Our Best Smoky, Sizzling Bacon Recipes (2024)

Bacon-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin

Chef Kieron Hales of Cornman Farms in southeast Michigan makes a perfectly pink beef tenderloin that hearkens to his mum's Sunday roasts. Keep in mind, the bacon under the roast won't get crisp, but it will cook through and flavor both the beef and the sauce.

BLT Salad

Turn a classic BLT into a main dish salad. The favorite combination of bacon, lettuce, and tomato are added to a mix of vegetables and toasted bread to make a delightful meal. Creamy mustard dressing makes the perfect topping.

Radish, Green Beans and Bacon Saute

This simple side dish is a great recipe for spring and fall, when you can buy local radishes with gorgeous fresh greens attached (or pick your own!).

Orange-Sage Sweet Potatoes with Bacon

Orange juice concentrate brings out the sweet flavor while crumbled bacon adds a warm smokiness to this sweet potato side dish made in the slow cooker. Try with roasted pork loin or turkey breast.

Long-Cooked Collards with Apples and Bacon

This side dish is an autumn favorite at Iowa's Rapid Creek Cidery—and a great way to explore nutritious collard greens. The recipe takes a while, but most of the cooking is hands-free, leaving plenty of time to prepare pork chops or chicken.

Green Beans with Bacon and Onion

Picky eaters in your family? Bacon-dressed beans will surely tempt them to eat their veggies.

Peach and Bacon Avocado Toast

You say tomato, we say peach—at least, we do for this fantastic BLT-avocado toast hybrid. Eat it for breakfast, brunch or dinner!

Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potato Bites

These sweet and salty caramelized bites are so good, you may not even want to dip them. But be sure you do for a tangy, creamy finish.

Bacon and Baked Potato Soup

Bacon is versatile and dependable, amping up most dishes. Our cheesy potato soup, for instance, just seems to call for salty-smoky crumbled bacon. So we stirred some in and sprinkled the rest on top.

Bacon-Cheddar Cheese Balls

Freshly shredded cheese works better than packaged shredded cheese in a cheese ball. Prepare the cheese mixture the night before so flavors have a chance to blend. Shape and roll in the crumbled bacon or pistachio nuts a few hours before serving.

Starker's Bacon and Cheese-Curd Burger

You can find the bacon and cheese inside these hamburgers instead of on top. Adults and kids love these flavorful burgers. Serve them at your next outdoor gathering.

Bacon-Rutabaga Bisque

This twist on your classic potato soup uses rutabaga, a humble root veggie that has a deliciously sweet-nutty flavor.

Sassy Baked Beans

Mix and match different kinds of beans and meat to suit your preferences. Our smoky-sweet baked beans will beat canned beans every time, especially at a potluck!

Browned Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Feta

Give Brussels sprouts a fresh taste with this colorful side dish flavored with bacon and feta. The trick to preserving the sprouts' mild taste is to avoid overcooking.

Birchwood BLT

Minneapolis chef Tracy Singleton combines summer's greatest hits—heirloom tomatoes, basil and sweet corn—in what she calls "a kitchen sink sandwich."

Meat and Potato Pizza

This pizza is topped with a totally mouth-watering combo of bacon, thin-sliced potatoes, sausage and a delectable garlic-rosemary butter. The recipe comes from Hidemi Walsh of Plainfield, Indiana.

Bacon, Ham and Egg Hash

This hearty breakfast recipe comes from Niman Ranch, which turns to Iowa for much of its pork.

Bacon-Pear Macaroni and Cheese

Crispy bacon, extra-creamy cheese sauce and pears sauteed in brown sugar and butter all come together for a decadent and delicious macaroni and cheese.

Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms

This five-ingredient appetizer recipe comes from the bacon pros at Nueske's meats in Wisconsin.

Cajun Sweet Corn and Bacon Jumble

Salty bacon and Cajun seasoning liven up this veggie mixture for a hearty side.

Chicken, Bacon and Cheddar Submarines

This crowd-pleasing party sandwich works on your schedule. You can prepare and bake it all at once for a party, or assemble the sandwiches the night before, and then bake them when your family or guests are ready to eat.

Easy bacon sandwiches

Clockwise, from top left:

On a flour tortilla, combine scrambled eggs, pico de gallo or salsa, pepper Jack cheese and chopped bacon. Serve it rolled up or open face.

Rye bread gets topped with Dijon-style mustard, bacon slices, Granny Smith apple slices and Brie.

On sliced wheat bread, layer Canadian bacon, coleslaw, pickles and barbecue sauce.

Top a toasted English muffin with peanut butter, bacon, banana slices and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Party pumpernickel bread gets a topping of sliced pear (brushed with lemon juice), blue cheese crumbles, bacon and honey.

Toasted white bread meets sliced roasted turkey, bacon strips, avocado and fresh ground pepper.