Billionaire Bacon is smokey, savory, spicy, and sweet — in a word: irresistible! Upgrade your brunch menu or holiday breakfast with this easy yet impressive 3 ingredient recipe.
If you’re looking for a way to dial up the delicious knob at your next brunch or holiday breakfast — Billionaire Bacon will not only get the job done, but steal the entire show.
With the perfect balance of smokey, savory, sweet, and spicy, this oven baked bacon is RIDIIIIIICULOUS. I wish I could reach through your computer screen and give your shoulders a little shake when I say this for emphasis!
Turns out the only thing better than bacon, is bacon topped with brown sugar and red chili pepper flakes then baked until golden brown and chewy. Like I said, it’s ridiculously delicious!
Billionaire Bacon from Snoop Dog
The concept of Billionaire’s Bacon comes from Snoop Dog’s cookbook from From Crook to Cook (go Snoop Dog)! His recipe calls for sprinkling bacon with brown sugar, black pepper, and red chili pepper flakes then baking it in a hot oven until sizzling.
I’m giving SD’s recipe a little tweak by axing the black pepper (I don’t think it needs it), and using my go-to method for cooking perfect bacon, which is to put the bacon on a sheet pan, place it into a COLD oven, then let the bacon bake low and slow while the oven comes to temperature.
I cannot emphasize enough how irresistible and impressive this bacon is, yet it’s also so easy that I routinely make it for my kids in the morning before school. Bougie breakfast for three, blarg!
How to Pick the Perfect Pack of Bacon
Billionaire Bacon is only as good as the of bacon you start with. Here’s how to pick then prep the bacon for this recipe:
- Choose a medium to thick-cut bacon. Regular bacon will still work, but thicker, meatier bacon provides more balance to the sweet and spicy flavors.
- Look at the back of the pack. Check out the back of the bacon package — if you see a lot of fat, pick another pack.
- Trim off excess fat. I like to trim off any excessively fatty ends of bacon otherwise they can remain a little soft after baking. Typically I bake my bacon until it’s very crispy, but we bake this bacon for less time so the brown sugar doesn’t burn.
Even if you’re not making Billionaire Bacon, I still recommend you use the window on the back of the package to ensure there’s more meat then fat.
Nothing worse then opening a pack of bacon then realizing you just paid for mostly pork fat!
When to Serve Billionaire Bacon
Billionaire Bacon takes just 2-3 additional minutes of prep time compared to my traditional baked bacon, but it’s so impressive that you can serve it at more formal events. Set out a platter at:
- Easter, Christmas, or Thanksgiving breakfast
- Baby or bridal showers
- Bloody Mary bars
- Breakfast bars
- BLT bars
- Tailgating
This bacon is also super easy to prep ahead of time. Prepare according to recipe instructions up to the point of baking then cover the sheet pan with saran wrap or glad press ‘n’ seal and stash it in the fridge.
Alrighty — ready for the best bacon of your life?!
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Pair with Baked Oatmeal Cups
How to Make Billionaire Bacon
Start by lining a half sheet pan with foil followed by parchment paper. The foil is for easy clean up, plus the bacon won’t stick to parchment paper.
Line a package of bacon onto the prepared baking sheet — the slices can be touching by not overlapping. Again, I recommend a medium to thick-cut bacon, vs regular or thinly-sliced bacon.
Sprinkle the tops with brown sugar and red chili pepper flakes. For a 12oz package of bacon, I generally use a little less than 1/2 cup brown sugar, and around 2 teaspoons red chili pepper flakes, but the amount of each is completely up to you.
Place the baking sheet into a COLD oven then set it to preheat to 375 degrees. Once the oven comes to temperature, rotate the sheet pan 180 degrees then keep baking until the bacon is cooked through and the brown sugar is caramelized and browned.
Let the bacon rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then use tongs to transfer it to a platter, letting any excess fat drip off.
Recipe Tip
Don’t transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, as we typically do with regular bacon. The brown sugar will cause it to stick to the paper towels.
Let the bacon rest for another 5-10 minutes before serving, which gives the brown sugar time to firm up. This is the perfect amount of time to scramble some eggs, toast some bread, then devour a delicious and memorable breakfast! Enjoy!
More Delicious Brunch Recipes
- 12 oz package bacon, medium to thick cut
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons red chili pepper flakes, or more or less
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Line a half sheet pan with foil followed by parchment paper then place the bacon slices on top — the slices can be touching but not overlapping.
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Sprinkle the tops with brown sugar — you may not need or want to use the entire amount. I typically use 1 to 2 Tablespoons less than 1/2 cup. Sprinkle the red chili pepper flakes over the top.
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Place the baking sheet into a COLD oven then preheat it to 375 degrees. Once the oven reaches 375 degrees, rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees then continue baking until the bacon is cooked through and the tops are caramelized and bubbly. This typically takes 8-10 additional minutes in my oven set to convection bake, but the final baking time will depend on your oven, oven settings, and how thickly-cut the bacon is.
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Remove the bacon from the oven then let it sit on the sheet pan for 5 minutes. Use tongs to lift up each slice of bacon and let the fat drip off then transfer to a serving platter. Let the bacon sit for 5-10 more minutes then serve.
Calories: 154kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.04g, Cholesterol: 19mg, Sodium: 196mg, Potassium: 75mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 109IU, Vitamin C: 0.003mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 0.2mg
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin
