Photo by Studio52
In my eyes, Chrissy Teigen—cookbook author, supermodel, Twitter queen—can do no wrong. And for good reason: She's brought magic to my kitchen with recipes like French toast casserole and crispy rice salad. Sure, there was that one time when I almost set fire to my kitchen while making her everything bagel breakfast bake, but it was my lack of preparation that was to blame, not Chrissy. Never Chrissy.
With two cookbooks (Cravings and Cravings: Hungry for More, both of which are must-buys) out in the world, I thought for a while that I would have to survive without new cookable content until her next book launch. But then she blessed us with a website dedicated to her favorite recipes, restaurants, kitchen tools, and musings on why Lucky Charms's marshmallows belong in hot chocolate (sheer brilliance).
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It was while perusing the site that I discovered a recipe (though really, I'd call it more of a "life hack") I had egregiously overlooked from the first of her culinary tomes: garlic-roasted bacon.
Maybe I glossed over it because I'm not that big of a bacon fan (I know, I know), but after several of my co-workers insisted I try it, I agreed to test it out—I am our resident Teigen scholar, after all. So I picked up the only two ingredients the recipe calls for (can you guess?), and, with uncharacteristic aloofness, sprinkled the chopped garlic over a few slabs of bacon before popping it in the oven.
Fifteen minutes later and it was time to try it out—I waited zero minutes for it to cool because it looked and smelled very good. But I don't think I was fully prepared to love it as much as I did. Those teeny flecks of roasted garlic added both zest and a rich, gentle sweetness, which worked wonders with bacon's inherent fatty, smoky flavors. It's an iconic coupling with as much star power as Meghan and Harry, Ina and Jeffrey, and—of course—Chrissy and John.
Let's talk for a sec about the quality of the method itself: roasting bacon in the oven with parchment paper. Chrissy swears that this is the all-time best way to cook bacon, though our Absolute Best Tests columnist, Ella Quittner, may have a slightly different opinion on this important matter. All this said, I was a fan. The bacon was appropriately crispy around on the edges and chewy in the middle. Did I mention how good the garlic was?
I personally found it difficult to stop myself from eating every garlic-roasted slice on the sheet pan (I cut myself off at five), but I also think they would be divine on a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, a juicy burger, over creamy polenta, or crumbled over pizza—sky's the limit.
The only thing I will absolutely recommend you do is keep the bacon fat-covered parchment paper on the sheet pan, eat remove all the bacon, and use it to roast root vegetables, like sweet potatoes or carrots. It was a revelation that came to me while testing this recipe for the first time (while simultaneously making dinner), and I know that Chrissy would be proud.
Serves: 3 to 6
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
- 12 slices thick-cut bacon
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Lay the bacon out on a parchment- or foil-lined rimmed baking sheet so the slices don’t overlap. Sprinkle the garlic all over the bacon. Roast until crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. (Or omit the garlic; it’s still the best way to cook bacon.)
Recipe Reprinted from Cravings. Copyright © 2016 by Chrissy Teigen. Photographs copyright © 2016 by Aubrie Pick. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
Written by: Erin Alexander
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48 Comments
The T.
March 21, 2020
Par cook and wrap around chix breast, Cornish hens, beef tenderloin. A great Bloody Mary stirrer!!!
Donald
March 17, 2020
I'd rather cover the sheet pan with foil. The whole point is to aid cleanup (as far as I'm concerned) and parchment paper doesn't help at all.
Its a great tip about roasting veg on the bacon fat that remains. I usually scrape it into a jar to save or deglaze it with some stock and add it to bean soup or chowder.
Its a great tip about roasting veg on the bacon fat that remains. I usually scrape it into a jar to save or deglaze it with some stock and add it to bean soup or chowder.
DEBBIE
March 15, 2020
The fact that I am not enamored over Chrissy Teigen as you are has nothing to do with the fact I would never cook garlic on my bacon. The only time I would cook garlic with bacon would be in a coq au vin, but not on bacon by itself. Thanks but no thanks. I prefer cooking it in the oven like the others - foil lined pan, cold oven set to 400 degrees, etc. I also like to create a fan with heavy duty foil that the bacon rests upon and the grease drains a way from the bacon. To each his own.
Steve H.
March 15, 2020
The best way of cooking bacon for me is to start in a cold oven and put the bacon on a rack on top of the baking pan. In this way, the bacon slowly starts cooking. When it shrinks and the fat renders you'll have less curling of the bacon. It will be perfectly straight, or at least almost. Great for presentation.
