This is called Million Dollar Bacon for good reason. It consists of yummy pieces of thick bacon covered in brown sugar, spices, and maple syrup—the perfect mix of sweet, spicy, and salty.
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The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.
If you see "Million Dollar Bacon" on a restaurant menu, you should definitely order it. It's a known item at a restaurant called First Watch, and it is amazing. All of the food there is amazing, but what really stands out is their take on candied bacon.
It's not only deliciously sweet but also has the perfect hint of spice. At my first bite, I knew why it had its name. It truly made me feel like a million bucks.
My Hubby requested that I make it at home, so I did. Now, I must share it because this delicious bacon should not be a secret.
Check out my how to bake bacon in the oven and air fryer bacon recipes too.
Ingredients for Million Dollar Bacon
- Bacon: The star of the dish, bacon provides a savory, smoky flavor with a crispy texture. Thick bacon is best for a chewy texture and holding onto flavors. Thin bacon works well for faster cooking and a crispy result.
- Sweeteners: Brown Sugar and maple syrup add a sweet, molasses-like flavor that caramelizes the bacon, creating a sticky, crunchy coating. This balances the bacon's savory saltiness with a hint of sweetness.
- Seasongs: Fresh Cracked Black Pepper and cayenne pepper: (½ teaspoon): Complents the sweetness and saltiness of the dish.
Tools Needed
- Baking sheet
- Aluminum foil or parchment paper
- Cooling rack (optional)
- Mixing bowl
How to make Million Dollar Bacon
First, move your oven rack to the middle rack and proceed to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small bowl, combine your brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
Next, get a pack of thick-cut bacon. You can use regular bacon if that's what you have, but thick-cut bacon provides a nice balance of crispiness and a chewy, jerky-like texture. I strongly recommend it.
Grab some foil paper and lay it on a baking sheet. Lay your bacon on the sheet and cover both sides with the brown sugar mixture.
You want the sugar mixture all over your bacon.
Place your bacon in your preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Open oven and flip bacon pieces and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the bacon is done.
Remove bacon and move to a cooling rack. You may use a paper towel to remove any excess grease on the bacon.
Drizzle bacon with maple syrup.
Serve warm.
Tanya's Notes on Millionaire Bacon
- Whether or not to use a rack when baking is the question. I’ve tested both ways and preferred to bake it on the baking sheet without a rack. The bacon was able to soak up all that sugary spicy goodness in the oven without it dripping off during baking. You can use a paper towel to dab up any excess grease after baking but before drizzling the maple syrup.
- If you’re not using thick cut bacon, decrease the baking times by about half.
- This bacon can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for a few days.
Looking for more breakfast recipes? Try these out:
- Sheet Pan Pancakes
- Homemade Pumpkin Waffles
- Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
- Breakfast Potatoes (Air Fryer Recipe)
- Cheesy Corned Beef Breakfast Casserole
- Egg Bites (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
- Pumpkin Oatmeal (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
- Strawberry Baked Oatmeal
Watch this video tutorial and see how I make this bacon from start to finish.
Million Dollar Bacon
Ingredients
- 10 pieces thick cut bacon
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 Tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Place oven rack on center rack. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
- Place foil on a 13x9 baking sheet. Add bacon in a single layer.
- Cover both sides of pieces of bacon with the brown sugar mixture.
- Bake in preheated oven on center rack for 20 minutes, then flip and cook for 15-20 minutes on other side.
- Remove bacon from oven and place on cooling rack to dry.
- Cover bacon with maple syrup
Suggested Tools
Video
Notes
- If you prefer, you can bake the bacon on racks in the oven to drain off excess fat while baking. I prefer to bake without a rack and use paper towels after baking to dab up any excess grease.
- Not all thick bacon is created equally. Some bacon is labeled as "thick" bacon when it truly isn't. If using thinner bacon, start checking for doneness after 20 minutes.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on July, 18 2019. It has been updated with additional helpful information.
Kristin Johnson says
Burned and smoked up whole house. 😫 35-40 minutes cook time I guess is too long. Assuming the others knew this. I will try again next weekend for 20 minutes only. I’m not a good cook so follow directions exactly which did not work on this recipe. Other newbies - either flip after 10 minutes or maybe not at all?
Tanya says
Hi Kristin, it looks like you missed this note in the recipe card. "Not all thick bacon is created equally. Some bacon is labeled as “thick” bacon when it truly isn’t. If using thinner bacon, start checking for doneness after 20 minutes." If your bacon is thinner, flip it at around 10 minutes. I'd love to hear how it turns out for you when you try again.
J says
Attempted twice. The first time my "thick cut" Bacon was not thick and absolutely burnt to a crisp. You did warn me. The second time worked wonderfully, cooked for 22 minutes. It's great, but I cannot tell if it's better with or without the maple syrup. I ended up only covering half in the maple syrup and ate the other half without (there was no leftover). Thank you!
DB says
I use coconut sugar and sugar free maple syrup making it a lower sugar treat for my Type 2 Diabetic husband. I found a tad more cayenne pepper was needed for a spice to meet the sweet.