Amazing Vegan Bacon Recipe - Easy, Quick, and Flavorful (2024)

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BySharon Rhodes

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You will love this simple vegan bacon recipe. It tastes smoky and delicious on a tofu scramble or on sandwiches and veggie burgers. It’s an amazing vegan substitute for real bacon.

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It’s fun to make typically unhealthy food healthier like this vegan version of bacon. Other yummy recipes where we transformed junky food are these Avocado Fudgesicles or these Homemade Peanut Butter Cups.

This recipe gives you a flavorful alternative to unhealthy pork products. As with most processed foods, the ingredients in bacon include a lot of salt and sugar. We avoid that with these vegan bacon bits.

Want more vegan faves? Try these tasty Vegan Sausage Rolls! A yummy, plant-based appetizer idea.

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Ingredients for this Recipe:

So, if you haven’t guessed by now coconut flakes are the star of the show. Yes, coconut bacon. It’s a thing!

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Now for the supporting actors. First up, liquid smoke. It’s made from actual hickory smoke and it lends that savory, meaty flavor to our vegetarian bacon.

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Next is my homemade soy-free soy sauce substitute. I like to add it to the marinade because it brings that umami flavor.

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How to Make Vegan Bacon

The instructions for this recipe are super simple

First, stir all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl.

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Second, add in the flaked coconut and mix it well with a spoon.

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Then evenly spread the coconut on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

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Finally, off it goes into the oven to bake. No frying pan or skillet is necessary! The oven does a great job of giving the vegan bacon a crisp bite.

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Once it is baked the coconut is magically transformed into the texture of bacon.

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Serving Suggestions and Substitutions

  • Crumble these vegan bacon strips on salads or on soups – like this vegan potato soup!
  • Add the vegan bacon slices to a tofu scramble, or sandwiches like a vegan BLT.
  • Substitute soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos instead of the homemade soy-free soy sauce.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
  • I love this smart bacon crumbled over eggs– obviously not vegan. 😉
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This is a fun foodie experiment.

When I was testing out this recipe I brought it into work to see what my co-workers would think of this plant-based bacon. It was a hit. And NO ONE guessed it was coconut. They all knew it was bacon though.

Win.

Totally try this! It’s the BEST vegan bacon.

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More Healthy Vegan Recipes:

  • Vegan Potato Soup
  • How to Make Vegan Hot Chocolate Mix
  • Vegan Buddha Bowl with Lemon Tahini Dressing
  • Chaga Hot Chocolate
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Hemp Seed Balls
  • Vegan Salted Caramel Sauce
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**This recipe was originally posted on February 10, 2014, and updated on February 23, 2019, and updated again on December 29, 2021, with recipe notes, writing, and photos.**

If you’ve tried this vegan substitute for bacon, please rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out by leaving me a comment below. I’m always interested in feedback!

Be sure to follow me on social media! I love pinning to Pinterest, sharing on Facebook, and posting pics to Instagram. See you there. 🙂

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Amazing Vegan Bacon Recipe - Easy, Quick, and Flavorful (14)

Amazing Vegan Bacon Recipe – Easy, Quick, and Flavorful

Sharon Rhodes

Simplevegan bacon recipe. Ittastessmokyand delicious on a veggie scramble or onsandwichesandveggie burgers. It's anamazingvegan substitute for real bacon.

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

0 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 151 kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  • Add all of the ingredients except for the coconut to a mixing bowl and stir well. Add the coconut flakes to the bowl and stir well to coat.

  • Spread the coconut in an even layer on the parchment-lined sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, stirring every 3-5 minutes watching that it doesn’t burn.

  • Remove from oven and let cool.

  • Store in a sealed container (I use a glass jar) at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Serving Suggestions and Substitutions

  • Crumble theseveganbacon stripson salads or onsoups– like thisvegan potato soup!
  • Add theveganbacon slicesto atofuscramble, orsandwicheslike avegan BLT.
  • Substitutesoy sauce, tamari, orliquid aminosinstead of the homemade soy-free soy sauce.
  • Store in anairtight containerfor up to 2 weeks.
  • I love thissmart baconcrumbled overeggs– obviously not vegan. 😉

Nutrition

Calories: 151kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 1gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 12gSodium: 98mgPotassium: 115mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 40IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.8mg

Keyword coconut bacon, vegan bacon, vegetarian bacon

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Amazing Vegan Bacon Recipe - Easy, Quick, and Flavorful (2024)

FAQs

How to make artificial bacon flavor? ›

Ingredients
  1. 3 1/2 cups flaked coconut.
  2. 2 tablespoons liquid smoke.
  3. 1 tablespoon Braggs liquid aminos or soy sauce.
  4. 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup.
  5. 1 tablespoon water.
  6. 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

What is a vegan alternative to bacon Flavour? ›

Slice your block of tempeh into thin strips, or crumble it into chunks if you'd like an effect more like bacon bits. Fry the tempeh strips or pieces in a skillet with a few spoonfuls of oil until they are golden brown, then sprinkle with soy sauce and smoked paprika to taste.

