Between 7 and 15 minutes depending on thickness and how crispy you want it. Regular cut needs 8 to 10 minutes at 350°F, thick cut pushes 10 to 12 minutes. That’s the short answer. The real answer depends on your bacon, your air fryer, and whether you like it chewy or shattering crisp.
Cooking Times at a Glance
| Bacon Type | Temperature | Time | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular cut | 350°F | 7-8 minutes | Soft, chewy |
| Regular cut | 350°F | 8-10 minutes | Crispy |
| Thick cut | 350°F | 9-10 minutes | Soft, chewy |
| Thick cut | 350°F | 10-12 minutes | Crispy |
| Regular cut | 400°F | 8-10 minutes | Very crispy |
| Thick cut | 400°F | 10-12 minutes | Very crispy |
These times assume you’re not preheating, which you don’t need to do. Your air fryer model matters too. Some cook hotter, some gentler. Think of these numbers as your starting point, not gospel.
Why Temperature Matters
The 350°F versus 400°F debate comes down to what bothers you more: waiting or smoking.
At 350°F, the bacon renders its fat slowly. Less smoke, more control, gentler cooking. Perfect if your air fryer sits under cabinets or you hate that bacon-grease haze. The trade-off is time. You’ll wait those extra couple minutes.
At 400°F, everything happens faster. Bacon crisps beautifully, fat renders quickly, you’re eating sooner. But that dripping fat can smoke, especially if your drip tray isn’t spotless. If you go this route, crack a window or turn on the range hood.
I cook at 350°F. The smoke isn’t worth the two minutes I save.
The Simple Process
Lay your bacon strips in the air fryer basket in a single layer. They can touch, even overlap slightly at the edges. They’ll shrink as they cook. Don’t stack them on top of each other or you’ll get unevenly cooked, floppy spots.
Set your temperature and timer based on the table above. Walk away. No flipping needed. The circulating air does the work.
When the timer goes off, check one piece. If it’s not quite there, give it another minute or two. Use tongs to transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
Pour out the grease from the drip tray before cooking another batch. Hot bacon fat plus more bacon equals smoke show.
Thickness Makes the Difference
Regular cut bacon is the standard supermarket slice. Thin enough to see light through if you hold it up. Flexible, easy to fold. This cooks fastest, usually 8 to 10 minutes for crispy results.
Thick cut bacon is meatier, substantial. You feel the weight of it. Double the thickness of regular cut, sometimes more. It needs extra time to render all that fat and crisp up properly. Budget 10 to 12 minutes minimum.
When you check for doneness, look for rendered white fat that’s turned golden brown at the edges. The meat should be darker, caramelized. If there are still translucent fatty areas, it needs more time.
Preventing Smoke
Bacon fat dripping into the tray heats up and smokes. Four ways to handle this:
Place a piece of bread in the drip tray. Tear it into chunks so air can still circulate. The bread soaks up the grease as it falls. Toss it when you’re done. This works surprisingly well.
Add a quarter cup of water to the drip tray. Not touching the basket, just sitting in the bottom catching grease. The water keeps the temperature down. You’ll need to dump it after cooking.
Cook at 350°F instead of 400°F. Lower heat means less smoke. Simple physics.
Empty the drip tray between batches. That pooled bacon fat from batch one will definitely smoke when you start batch two. Pour it into a heat-safe container, let it cool, toss it or save it for cooking.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Overcrowding the basket gives you steamed bacon, not crispy bacon. Air needs to circulate around each strip. If you’re feeding a crowd, cook in batches. It takes ten minutes either way.
Skipping the test on your first batch. Every air fryer runs slightly different. Your first time, check the bacon at the minimum time listed. Learn how your machine behaves. Adjust from there.
Walking away without setting a timer. Bacon goes from perfect to burnt in ninety seconds. Set the timer. Trust the timer.
Cooking straight from the package without looking. Some packs have extra thick pieces mixed with regular. Those need sorting or different timing.
How to Tell When It’s Done
Color tells you most of what you need to know. The fat should be golden brown, not white or clear. The meat darkens to a rich reddish-brown, deeper at the edges.
Touch works too if you’re careful with hot bacon. Crispy bacon feels firm when you lift it with tongs. It doesn’t bend much. Softer bacon still has flex, especially in the meatier parts.
Listen to your preferences. Some people want bacon that shatters. Others like a bit of chew in the center. There’s no wrong answer. Check it early, add time if needed.
The bacon will continue to crisp slightly as it cools on the paper towel. So if it seems almost there, it probably is.
Store cooked bacon in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Reheat in the air fryer for three to four minutes at 350°F when you’re ready to eat it again.
