Once you make homemade Bacon Bits, you’ll be hooked! Crispy bacon crumbles take your soups, salads, and appetizers to the next level.
Homemade bacon bits are so easy to make, and they are so much better than the store-bought ones! These crunchy, savory morsels of goodness can take your recipes to a whole new level. You can even make a large batch ahead of time and store them in the freezer for later.
What Kind of Bacon To Use
To make bacon bits, you only need one ingredient: bacon! You can use regular cut or thick cut, depending on how thick you want your crumbles to be.
If you want spicy bacon bits, choose peppered bacon. And you can choose hardwood smoked bacon for a different flavor profile.
Instructions
Lay the strips of bacon in a large skillet and cook them over medium-high heat. They will need to cook for 4-5 minutes per side, depending on how crispy you want your bacon to be. If you want to prepare a larger quantity at once, you can cook the bacon in the oven!
Use tongs to carefully turn the strips of bacon over once they are browned so that the other side can get crispy.
Then, remove the crispy bacon from the pan with tongs and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.
Once it has cooled, use your fingers to crumble it into bits. I prefer using my hands because the bacon bits end up being all different shapes and sizes. Or, if you prefer a more uniform look, you can use a chef’s knife to chop the bacon into pieces.
Way To Use Bacon Bits
- Bacon Bits For Salad We often use bacon bits for salad! In our 7 Layer Salad, bacon holds the top place, and it adds so much flavor to the salad. We also use it in our Broccoli Salad, and a Cobb Salad wouldn’t be complete without the addition of bacon crumbles!
- For Soup: Bacon adds a salty, smoky flavor to soups. It can be added while the soup is cooking and used as a garnish as well. We used it in our Potato Bacon Soup with Beans, Corn Chowder, and Potato Soup.
- With Breakfast: Real bacon bits make breakfast even better! It’s our favorite filling for omelettes! You can also add them to breakfast tacos, egg bake, puff pastry breakfast pizza, and bacon egg and cheese breakfast burritos.
- For Appetizers: Appetizers get a flavor boost with the addition of bacon crumbles! You can sprinkle them on top like we did on our cheese fries. Or use them as part of the filling in things like loaded potato poppers or jalapeno popper bites.
Make Ahead And Storage
You can make homemade bacon bits ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator or freezer so that they are available whenever you need them! Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to four months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this bacon bits recipe uses real bacon.
They are made from crumbled strips of crispy bacon.
Store them in an airtight, sealed container in the fridge for up to 7 days. Or you can store them in a freezer-safe container for up to 4 months.
Bacon Bits
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon
Instructions
- Arrange the slices of bacon in a large skillet. *see note one
- Fry over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, 4-5 minutes per side, until it reaches the desired crispiness.
- Remove from heat and use tongs to transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Discard the bacon grease in the pan or save it for another use.
- Allow the bacon to drain and cool on the paper towels.
- Use your hands to crumble the cooled bacon into the desired size pieces. *see note two
- Store the bacon bits in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to one month.
