Easy Candied Bacon Recipe

4.96 from 22 votes

Sweet, salty, crispy and chewy: candied bacon is sometimes called million dollar bacon for a reason. It’s heavenly, and easy too!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: appetizer portions (roughly)

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a bowl, stir together brown sugar, maple syrup and black pepper. Mixture should resemble wet sand.
On a baking sheet lined with foil, add bacon slices in a single layer.
Add brown sugar mixture to each slice of bacon, using your hands or the back of a spoon to press mixture evenly onto each slice of bacon from end to end.
Bake bacon for 15-20 minutes until bacon is golden and crispy. Some of the sugar will slide off the bacon onto the foil and burn. That’s okay! If the fallen sugar starts to smoke, you can fold that part of the foil over onto itself, blocking those burn spots from the direct heat and smoking further.
Let bacon cool for 3 minutes before placing slices directly on a plate in a single layer to cool further.

Depending on the fat content and the thickness of your bacon, you may need a few minutes less or more to bake. Keep an eye on the oven!
No, I don’t place bacon on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. No rack will yield crispy yet chewy candied bacon (how I like it!).
Let the bacon cool on the foil for 3 minutes. Letting it cool too long will cause the bacon to stick on the foil, and you won’t be able to get it off! Use a fork to lift candied bacon off the foil while it’s hot.