Our pick for the best uncured bacon is our own America’s Best Uncured Bacon: thick cut, slow smoked over real applewood, cured with water, salt, turbinado sugar, and celery powder, from Heritage Duroc hogs, sold in 2.25 lb or 12 oz packages and shipped frozen. Below it sits in a table beside two other uncured brands, compared on the same five lines from each brand’s own site, so you can check our pick against theirs.
Order the 2.25 lb packages (2 or 3 per box) or the 12 oz packages (6 or 8 per box); both are in stock as of this writing and every pack we make is in the bacon category. If you want to know what “uncured” means before you buy, that is the next section.
- Three uncured bacon brands compared
- What uncured bacon means
- Five lines to read on any label
- How to store and cook it
- Questions people ask
Best uncured bacon: three brands compared
| Brand | Cure ingredients | Smoke | Slice and pack | Hogs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applegate Naturals Sunday Bacon | Pork, water, sea salt, cane sugar, cultured celery powder | “Hardwood smoked” | Slice not stated on the page we read | No antibiotics ever; “Applegate Humanely Raised” |
| Niman Ranch Uncured Applewood Smoked Bacon | Pork, water, salt, turbinado sugar, celery powder | “Slow smoked over real Applewood” | Center cut, 12 oz | Not stated on the bacon page |
| Vande Rose Farms America’s Best Uncured Bacon | Water, salt, turbinado sugar, celery powder | “Slow smoked over real applewood” | Thick cut; 2.25 lb or 12 oz packages; ships frozen with dry ice | Heritage Duroc; crate free, no antibiotics ever, vegetarian fed, family farms |
Every cell was read from the brand’s own website on September 19, 2026, and “not stated” means we did not find it on the page we read. The three cure lists are nearly the same, which is what an uncured cure looks like; the differences are the smoke wood, the slice, and whether the brand names its hogs.
Ours is the only one of the three that names a breed and states thick cut on the product page. That is why it is our pick; taste is yours to judge, and we have not run a blind test.
What uncured bacon means on a label
“Uncured” has a legal meaning. Per the USDA bacon and food safety page, bacon made without added nitrite must be labeled “Uncured Bacon, No Nitrates or Nitrites added” and must carry the statement “Not Preserved, Keep Refrigerated Below 40 degrees At All Times.”
It is still cured, with salt and usually with celery powder, which naturally contains the same compounds, so the word tells you what was added, not whether the bacon was cured. USDA also sets a rule for every bacon: nitrate is prohibited in all bacon. We explained the chemistry in uncured bacon vs cured bacon.
Five lines to read on any uncured bacon label
- The ingredient statement. Salt cures and seasons, sugar balances the salt, and celery powder supplies the nitrite in an uncured cure. Read the list, then compare sodium and serving size on the nutrition panel.
- The USDA wording. “No Nitrates or Nitrites added” and “Not Preserved, Keep Refrigerated” should both be there.
- The smoke. Look for the producer’s process statement, like “smoked over applewood.” A flavor name alone does not tell you how it was smoked.
- The slice. Thick cut or regular, stated on the front.
- The hogs. A named breed, and raising claims you can check on the brand’s own pages.
We compared seven brands, cured and uncured, on these same lines in best bacon brands.
How to store and cook uncured bacon
USDA’s storage table lists bacon cured without nitrites at 3 weeks in the refrigerator and 6 months in the freezer, versus 7 days and 4 months for ordinary bacon. Follow the date on the package, and keep it below 40°F as the label says.
Cook it completely, in a skillet, in the oven, or in the microwave, the three ways USDA lists. USDA adds that bacon cooked crisp has reached a safe temperature, and that cooked bacon keeps 4 to 5 days in the fridge. For a whole pack at once, we lay it on a foil lined pan and cook bacon in the oven.
Our older post on heritage breed pork covers the breed side of the story.
Questions people ask about the best uncured bacon
Is uncured bacon the healthiest?
We do not make health claims. “Uncured” tells you the cure used celery powder instead of added nitrite, and USDA requires the label to say so. It does not change the cut, the salt, or the fat.
What brand of bacon is the least processed?
All bacon is cured and most is smoked, so all of it is processed. USDA lets uncured bacon carry the word “natural,” meaning minimally processed with no artificial ingredients, and the ingredient statement is the line to compare.
What are some good brands of uncured bacon?
The three in the table above are the ones we compared from their own sites: Applegate, Niman Ranch, and ours. Brands change recipes and packs, so check the current label.
What is the healthiest bacon to buy?
Read the label, not the front of the pack: the ingredient statement, the sodium line on the nutrition panel, and the USDA wording. We do not claim ours is healthier than any other.
Our pick, on the record. The best uncured bacon we know is the one we make: a four ingredient cure, applewood smoke, thick cut, Heritage Duroc. The table above shows the facts beside two other brands so the choice stays yours.
Order America’s Best Uncured Bacon, or browse every pack in the bacon category. It ships frozen from the farm shop.