How do you make bacon flavor without bacon? ›

These six totally do-able tricks are proof.
  1. Liquid smoke. ...
  2. Smoked paprika.
  3. MORE: The Sketchy New Ingredient in Your Bacon (And How to Avoid It)
  4. Veggie bacon.
  5. Dark beer.
  6. MORE: We Tried It: Seaweed That Tastes Like Bacon.
  7. Blackstrap molasses.
  8. Smoked salt.
Dec 3, 2015

What is in bacon Flavour seasoning? ›

Ingredients. Maltodextrin, Salt,Yeast & Yeast Extract, Herb, Spice & Spice Extract, Sugar, Vegetable Powders (Garlic & Onion), Natural Flavours, Smoke Flavours, Lactic Acid.

What seasoning makes bacon taste better? ›

Even though it doesn't necessarily come with a mild flavor, bacon is a total blank canvas. With the help of some extra ingredients and spices for your bacon, you can take its original savory, salty, and smoky flavor and enhance it with things like chili powder and coffee, Sriracha, maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey.

What tastes like bacon but isn't bacon? ›

Hooray Foods' plant-based bacon has less sodium and fat than real bacon but tastes a whole lot like the real stuff.

Does vegan bacon taste like real bacon? ›

We like their smart bacon – it cooks easily, gets crispy; however, it does lack some of that traditional bacon flavor. With the Smoky Bacon Tempeh, the flavor was so much more there, but we don't seem to like tempeh personally. We wish the flavor oh the tempeh could be infused into the smart bacon.

Is vegan bacon tasty? ›

But taste-wise, they weren't bad at all. The majority had a distinctly biscuity quality, reminiscent of a Frazzle, but were none the worse for that. They made a jolly “crispy-bacon” sandwich, and added savouriness crumbled through a salad. Why bother with vegan bacon at all?

How do you mimic bacon flavor? ›

One great recipe for a vegan bacon marinade combines maple syrup with vegetable oil, soy sauce, liquid smoke and our very own Maple Bacon and Black Pepper seasoning.

How to make vegan food tastier? ›

How to make plant-based meals taste good
  1. Start with fresh ingredients. Any chef will tell you the best food starts with the best ingredients. ...
  2. Include a protein source. Lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas, tofu, tempeh, seitan, nuts, seeds, certain grains... ...
  3. Add some herbs & spices. ...
  4. Come hungry. ...
  5. Add the secret ingredient.
Apr 4, 2023

What tastes like meat but is vegan? ›

Tofu: Tofu, also known as bean curd, is made from soybeans and has a texture similar to meat when cooked. It can be seasoned to have a meaty flavor and is commonly used as a meat substitute in vegetarian and vegan dishes.

What gives bacon its unique flavor? ›

The exact darn delicious flavor of bacon comes down to its unique ratio of salt, umami, sweet and fat. If any element is out of balance—or worse, missing—your knock-off bacon suddenly tastes nothing at all like bacon.

How do you make smoky flavor without bacon? ›

5 Easy Ways To Add Smoky Flavor To Food
  1. Smoked Paprika.
  2. Smoked Almonds.
  3. Smoked Meats.
  4. Chipotles In Adobo.
  5. Liquid Smoke.
Feb 19, 2024

How do you make food taste like bacon? ›

I promised you a sneaky way to make everything taste like bacon and it's really as easy as a sprinkle or a tsp. (about 6 calories) of Smoked Spanish Sweet Paprika.

What is artificial bacon made of? ›

McCormick's version of the product, labeled as "bacon flavored bits," do not contain any bacon. In fact, McCormick's “bac'n” is actually totally vegan. The main ingredient is textured soy flour, a protein-rich meal made from ground soybeans. The soy flour is mixed with canola oil and salt for texture and seasoning.

What is used to give the bacon its smoked flavor? ›

You can smoke bacon using different types of wood chips or sawdust to acquire different flavors — our Hickory and Cherrywood give our bacon a full-bodied and balanced smoke.

Does liquid smoke taste like bacon? ›

It can emulate the savory taste of bacon

And, it is a flavoring agent that can be found in your favorite smoked gouda cheese as well as hotdogs, both of which have a taste similar to that of bacon. While barbecue purists may balk at using liquid smoke, vegetarians may appreciate the gift it can be.

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