An added effect is that the rack will drain off the fat making the bacon less greasy and more healthy. Yes, this way takes a bit longer to cook (maybe 20 minutes, more or less) but has been my way of cooking it for years. Try it!
An added effect is that the rack will drain off the fat making the bacon less greasy and more healthy. Yes, this way takes a bit longer to cook (maybe 20 minutes, more or less) but has been my way of cooking it for years. Try it!
Rubitone
March 15, 2020
We don't need more tips on how to prepare bacon for God's sake! Animal Agriculture (meat and dairy) is the largest contributor to climate change. Eating bacon is also DIRECTLY linked to increased rates of colon cancer. We all need to eat less (or no) meat! Food52 should be teaching us how to cook WITHOUT meat! Don't be part of the problem.
Kurt H.
March 15, 2020
And what we need MORE of, I suppose, is pompous, self-righteous scolds lecturing us on what we're allowed to cook and eat.
Thanks, Rubitone for inspiring my dinner tonight--a nice, big, double bacon, triple cheese, triple patty cheeseburger, and French fries cooked in rendered beef tallow!
Thanks, Rubitone for inspiring my dinner tonight--a nice, big, double bacon, triple cheese, triple patty cheeseburger, and French fries cooked in rendered beef tallow!
Angie
March 15, 2020
I actually believe it adds to the problem when people try to push their lifestyle info onto others...I love bacon😋mmmm. Oven baked is my favorite...no messy stove top!
Wm C.
March 15, 2020
Agreed! Eating bacon helps take my mind off of the terrible chest pains I’ve been having.
Marlene
March 15, 2020
Why do you read sites like this. Clearly is upsetting for you. Stress can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Chris
March 15, 2020
I don’t eat bacon that often, but I also think it’s the best tasting food in the world. Sorry, fake vegan meat, frankly, is not very good. I enjoy a good meat-free dish, but bacon is king. Have you ever met a farmer that has raised a pig to feed the family throughout the year?
So S.
March 17, 2020
While nothing you said was wrong, the rather pompous and belittling way reads a lot less as educational and a lot more as simply self congratulatory. Thus nobody will want to look deeply into your point or listen to it. :/
Ceege
March 18, 2020
This is not a political site. Do not appreciate your progressive remarks. When I am on this site, I am looking for recipes and checking out the reviews on that particular dish.
Rubitone
March 18, 2020
It's not politics. It's science. Either you believe in it or you choose to ignore it. I'll say it again: ANIMAL AGRICULTURE IS THE LARGEST CONTRIBUTOR TO CLIMATE CHANGE. The convergence of evidence regarding bacon and human health is also irrefutable if you choose read it. None of this has anything to do with a "progressive" agenda.
Rubitone
March 18, 2020
Point taken, but this wasn't addressed to the readers. It's addressed to the writer and editors at FOOD52 who all know these facts and still choose to promote food choices that are bad for human health and destructive to the planet.
Greg
March 29, 2020
The experts agree that a plant based diet is the best diet for healthy living. However, there is still plenty of debate on what that means. Many dietitians and health professionals believe that means a reduction in the amount of meat you eat, not a total ban on all meat products. Humans are omnivorous and have been since the point we separated from our primate counterparts in the tree of evolution. The diversity of food in our diet is one of the main reason we have been so successful as a species and why our brains developed they way they did. It is part of the reason, along with our social nature and our ability to communicate that we are as intelligent as we are as a species. If you choose to live a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle that is your choice. If you were merely attempting to provide information or educate people to the benefits of plant based diets that would be different, however, you clearly have chosen to make a moral judgement on anyone who eats meat with no basis in reality. There are plenty of carbon neutral, free range, organic farms producing the highest quality of meats and meat products on the market. Socially responsible means educating yourself before making fantastical assumption about others designed to make you feel better about yourself. There are plenty of vegetable based recipes on this site and hundreds of sites that promote plant based diets elsewhere. Maybe stick to those sites as no one here cares about what you have to say up there above us all on your soap box.
Rubitone
March 29, 2020
Humans are not omnivores. That is a marketing myth that the meat/dairy industry has brainwashed us to believe. In our very recent history, Homo Sapiens may have adopted an omnivorous diet, but that doesn't make us omnivores anymore than feeding rendered cow meat to cattle (a common practice in the US) makes cattle carnivores (they are still, anatomically, ruminant herbivores). Humans are descendant primates and our anatomy remains little changed from our primate ancestors, who are all herbivore (or frugivore) variants. Humans have no known anatomical, physiological, or genetic adaptations to meat consumption. Quite the opposite actually (see below).
