Whether you prefer it super crispy or lovely and soft, these simple instructions for How to Air Fry Streaky Bacon will give you all the info you need to make perfect and delicious air fried bacon in a jiffy.
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Streaky bacon is made from cured belly pork and has a much higher ratio of fat to meat than back bacon. Back bacon is made from cured pork loin and is very common in the UK and various other parts of Europe and the world.
Streaky bacon is similar to US bacon although it is more often sliced more thinly. And it is less likely to be so strongly smoked with hickory or other woods or cured with additional flavours like maple or honey. You can of course get more American style bacon in the UK but it is much less common. Regular streaky bacon can be found in every food store up and down the land.
These air fryer cooking instructions can apply to smoked or unsmoked streaky bacon and I’ve included suggested timings for cooking it until soft or crispy. I think it’s much more common to eat streaky bacon cooked until very crispy whereas those of us that prefer soft bacon would tend to opt for back. If this is you, then check out my other bacon posts.
How to Serve
Of course bacon is always going to be synonymous with breakfast. I’ve served the bacon I cooked for this post with sourdough toast, chipolata sausages and grilled tomatoes, all also cooked in the air fryer. Plus I topped the toast with my super creamy scrambled eggs.
One of my absolute favourite ways to eat bacon is in a sandwich – especially one with a delicious fried egg like my family favourite triple decker club sandwich.
There are a million other combinations of classic breakfast foods. I’ve corralled all of my other air fryer breakfast recipes into a handy guide which makes it really easy to pick and mix items.
Air Fryer Full English Breakfast Recipes
Find all of my air fried breakfast recipes in on place. Mix and match to your hearts desire or just go for it and make them all!
Featuring thick and thin back bacon, tasty sausages, simple hash browns, delicious mushrooms and grilled tomatoes.
Bacon doesn’t need to be reserved just for breakfast. Try some of these ideas for ways to use air fried streaky bacon:
- Cut into chunks and stir into cauliflower cheese or macaroni cheese along with sliced mushrooms for a main course bake.
- Do the same and stir into simply boiled brussels sprouts or buttered cabbage to jazz up a simple side.
- Top pork medallions or chicken mini fillets with the cooked bacon, add cheese and barbeque sauce to make hunters chicken or pork.
- Crumble onto soups like these peanut and red lentil or creamy garlic mushroom for a tasty extra dimension of flavour.
Ingredients
Streaky Bacon
There are quite a lot of options for streaky bacon to buy in the UK. Smoked or unsmoked, dry or wet cured and various thicknesses are all available.
I’ve based this recipe on standard supermarket streaky bacon. Unlike back bacon it doesn’t tend to be sold with a thick or thin option like back bacon. It has no rind and has been wet cured.
The pack was 300g/11oz in total with 14 rashers of roughly 21g/¾oz each. This is more information that you really need to know but I noted it at the time and I have no chill so here we are.
Dry cured bacon will likely shrink less that the bacon I used in the photos but it will still shrink as the fat renders down so you can still overlap it slightly in the air fryer basket.
Allergen Information
This recipe is free from egg, dairy, gluten and nuts.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How Long to Air Fry Streaky Bacon
For soft bacon I cook for a total of 6 minutes in a pre-heated air fryer. Add a further 2 minutes for crispier bacon. For really rock hard crispy bacon, you can add a further minute or two.
I do flip the bacon for the final minute or two of cooking. This ensures that it is really evenly cooked.
Thinner bacon may cook slightly quicker, thicker will take a little longer.
How to Air Fry Crispy Bacon From Frozen
Unless you’ve purposefully frozen bacon rashers flat and in one layer, ready to add to the air fryer, it is fairly unlikely that you’re going to have bacon ready and suitable to cook from frozen.
You can cook from frozen. Make sure any ice crystals are removed and dry the bacon with a paper towel. If will take a couple of minutes extra to cook.
Leftovers – Storage & Reheating
Don’t forget to drain the rendered bacon fat from the bottom of the air fryer (or foil tray if using). You can use this to make air fryer “fried” bread or use it in place of butter or oil when starting to cook a dish. Bacon drippings are pure flavour.
