This is called Million Dollar Bacon for good reason. Yummy pieces of thick bacon covered in brown sugar, spices, and maple syrup. It’s the perfect mix of sweet, spicy, and salty.
This post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclaimer here.
Full Recipe/Instructions are available in the
recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.
If you’re out to eat at a restaurant and you see something on the menu called “Million Dollar Bacon” then it’s a must that you should order it, right? Well that’s what happened when hubby and I recently tried a restaurant called First Watch. All of the food was amazing but what really stood out was their take on candied bacon.
It was not only deliciously sweet, it had the perfect hint of spice. I knew at my first bite why it had its name. It truly had me feeling like a million bucks.
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.
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 could use regular bacon if that’s all you have on hand but the thick cut gives this bacon a nice crispy yet jerky kind of feel. 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.
Notes on Millionaire Bacon
- To use a rack or not when baking, that’s 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:
- Breakfast Potatoes (Air Fryer Recipe)
- Cheesy Corned Beef Breakfast Casserole
- Egg Bites (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
- Pumpkin Oatmeal (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
- Strawberry Baked Oatmeal
Million Dollar Bacon
Ingredients
- 10 pieces thick cut bacon
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 Tbsp 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 13×9 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
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 labled as “thick” bacon when it truly isn’t. If using thinner bacon, start checking for doneness after 20 minutes.
Joe says
Perfect! It came out just right. Thank you for the recipe.
Tanya says
Awesome! So glad you liked it 🙂
J Farmer says
This recipe is all the way awesome. I made it for my family and the only problem was I did not make enough. Thank you so much
Tanya says
Awesome! So glad you liked the recipe.
Glenn S. says
I followed directions exactly but my bacon came out burnt nothing like I had at First Watch. Could it be my oven? Came out black nothing like your beautiful photos. I made a thick liquid from the ingredients and spread it on bacon strips with a brush. Was that the way to do it?. Pleas advise.
Tanya says
Hi Glenn, You want to make sure you only add the dry ingredients to the bacon before baking. That’s the brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. You would add the maple syrup after the bacon has baked in the oven. Adding it before hand will cause your maple syrup to burn in the oven.