Air fryer bacon is simple to make but surprisingly inconsistent to look up. The videos in this pack span an 80°F spread in recommended temperature and a four-minute gap in cook times, with most picking a number and moving on. Bacon thickness matters more than any single setting, and only one video addresses this properly. Smoke and grease are real concerns in enclosed kitchens — most videos ignore this until the alarm has already gone off.
Short verdict
Start with Cooking with Coit if you want plain bacon with clear doneness targets and a concrete demonstration of why the air fryer beats the pan. For a more systematic breakdown of how thickness and fat content affect timing, Evolving Table is the better reference. UK viewers using a Ninja Foodi should go straight to DAD DELIVERS, which gives Celsius settings from the outset and is the only video to address smoke alarm risk directly.
The ranking
1
Best overall
Air Fryer Bacon
Cooking with Coit · 6:37 · May 2021
Justin from Cooking with Coit cooks thick-cut cherrywood smoked bacon at 400°F, demonstrating two doneness levels: six minutes for medium and around nine minutes for extra crispy — he corrects his initial seven-minute claim at 4:31, acknowledging that every air fryer differs. He follows with a side-by-side comparison of the grease drained out of the air fryer versus what you would have consumed cooking the same bacon in a pan 5:04.
Why it ranks here: It ranks first for honesty. The on-camera correction at 4:31 — admitting that seven minutes was not enough for properly crispy bacon — is more useful than a video that holds to a number regardless of results. The grease comparison at 5:04 gives a concrete, visual reason to choose the method. Commenters broadly confirm the settings: one reports medium done cleanly in six minutes, another crispy at eight minutes at the same temperature.
~6 min watch · 6–9 min cook · 400°F · no flip required
2
Best for technique
The BEST Air Fryer Bacon 🥓 (No Splatter, So Easy!)
Evolving Table · 4:18 · Apr 2021
London Brazil of Evolving Table cooks bacon at 350°F in a preheated air fryer, running the strips for nine to ten minutes without flipping. She explains at 1:08–1:32 that thick-cut bacon needs a minute or two longer than regular cut, and that leaner strips cook faster because there is less fat to render. She recommends letting bacon reach room temperature before cooking 1:36 and shows an optional aluminium foil liner under the rack to catch drippings 2:30.
Why it ranks here: The thickness and fat guidance at 1:08–1:32 is the most systematic of any video in this pack — it gives viewers a framework rather than a single number. No-flip is explained through the hot-air circulation logic, not simply asserted. One commenter confirms the method directly: thick-cut bacon at 350°F in a preheated fryer for ten minutes came out perfect. The foil liner tip is genuinely useful for anyone who dreads the cleanup.
~4 min watch · 9–10 min cook · 350°F · preheat 3 min · no flip
3
Most concise
How to Make Bacon in a Air Fryer
Eat with Hank · 3:30 · Jul 2020
Eat with Hank runs bacon at 390°F for eight minutes, flipping the strips at the four-minute mark 1:25. Six slices go in with space between them; the video notes that thicker-cut bacon will need more than eight minutes 0:50–0:56. No extras — no candied variations, no grease comparisons, just bacon in and bacon out.
Why it ranks here: Under three and a half minutes long, it delivers exactly what it promises. The midpoint flip at 1:25 is the one meaningful technique variation from the other ranked videos, and commenters report clean results: "Crispy! Yet the meaty part was tender, with no hard places." Right for anyone who wants quick confirmation of a method rather than a full walkthrough.
~3.5 min watch · 8 min cook · 390°F · flip at 4 min
4
Best for UK viewers
Perfect BACON in the AIR FRYER! Ninja Foodi Dual Zone recipe...
DAD DELIVERS Vlog · 4:06 · Aug 2023
Neil from DAD DELIVERS cooks four rashers of back bacon on a Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone air fryer at 220°C (which he states is 430°F) for six minutes, flipping and rearranging at the halfway point 1:51–2:02. He notes his smoky bacon caused his kitchen smoke alarm to trip and he had to move the fryer to the worktop 2:11–2:22 — a practical admission absent from most other videos in this pack.
Why it ranks here: The only ranked video that gives Celsius settings from the start and works with rashers rather than American-style strips. A top commenter provides the most useful follow-up in any comment section here: set the Ninja to 180°C and cook for around nine minutes to stay below bacon fat's smoke point, avoiding alarm trips entirely. Worth reading before you start, particularly if you live in a flat.
~4 min watch · 6 min cook · 220°C · Ninja Foodi Dual Zone · flip required
5
Best for the mess case
The Best Air Fryer Bacon!
The Adventure Bite · 4:05 · Sep 2021
The Adventure Bite makes the mess-reduction argument more plainly than any other video here: stovetop bacon leaves grease on the ceiling, oven bacon means cleaning the whole oven 0:26–0:54. The presenter cooks at 350°F for six minutes on a Cosori fryer, framing the doneness range by purpose — five minutes for softer eating, seven to eight minutes for crumbling over salads or devilled eggs 2:14–2:28.
Why it ranks here: If splatter is what is driving you to the air fryer, this video makes that case most directly. The purpose-linked doneness guide — soft for eating whole, crispy for crumbling — is a useful frame found nowhere else in this pack. Be aware that a top commenter using the same fryer brand found 350°F at six minutes underdone; they had better results at 400°F for eight minutes. Treat the timing as a starting point rather than a fixed answer.
~4 min watch · 5–8 min cook · 350°F · no flip · Cosori tested
Where the videos disagree
What temperature should you use?
Evolving Table and The Adventure Bite use 350°F, arguing it is the right middle ground — low enough to render fat properly, high enough to crisp in under ten minutes. Cooking with Coit and commenters on The Adventure Bite favour 400°F for speed and crispiness. Eat with Hank lands at 390°F. DAD DELIVERS runs at 220°C (430°F) on a Ninja Foodi.
Our read: The spread reflects genuine air fryer variation more than disagreement about method. Thicker bacon at a lower temperature renders more evenly; thin strips at 400°F can be done in four to five minutes. Start at 350–375°F, check at the six-minute mark, and adjust on the next batch.
Do you need to flip the bacon?
Eat with Hank and DAD DELIVERS both flip at the halfway point. Evolving Table and The Stay At Home Chef say the circulating hot air makes flipping unnecessary.
Our read: Both approaches produce crispy bacon in the evidence here. Flipping adds a step but ensures more even colour on both sides; skipping it is simpler. Neither is wrong.
