Best Microwave Bacon You Can Buy

Microwave bacon might seem like an abomination to bacon purists. On the other hand, there are those, like my colleague Gwynedd Stuart, who grew up eating primarily microwave bacon. It doesn’t matter which camp you fall into, I’m here to say that good microwavable bacon—bacon that has been specifically designed to be microwaved—exists.

We tasted nine types of microwave bacon—including pre-cooked bacon—and found three that not only deserve a spot in your cart, but also have become staples in our own homes. These microwavable bacon brands proved that you can get crispy bacon outside of a pan or the oven. They’re perfect for fast, weekday breakfasts, easy, mess-free BLTs, and lightning fast burger upgrades. Skip the mess. Skip the heat. Just pop some of the best microwave bacon into that magical box in your kitchen. 

(And if you’re looking for our ranking of the best bacon, period, we’ve got you covered.)

Best Thin Cut

Hormel Black Label Fully Cooked Original Thick Cut Bacon

Walmart

Don’t listen to the label. This is not thick cut bacon. Maybe the slices are wide—but they aren’t thick. In fact, this fully cooked bacon from Hormel is so thin-cut it’s nearly translucent—but it’s still packed with flavor. It has a ton of hickory smoke. It doesn’t get quite as crispy as the other microwavable bacon picks on this list, but it makes up for that with waves upon waves of wood-smoked flavor. I’d use a few strips of this bacon as an instant sandwich enhancer, or just serve a few alongside a pile of scrambled eggs for a diner-style breakfast.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Thick-Cut

Simple Truth Fully Cooked Applewood Smoked Uncured Bacon

Ralphs

Right out of the microwave, this pre-cooked bacon looks great. It has a good ratio of meat to fat (more meat than fat), it’s thick, and it is perfectly bacon hued. Luckily, it also tastes great, too. It’s meaty and savory and not too salty (so much of the microwave bacon we tried was way too salty). Plus, it gets super crispy in the microwave. A miracle, I know. Unless you like it super thin-cut (in which case, see #3), this is the best fully cooked bacon you can buy.

Credit: Merc / Ralphs

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Hormel Black Label Bacon Microwave Ready Original Bacon

Walmart

I was dubious of this microwave bacon. It’s not cooked. You actually cook it in the microwave. You slide one of the pre-sealed packages of bacon strips into the microwave. Hit go. And wait. The clear plastic package puffs up like a big balloon and I was definitely worried it would pop. But it didn’t pop. Instead, it created extremely good, extremely crispy bacon (I went with the longer amount of time listed on the instructions). This is the best microwave bacon because it is just as good as any bacon you cook in a pan and there’s zero cleanup. It’s meaty and salty but not too crazy salty. The slices are wide, too, and have a good ratio of meat to fat. I am wowed by this microwavable bacon. Buy it, ASAP.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other microwave bacon we tried: Great Value Naturally Hickory Smoked Fully Cooked Thick Cut Bacon, Oscar Mayer Fully Cooked Original Bacon, Kroger Fully Cooked Traditional Bacon, Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon Apple Smoked, Applegate Naturals Hickory Smoked Fully Cooked Uncured Sunday Bacon, Hormel Natural Choice Fully Cooked Uncured Bacon