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Candied Bacon Crackers are a simple and easy idea that is hard to beat for party appetizers. These are the perfect bite-sized poppable snack for the holidays and game days.
Made with just five ingredients, you’ll be hard pressed to find an easier, more crowd-pleasing appetizer than these Candied Bacon Crackers! After you fall in love with these, you are sure to love Bacon Wrapped Chicken Cheddar Bites and Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls.
Why You’ll Love Candied Bacon Crackers
You had me at brown sugar bacon! These Candied Bacon Crackers are crunchy, smoky, sweet and salty with just a kick of heat. The fat from the bacon slowly bakes into the crackers as they cook, caramelizing the brown sugar and creating the perfect soft chewy-crunchy texture.
Quick and Easy Assembly – I put together a full pan of these candied bacon crackers in just 15 minutes. Then they bake low and slow for about 35-45 minutes at 300 degrees.
Just 5 Ingredients – Bacon, buttery Club crackers, parmesan cheese, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes
Texture Heaven! – from the melted parmesan cheese to the chewy caramelized cracker and bacon – this is chewy-crunchy cracker perfection.
Key Ingredients
1 lb. Thin-Sliced Bacon – opt for thinly-sliced bacon so it’s the proper ratio to the cracker and cooks through before the crackers burn/overcook.
Parmesan Cheese Wedge – cut into thin pieces about the length of the cracker
Club Crackers (1.5 sleeves) – Club crackers are the perfect size for each piece of bacon. You can alternately use Ritz or your favorite crackers, but nothing I’ve found beats the flavor and convenient size of Club crackers.
Brown Sugar – a few pinches of brown sugar atop each piece of bacon so that it melts into the bacon as it bakes.
Red Pepper Flakes – sprinkle a pinch of red pepper flakes onto the brown sugar for a kick of heat and to balance out the sweetness.
How to Make Parmesan Candied Bacon Crackers
Step 1: Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. To prep, thinly slice parmesan wedge and set aside. Slice the bacon into fours so they match the length of the crackers. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper to catch the drippings from the crackers and place a cooling rack on top the lined baking sheet.
Step 2: To assemble, place one piece of parmesan onto the cracker, top with bacon, followed by the brown sugar, and finally the red pepper flakes. Repeat with remaining crackers.
Step 3: Place each cracker onto the cooling rack side by side. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through and begin checking on them at 30 minutes. Once the bacon is cooked through and the edges of the crackers begin to brown, they are finished.
Tools I Love for Making Parmesan Candied Bacon Crackers
Baking pan and cooling rack set
Brown Sugar Air Tight Container
Leftover Bacon Storage Container for Fridge
How to Store Candied Bacon Crackers
Once these crackers have baked and cooled, they can be kept at room temperature for a few hours. To store them longer just place them into an airtight container (I just use a Ziplock bag) and place in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze them for two months.
If freezing, it’s optimal to store them in a container that is resistant to freezer burn, like a vacuum-sealed bag.
Looking for More Party Appetizers?
Sausage Rolls
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites
Garlic Parmesan Mini Deep Dish Pizzas
Bacon Jalapeno Popper Dip
Hot Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders
I hope you enjoy these Parmesan Candied Bacon Crackers. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback!
If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
Parmesan Candied Bacon Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 lb. thin-sliced bacon
- 1.5 sleeves Club crackers (about 44 crackers)
- 8 oz Parmesan wedge
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper to catch the drippings from the crackers and place a cooling rack on top the lined baking sheet.
- To prep, thinly slice parmesan wedge, trying to match the width and length of the Club crackers. Slice the bacon into fours so they also match the length of the crackers.
- To assemble, place one piece of parmesan onto the cracker, top with bacon, followed by the brown sugar, and finally the red pepper flakes. Repeat with remaining crackers.
- Place each cracker onto the cooling rack side by side. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Begin checking on them at 30 minutes. Once the bacon is cooked through and the edges of the crackers begin to brown, they are finished.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Here are some additional photos for your Pinterest boards:
Have you tried making these with any other kinds of cheese? Just wondering if anything else works well!
Hello! I have a Boursin cheese version that is available here but others have reported using a sharp cheddar and loved it. I worried about it being too melty/messy on the pan so I haven’t tried it but cheddar being great was reported by many who tried this recipe on Instagram. I hope that helps.
Can’t wait to make these but I goofed and cooked my bacon ahead of time. Can I assemble and just cut cooking time?
It changes the process of the bacon fat rendering into the cracker as it bakes, but I’m sure this will still work out. I haven’t tried making it with cooked bacon, but I think maybe 20 minutes in the oven would allow enough time for the cheese to melt down.
Could you used freshly grated Parmesan instead of slices?
Absolutely. I just found a slice to be an easy fit but sure, sprinkle it on, no problem.
I made exactly as recipe is written to bring as an appetizer for a 4th of July bbq party. I had to cook for another 15-20 minutes to get to the right bacon crispiness level and also I would recommend scaling way back on the crushed red pepper flakes. I used the whole tablespoon spread across all the crackers and it was way too much – I ended up having to pick most of the flakes off with a toothpick before bringing to the party. Otherwise – yum!!
Gonna try this with puff pastry!
I made these yesterday for the Super Bowl. They were delicious but my crackers weren’t crispy. Did I do something wrong? I used Club Crackers and followed the directions exactly.
since bacon shrinks when cooking wouldn’t you want to vut the bacon a little longer than the crackers or would that interfere with the cooking of the cracker?
Yes, you can definitely make them a bit longer to account for the shrinkage as they cook. I didn’t so much mind them shrinking up a little, but you can see in my photos that they ended up being shorter than the length of my crackers. Totally up to you 🙂
Can’t wait to try these! Can I use ritz crackers instead, I don’t have club crackers.
Yes absolutely! Whichever crackers you prefer.
I can’t help but wonder how you were able to cut Parmesan cheese into the perfect slices? Knowing the texture I am hesitant to try.
Haha! I used Boar’s Head parmesan cheese wedge and belgioioso brand wedge. They both are very easy to slice! 🙂