Last Updated on March 19, 2024
EDITOR’S NOTE: In March 2024 rumors spread about the sourcing of Aldi bacon. You can read our take on these rumors here.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This review is for the Appleton Farms Premium Sliced Bacon. For the review of the Appleton Farms Sliced Bacon, which comes in a cardboard sleeve, click here.
Bacon enjoys something of a cult status in the United States. As everyone knows, it’s a popular breakfast food, but given all the other places it shows up — on BLTs, atop burgers, even in salads — bacon can just as easily show up for lunch or dinner. That crisp, salty taste just does something.
On the other hand, the nutrition research now indicates that bacon has its health drawbacks (go figure), so bacon is one of those things you’re better off enjoying only as a sometimes food.
Aldi, like most grocers, sells bacon. Interestingly, Aldi sells more kinds of bacon than you would think a small inventory store would, from thick cut to preservative-free to lower sodium. Aldi even sells turkey bacon if pig isn’t your thing.
Square in the middle of the lineup is Appleton Farms Premium Sliced Bacon. It’s an Aldi Regular Buy, meaning it’s available in stores all the time.
We’ve previously reviewed Appleton Farms Sliced Bacon, and to be honest we’re not exactly sure what the difference is. In our store, the premium bacon was $3.49 for 16 ounces, which is actually less expensive per ounce than the $3.39 our store charges for the 12-ounce “regular” sliced bacon. But the ingredients and nutrition are about the same in both bacon sets, and we didn’t spot any indication that one is somehow cut better or worse than the other. The regular bacon does come in a cardboard sleeve — whether that matters or not is up to you.
Nutrition, ingredients, and instructions. (Click to enlarge.)
When we first reviewed the Appleton Farms Sliced Bacon, we received a few comments complaining about the high fatty content. We’ve had similar problems with that bacon. With this bacon, though, we felt better about it. It’s marbled and does have a fair amount of fat, but we found it to peel easily.
(Click to enlarge.)
(Click to enlarge.)
In case you need it, the packaging has instructions for cooking by way of three different methods: pan, microwave, and oven.
To pan fry, cook at 340 degrees for 3-4 minutes per side, then drain thoroughly on absorbent paper towels.
To microwave, place the sliced bacon between paper towels in a baking dish. Two slices cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, 4 slices cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, and 6 slices cook for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes.
To bake, arrange bacon slices on a cold broiler rack. Then, place in a preheated broiler 3 to 3 1/2 inches from the heat source, and broil for 4-6 minutes total time, turning once. Drain thoroughly on absorbent paper.
For this test, I cooked it two ways: pan fried, and in the Ambiano Air Fryer. (For the air fryer, I cooked it using the air fryer’s bacon preset, which was 360 degrees for 10 minutes. I recommend using tongs to flip the bacon halfway through.)
The pan fried bacon. (Click to enlarge.)
The air fried bacon. (Click to enlarge.)
The bacon came out pretty well both ways. The pan fried bacon came out in crisp strips, and had a nice flavor to it. The air fried bacon tasted even better, although the strips curled up into each other and didn’t necessarily look as good.
Both methods did result in the bacon shrinking, though, something we’ve seen with most of our store-bought bacon, in or out of Aldi. In our experience, this is due to water content in the bacon, something we can avoid if we go with bacon at our local farmer’s market.
The Verdict:
If you’re looking for a tasty bacon, Appleton Farms Premium Sliced Bacon came out pretty tasty for us. We like it better than the Appleton Farms Sliced Bacon in the cardboard box, and it cooked up crisply in both pan fried and air fried, although the bacon does shrink. As always, we’re interested to hear your experiences — good or bad — in the comments.
I love most ALDI products, but unfortunately, I have been unhappy with all of the bacon they sell. It shrinks up more than any other brand I have found. I no longer buy ALDI bacon, but I do shop at ALDI weekly.
I just cooked our recently purchased Appleton premium sliced bacon, and it was one of the worst bacon experiences I’ve ever had! I have cooked my fair share of bacon in my life, and I’ve never wanted to quit cooking halfway through the pack. I was unsuccessful peeling one piece off the other. By the time I had it pulled off, it was a mangled mess of fat which was separated completely from the meat portion. I had difficulty pan frying the bacon consistently due to the poorly cut product. I was so frustrated by the end, I wrote down the product name and started looking for a place to complain. So I read your review now, and I can’t disagree more with the quality if this product. I do not recommend buying this product!
I agree 100%. its pure garbage, impossible to separate and rolls up like curly fries when frying. Twice the amount of grease when frying. Apparently it was mislabeled sliced bacon and should have said…..SCRAP PORK.
I agree, pure lard. Worst I’ve ever seen.
Soo true the bacon is all fat! Terrible will not buy again. They package it like there’s some meat in it ….NOT !
Appleton bacon👎
Well, after reading all the negative posts, it appears they heard your complaints. The bacon is outstanding, and I will continue to buy it. It’s very meaty. Yes, it’s marbled with fat but who doesn’t love that it cooks beautifully and doesn’t shrink anymore. Like many of you have complained about. Enjoy!
Not a fan of their bacon, one of the very few items that’s quite lacking at ALDI. Overly fatty and doesn’t separate well. Every few months I’ll try it again and I’ve been underwhelmed every time. The price is right compared to other supermarkets but it’s tough to consider when I much prefer the regular Costco bacon at almost the exact same price.
You are 100% correct. Overly fatty and doesn’t separate well.