There is an overwhelming convergence of evidence that increasing your intake of meat and dairy is linked to a statistically significant likelihood of developing heart disease, cancer (many types) and diabetes (our 3 top killers in the good old USA). If you want to focus on only one scientific fact to confirm the case for plant-based diets for human health, consider this:
A plant-based diet is the only diet proven to prevent and reverse heart disease (America’s biggest killer); no other diet can make that claim. In fact, research presented during the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017 showed that plant-based diets decreased the risk of heart failure by 42 percent among people with no history of heart disease.
Science is on the side of plants. Eventually, we will all figure this out one way or another.
And now: comparative anatomy of eating:
Facial Muscles
Carnivore Reduced to allow wide mouth gape
Herbivore Well-developed
Omnivore Reduced
Human Well-developed
Jaw Type
Carnivore Angle not expanded
Herbivore Expanded angle
Omnivore Angle not expanded
Human Expanded angle
Jaw Joint Location
Carnivore On same plane as molar teeth
Herbivore Above the plane of the molars
Omnivore On same plane as molar teeth
Human Above the plane of the molars
Jaw Motion
Carnivore Shearing; minimal side-to-side motion
Herbivore No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
Omnivore Shearing; minimal side-to-side
Human No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back
Major Jaw Muscles
Carnivore Temporalis
Herbivore Masseter and pterygoids
Omnivore Temporalis
Human Masseter and pterygoids
Mouth Opening vs. Head Size
Carnivore Large
Herbivore Small
Omnivore Large
Human Small
Teeth (Incisors)
Carnivore Short and pointed
Herbivore Broad, flattened and spade shaped
Omnivore Short and pointed
Human Broad, flattened and spade shaped
Teeth (Canines)
Carnivore Long, sharp and curved
Herbivore Dull and short or long (for defense), or none
Omnivore Long, sharp and curved
Human Short and blunted
Teeth (Molars)
Carnivore Sharp, jagged and blade shaped
Herbivore Flattened with cusps vs complex surface
Omnivore Sharp blades and/or flattened
Human Flattened with nodular cusps
Chewing
Carnivore None; swallows food whole
Herbivore Extensive chewing necessary
Omnivore Swallows food whole and/or simple crushing
Human Extensive chewing necessary
Saliva
Carnivore No digestive enzymes
Herbivore Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
Omnivore No digestive enzymes
Human Carbohydrate digesting enzymes
Stomach Type
Carnivore Simple
Herbivore Simple or multiple chambers
Omnivore Simple
Human Simple
Stomach Acidity
Carnivore Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
Herbivore pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
Omnivore Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach
Human pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach
Stomach Capacity
Carnivore 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
Herbivore Less than 30% of total volume of digestive tract
Omnivore 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract
Human 21% to 27% of total volume of digestive tract
Length of Small Intestine
Carnivore 3 to 6 times body length
Herbivore 10 to more than 12 times body length
Omnivore 4 to 6 times body length
Human 10 to 11 times body length
Colon
Carnivore Simple, short and smooth
Herbivore Long, complex; may be sacculated
Omnivore Simple, short and smooth
Human Long, sacculated
Liver
Carnivore Can detoxify vitamin A
Herbivore Cannot detoxify vitamin A
Omnivore Can detoxify vitamin A
Human Cannot detoxify vitamin A
Kidney
Carnivore Extremely concentrated urine
Herbivore Moderately concentrated urine
Omnivore Extremely concentrated urine
Human Moderately concentrated urine
Nails
Carnivore Sharp claws
Herbivore Flattened nails or blunt hooves
Omnivore Sharp claws
Human Flattened nails
Chris
March 30, 2020
I only came on this site to check out a new recipe for bacon, not to get a lecture on food and anatomy. I read the Smithsonian magazine for those articles.
P.S. Sometimes my husband swallows his food whole. Now I’m confused. Haha
P.S. Sometimes my husband swallows his food whole. Now I’m confused. Haha
Rubitone
April 12, 2020
That's factually wrong.
Primates are all classified as herbivores and frugivores. Some, like gorillas, consume a diet of 98% leaves (bamboo and bamboo shoots). They will occasionally eat ants and termites. Some smaller primates like Spider Monkeys are more opportunistic eaters (like humans) and will sometimes consume insects and bird eggs, but their diet is at least 95% fruits and leaves. If you feed a monkey or a chimpanzee a Standard American Diet (meat, dairy, and processed foods) they develop and die from the same diseases we do (heart disease, cancer, and diabetes). Yes, sadly, this has been tried.
Primates (humans included) are adapted to eat primarily plants.
