Rich and fatty, bacon is a hearty food that features prominently in filling cold-weather dishes. But you don't need to stop eating it just because the temperature rises. Bacon can be just at home in summer dishes. From potato salad to pasta to sandwiches, we've rounded up our favorite summer bacon recipes.
When summer arrives, it brings with it a bounty of produce. For us, that means it's time to make salad. Crispy bacon adds a meaty crunch to fresh salads. In our classic salade Lyonnaise, bitter frisée is tempered with a runny poached egg, lardons, and a vinaigrette emulsified with bacon fat. Bacon vinaigrette also adorns our bacon-topped take on a caprese salad.
We've yet to meet a sandwich that isn't made better by a few strips of bacon. Our Bel-Air club is a decadent variation on the classic with herb aïoli, a fried egg, and Gruyère cheese. For something extra filling, try the chivito—a Uruguayan cheesesteak made with steak, mozzarella, bacon, and a hard-boiled egg. On the lighter side, try a simple sandwich of crispy bacon paired with sweet, creamy peanut butter on whole wheat bread.
Next time you go on a hike, don't take just any snack. Our barbecue trail mix is the perfect fuel for your outdoor adventures. This is some serious stuff, with three kinds of nuts, two kinds of dried fruit , cacao nibs, and a flurry of spices. And yes it's also got bacon.
Find all these dishes and more in our collection of summery bacon recipes.
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Noodles with Peas (Pasta e Piselli)
Noodles with Peas (Pasta e Piselli)
Barbecue Trail Mix
Barbecue Trail Mix
Exceptional Salmon
Easy and delicious, this quick-to-make recipe is typical of Nigella Lawson’s no-nonsense, breezy approach to food. Get the recipe for Exceptional Salmon
When I worked for a catering company in the seventies, we cranked out dozens of quiches Lorraine every day. Many a night I’d bring home one of the egg-, cream-, and bacon-filled tarts, and my boyfriend (now my husband) would dog the whole thing in one sitting. When Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche hit the bookstores, we had no idea what they were talking about. —Sara Moulton Get the recipe for Quiche Lorraine »
Billionaire's Bacon
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Peanut Butter and Bacon Sandwich
Bring out peanut butter’s savory side by topping it with a few strips of smoky bacon—cooked extra-crisp to hold up against sogginess. On hearty whole-wheat bread, it’s the kind of sandwich you may not be able to wait until lunchtime to eat. Get the recipe for Peanut Butter and Bacon Sandwich »
Bacon and Shrimp Fried Rice
Bacon adds smoky dimension to this stir-fry, a quick late-night snack from chef Tadashi Ono. It’s easily adapted to whatever leftovers you have in your fridge—roasted pork or chicken, egg, seafood, or just about any kind of vegetables.
Bel-Air Club Sandwich
Slathered with herb aïoli and enriched with a pan-fried egg and Gruyère cheese, this turkey and ham club is a decadent version of the diner staple. Get the recipe for Bel-Air Club Sandwich »
Alsatian Bacon and Onion Tart (Tarte Flambée)
Cooking on a very hot pizza stone gives this bacon and onion tart a shatteringly crispy crust. Get the recipe »
Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon
Fresh heads of romaine lettuce are split down the middle, grilled until charred and smoky, and then topped with blue cheese and bacon for this satisfying salad. Get the recipe for Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese and Bacon »
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Bacon and Egg Pie
Bacon and Egg Pie
German Braised Beef Rolls (Rouladen)
In this version of the German classic, thinly pounded beef is smeared with whole-grain mustard; rolled with bacon, onion, and pickle spears; and then braised until tender. Get the recipe for German Braised Beef Rolls »
Welsh-Style Pork Meatballs with Onion Gravy (fa*ggots with Onion Gravy)
These liver-enriched pork meatballs, named for the old northern British term for uncased sausage, are delicious doused in a buttery onion gravy. Get the recipe for Welsh-Style Pork Meatballs with Onion Gravy (fa*ggots with Onion Gravy) »
Cobb Salad
Los Angeles’s Brown Derby closed its doors long ago, but this classic salad, invented in 1937 by the restaurant’s owner, Robert H. Cobb, lives on.
Shrimp and Grits
Coarse stone-ground grits lend texture and robust flavor to a classic, cheesy dish with sweet shrimp and smoky bacon. Get the recipe for Shrimp and Grits »
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Fried Tofu and Bacon Fritters (Tofu Wanzi)
China meets the American South in these tofu, bacon, and scallion fritters. Get the recipe for Fried Tofu and Bacon Fritters (Tofu Wanzi) »
Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
These poppers have a perfect marriage of textures and flavors—creamy, chive-flecked cheese cuts the bite of roasted jalapeños, while crispy bacon adds crunch.
