How much protein is in bacon?
Bacon has 5.7 g of protein per 2 slices cooked (16 g) — that's 35.7 g per 100 g, or about 10.1 g per ounce. One 2 slices cooked is roughly 11% of the 50 g Daily Value for protein.
USDA FoodData Central · cured pork, cooked · FDC 167914
Protein & macros by portion
| Portion | Protein | Calories | Fat | Carbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 slices cooked (16 g) | 5.7 g | 88 | 6.9 g | 0.2 g |
| 100 g | 35.7 g | 548 | 43.3 g | 1.4 g |
| 1 oz (28 g) | 10.1 g | 155 | 12.3 g | 0.4 g |
Values computed from USDA per-100 g data (FDC 167914, SR Legacy). cured pork, cooked.
Bacon is one of the most misleading foods on a nutrition chart. At 35.7 g of protein per 100 g it looks like a serious protein source — on paper it out-muscles chicken breast. But that number is a trap, because nobody eats 100 g of bacon. That’s roughly 12 or more cooked slices. A real serving is 2 thin slices (about 16 g cooked), and that delivers only ~5.7 g of protein — packaged with a generous helping of fat and salt. The per-100g figure isn’t wrong; it’s just describing a pile of bacon no one actually sits down to eat.
Why the big number overstates it
Per-100g values exist so you can line foods up on a level field, but they quietly assume you’ll eat 100 g of everything — and with bacon that assumption falls apart. Cooked bacon is light and thin; a single strip is only a handful of grams. So while the concentration of protein looks high, the portion is tiny, and protein scales with portion. Two slices land near 5.7 g. Even a hearty breakfast helping of three or four thicker slices tops out around 12–15 g — and you can’t get there without dragging along all the fat and sodium that ride with it. That’s the catch: you can’t isolate bacon’s protein from the rest of what bacon is.
There’s a second wrinkle worth knowing: raw versus cooked. As bacon fries, fat and water render out and the strip shrinks, which concentrates the protein into a smaller, lighter slice. The figures here are for cooked bacon. It’s why a “per 100 g” comparison between raw and cooked bacon looks so different — most of raw bacon’s weight is fat that ends up in the pan.
What bacon actually is
The honest framing matters here. Bacon is a cured, salty, fat-forward flavor food, not a protein source. Look at the rest of the label and the picture is clear: it’s around 43 g of fat per 100 g, a big chunk of it saturated, and it’s loaded with sodium — even two modest slices carry roughly 190 mg, and a few strips climb fast toward a real share of the day’s limit. It’s also processed meat: cured and preserved, the category that major health bodies suggest people limit rather than build meals around.
None of that means you can never enjoy it. It means you should enjoy bacon for what it does best — taste. A couple of slices turn a plate of eggs, a salad, or a sandwich into something you actually look forward to. The mistake is treating that high per-100g protein number as permission to lean on bacon for nutrition. The grams are real but small, and they come bundled with everything you’d otherwise try to keep in check.
If you’re chasing a protein goal
Use bacon as the flavor accent, and let other foods carry the protein. At breakfast, the reliable workhorses are eggs and egg whites: two or three eggs deliver roughly 12–19 g of high-quality, complete protein for a fraction of bacon’s fat and sodium, and egg whites push the protein even higher with almost no fat at all. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese do the same job cold. Build the meal around one of those, then add a slice or two of bacon purely because it’s delicious.
For the bigger picture — how much protein you actually need in a day and which foods are built to deliver it — see our guide on how much protein per day. Anchor your meals on the foods designed for the job, and let bacon do the one thing it’s genuinely great at.
Packaged bacon options, graded
If you'd rather grab it off a shelf, here are the best-graded bacon in our catalog — each scored on our transparent 6-dimension Labelgrade.
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Labelgrade 56/100 · 3 g protein · 60 cal
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much protein is in 2 slices of bacon?
About 5.7 g of protein for two thin cooked slices (~16 g), based on 35.7 g per 100 g (USDA FDC 167914). Thick-cut slices weigh more, so three or four of them can reach 12–15 g — but so does the fat and sodium that comes with them.
Why does bacon show 35.7 g of protein per 100 g if a serving is so small?
Because 100 g of cooked bacon is roughly 12 or more slices — a portion almost nobody eats in one sitting. The per-100g figure is useful for comparing foods on a level field, but it badly overstates what your actual two- or three-slice serving delivers. Always anchor on the real portion, not the 100 g column.
Is bacon a good source of protein?
No. Despite the high per-100g number, a normal serving gives you only about 5–6 g of protein alongside a large dose of fat and sodium. Bacon is a cured, salty flavor food — eat it because it tastes good, not to hit a protein target. Eggs or egg whites do the real work at breakfast.
Does raw vs. cooked bacon change the protein?
Yes, per gram. As bacon cooks, fat and water render off and the strip shrinks, so the protein concentrates into a smaller, lighter slice. Raw bacon shows fewer grams of protein per 100 g because so much of that weight is fat that later cooks away. These figures are for cooked bacon.
Is bacon healthy?
It's fine in moderation as a flavor, not as a staple. Bacon is processed meat — cured and high in sodium (roughly 190 mg in just two slices) with meaningful saturated fat. Major health bodies suggest limiting processed meats, so treat bacon as an occasional, taste-driven addition rather than something you eat for nutrition.
What should I eat for breakfast protein instead?
Eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt, or cottage cheese. Two or three eggs give you 12–19 g of protein for a fraction of bacon's fat and sodium. If you love bacon, keep it as the flavor accent on the plate and let the eggs carry the protein.
When was this data last verified?
2026-06-03, against USDA FoodData Central FDC 167914 (Pork, cured, bacon, cooked; SR Legacy). We re-verify pages periodically and update when USDA revises its reference data.
Whole-food values are USDA reference data and are not assigned a Labelgrade — that score is for branded packaged products, where ingredients and added sugar/sodium actually vary. See our methodology and how much protein you need per day.