Leftover bacon can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for several days. Or frozen. It will only take 2 to 3 minutes to air fry until hot again. If you are trying to get ahead by precooking the bacon and storing it, I would recommend undercooking the bacon by a couple of minutes during the initial cook. It will then be perfectly cooked once reheated.
Lining the Air Fryer to Cook Bacon
For the most part, I don’t line my air fryer when I use it. The non-stick basket and crisper plate are easy to wash and I generally find that adding a liner prevents the air flow in the air fryer and hinders the cooking process.
There are some exceptions to this like my air fried grilled tomatoes and sliced mushroom recipes. This is because I want to keep the juices next to the food and not have them drain away.
Sometimes I like to cook bacon in the same way – on a thin sheet of foil. The heat is still conducted, the bacon still cooks in roughly the same amount of time but it fries in its own fats, leaving the bacon softer. Don’t try this is you are looking for very crispy bacon.
Common Air Fryer Questions – A Brief Guide to Air Frying
- What exactly is an air fryer?
- What are the benefits of using an air fryer?
- Are all air fryers the same?
- Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
- Do air fryers need to be pre-heated?
- What is the best temperature to air fry at?
- What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
- Can food be cooked from frozen in an air fryer?
- Can I reheat food in an air fryer?
- Are air fryer liners a good idea?
The Air Fried Feast Community
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What Exactly is an Air Fryer?
Very simply, an air fryer is a small convection (fan) oven. The benefit is that the hot air is circulated all around the food being cooked which speeds up the cooking time and cooks the food more evenly.
What are the Benefits of Using an Air Fryer?
Size, time and energy usage. Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller quantities. Heating up a space that the food just fits into requires less energy and means that the heat source is much closer to the food. Combining these two things can speed up the cooking time.
Are all air fryers the same?
Nope! The term air fryer is now used very broadly. I consider there to be 4 main types:
Basket Air Fryers
These are what I would consider to be the most common, especially in the UK. A boxy type unit has a pull out drawer/basket. Food isn’t usually visible whilst cooking.
Some larger models have two drawers so different items can be cooked at different temperatures or for different times.
This is the type that you’ll see in the images in this recipe. I mostly use a Cosori Lite 3.8L (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal. It isn’t an overly expensive or fancy model.
I’ve also recommended to several friends and family the model with a slightly larger basket. This is the Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501) with a 4.7 litre basket. The unit is no larger than the 3.8 litre model on the outside but does have a larger internal basket capacity. I’ve since bought this version to use for some recipes where my smaller model was just too small. I’ll always note this in the recipe.
Rotary Air Fryers
Round air fryers with a paddle in the centre that rotates to move the food. This is the type I used for years – the most common is a Tefal Actifry.
Rotary types are not usually good for recipes where the food is breaded, glazed, likely to break up or in a tray/container. They do however make the best chips and roasted veg.
My 2 in 1 version like the one I’ve linked also has a rotating tray for things that could be broken up by a paddle, but the height clearance with the lid isn’t deep enough to use it to cook some items like sausage rolls. I’ve now actually retired by Actifry in favour of having my two basket type fryers.
Mini Oven Air Fryers
These usually have a glass door, shelves and overall are really quite large. You can cook quite a decent quantity of food in them so are best if regularly cooking for multiple people. They often come with extra features like a rotisserie spit or kebab skewers.
Multicookers with Air Fryer Functions
Some like Ninja 11 in 1 and some of the earlier versions with a few less functions, have an air fryer option. They mostly operate the same as a basket fryer but the basket drops in the top rather than sliding in like a drawer.
Some electric pressure cookers like Instant Pots can also air fry when used with a specific lid.
Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
As much as I do love air frying, the honest answer to this is no. And the more detailed answer is that it will always depend on what you’re cooking, how much of it you’re cooking and what type and size of air fryer you have.
Once you need to cook in more than 2 batches, it often makes more sense to use an oven. If you already have the oven on to cook other items, it may make more sense to throw one more item in rather than using an additional appliance.