Onion and Bacon Tart
The custardy batter will puff like an enormous popover in the oven while remaining crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Get the recipe »
Bacon, Spinach, and Fromage Blanc Frittat
This smoky bacon and spinach frittata is laced with aged white cheddar and creamy, tart fromage blanc.
Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Trout with Tarragon
This trout dish turns smoky and succulent in a stove-top smoker.
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These small bacon and onion pies are a staple of Latvian festive tables. We prefer double-smoked bacon, but any thick-cut bacon will do.
Bacon Butty
This beloved British sandwich uses a meaty cut of pork from the loin of the pig, commonly referred to in North America as back bacon.
French Bacon, Potato, and Reblochon Casserole (Tartiflette)
Reblochon, a soft washed-rind cheese from the French Alps, adds a luxurious creaminess and delicious pungency to this simple bacon and potato gratin. Get the recipe for French Bacon, Potato, and Reblochon Casserole (Tartiflette) »
A vinaigrette made with roasted garlic and bacon adds salty, savory flavor to a classic caprese salad.
Flameware—clay pots that can be used on the stove or in the oven—was pioneered in the ’50s but has lost popularity as the special clay is notoriously difficult to work with and materials like enameled cast iron meet most high-heat cooking needs. Travis McFlynn, Bay Area’s ceramicist-to-the-chefs, has developed a line of flameware that is handmade and gorgeous enough to cook and serve in. Chad Robertson, who favors McFlynn’s vessels for this dish at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, considers the benefits of the painstaking process: “When you have a wood-fired oven, it’s sexy to be blasting a dish and then serve it right out of there.”
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Wayne Thiebaud's Spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese
In the spirit of a classic carbonara, artist Wayne Thiebaud’s recipe from the California Artists Cookbook (Abbeville Press, 1982) combines smoky bacon and prosciutto with egg yolks and mizithra, an aged sheep’s milk cheese from Greece, for a gloriously rich dish. Get the recipe for Wayne Thiebaud’s Spaghetti with Mizithra Cheese »
Devils on Horseback
In this version of the classic hors d’oeuvre, oysters are cooked with garlic and wine, then set “astride” toasted garlic bread slices and sprinkled with bacon.
German Potato Salad
Just a few simple ingredients come together for a delightfully punchy, vinegary potato salad that’s perfect with any barbecue spread.
Stir-Fried Celtuce Tops with Wild Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Celtuce Tops with Wild Mushrooms
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Calzone
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Calzone
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Swedish Potato Dumplings Stuffed with Bacon and Onion (Kroppkakor)
Kroppkakor, hearty mashed potato dumplings stuffed with an allspice-laden filling of bacon and onion, are a specialty of Oland, an island off the southern coast of Sweden. Get the recipe for Swedish Potato Dumplings »
Fingerling Potatoes with Bacon
The secret to this simple dish is to use the best quality bacon available. Delicious and straightforward, you can whip this dish together quickly while keeping the oven available for other jobs.
Salade Lyonnaise
Hailing from Lyon, this French bistro standard gathers a delectable trio of bitter frisée, runny poached egg, and crisp lardons. Get the recipe for Salade Lyonnaise »
First Night Crab
This simple recipe for boiled handpicked crab, from writer Isabel Gillies’ mother, welcomes visitors on their first night at the family’s Maine summer house. Warmed in thick cream and served over rice with peas on the side—no salt needed, just a grind of black pepper—it lets the fresh flavor of summer crab really shine. Get the recipe for First Night Crab »
Tender springtime pea shoots are natural partners for rich-tasting shrimp and bacon.
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Cheesy Corn Casserole
This baked corn casserole is a popular side dish at Smokestack restaurant in Kansas City.
Mashed with bacon and garlic, this plantain dish is served with a quick tomato sauce.
Hangtown Fry
Hangtown Fry
Pasta Shells with Artichoke-Clam Sauce
Southern cooks freeze field peas in the summer to use in the colder months. But butter beans or Sea Island red peas, an heirloom variety from South Carolina, make great substitutes in this casserole.
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Swiss Onion Tart
This tart uses a salty, smoky ham known as speck; bacon is a good substitute.
Uruguayan Steak Sandwich (Chivito)
This is chef Ignacio Mattos’ version of a hearty cheesesteak sandwich that is served in restaurants and cafés throughout Uruguay.
