This post will show you how to get air fryer bacon, perfectly cooked, every time. Afraid your air fryer will smoke? I've got a fix for that too!

Air fryer bacon is one of the easiest ways to cook crisp bacon without standing over a skillet. The air fryer helps the strips cook evenly, and cleanup is simple when you know how to manage the grease. If you are still learning your air fryer, my beginner's guide to using an air fryer and air fryer cooking times chart are helpful references.

Try them out with my air fryer hard boiled eggs! The crispy, salty bacon is especially wonderful when it's paired with the soft, creamy eggs!

Of course bacon is delicious on the stove top, but I do prefer a more "set it and forget it" method of cooking. The oven is usually a good solution for that, but it just takes too long for my liking.

So I had to learn how to perfectly crisp bacon in my air fryer.

By the way, if you're looking for another mouthwatering low carb breakfast recipe for your air fryer, check out this air fryer breakfast frittata! It looks absolutely delicious and comes with an easy to understand set of instructions!

How do you cook bacon in the air fryer?

There are a few different ways to fry it, but either way your air fryer bacon will come out crispy and delicious.

I think the best (and easiest) option is just laying the bacon across the bottom of the frying basket, being careful to make sure the strips aren't really overlapping.

If the strips do overlap, they probably won't all cook fully and evenly.

Bacon doesn't normally blow around too much in an air fryer, but if you want to keep it from curling, you can place a small rack directly on top. I used the trivet from my Instant Pot.

How do you keep your air fryer from smoking?

Your bacon is going to let out a lot of grease, but you can keep the mess and smoke under control. Line the very bottom of the air fryer drawer with bread to soak up excess grease, and clean the basket once it cools. For more detail, see How to Clean an Air Fryer Basket.

That's right, the secret is bread!

Just line the very bottom of your air fryer with bread, before cooking. It'll make cleanup a breeze, and make for some tasty toast if you're into that sort of thing. Bacon is also great with Keto Breakfast Sandwiches, Air Fryer Burgers, and Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings.