• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Nourishing Gourmet

Nourishing. Satisfying. Gourmet.

  • THM Coaching
  • About
    • Privacy
    • Contact
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
    • Everyday Nourishing Food
    • Salad Cookbook
    • Soup Cookbook

If You Aren’t Already, Start Saving Your Bacon Grease

May 4, 2016 by KimiHarris 31 Comments

Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in healthy eating check out my free gifts! and subscribe to get regular email updates. *Some links may be affiliate.*
Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in healthy eating check out my free gifts! and subscribe to get regular email updates. *Some links may be affiliate.*

Don’t waste that bacon grease, but save it to use in these simple recipes. So delicious, and so easy! Adds great flavor. – The Nourishing Gourmet

How many reasons do you need for saving your bacon grease? Really, the first one should be the only one needed. Saving and then reusing bacon grease adds that delicious bacon flavor to other dishes that can’t be beat. Bacon lovers, you know what I’m talking about.

There are a couple of ingredients that always make things taste better. For me, those foods are butter, bacon, bacon grease, cream, coconut milk or coconut cream. My husband and kids would add tamari to that list.

Bacon grease – especially when it’s not from the cheap bacon – can add a subtle bacon or smoky flavor to dishes that would otherwise be plain Jane.

The second reason to save it is an obvious one – why waste food that makes everything taste so wonderful? I think people only stopped saving bacon grease when fears about animal fats appeared. (You can read about that controversy here.) Since we choose to eat a more traditional diet (including animal fats) and research is not pointing to animal fats not being a problem, it’s time to bring back the bacon grease!

All you need to do is have a designated bacon grease jar. I just keep adding the liquid gold to the jar, and then putting it back into the refrigerator. I even keep a spoon in the jar for easy scooping when I need a spoonful for a dish. You can strain the bacon bits out of the grease, and that’s probably a good practice (but I never bother because #whohastimeforthat). I find that this method works quite well for me, but you can buy something like this stainless steel bacon grease container  (affiliate link) that comes with a strainer to use for it. However you choose to save it, here are some great ways to use it.

6 Delicious Ways to Use Bacon Grease

Fried Rice

Now we like this best with bacon bits in the fried rice, but even without, it’s delicious. My husband showed me how to make it as it was a family dish he had growing up. You re-fry rice with shredded carrots, thinly sliced celery, and thinly sliced green onions with bacon grease, and then add some crumbled bacon and peas in the last couple minutes of cooking. It’s so good! I want to make a cauliflower rice version soon for a grain-free version. Yum.

Yummy Veggies

I still think that the reason that so many people don’t like vegetables is that they’ve had steamed frozen vegetables served to them one too many times. There are many delicious ways to enjoy vegetables. They can be fancy, like this Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Butter Sauce, or they can be simple – like a simple one vegetable sauté. But when you sauté your vegetables, try using bacon grease! Vegetables that are cooked in a touch of bacon grease are delicious and have a much richer flavor.

Gingery Broccoli and Mushroom Beef Stir-Fry

There are many main dishes that are even better when you use bacon grease. For example, I love it when I have bacon grease on hand when I make this dish. It adds a great smoky touch to the dish.

Eggs

Scramble or fry your eggs in bacon grease. Because bacon and eggs just go together.

Wilted Spinach Salad

Spinach salad never tasted so good! This old fashioned salad is a great way to use bacon grease. You can get my version in my cookbook, Fresh: Nourishing Salads for all Seasons.

Baked Goods

I have tried this yet, but you can also use bacon grease as the fat in pie crusts, biscuits, muffins, pancakes, etc. It could be delicious if used in the right recipe. Think of corn muffins made with bacon grease instead of oil served with hot chili. Yum!

Do you save your bacon grease? If so, how do you use yours?

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts

KimiHarris

I love beautiful and simple food that is nourishing to the body and the soul. I wrote Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons and Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons as another outlet of sharing this love of mine. I also love sharing practical tips on how to make a real food diet work on a real life budget. Find me online elsewhere by clicking on the icons below!

Latest posts by KimiHarris (see all)

  • 2 Ingredient Peppermint Bark - December 21, 2022
  • Herbal Hibiscus Lemonade (Keto, THM) - March 16, 2022
  • Creamy Curry Red Lentil Soup - December 8, 2021

Filed Under: 52 ways to save money on a healthy diet

Previous Post: « How I Wake Up in the Morning WITHOUT Coffee (and Go to Sleep at Night)
Next Post: Cauliflower Fried Rice with Bacon and Chicken (Grain–free. AIP) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie

    May 5, 2016 at 12:00 am

    Other than cooking eggs the only thing I’ve used it for was mayonnaise. I used half bacon grease and half olive oil I believe and then used the mayo in potato salad. It was so delicious.

    Reply
    • mom24boys

      May 5, 2016 at 12:07 am

      Oh. My. Word.

      That sounds so scrumptious! I will have to try it.

      Reply
    • KimiHarris

      May 5, 2016 at 11:35 am

      I did that years ago, and it was tasty! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

      Reply
  2. mom24boys

    May 5, 2016 at 12:05 am

    Spread a little bacon grease on quesadillas and fry them
    With flour for thickener for gravy and wet burrito sauce
    1:1 with coconut oil for savory pastry
    Refried beans
    Sauteed onions and/or mushrooms (to pile on sandwiches or steak, etc)
    Fried potatoes (1:1 with coconut oil)
    Sauteed greens (saute some shallots, add chopped greens, s&p, sprinkle of balsamic vinegar when done)
    Dollop in embellished ramen (my guys add meats, cheese, veggies, sauces and seasonings and make it gourmet)

    I have to hide the bacon grease jar in the way-back of the fridge or the guys will use it all up and I won’t have it for planned meals!

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      May 5, 2016 at 11:34 am

      Yum, yum, and yum! Thanks for all of the great ideas. Bacon grease makes the best refried beans. Yum!

      Reply
  3. Gypsy

    May 5, 2016 at 8:00 am

    It makes the best gravy to put over biscuits.

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      May 5, 2016 at 11:33 am

      Great idea!

      Reply
  4. Angela Moore

    May 6, 2016 at 7:28 am

    What if I use bacon that has nitrates in it? I don’t always spend the money for the best quality bacon. Should I still save the grease?

    Reply
  5. Charlie

    May 6, 2016 at 8:55 am

    Bacon grease used in cinnamon roll dough in place of shortening called for in the recipe is fantastic. I never strain my bacon grease and the bits of bacon just makes the rolls taste even better!

    Reply
  6. Emily Wynsma

    May 6, 2016 at 8:41 pm

    I love cooking things in bacon grease, but I’ve been nervous about the idea of keeping it in the fridge for long-term use. Does the grease not go bad the way the cooked bacon would?? How long do you think it’s safe for use?

    Thanks!!

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      May 9, 2016 at 8:54 am

      It looks like it’s safe up to 6 months, when refrigerated – at least when strained. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Doris

    May 7, 2016 at 6:50 am

    Oh my goodness…I have eaten all kinds of food seasoned with bacon grease. We NEVER throw it out. My mother lived to be 95, eating bacon grease all her life…but also eating lots of fruit and veggies.

    Reply
    • To Doris

      May 11, 2016 at 4:10 am

      Thank you for sharing Doris!
      We have similar stories in our family! Our grandmothers that cooked with Lard and lived on farms with whole milk and lots of vegetables lived to be in their 100s!

      Reply
  8. Lucinda

    May 12, 2016 at 3:57 pm

    Heard a world-famous chef (Canadian Michael Smith) say that most restaurants add a spoon of bacon grease to their house salad dressings–that undeterminable ingredient that elevates the dressing to seventh heaven.

    As a child, living in a 100+ year old home, we kept the bacon grease in a can under the sink (coolest place). Nowadays, my jar of liquid gold stays in the refrigerator and is used judiciously but frequently.

    Really enjoying this site!

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      May 14, 2016 at 7:57 pm

      Wow! I never thought to use it that way. I’ll have to try it. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Anneke plat

        June 17, 2016 at 11:16 pm

        We used it on our bread(like butter) with syrop it mayby sounds grazy but its is so yummie!

        Reply
  9. K.D. Chandler

    May 17, 2016 at 7:08 pm

    This post about bacon grease certainly has opened my eyes about cooking healthy meals. It’s my daily goal to make sure my family gets the most nutrition out of every bite…but it’s equally important that they actually take that bite, lol. Taste matters. I would love to try high quality grade bacon as well as the drippings with my veggies. I can see my grandmother’s smug face saying, “I thought you said pork bacon is bad for you!” lol
    Health conscience & health flexible.

    Reply
  10. Sarah

    June 15, 2016 at 12:54 pm

    I like to mix bacon grease with coconut oil for my stove popped popcorn … yummy right away, more bacony the longer it sits (next day, if that ever happens, is amazing!). I can’t tell you exactly how much because I eyeball it each time, but roughly half and half coconut oil/bacon grease.

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      June 15, 2016 at 5:26 pm

      Great idea!

      Reply
  11. Barbara

    June 15, 2016 at 5:15 pm

    Thanks for this! I am reminded of when I was a child and my mom would fry slices of bread in bacon fat for us and it was such a yummy treat. She also made wilted salads with it. Old ways are best!!

    Reply
    • KimiHarris

      June 15, 2016 at 5:25 pm

      Yum!

      Reply
  12. Jenny

    June 15, 2016 at 5:51 pm

    I never make soup without sautéing my soup veggies in bacon grease… bacon makes every soup better!

    Reply
  13. Dawn Duncan-Smith

    June 15, 2016 at 7:54 pm

    We use it for Fried chicken! Seriously soooooo good add enough of that and butter to the pan and fry away

    Reply
  14. Princess O'Donnell

    June 15, 2016 at 9:24 pm

    My family uses it for popcorn. If you’ve never had bacon popcorn, you are in for a treat!

    Reply
  15. Tammy A

    June 16, 2016 at 6:28 am

    Bacon grease is a necessity when making white gravy aka milk gravy. On a similar note, classic southern Red Eye gravy is made with ham drippings. (and brewed coffee!)

    Reply
  16. Esther

    June 16, 2016 at 7:04 pm

    Oh thank you for this, I grew up in a household that loved bacon and saved bacon grease. I always feel guilty when I throw it out because of health concerns but used sparingly to season food is a wonderful idea.

    Reply
  17. bill

    June 25, 2016 at 2:01 pm

    I make large bowls of popcorn, then I melt 1 tbl spoon of oil, 2 tbl spoons of unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon on bacon grease, a half teaspoon of crushed pepper, and a dash of either liquid smoke or steak sauce. Pour over popcorn mix well. Add some course salt and shred some cheddar on top. i also save the course salt that remains in the bottom of a bag of pretzels. I shake it through a sieve to get rid of the small pretzel bits.

    Also use bacon grease to oil my skillet when making cornbread.

    Reply
  18. Kendra Hartwig

    June 25, 2016 at 8:52 pm

    How about German Potato Salad?!! Yum!

    Reply
  19. Leigh

    August 10, 2016 at 8:14 am

    I’ve used bacon grease 50/50 with butter in biscuits, and I’ve done the same thing with pastry crust with chicken fat for a chicken turnover. Both were incredibly good. I use it really anywhere I can’t use butter; sautéing meat and fish, roasting vegetables, frying eggs and pancakes. We don’t eat so much bacon we never empty our jar, but it definitely helps to extend our budget. We already pay for the good stuff, and it’s a good source of vitamins and a great one of flavor. Why not use it?

    Reply
  20. Gina

    December 28, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    I use bacon grease to fry just about anything: potatoes, eggs, pancakes, bull’s-eyes, eggplant, etc. I sometimes use it when I make mayo for baconnaise. And it is my favorite fat for greasing bread, cake or cookie pans. I get pasture-raised bacon from a local farm that is just delicious, though the main reason I buy bacon is for the fat. I can’t imagine a kitchen without bacon grease!

    Reply
  21. Stanley Eckstrom

    August 27, 2018 at 2:20 pm

    How high of a temperature can you heat bacon grease to fry in?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

ConvertKit Form

Get Every Recipe

And the insider's view from our kitchen

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Follow Me

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Search

Please Read:

The information you find here at The Nourishing Gourmet is meant to help you become a better cook! This site is primarily for sharing family friendly recipes. It's not meant to give medical advice or to make any health claims on the prevention or curing of diseases.This site is only for informational and educational purposes. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding in supplements or making any changes in your diet. Also, any links to sponsors or affiliates (including Amazon) may give me a percentage of the sale or a pay per click. Thank you for supporting this site.

Categories

  • $10 Main (42)
  • $5 Dishes (43)
  • 52 ways to save money on a healthy diet (53)
  • AIP (23)
  • Baked Goods (83)
  • Beverages (72)
  • Breakfast and Brunch (61)
  • Condiments (8)
  • Dairy Free (492)
  • Desserts (184)
  • Dietary Needs (6)
  • Egg Free (11)
  • Egg Free (86)
  • For the Kids (66)
  • For the Love of Food and Books (18)
  • Gluten Free (484)
  • Grain Free (95)
  • Health (75)
  • Kitchen Tools (4)
  • Main Dishes (126)
  • Nourishing Frugal Recipes (167)
  • Nourishing Frugal Tips (70)
  • Nourishing Practices (56)
  • Nutrient Dense Foods (70)
  • Q and A (15)
  • Salads (39)
  • Sides (101)
  • Snacks (124)
  • Soups (50)
  • The Healthy $1 Menu (21)
  • The Low Energy Guide to Healthy Cooking (18)
  • THM (2)
  • Trim Healthy Mama (2)
  • Uncategorized (846)
  • Vegan (241)
  • Vegetarian (361)

Recent Posts

  • 2 Ingredient Peppermint Bark
  • Herbal Hibiscus Lemonade (Keto, THM)
  • Creamy Curry Red Lentil Soup
  • One-Pot Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese
  • Healthy Pumpkin Spice Granola
  • Crispy Pumpkin Spice Granola (oil-free)
  • Why I Use THM Principles Now
  • Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad
  • Coconut Flour Pancakes
  • Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken

Recent Comments

  • Dorene St G on Cracker Toffee (Easy Peasy Christmas Candy)
  • Nadia Kriston on Finding a Toaster Oven Without Nonstick
  • KimiHarris on How to make heavenly coconut milk whipped cream (with an isi dispenser)
  • KimiHarris on Autumn Beef Stew (Tomato Free)
  • KimiHarris on How to make heavenly coconut milk whipped cream (with an isi dispenser)

Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons

Get Every Recipe

And the insider's view from our kitchen

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Footer

Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework