon, cook it based on these instructions.
For a less crispy, more fatty bacon, cook for 6 minutes at 180C (355F). It leaves I would say around 50% of the bacon un-crispy, giving you more meatier fattier bits to bite on. If this is how you like your streaky bacon cooked, make sure to use these instructions! If you like your streaky bacon completely un-crispy, then cook the bacon for 6 minutes at 160C (320F).
What to do with leftovers
Storage: Place any leftover air fryer bacon in an airtight container and into the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing: You can absolutely freeze this ninja air fryer bacon. Just place it into an airtight container and into the freezer. When you're ready to eat it, leave to thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheating: To reheat your bacon, place it into the air fryer at 200C (395F) for 1 minute to heat up.
Air fryer bacon FAQs
If you're cooking streaky bacon, cook the bacon for 6 minutes at 200C (395F) for super crispy bacon or at 180C (355F) for slightly crispy bacon. If you're cooking back bacon, cook it for 8 minutes at 200C (395F) for super crispy edges, and at 180C (355F) for slightly crispy edges.
No. You want to make sure that the air flows all around the bacon, giving it maximum crisp and even cooking. The ninja air fryer is super easy to clean so you'll have no problems there.
One of the great things about cooking bacon in the air fryer is that all the excess fat drips down underneath the platform in the air fryer draw. So it's much healthier than cooking it in a pan where the bacon then fries in all the grease.
More recipes you might enjoy!
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Bacon in Air Fryer Ninja
Equipment
- 1 Ninja Foodie Dual Zone Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 4 rashers of bacon
Instructions
For streaky bacon:
- Place the streaky bacon in your ninja air fryer and cook for 6 minutes at 200C (390F) or 180C (355F) depending on how crispy you like your bacon.
- You can optionally flip the bacon halfway, but I didn't. Once you've cooked your bacon how you like it, serve up with the rest of your meal!
- For super crispy bacon, cook it for 200C (390F) and as you can see in the photos further up in this blog post, it's very crispy and the fattier parts of the bacon have charred slightly. If this is how you like your bacon, cook it based on these instructions.
- For a less crispy, more fatty bacon, cook for 6 minutes at 180C (355F). It leaves I would say around 50% of the bacon un-crispy, giving you more meatier fattier bits to bite on. If this is how you like your streaky bacon cooked, make sure to use these instructions! If you like your streaky bacon completely un-crispy, then cook the bacon for 6 minutes at 160C (320F).
For back bacon:
- Place your bacon into the air fryer and cook for 8 minutes at either 180C (355F) or 200C (390F) depending on how crispy and cooked you like it.
- You can optionally flip the bacon halfway, but I didn't. Once you've cooked your bacon how you like it, serve up with the rest of your meal!
- For bacon whereby the fattier edges of the bacon have crisped up and are slightly charred, cook at 200C (390F) for 8 minutes (see images further up this blog).
- For less crispiness around the edges and more fattiness, cook at 180C (355F) for 8 minutes. The ends are still crispy but not as much compared to the 200C/390F bacon. If this is still too crispy for you, cook the bacon at 160C (320F) for 8 minutes.
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