Recipes

73 Crispy, Crunchy Bacon Recipes

From maple-glazed to collard-braised, this list is full of champions.
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Photo by Alex Lau

Just “add an egg” is a smart strategy to a better dinner, but “just add bacon” might be even smarter. Fortunately, our archive at Bon Appétit has no shortage of bacon recipes, from a bacon-wrapped meatloaf to brussels sprouts with crispy bacon and crispier breadcrumbs. (Serve those in the same meal and you might win an award.)

Whatever meal you are prepping, there are options. We’ve got appetizers aplenty, from loaded potato skins to bacony deviled eggs. If you’re planning a brunch, look no further than our ultimate quiche Lorraine. Need low-key dinner recipes? Try this almost-classic BLT or this foolproof carbonara. On the hunt for a veggies side dish? Put your Instant Pot to work with these pressure-cooked collard greens. We even have bacon in the form of dessert, courtesy of this salty-sweet spin on oatmeal cookies.

  • Bowl of spring greens salad with bacon chunks spring onions and a hot bacon vinaigrette
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman
    1/73

    Spring Greens With Hot Bacon Vinaigrette

    Easy enough for a weeknight, this salad has you cook bacon strips, then turn the rendered fat into the world’s most delicious dressing.

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  • Image may contain Animal Seafood Food Sea Life Lobster Dish Meal and Burger
    Alex Lau
    2/73

    Savory Dutch Baby

    This billowy and savory Dutch baby can be topped with anything, but who are we kidding—cheesy bacon with sautéed greens is hard to beat.

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  • Instant pot collard greens with hot sauce
    Photo by Emma Fishman, Food styling by Pearl Jones
    3/73

    Instant Pot Collard Greens

    Let your Instant Pot do all the hard work here. These collard greens are smoky and savory, thanks to—you guessed it—bacon.

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  • Chicken burgers on buns with bacon and jalapenos
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    4/73

    Chicken-Bacon Smash Burgers

    Bacon burgers often start with ground beef, but these ones show off ground chicken. The patties sizzle in salty bacon fat for extra flavor—and you bet that crispy bacon ends up in the sandwich too. 

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  • A serving bowl of hoppin John a dish of white rice topped with black eye peas and shredded ham hock.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata.  Food Styling by Cyd McDowell.  Prop Styling by Paige Hicks
    5/73

    Hoppin’ John

    If you can’t track down a ham hock, slab bacon works just as well in this Hoppin’ John recipe from Millie Peartree.

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  • Closeup of a crosssection of a sandwich.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne, Prop Styling by Gerri K. Williams
    6/73

    Thanksgiving Leftovers Turkey Club

    The only thing better than a classic turkey club is a post-Thanksgiving turkey club. This one has smoky bacon, tangy cranberry sauce, and whole-grain mustard.

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  • A plate of spaghetti carbonara with bits of crispy guanciale and topped with shredded cheese and black pepper.
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Molly Baz
    9/73

    Simple Pasta Carbonara

    Carbonara is comfort food at its finest. This version lets you lead the way. Guanciale, pancetta, or bacon? Parmesan or Pecorino Romano? Use what you’ve got. 

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  • salad on a sunny setting with yellow surface and drinks surrounding
    Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.
    10/73

    Tangy Greens With Bacon-y Breadcrumbs

    This leafy salad has big bacon ranch energy, thanks to bacon breadcrumbs and an herby buttermilk dressing. Bring it to any potluck and be crowned The Winner.

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  • Tostadas on a stone surface spread thick with refried black beans and topped with shredded chicken tinga cilantro and...
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Yekatarina Boytsova
    11/73

    Chicken Tinga Tostadas With Bacony Black Beans

    If you are wondering what to do with those chicken breasts in your fridge, make these tostadas with bacon-boosted black beans.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Platter and Lunch
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Emily Eisen
    12/73

    Chicken Cobb Salad

    Rotisserie chicken to the rescue! To gild the lily, feel free to sprinkle cheddar cheese or blue cheese crumbles on top. It’s your salad.

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  • Image may contain Bowl Dish Food Meal and Curry
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, styling by Molly Baz
    13/73

    Instant Pot Split Pea Soup

    So many soup recipes, so little time. This split pea soup gets double umami from smoked ham hocks and bacon croutons.

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  • Image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Plant Soup Bowl and Stew
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson
    14/73

    Wilted Greens in Tomato-Bacon Broth

    Chicken broth? We don’t know her. This tomatoey bacon broth is even better. And because it uses cherry tomatoes, you can get away with making it year round. 

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  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Salad Plant Platter and Seasoning
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Anna Billingskog
    17/73

    BLT Salad

    Think we couldn’t fit in another variation on the BLT? Wrong. This salad with buttery avocado and lots of snipped chives had to make the cut.

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  • Baked bean and 2 bay leaves in a dutch oven
    Photograph by Emma Fishman, Food Styling  by Mieko Takahashi, Prop styling by Emma Ringness
    18/73

    Boston Baked Beans

    Next time you’re on the hunt for a stellar side dish, turn to these baked beans with lots of bacon. They’ll be the star of any cookout.

