BREAKFAST RECIPES

Lattice Bacon

Updated

Lattice bacon weaves half-strips into small oven-baked squares that sit neatly on a burger, sandwich or breakfast biscuit, so every bite gets bacon.

Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Yield
4 bacon squares
Illustration of Lattice Bacon

Lattice bacon is a simple trick for a familiar annoyance: bacon strips that slide out of a sandwich as soon as you take a bite. Cutting each slice in half and weaving four halves into a small square gives you a flat, sandwich-sized piece that stays put. This how-to is a classic from the KitchenSimplicity archive.

The squares bake on a sheet pan, which means less splatter than the stovetop, more even browning and nothing to babysit. Make them for a weekend breakfast sandwich, a BLT, or a batch of burgers when you want the bacon to cover the whole bun.

Tips

  • Starting in a cold oven renders the fat gently, which helps the woven strips stay flat and cook evenly.
  • Kitchen shears make quick work of cutting the slices in half.
  • Leftover squares keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; rewarm them in a 350°F oven for 4 to 5 minutes or in a dry skillet.
  • For a bigger burger, weave three half-strips each way using 3 slices per square.

Lattice Bacon

Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Yield
4 bacon squares

Ingredients

  • 8 slices regular-cut bacon (2 slices per square)

Steps

  1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment. Leave the oven off for now.
  2. Cut each bacon slice in half crosswise so you have 16 short pieces.
  3. For one square, lay two half-pieces side by side on the pan, almost touching.
  4. Lift the end of one of those pieces, lay a third half-piece across both, then fold the lifted end back down so the new piece passes under one strip and over the other.
  5. Weave a fourth half-piece across in the opposite pattern, over where the third went under and under where it went over, to make a small woven square.
  6. Repeat with the remaining bacon to build four squares, leaving a little room between them.
  7. Put the pan in the cold oven, then set it to 400°F. Bake for about 20 minutes, counting from when you turn on the oven, until the bacon is as crisp as you like. Thick-cut bacon can take 5 to 10 minutes longer.
  8. If the edges curl up partway through, flip the squares with a fork or tongs and keep baking.
  9. Move the squares to a paper towel-lined plate to drain for a minute, then serve right away.

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