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.
Jess says
We’ve made this four or five times and comes out great each time!
Tanya says
Thanks Jess! So glad you like the recipe.
Leslie says
Thank you! We just had this yesterday, so i was going to experiment! If you cut the slices in half before cooking, you get crisper ends on all sides. I cut the sweet a bit by pulling back on the brown sugar. You don’t have to season the second side until you flip, which saves some effort. Again to make less sweet and more sticky, I drizzled with syrup with molasses. Absolutely should glaze under the heating element on broil for 1-2 minutes (watching) after the syrup/molasses... First Watch bacon is a little soggy for my taste, so that made it devine!
Burrito says
You nailed it! We really enjoy Million Dollar Bacon when we get a chance to dine at First Watch, so this is a great bonus and saves a lot of travel for us. Very easy to prepare - would recommend bumping up the cracked pepper to cayenne proportion by 50% to smooth out the sweetness. Thanks for sharing!
Tanya says
Thank you so much!
Patty says
This is delish and I love this site! Thanks for the great ideas! I don’t add the syrup at the end as it’s sweet enough for me and I like it crispy! So good with a Bloody Mary !
Sarah says
We have also eaten at First Watch when visiting family and enjoyed their Million Dollar bacon!! My husband recently said he had a craving for it! We’re a long way from the restaurant, so thanks for a great recipe to replicate the bacon at home!!
Nikala says
Very simple recipe! All ingredients I had at home in my cabinet. Thank you! My partner and I loved it and will definitely make again.
Tanya says
Thank you 🙂 So glad you liked the recipe.
Justine H. says
Love this simple recipe for the BEST bacon ever! Thanks for your post!
Tanya says
Thank you Justine H. 🙂
Jennifer says
Would do again, tasty and easy! Very easy recipe to follow and execute! Almost foolproof, I accidentally added the maple syrup to the brown sugar mix and it still came out good! Crispy, slightly chewy (in a good way) with some heat/sweet/and salty as described! Would definitely make again. As noted, need to keep an eye on the cooking times since not all bacon is the same thickness. Thanks!
patty says
this was delish. i didn't add the syrup at the end as i thought it would be sweet enough and it was. next time i'll add more of the peppers for a bit more kick. thanks for the great recipe!
ARC says
Thank you for this! We're still in quaratine and my daughter was begging for First Watch food!
Tanya says
You're so welcome! We love that place too and can't wait to visit again once we can.
Rich D says
I have been making something similar ever since I had it at First Watch. TBH I did not like their food and felt like it was overpriced ($10 for a pancake??),with a huge exception of this bacon. I have been making it at home with just brown sugar and hot sauce and people go nuts for it. I'm sure that maple syrup will make it even better. There is something about that sticky sweetness when it comes out of the oven!
Tanya says
I love your addition of hot sauce. I'm trying that next time. But yes, the sweet, salty, and spicy all in one bite is what makes this kind of bacon so amazing.
Maxine says
Your recipe sounds perfect. I've had this at First Watch and it's delicious. I'm hosting an Easter brunch and would love to serve this. You mentioned that they can be made ahead and refrigerated. What would be the best way to reheat without overcooking? Thanks!
Tanya says
Hi, a quick zap in the microwave works. About 10-20 seconds.
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.
Sofia says
@Glenn S., hey Glenn, the same thing happened to me! I made a second batch and left it in for only 25 minutes total. The first time I followed the directions (20 min, then flip, another 20 min). 40 minutes is too long for the bacon to sit in the oven. At least in mine. It was completely black. Try doing 15 min, flip, then another 10 min. Doing that yielded the perfect crispness and looked just like the picture!
Myra says
@Tanya,
I made a mistake and mixed the maple syrup in with the dry ingredients and brushed it on the bacon. Baked 20 min on each side at 350* and it came out perfect. I think next time I will double the peppers as someone else suggested as I did not get the spicy taste.