Bacon heaven comes with a little cornmeal and brown sugar in this ultimate recipe for brown sugar bacon! Crispy, sweet and savory all in one easy recipe. Add some perfectly fried eggs and some cheesy grit cakes and you are in breakfast heaven!
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Why we love this recipe
As any of you who have been reading this blog for more than a week or so know, I have a love affair going on with bacon that is true and ever-lasting, and I will put bacon in anything from quiche to salad dressing.
And while I can be perfectly happy with plain old cooked bacon, when I want to go straight to heaven I make this cornmeal and brown sugar crusted version.
What sets this brown sugar bacon apart is that adding a little fine cornmeal and pepper adds a flavor and texture that (warning ahead) will make it hard to make bacon any other way.
And to make things even more wonderful, I belong to the cook-bacon-in-the-oven camp…it is SO much easier and more reliable than doing it on the stovetop or the microwave, and a million times less splattery.
And so this version is an oven version, but with that cornmeal and brown sugar coating that takes bacon to whole new heights of wonderfulness.
Ingredients you need to make this recipe
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Bacon: You can make this with either regular or thick cut bacon. If you use the thick cut kind, give it another few minutes in the oven until it is done to your liking.
- Cornmeal: Fine cornmeal works best for this recipe.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
Here’s how you make this recipe
STEP ONE: Start by preheating your oven and putting a cooling rack (the kind you cool cookies on) in a rimmed pan. Now mix up some cornmeal, brown sugar and just a pinch of black pepper. You want to put in in a shallow plate (like a pie pan) for easy dunking.
STEP TWO: Smoosh that sweet and zingy mixture allllllll over your bacon.
Now lay the bacon strips on that cooling rack. It can overlap a little but try to give each piece of bacon some space.
Step Four: Pop that pan of bacon wonderfulness it in the oven until the bacon is nice and crispy.
Let it stand for a few minutes (SO. HARD.) and there you have it. My all time favorite way to eat bacon.
Recipe FAQ
It is! You are going to let your bacon rest for a few minutes, and the bottom will firm up. You can also skip the cooling rack and put the bacon directly on the baking pan – that will make your bacon a little more greasy (not that there is anything wrong with that!) but will also cook the underside a little more.
You can usually pick up cornmeal in the baking aisle of your supermarket (also check the breakfast aisle), and pick up the finely ground variety. You can use the leftover in Cornmeal Beer Chili!
Nope! Whatever you have on hand is fine. Dark brown sugar has more molasses in it, so your bacon will be slightly sweeter.
Pop your question in the Comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
Well, obviously this is perfect with eggs of all kinds. I vote for this recipe for ricotta scrambled eggs for the ultimate in breakfast happiness.
If you want a little sweet treat alongside your bacon and eggs, you can’t go wrong with this recipe for French Toast Muffins.
Or maybe you would like some good old regular toast? If you plan ahead, you can toast up a slice of this amazing almost No Knead Bread.
Other bacon recipes we love
So if you are ready to take your bacon to the next level of wonderfulness…go get that cornmeal and brown sugar out of the pantry. You’ll never go back.
Could you leave us some stars?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Brown Sugar Bacon
Bacon heaven comes with a little cornmeal and brown sugar in this ultimate recipe for brown sugar bacon!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 16 slices
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup plain yellow cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 16 thick bacon slices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Combine first 3 ingredients in a shallow dish. Dredge bacon slices in cornmeal mixture, shaking off excess.
- Place half of bacon in a single layer on a lightly greased wire rack in a rimmed baking pan. Repeat procedure with remaining bacon, placing on another lightly greased wire rack in a second rimmed baking pan.
- Bake at 400° for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned and crisp. Let stand 5 minutes.
Notes
-
- Bacon: You can make this with either regular or thick cut bacon. If you use the thick cut kind, give it another few minutes in the oven until it is done to your liking.
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- Cornmeal: Fine cornmeal works best for this recipe.
Shaefer says
I love anything sweet and salty. Love the idea of adding the cornmeal. Not sure about the pepper, but I will give it a try!
Hi Shaefer! I would try making a batch that is mostly just the cornmeal and brown sugar, with a couple slices that add the pepper and do a taste test (there is nothing like a bacon taste test to get your day off to a great start!) :)
Jennifurla says
Oh my goodness woman, what are you doing to me!
FramedCooks says
Hoo – cayenne pepper, yes!!! Definitely trying that one. A girl needs as much bacon as she can get with all that turkey going around this week. :)
PoetessWug says
I love cornmeal on just about anything! And you know I love bacon almost as much as you….almost! But the brown sugar idea threw me. O_O I'm gonna try it though! Hey! It's bacon after all! LOL
Joanne says
Sweet, salty, AND a little bit of crunch…what more could a girl want?
FOODalogue says
I don't have a 'love affair' going with bacon but your version takes away all my aversions. I love the dry, crispy, and presumably sweet take on this.
krystie says
a touch of cayenne pepper makes it THAT MUCH BETTER. :)