I will never buy this bacon again!
I just finished baking the thick sliced bacon….I love it. It didn’t shrink too much, and the taste was very good. I will definitely be buying this again.
I recently purchased two packs of Appleton thick sliced bacon at an Aldi in Hermitage, TN. Not going to waste too much time and just say that this is the worst bacon I have ever had. My family agreed as well.
I love Aldi”s, but unfortunately I had to buy the Appleton hardwood smoked bacon as they were out of the premium. When I cooked it, the pieces were fatty and at the bottom of the pack was almost 2 ounces of fat scraps. Very disappointed.
I bought four packs for christmas breakfast. They were all the same. Strips of fat not worth even trying to get it apart or in pan. Very disapointed.
I love their bacon, but it is NEVER in stock. Been there FIVE TIMES in the last two months and ALL FIVE TIMES they were sold out. The employees said they had no control over it. Sad.
I actually like the Appleton Farms bacon. Cooks up nice and crispy and btw, all bacon shrinks a little people! I buy this bacon on regular basis. Way better than Black Label, which I think is one of the worst!
center cut bacon is lousy to seperate and horrible for blt
Very disappointed in the Appleton bacon in the sleeve. 90% fat. Unusual for and Aldi product to be this bad. Obviously put in a sleeve to hide fat content.
Was very upset with this product,just a terrible package of supposedly bacon,as Biden would say ,come on man!!!
I had absolutely no issue with the premium. Separates fine , I baked it first and switched over to broil last few minutes. No more grease than other brands. What we liked was it didn’t taste salty . Would buy again
horrible bacon almost half fat discusting do i take it back to aldi for a refund
I just tried this bacon for the first time and was more than pleased. It was evenly streaked and there was minimal shrinkage. I baked it in a 400 degree oven for about 10- 12 minutes. It was crispy and delicious!
I agree with you Nancy. I am usually the first one to complain if there’s an issue, but I have never had any problems with Aldi’s bacon…so I’m not sure why there is so much animosity toward the product on this website (?). Folks, bacon is NOT supposed to be completely red; there is supposed to be a fair amount of fat (white portion). That’s what makes it fry correctly and taste good. And yes, I fry it in a skillet. I would definitely recommend frying bacon for the best results.
I am 75 years old worst bacon I have bought in my life 90%fat alful am going to return it to ALDI
I have just opened a package of Appleton bacon and am making an attempt to cook it, but it is horrible, just horrible. It does not separate into slices, it comes out as small hunks and strings. It’s as if someone failed to slice it normally and then knotted it up and crammed it into the package. I am so upset and quite disappointed with Aldi’s. I had a mind to just stuff it back into the package and take it back to Aldi’s to get my money back!
Appleton low sodium bacon is cut so thin it falls apart when you try separating it to cook. It’s leaves a lot of grease in the pan. This bacon goods the way I like it in the microwave but it has no flavor and crumbles when you try making a sandwich. I prefer Farmland or Smithfield but they are too high priced so I guess if you have to buy based on the cost Appleton is the way to go but they really need to work on the presentation of it.
That was our issue too. It’s impossible to pull a whole slice off… it falls apart because it’s too thin.
My trash can liked it. Disgusting.
This bacon was the worst, all fat only got 5 small pieces and it didn’t even look or taste like bacon. I will never buy it again or recommend it to anybody.
Don’t even have a address to ever write and complain too.
Here’s how you can contact Aldi: https://www.aldireviewer.com/contact-aldi/
I have never had a problem with Aldi bacon, cooks up as good as any I have ever cooked (I am 64). ALWAYS well balanced meat to fat ratio, in fact, much better than some name brands that cost twice as much. Don’t know where they are getting their bacon.
It’s the Appleton brand, not Aldi brand…that has the issues.
FYI: Appleton Farms is an Aldi brand. It’s a private label that is exclusive to Aldi. Here’s more information: https://www.aldireviewer.com/psa-aldi-brands-are-not-separate-companies/
We bought the Appleton bacon from Aldi’s and it’s so thin you can’t get it apart when you open the package. The slices shred when you try to pull a slice off. We will NEVER buy this brand again.
So much for ‘premium’ . I Feel scammed. It’s just layers of fat with tiny bits of meat in between. Nothing like the pictures here. I have been cooking bacon forever. For the first time ever, the skillet overflowed! Threw the rest away. It’s impossible to manage unless you are a grease dealer
Just cooked it nothing but fat. Very disappointed.
I’m 69 and have eaten bacon all my life. Today I tried for the first time, the Appleton Premium Hardwood Smoked, Sliced Bacon I bought at Aldi’s two weeks ago. It was a little fatty at the ends and I clipped some of that off with a scissors. Nothing extraordinary. The fat helps with the flavor. I put 7 or 8 pieces on my old Rubbermaid bacon rack, covered with a paper towel, and put it in the 1100W microwave on high for exactly 6 minutes. I took it out, and laid it on more paper towels. It looked FABULOUS. Hands down the best bacon I have EVER had. It was so good I got online to thank the company, but couldn’t find a website. I was shocked to see so many negative reviews. Do you know how to make bacon? Did you separate the pieces? Did you cook it long enough, and without continually interrupting the process? Did you drain it and put it on some paper towels?
I love Alde’s thick bacon. People I shop my bacon.
Turn it over and look at the fat content.
I also love their low sodium bacon, but again you have to turn it over to see what you’re getting.