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Nobody is ever going to tell you that bacon is a diet food. While delicious, traditional pork bacon is not a low-calorie or low-fat food. That’s a fact. However, it is still one of my favorite guilty pleasure foods on the planet. There is nothing like it, whether served with eggs for breakfast or wedged between tomato, lettuce, and bread slices in a BLT. If you are going to eat bacon, some brands and varieties are better for you than others. Here are the 7 best bacon brands made with natural ingredients, not junk.
Applegate Naturals No Sugar Bacon
You are going to pay more for Applegate Naturals No Sugar Bacon, but it’s worth it. The bacon is made with pork and sea salt, free from nitrates, fillers, and added sugars. One Target shopper calls it the “perfect” bacon. “Perfect for whole30! This bacon was also probably some of the best bacon we’ve bought, even though it’s pricey and a smaller package than most other bacons it’s worth it for your health.” Another adds: “This is the only bacon I’ve eaten for years. Very crispy, not too salty and a great flavor. Once you try this you won’t be able to eat any other bacon!”
Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Bacon
When I buy bacon at Whole Foods, I always reach for Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Bacon. The brand is so good that many fine-dining restaurants purchase pork from the farm, as it is humanely raised and naturally smoked. This bacon is only pork and salt, and it is next-level delicious.
Pederson’s Natural Farms Uncured Bacon
Pederson’s Natural Farms Uncured Bacon, sold at Thrive market and other healthier grocery stores, is a cleaner bacon with no sugar, no artificial ingredients, just pork and salt.. “Clean,” writes a shopper. “Nice to have this choice.” Another adds that it has “amazing” flavor. “I’m a bacon snob. I’m very picky about the flavor and how crispy I can get my bacon. This product has an amazing flavor and cooks up so nice and crispy. Had some awesome BLT’s.”
Wellshire Thick Sliced Dry Rubbed Uncured Bacon
Wellshire Thick Sliced Dry Rubbed Uncured Bacon is another option I will pick up at Whole Foods, especially when I want a thicker slice. It is naturally cured, nitrate-free, and made with minimal ingredients. However, it does have organic cane sugar on the ingredient list.
Thick-Cut Coleman Natural Uncured Bacon
Thick-Cut Coleman Natural Uncured Bacon is made with pork sourced from American family farms that raise their animals crate-free (pork and salt only) with no antibiotics or added hormones.
Beeler’s Uncured Hickory Smoked Bacon
Beeler’s prides itself on offering family-farmed pork with a clean label. Beeler’s Uncured Hickory Smoked Bacon has no nitrates or nitrites added except for the naturally occurring nitrates in sea salt, celery powder, and no antibiotics. It is also casein and gluten-free. The pigs are vegetarian-fed and not raised in gestation crates.
Tender Belly No Sugar Dry Rub Uncured Bacon
Tender Belly is “on a mission to craft the most crazy tasty bacon on planet Earth,” and its No Sugar Dry Rub Uncured Bacon is the perfect example. It starts with using “heritage breed pigs that are raised crate-free on 100% vegetarian diets,” the brand states. The also don’t inject water into its uncured bacon. “We rub our pork bellies with freshly ground spices and let the tasty dry rub soak in for days. We then slow smoke our bacon for hours using real cherry wood. No antibiotics ever. No nitrates or nitrites added.”
