How To Make Bacon Crumbles

By Becky Hardin

Published Jun 28, 2021

Learn how to quickly and easily make the perfect Bacon Crumbles on the stovetop with these tips and tricks. Make these real bacon bits ahead of time to top your favorite salads, sandwiches, and meals.

Easy Bacon Crumbles Recipe

Stove-top crumbled bacon is genius and I’m disappointed in myself for not figuring it out sooner in life. For all the times a recipe calls for crumbled, crispy bacon, this is the go-to thing to make it.

Bacon Crumbles are one of those great little nuggets of info that saves a ton of time and the results are great.

Bacon Crumbles are perfect additions to Cheesy Bacon Crusted Chicken , Loaded Deviled Eggs , Calgary Stampede Cakes , and so many more recipes!

Why you’ll love Homemade Bacon Crumbles:

Crumbles beat store-bought every time: Even the very best bacon bits from the store pale in comparison to homemade Bacon Crumbles. And when it comes to bacon, who’d ever want anything less than the best?
Crumbles save money: If you compare the cost of a pound of bacon and how many crumbles it makes, against the cost of packaged real bacon bits, you’ll be surprised. Cheaper and better? Sign me up!
Your house will smell great: Is there anything more drool-worthy than the smell of cooking bacon?

How To Make Bacon Crumbles

Prep: Freeze the bacon.
Cut: Use a sharp knife to cut the bacon into slices.
Cook: Place the bacon into a medium-hot skillet and stir as it cooks to break the bacon apart.

You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!

step by step photos for how to make bacon crumbles - 6

Do you need to use oil to cook the bacon?

You don’t need any oil to make these bacon bits. The fat in the bacon will start to melt when it hits the hot pan, so there’s no need for additional added fat. Just stir the bacon as it cooks and nothing will stick.

How long do crumbles keep?

Once the Bacon Crumbles have drained on a paper towel and cooled to room temperature, transfer them to an airtight container.

Bacon Crumbles will keep well in the fridge for up to a week and can also be frozen for up to 3 months! There’s no need to defrost them before use.

Are Bacon Crumbles the same as lardons?

Pretty much. Lardons are made from slab bacon, not sliced bacon, which can be hard to find in grocery stores. Because they’re made from a thick slab of bacon, lardons are much thicker than crumbles.

Lardons also historically are made with bacon that isn’t heavily smoked, so the flavor is milder.

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cooked bacon crumbles draining on paper towel - 11

Tips!

Use a good quality natural bacon.
Freeze the bacon! This makes it so much easier to cut into strips.
Don’t crowd the pan. If you are making a large quantity of bacon bits, cook them in batches.
Cook the bacon on medium-high heat. If it’s too hot, the bacon will burn instead of crisping evenly.
Let the bacon cool to room temperature before storing it.
Keep the bacon grease (refrigerated) to use as needed in other recipes. It adds unmatched flavor.

up close cooked bacon crumbles draining on paper towel - 12

Making your own Bacon Crumbles is one of those little things that makes a huge impact. They’re great for salads, baked potato toppings , scrambled eggs – any recipe to which you love adding crumbled bacon or packaged bacon bits.

If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy!

Ingredients1x2x3x

▢ 1 lb bacon frozen for easier cutting

Instructions

Take frozen bacon and using a sharp, large knife, cut the bacon into ¼-inch slices. Use only the amount needed for your recipe and place the rest in the freezer.
Place the bacon in a medium-hot skillet and as it heats, break the bacon apart while stirring.
Cook the bacon until it reaches the level of crispiness you want. move bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon or spatula; drain on a paper towel.
Save bacon grease (refrigerated) to use in other recipes.

Becky’s Tips

Freeze the bacon! This makes it so much easier to cut into strips.
Don’t crowd the pan. If you are making a large quantity of crumbles, cook them in batches.
Cook the bacon on medium-high heat. If it’s too hot the bacon will burn instead of crisping evenly.
Let the bacon cool to room temperature before storing it.
Keep the bacon grease (refrigerated) to use as needed in other recipes.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

For More Bacon Recipes

Green Beans and Bacon Recipe (Pennsylvania Dutch Beans)
Bacon Meatloaf Recipe (Bacon Infused Meatloaf!)
Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple with Brown Sugar
Homemade Bacon Croutons Recipe

How To Make Bacon Crumbles

Ingredients

1 lb bacon frozen for easier cutting

Instructions

Take frozen bacon and using a sharp, large knife, cut the bacon into ¼-inch slices. Use only the amount needed for your recipe and place the rest in the freezer.
Place the bacon in a medium-hot skillet and as it heats, break the bacon apart while stirring.
Cook the bacon until it reaches the level of crispiness you want. move bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon or spatula; drain on a paper towel.
Save bacon grease (refrigerated) to use in other recipes.

Notes

Freeze the bacon! This makes it so much easier to cut into strips.
Don’t crowd the pan. If you are making a large quantity of crumbles, cook them in batches.
Cook the bacon on medium-high heat. If it’s too hot the bacon will burn instead of crisping evenly.
Let the bacon cool to room temperature before storing it.
Keep the bacon grease (refrigerated) to use as needed in other recipes.

Nutrition

By Becky Hardin

Published Jul 12, 2017

This Essential Grocery List is an absolute life saver for my family on the busy weeks. When I started this journey to learn how to cook, I quickly realized that the first step in cooking is having staple ingredients on hand. I want to avoid having to run out to the grocery store every single time I prepare a new recipe. Having a well-stocked pantry has made my life in the kitchen so much simpler, because when it’s time to cook, I have what I need.

Essential Grocery List

It’s so helpful to have a basic grocery list to help me remember which foods to buy at the store. This food shopping list is my go-to!

It’s better to stock up on things like grains, seasonings and spices, baking essentials, oils, condiments, canned and frozen foods, etc. so I can just grab them when I need them. These things have a long shelf life , so I keep them in my kitchen for convenience.

However, I do have to go to the supermarket sometimes, and there’s a way to make that trip easy and hassle-free: I keep a grocery list! If I go in blindly, I’ll leave with things I don’t need, and nothing that actually helps me prepare a good meal.

In the list below, I’ve compiled everything I always have on my stock-up grocery list.

I’ve got you covered! I created an easy grocery list filled with all of the essentials. Plus there’s a free printable version that you can take with you to the grocery store. It has everything you need to stock your pantry, your freezer, and your refrigerator.

Click to get my Free Printable Grocery List

What to Buy at the Grocery Store

This is the perfect grocery list filled with all the basics and essentials. It should help get you going if you’re new to cooking, or if you’re just left staring helplessly at an empty pantry and don’t know how to fill it.

When I first started cooking, things could seem overwhelming. I quickly realized that they more prepared I could be, the more confident I felt. If you already have the basics in your kitchen, then you can shop stress-free.

So print out our easy grocery list, stock up your pantry and fridge, and you’ll be cooking in no time!