How to Freeze Bacon

Learn how to freeze bacon to save time and money! It’s super quick and easy – and perfectly ideal for when you need just a few pieces of bacon for a recipe. Buy your bacon on sale and freeze with this method to stretch your meat and your budget!

This method is especially useful when you cook recipes that need bacon, but don’t need a whole pound of bacon… like bacon brussels sprouts, bacon chicken Caesar salad wraps, or savory pasta with bacon.

Bacon is expensive – upwards of $5.79 per pound if you want uncured, nitrate-free bacon.

USDA says it’s safe to refreeze foods if they’ve been kept at 40F or cooler, and most refrigerators are kept at least this cool. This means you can go from freezer to fridge, to freezer, to fridge… as many times as you want.

But that can be cumbersome, especially if you’re not very good at remembering to thaw meat ahead of time (like me!).

I often thaw meat in my sink, which technically means if I want to refreeze it, I’m supposed to cook it all first.

But I have a hard time cooking bacon for a recipe that doesn’t need quite as much…

My family LOVES bacon, so if there’s any lying around, there’s ZERO percent chance that it’s going to end up as leftovers!

I’m much better off coming up with a workaround so I can thaw my meat quickly (since I often forget) AND not cook more than I need to.

Enter in this hack for how to freeze bacon!

What You’ll Need to Freeze Bacon

• bacon (thawed and raw)
• parchment paper
• baking sheet
• freezer bags or a freezer-safe container

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How to Freeze Bacon Step By Step

It’s also helpful if you buy bacon in packages greater than one pound. I’ve never cooked more than one pound of bacon at a time (even when I double my husband’s favorite Brussels sprouts recipe), so this is helpful so you’re only using as much bacon as you need.

Step 1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Step 2: Open a package of thawed, raw bacon.

Step 3: Pull off one slice of back and starting from one end, roll it up like you would a sleeping bag. Place the slice of bacon on the parchment paper so it’s standing up and you can see the concentric circle of the bacon from the top (like a cinnamon roll).

Step 4: Repeat with the remaining slices of bacon. Leave just a finger-width space between each slice on the baking sheet.

Step 5: Freeze for 4 hours, or overnight, until the bacon has frozen through.

Step 6: Remove the bacon from the baking sheet and place in a freezer-safe plastic container. Label the container with “frozen bacon” and the date.

Recipe Tips

• To use frozen bacon in a recipe, remove as many pieces as you need and thaw. I like to place each roll of bacon in a small glass container with a lid and either place it in the fridge to thaw overnight, or leave on the counter for a couple hours to thaw quickly.
• Be sure to save the bacon grease! It’s a free healthy fat and can be used in lots of simple recipes that need cooking oil, like cast iron skillet cornbread, caramelized onions with swiss chard, or zuppa toscana soup. Plus it adds a hint of delicious bacon flavor!

Freezer Cooking: Dump Dinner Recipes

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Recipes Featuring Bacon

• Warm Kale and Bacon Salad
• Spring Vegetable Pasta Salad
• Chicken Southwest Salad
• Zuppa Toscana Soup
• Buffalo Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad

How to Freeze Bacon

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Learn how to freeze bacon to save time and money! It’s super quick and easy – and perfectly ideal for when you need just a few pieces of bacon for a recipe. Buy your bacon on sale and freeze with this method to stretch your meat and your budget!

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 1 lb.
• Category: Kitchen How-To’s
• Method: Freeze
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• bacon (thawed and raw)
• parchment paper
• baking sheet
• freezer bags or a freezer-safe container

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Instructions

1. Open a package of thawed, raw bacon.
2. Pull off one slice of back and starting from one end, roll it up like you would a sleeping bag. Place the slice of bacon on the parchment paper so it’s standing up and you can see the concentric circle of the bacon from the top (like a cinnamon roll).
3. Repeat with the remaining slices of bacon, leaving just a finger-width space between each slice on the baking sheet.
4. Freeze for 4 hours, or overnight, until the bacon has frozen through.
5. Remove the bacon from the baking sheet and place in a freezer-safe plastic container. Label the container with “frozen bacon” and the date.

Notes

• To use frozen bacon in recipe, remove as many pieces as you need and thaw. I like to place each roll of bacon in a small glass container with a lid and either place it in the fridge to thaw overnight, or leave on the counter for a couple hours to thaw quickly.
• Be sure to save the bacon grease! It’s a free healthy fat and can be used in lots of simple recipes that need cooking oil, like cast iron skillet cornbread, caramelized onions with swiss chard, or zuppa toscana soup. Plus it adds a hint of delicious bacon flavor!