Primates are all classified as herbivores and frugivores. Some, like gorillas, consume a diet of 98% leaves (bamboo and bamboo shoots). They will occasionally eat ants and termites. Some smaller primates like Spider Monkeys are more opportunistic eaters (like humans) and will sometimes consume insects and bird eggs, but their diet is at least 95% fruits and leaves. If you feed a monkey or a chimpanzee a Standard American Diet (meat, dairy, and processed foods) they develop and die from the same diseases we do (heart disease, cancer, and diabetes). Yes, sadly, this has been tried.
Primates (humans included) are adapted to eat primarily plants.
Jodi G.
April 12, 2020
No it isn't--you can find research to support anything you want to believe (it's called information bias). Even Jane Goodall reports that they eat meat--not in large quantities, but they do. I don't think anyone is suggesting that the Standard American Diet is healthy. But bacon IS good. Everything in moderation...ESPECIALLY dietary diatribes!!
Chris
April 13, 2020
I think your approach is actually turning people in the exact opposite direction of where you would like them to be and making everyone defensive.
jimmel
August 9, 2020
And early man invented the atlatel (spelling? spear thrower) to spear leaves..
Linda R.
March 15, 2020
This recipe is a hit with me! I should have turned my pan half way, but that is just my oven. I sprinkled some black pepper on half the bacon, really good.
And I used the sheet and grease to roast vegetables afterwards, Brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, what I stroke of genius! Thank you so much for that idea.
And I used the sheet and grease to roast vegetables afterwards, Brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes, sweet potatoes, what I stroke of genius! Thank you so much for that idea.
Wm C.
March 15, 2020
You know, they sell precooked bacon, now. Shelf stable, less fat, and certainly less mess and time!
Laura M.
March 15, 2020
They do sell minced garlic in olive oil that can be easily spread on each slice of bacon using as little or as much as you want.
MLHE
March 15, 2020
All good, Ms. Tiegen and Erin Alexander...BUT...I have to take this moment to introduce people to my latest discovery: www.queencreekolivemill.com/products/bacon-olive-oil This bacon olive oil is VEGAN. It is soooooooooooooooooooooooo good! You can now make a VEGAN bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich just by toasting your choice of bread in a pan with a slash of this miracle oil! OR, you can make a BLT salad by using this oil as a dressing ingredient with a bit of white balsamic, or, toasting croutons in it. I believe that this olive oil is a modern miracle.
phip
March 15, 2020
My garlic got burnt and acrid. Any advice? I really don’t like the taste of burnt garlic and it’s lingering aftertaste. Why do so many People in the USA think that burnt garlic is what it’s all about? I can smell it a mile away in pseudo Italian restaurants everywhere.
Niki
March 15, 2020
Place foil lined sheet pan with bacon in a cold oven set at 400. Set timer for 20 min for thick bacon, keep eye on thin sliced. When it’s done remove bacon and pour fat into a mug and keep in fridge for all kinds of yummy future cooking enhancements.
cook
January 29, 2020
Also consider using Siracha on bacon, or a Siracha & honey mixture on your pan cooked bacon. You can also do a Siracha and garlic topping for your bacon! I happen to love honey & blue cheese on bacon. I microwave the blue cheese just until it’s melted & use a spoon to put it on the bacon. When I take the pan of bacon out of the oven, I finish it with a touch of honey! I’ve been thinking about starting a bacon foodcart/foodtruck w/different toppings on pan cooked bacon. The crispy garlic cloves will be the side companion like pickles w/a sandwich.
cook
January 29, 2020
Regarding Chrissy Teigen’s bacon w/garlic recipe—Try putting a clove of garlic or slice several cloves of garlic & put them in the corners of the pan (in addition to the chopped garlic on the bacon & instead of using parchment paper, just spray the bare pan w/Spam cooking spray). Everyone will fight over the crispy garlic cloves or crispy garlic clove slices after they have cooked in the juices/bacon greese from the bacon, and then they will fight over the garlic bacon as well.
jblock
January 25, 2020
I’m so surprised the garlic didn’t burn at all, and become bitter! Must try!
Kurt H.
January 21, 2020
So it's finely chopped (or minced? or crushed?) fresh garlic? What is the ratio of garlic cloves to bacon strips?
Erin A.
January 21, 2020
Eeek! In all my excitement I forgot to add the ingredients—MY BAD. I've updated the article but the recipe calls for 12 slices of bacon and 3 cloves of chopped garlic. I did a rough chop on my garlic (and really enjoyed it), but our Senior Editor Eric Kim gave minced garlic a try and loved the crispy, tiny bits.
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