I don’t think either method is often necessarily better than the other. The important point to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the finished product.
Do Air Fryers Need to Be Pre-Heated?
The answer to this is rather annoying – it depends. It depends entirely on your model and type of air fryer. The best advice I can offer is to check your manual and follow their guidance. My Cosori models have a preheat function. I press a button and it heats at 205c/400f for 4 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of whether you are supposed to pre-heat or not, if you are cooking in batches, it is quite likely that anything after the first batch will cook a little quicker because of the retained heat. It is best to check on them before the cooking time is completed.
What is the best temperature to Air Fry at?
It will always depend on what you are cooking and from what state. All of my air fryer recipes don’t use temperatures above 200c/390f because many of the most common fryers in the UK don’t go above this. Mine goes to 230c/450f and I use this temperature a lot but it is no help for me to share recipes which many people can’t use.
What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
Not all air fryers have different settings like this. When they do it usually relates to the fan speed. The default setting to use will always be “air fry” so unless something else is specifically stated in the recipe, always use the air fry option.
There are other air fryers that have an additional heating element which cooks from underneath rather than just the top. Just as with the other settings, unless you are using a recipe which states to use a second heating element, stick with just using the top down air fry option.
Of course if and when you become more confident with air frying, using recipes and the settings of your air fryer, you can start adapting them to suit.
Can Food Be Cooked From Frozen In An Air Fryer?
Absolutely! To cook from frozen you usually will need to reduce the cooking temperature and increase the time to make sure your food is cooked right through to the middle.
It is best to check my individual recipes for cooking from frozen advice as some items are a little different. And there are occasionally exceptions to the rule.
Can I Reheat Food In An Air Fryer?
Yes. As a general rule I reheat food for roughly 1/3 of the original cooking time at the same temperature. Or at 10 degrees lower for half the time for larger items.
Are Air Fryer Liners a Good Idea?
Unless otherwise stated, I do not use liners when air frying. Basket and rotary type air fryers are designed to be used without liners. Mini oven types will generally require some kind of tray like with a regular large oven although most come with crisper racks to use.
There are many air fryer liners available including quite thick silicone ones. These will affect the cooking times and possibly temperatures of your cooking/baking. I also don’t like how cooking juices are prevented from dripping through the basket rack. This can stop food from crisping all the way around.
When I do want to collect the juices, I mostly use some foil, or occasionally a foil tray which can be washed and reused.
If you do prefer to use them, once you have got a feel for how they affect your cooking and baking, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe accordingly.
More Air Fryer Recipes
All my recipes with instructions for how to cook or bake them in the air fryer can be found in my Air Fryer Recipe Index.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
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The Recipe
How to Air Fry Streaky Bacon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 rashers Steaky Bacon - around 21g/¾oz each
Instructions
- If your air fryer requires pre-heating, Start this setting now.
- Arrange 6 rashers Streaky Bacon on the air fryer crisper rack. It doesn't matter if the bacon overlaps slightly.
- Cook for 6 minutes at 200c/390f. You will see that it has noticeably shrunk.
- Use tongs to turn the bacon over.
- Position is so it is now spread out as much as possible. This will ensure the fat crisps up nicely.
- Cook for a further 2 minutes at 200c/390f.
- These cooking times give you very crispy bacon with crispy fat. For softer bacon, cook for a 5 minutes minutes, flip then cook for a further 1 minutes. Remember that it will continue to crisp up a little further once cooking stops.
Notes
- This recipe is tested in a Cosori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
- Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
- For this recipe, I can just fit 6 streaky bacon rashers in the basket at a time. This gives just enough room to allow air to circulate. You can add more and overlap the bacon a little more. If you do this, you may need to increase the cooking time slightly. It it also worth checking after a few minutes and separating the rashers as they cook and shrink.
- As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
- Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
Sophie says
Perfect, deliciously crisp bacon!
Lesley says
Followed your instruction and my bacon turned out perfectly crisp. So easy to cook bacon this way.
Janice says
I’ve never quite managed to get my bacon cooked just right in the air fryer. Your instructions were so helpful and now my streaky bacon comes out perfect every time.