You’ll love this maple candied bacon recipe that’s sweet and slightly spicy. Thick sliced bacon is brushed with a brown sugar maple syrup glaze and seasoned with black pepper for a tasty treat you’ll love!
This luscious recipe for candied bacon in the oven is very versatile. It is wonderful for brunch or breakfast and pairs nicely with our Bacon Cheddar Mini Quiches and Bacon Bloody Marys.
It’s also a crowd-pleasing bacon appetizer, along with some of our other favorites like Tater Tots with Bacon and Cheese and Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies.
Candied bacon is one of those amazing recipes that will blow your socks off, yet it’s super simple to make. If you’ve read our popular tutorial on How to Cook Bacon in the Oven, you’ll recognize the easy (lazy!) technique.
While the bacon is bakin,’ you brush it with a sweet, sticky glaze. As the grease renders out, the glaze becomes thick and glossy on the outside of the bacon. As it cools, it forms a sweet coating on the bacon.
A sprinkling of black pepper adds a little spiciness which pairs perfectly with the sweet-salty bacon.
Why it’s Worth Making Maple Brown Sugar Candied Bacon
- People will literally moan when they eat it. (If you ever watched Parks & Recreation, envision Rob Lowe saying “literally!”)
- The glossy, maple-y, peppery bacon looks gorgeous on the plate.
- The sweet-spicy-salty combination is just so tasty.
- If you bring it to a party, you will not be bringing any home. We offer a money-back guarantee on this promise.
- The recipe is very easy to make.
The simple recipe for candied bacon strips is ready in less than an hour.
The Easy Cooking Process
- Make the maple and brown sugar glaze.
- Arrange the bacon strips on a foil and parchment paper-lined baking sheet
- Bake until the bacon slices start to brown. Blot the excess grease.
- Brush with the glaze and continue baking. Turn, glaze again, and continue baking.
- Remove from stove and cool.
- Serve and humbly accept all compliments.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: It may be necessary to close open windows if guests’ moaning sounds become too loud.
Common Questions
Q: Can I make this recipe with regular sliced bacon instead of thick sliced bacon?
A: You bet. Reduce your cooking time, and keep an eye on the bacon near the end so it doesn’t burn. You may wish to cut the bacon slices in half since they’ll be thinner.
Q: Can you tell me how to make candied bacon on the stove?
A: You’ll definitely cook the brown sugar maple syrup glaze on your stovetop, but to give the bacon its gorgeous candied exterior it has to spend some time in the oven. The heat of the oven helps the glaze candy and turn glossy. Plus, cooking candied bacon in the oven is super easy and the clean-up is much simpler.
Q: I don’t have these ingredients on hand. Can I substitute sliced pastrami for the bacon, monkfruit sweetener for the brown sugar, and whiskey for the maple syrup?
A: As long as you give my recipe 5 stars, yes.
Useful Tools for this Recipe
Good maple syrup makes all the difference in this recipe. I used bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, but you can also use a quality Grade A maple syrup.*
You’ll need a large baking sheet* to cook the bacon.
The baking sheet is lined with foil for easy clean up, and a top layer of parchment paper* keeps the glazed bacon from sticking to the pan.
Leftovers and Reheating Instructions
Let’s be honest. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll have leftover maple candied bacon. But if you do, you can store the leftover appetizers in a sealed container or on a foil-wrapped plate for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. The glaze may soften a bit and get a little grainy, but not to worry. When you reheat it, the glaze will melt and get shiny again.
Reheat the bacon strips on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about 7-8 minutes, until hot.
Let’s Get Cooking
Begin by lining a baking sheet with foil and topping it with a piece of parchment paper. The foil makes clean-up so easy, and the parchment paper keeps the candied bacon from sticking to the pan.
Arrange the bacon slices on the baking sheet. It’s okay if they overlap, as they will shrink while cooking.
You may need to overlap the bacon strips to fit them on the baking sheet.
While the bacon is bakin,’ let’s make the sticky candied maple glaze. Pour 1/4 cup maple syrup in a heavy saucepan. I used bourbon barrel maple syrup for this batch, but feel free to use your favorite syrup. Add 1/4 cup packed brown sugar.
Combine the maple syrup and brown sugar in a saucepan.
Stir the mixture and heat over medium-high. The sugar will melt into the maple syrup. Continue heating, stirring constantly, just until the syrup bubbles. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Cook the brown sugar and bourbon barrel maple syrup, stirring constantly, until hot and bubbling.
Remove from the heat and reserve.
After ten minutes, remove the bacon pan from the oven and blot it with paper towels.
Brush the bacon on one side with the brown sugar maple syrup glaze.
After you brush the bacon with the syrup, sprinkle it generously with freshly ground black pepper.
Sprinkle the glazed bacon generously with freshly ground black pepper.
Continue baking until bacon strips are crispy and browned, about 10 more minutes.
Your exact cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of your bacon. Watch carefully towards the end of cooking time so bacon doesn’t overcook. Remove from the oven and cool. Arrange on a platter and serve.
Maple candied bacon ready for the takin’!
Here’s the easy, printable recipe:
If you enjoy this recipe for Black Pepper Maple Candied Bacon, we’d be thrilled if you clicked the little stars above and gave the recipe a 5-star rating.
If you use Pinterest to save and share ideas, here’s a handy pin:
*As an Amazon Associate, this site may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps offset our exhorbident bacon habits. Your prices are exactly the same whether your purchase is through an affiliate link or a non-affiliate link. Thank you for your support!