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  • Overhead shot of quiche Lorraine in a glass pie dish with one slice removed and another slice cut.
    Alex Lau
    21/73

    BA’s Best Quiche Lorraine

    Call it retro if you want—we say this classic bacon and cheese quiche is timeless.

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  • Image may contain Human Person Food Sandwich Burger and Hot Dog
    Christopher Testani
    22/73

    Ultimate BLT

    Two sweet-salty finishings let guests craft their own signature sandwiches, but if you’re a purist, leave them off and let the (excellent) bacon speak for itself.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Dish Meal and Vegetable
    Alex Lau
    29/73

    Omelet With Bacon, Mushrooms, and Ricotta

    Don’t sweat rolling this into a perfect omelet; just top the cooked eggs with mushrooms and ricotta, and fold like a taco.

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  • Bowl of refried beans on blue tablecloth.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman
    30/73

    Homemade Refried Beans

    This refried beans recipe comes from cookbook author Rick Martinez’s dad, who uses salt pork and bacon drippings for deeply savory beans.

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  • Image may contain Burger Food and Sandwich
    Gentl & Hyers
    31/73

    Turkey Club With Herb Mayo

    This recipe takes only about 15 minutes of active time (or less, if your bird is already cooked) and will change the way you think about turkey. Then again, we might be biased.

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  • This image may contain Plant and Food
    Alex Lau
    32/73

    Bacon-Butter Radishes

    You’ll probably have some of this deliciousy bacony butter leftover from this recipe, in which case you should probably serve it atop a juicy steak. Obvs.

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  • Image may contain Burger and Food
    Peden + Munk
    37/73

    BLT Turkey Burgers

    Ground turkey is hardly the stuff of flavor fireworks, but turkey sausage, preseasoned and ready to cook, tends to have great flavor right out of the package.

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  • Image may contain Food Meal Dish Pork Lunch Dinner Supper and Roast
    Photo by Heidi's Bridge, styling by Molly Baz
    38/73

    Weeknight Porchetta

    We cut corners on the classic Italian dish—using bacon and skipping the multiday air-drying process. It’s not traditional, but it sure is delicious.

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  • Image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Plant and Breakfast
    Alex Lau
    39/73

    Shrimp and Pimiento Cheese Grits

    Quaker brand grits work really well in this recipe, and they are distributed very widely. If you can’t find them, use any other white, medium-grind, long-cooking grits.

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  • Pink peppercorn bacon recipe
    Jeremy Liebman
    40/73

    Pink Peppercorn Bacon

    It might seem like a long time, but cooking the bacon until it’s well-done means it’ll stay crisp at the table.

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  • Image may contain Bakery Shop Food and Dessert
    William Abranowicz
    49/73

    Bacon, Oatmeal, and Raisin Cookies

    That's right, you can totally put bacon in desserts. And a cookie isn't a cookie without a little salt.

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  • Image may contain Weapon Blade Knife Weaponry Plant Food Bread and Produce
    Alex Lau
    50/73

    Fennel-Rubbed Chick-etta

    The traditional stuffed pork roast is so delicious but so laborious. This chicken has all the same garlicky, herby flavors—not to mention lots of crispy bacon bits—and it’s optimized for a weeknight meal.

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  • Image may contain Food Bread and Pizza
    Matt Duckor
    61/73

    Crispy Potato Skins

    Crispy, cheesy, bacon-y—they're an irresistible Super Bowl snack. So irresistible, in fact, that you may want to make a double batch.

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  • Image may contain Cutlery Spoon Food Bread Wok Frying Pan and Pancake
    Danny Kim
    62/73

    Bing Bread

    At Parachute in Chicago, this bacon-studded, potato-filled, cheesy sesame bread is served in 6" cast-iron pans; we adapted it to work in a 10".

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Produce Vegetable Bean and Lentil
    Christina Holmes
    69/73

    Bacon and Scallion Farrotto

    Semi-pearled farro has had some of its outer kernel removed, which allows the starch to release and create a creamy sauce while cooking.

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  • Image may contain Food Meal Dish and Burger
    Jason Lowe
    70/73

    Hangtown Fry

    Tailor this blue plate special to your taste—you could add spice to the potatoes, sub sausages for bacon, scramble the eggs, omit the onions, or add fresh herbs. While it’s great for brunch (chase it with a nap), we’d also love to eat this for breakfast or dinner.

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  • Image may contain Food Pizza Animal and Fish
    Matthew Hranek
    71/73

    Bacon-Wrapped Trout

    The bacon wrap is a genius way to secure fresh herbs in the fish, where the season the filets from the inside out.

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  • Image may contain Food and Pizza
    72/73

    Clam and Bacon Pizza

    Blanched garlic, which is sweet and mild, is blended with briny clam liquor and olive oil to make a creamy white sauce for this unconventional pizza.

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  • Image may contain Food and Plant
    Cedric Angeles
    73/73

    Pimiento BLTs

    Use a very sharp cheddar to make this—it’s the difference between pimiento cheese and cheesy mayonnaise.

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Emma leads cooking coverage across Bon Appétit and Epicurious, focusing on service-forward content for home cooks. Depending on the hour, you might find her editing a series like Fourth Trimester or Feel-Good Food Plan, trying nine types of mayonnaise, marking up layouts for the print magazine, attending a test kitchen ... Read More
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