This Million Dollar Bacon, also known as millionaire bacon, gets its name for a reason! Coated in maple syrup, brown sugar, and my secret blend of spices, it’s the perfect blend of sweet and salty with a touch of heat.
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Pin RecipeIf you’ve ever made bacon in the oven, you know how life-changing it can be. However, we’re taking it up another notch and making it even better with this Million Dollar Bacon recipe!
Guaranteed to turn out amazing every time, this recipe is the perfect addition to your breakfast table alongside scrambled eggs and pancakes. Or, add it to your favorite sandwich for extra flavor and a bit of crunch.
Or, just eat it by itself as a snack! I just can’t get enough of this spicy caramelized bacon and know you’re going to love it, too. It’s sure to become your new go-to bacon recipe for breakfast, brunch, dinner, and every meal in between!
Million Dollar Bacon Recipe
Million dollar bacon is known by many different names. For instance, some people call it crack bacon because it’s so addictive. Meanwhile, others know it as candied bacon, a reference to the sugar syrup coating that makes it taste like a candy bar.
Million dollar bacon is my favorite name because I would definitely pay a million dollars to eat it. It’s that good! Luckily, we can make it for a whole lot less with this easy Million Dollar Bacon recipe.
Fairly budget-friendly, this recipe comes together with just a handful of ingredients. First, I start with thick-cut bacon, which holds up well under the weight of the sugar and spice. Then, the bacon strips are smothered in syrup and brown sugar before being sprinkled with warm seasonings.
The end result is a flavor that is sweet, smokey, and salty all at once. Don’t be surprised if you never go back to classic bacon again, especially after you learn that this recipe only takes a few minutes to make!
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Ingredients for Million Dollar Bacon
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Thick-cut bacon – Thinner-cut varieties will not hold up to the weight of the coating as well. I love to use applewood smoked bacon, maple bacon, or brown sugar smoked bacon because the sweeter flavor adds another amazing layer of depth to the recipe. However, any kind of bacon you like best will work.
- Maple syrup – Use real maple syrup for the best results.
- Dark brown sugar – Personally, I like the richer taste of dark brown sugar, but light brown sugar will also work fine.
- Cayenne pepper
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground black pepper -Grind fresh black peppercorns if possible to get the freshest, most powerful pepper flavor.
Variations
Here are a few great ingredient substitutes and variations that you may want to try.
- Replace the cayenne pepper with red pepper flakes for a different kind of heat.
- Use honey in place of maple syrup for a natural, sweet taste.
- Replace the pork bacon with turkey bacon or vegetarian bacon. The sweet and spicy glaze will work well on whatever you choose!
- You can cook the bacon on a wire rack to help some of the excess grease drip off as it cooks. Place a wire rack on the rimmed baking sheet pan, and lay the bacon strips in a single layer on top of the rack. As the bacon cooks, the grease will drip into the pan, ensuring your bacon gets extra crisp.
How to Make Million Dollar Bacon
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and place a piece of parchment paper on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Add bacon: Lay the bacon slices on the prepared pan.
- Make the glaze: Mix the brown sugar, syrup, and spices in a small bowl. The brown sugar mixture will be thick and wet.
- Add the seasoning: Rub the syrup and spice mixture over each strip of bacon, using your hands to ensure each piece is seasoned evenly.
- Bake: Cook the bacon for about 20 minutes. Cool the millionaire’s bacon for 5 minutes. Then, enjoy your homemade bacon candy!
Quick Tip
Check your bacon frequently as it gets close to being done. The maple glaze can burn quite quickly. So, you want to be sure to pull the spicy bacon out of the oven at the exact right time. The bacon will be a deep, golden brown and have crispy edges when it is fully cooked. You want crispy bacon but not burned bacon!
How to Store Million Dollar Bacon
If you have leftover bacon, store it in an airtight container, and place it in the fridge. The Million Dollar bacon will keep for about 4-5 days.
To reheat leftovers, pop the bacon strips in your oven or toaster oven, and reheat for about 5 minutes. This not only warms it up but also helps it become crisp again!
Serving Suggestions
Million Dollar Bacon makes a great snack all on its own. However, it is also a perfect side dish for any breakfast table. For example, love pairing this bacon with a breakfast casserole, a thick egg sandwich, or a veggie and cheese quiche.
Or, it’s also tasty with sweeter breakfast foods like apple pancakes, Belgian waffles, or homemade muffins. Add a bloody mary to the table and you have the perfect breakfast buffet!
This sweet and spicy bacon is also perfect for adding to pork sliders or even to mac and cheese. It is a very versatile ingredient for sure!
FAQs
There is really no exact reason why this bacon is called Million Dollar Bacon. We assume it is because the bacon is so good that it is worth a million dollars! It seems like a fitting name to me.
Lots of restaurants add ingredients to their bacon like spices and sugar. This amplifies the flavor of bacon and makes it so much better than just plain baked bacon. Use this recipe, and you will be able to make bacon just like a fancy breakfast spot.
Middle-cut bacon is the tastiest bacon. It is streaky, fatty, and cooks beautifully.
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Million Dollar Bacon
Equipment
- Rimmed baking trays
- Parchment paper
- Medium sized mixing bowl
- Spoon or rubber spatula
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 1 pound thick-cut bacon
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 5 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a rimmed baking sheet tray with parchment paper.
- Lay the bacon out across the parchment paper in a single layer. Try not to overlap the pieces of bacon and lay them nice and flat.1 pound thick-cut bacon
- Add the maple syrup, dark brown sugar, cayenne, red pepper and ground black pepper to a medium sized mixing bowl and mix well.3 Tablespoons maple syrup, 5 Tablespoons dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Sprinkle the sugar mix over the bacon making it as even as possible. Use your hands or a spoon to pat the mix onto the bacon so that it is really stuck on well.
- Bake the bacon in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Cook for longer if you like your bacon extra crispy.
- Let the bacon cool for about 5 minutes then enjoy!
Notes
- Add 1 tsp red pepper flakes to make the bacon even spicier
- Watch the bacon closely at the end of the baking time as it can start to burn quickly. The pieces on the edges of the tray will cook fastest so you may want to remove them sooner.
