A Complete Guide to Vegan Bacon
If it’s not “I’d go plant-based but I love cheese too much,” it’s “I’d go plant-based but I’d miss bacon too much.” If you’re looking for plant-based bacon, though, you won’t have to search too far. Vegan bacon is as easy to find as it is to crisp up or get all nice and chewy in your kitchen. This guide to vegan bacon substitutes gives you everything you need to work with this plant-based alternative.
What’s vegan bacon made of?
When you buy plant-based bacon from the grocery store, what it’s made of varies by brand. The possibilities include wheat gluten, butternut squash, fava beans, red algae, coconut, sunflower or hemp seeds, mushrooms or other fungi, soy protein including tofu, and tempeh or seitan.
If you’re cooking your own plant-based bacon strips, you’ll typically be working with seitan, tempeh, or mushrooms, with some recipes calling for thin slices of tofu, carrots, or zucchini instead. Some recipes even call for using almonds or rice paper! If you’re going for bacon bits instead of strips, textured vegetable protein (TVP), oats, lentils, and crumbled tempeh or tofu can do the trick.
These ingredients truly shine when seasonings come into play. Plant-based bacon recipes often call for soy sauce, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and maple syrup to bring out animal bacon’s signature flavor.
How do you cook vegan bacon?
When cooking plant-based bacon, consider:
- Frying it in a skillet: Some plant-based bacon is formulated to get chewy like “real” bacon when fried on the stovetop. Fry it for a shorter period if chewiness matters more to you, or go for longer if crispiness is paramount.
- Grilling it: Other products are known to best resemble bacon when grilled. If you go this route, work carefully so that your plant-based bacon doesn’t fall through your grill’s slats!
- Air-frying it: This is an especially good option if you like your bacon crisp since, the longer you air-fry it, the crispier it’ll get. It’s equally great for an oil-free option.
- Baking it: Certain recipes call for cooking your plant-based bacon in the oven. Doing so takes longer but is more hands-off, leaving you free to tidy up while your bacon cooks.
There are also some tips to keep in mind if you’re cooking plant-based bacon strips instead of crumbles or bits:
- Flip bacon strips halfway through: Doing so ensures even cooking, crispiness, and chewiness on both sides. Other than when you flip them, touch the bacon strips only occasionally.
- Consider baking for bacon bits: As small crumbles of plant-based proteins or grains, plant-based bacon bits may be prone to sticking when cooked on the stovetop. You may thus want to bake them in the oven on a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper for even cooking with less sticking potential. That said, if you’re working with bacon bits made from seeds, stovetop cooking is far less likely to lead to sticking.
Should you make your own vegan bacon from scratch?
Although making your own plant-based bacon from scratch is beginner-friendly, it sometimes requires an hour or longer for marination. Store-bought options, on the other hand, are ready to cook right out of the packaging. They’re also just as nutritious, with different brands serving different health goals such as high-protein or low-calorie eating. We love cooking with MyBacon’s crispy, salty-sweet mycelium bacon for a lower-calorie breakfast.
10 delicious recipes with vegan bacon
From novel twists on classic Thanksgiving sides to everyday lunches and dinners, these recipes don’t skimp on plant-based bacon.
1. Loaded Baked Potatoes
Swap the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes for these loaded baked potatoes with plant-based bacon made from sunflower and hemp seeds. The fluffy potatoes get roasted with nutrient-dense broccoli while the seed-based bacon gets toasted on the stovetop. Warm your chile con queso sauce on the stove, then plate everything together with some plant-based sour cream.
Get the Loaded Baked Potatoes recipe
2. Loaded Potato Skins
This pub classic gets a healthier spin with seitan bacon, broccoli, scallions, and pickled jalapeños. Roast your halved potatoes, then cook your seitan and broccoli on the stovetop, and garnish with some sour cream. It’s a great side dish for an even more indulgent holiday feast.
Get the Loaded Potato Skins recipe
3. BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers
For a classic American dinner gone plant-based, crisp up some carrot strips in the oven, then place your carrot bacon atop an Impossible Burger topped with soy cheddar and BBQ sauce. Assemble it all inside briefly toasted pretzel buns, then chow down like at your favorite restaurant.
Get the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers recipe
4. Chopped Salad
Roast some trimmed and quartered Brussels sprouts, then crisp tempeh on the stove and cook it with a smoky-maple glaze. Toss your tempeh bacon and roasted sprouts with kale, carrots, capers, and your favorite plant-based dressing for a high-protein bowl of greens.
5. Tahini Rainbow Salad
Carrot ribbons, arugula, and sliced plums make a sweet, peppery, crunchy base for toasted almonds and quick stovetop tempeh bacon with a sweet-smoky glaze. Top it all with a lemon-tahini dressing for a salad that’s equally packed with flavor and color.
Get the Tahini Rainbow Salad recipe
6. Roasted Pear Bacon Flatbreads
Walnuts and pears quickly become their best selves in the oven, while toasted coconut and a smoky umami glaze become plant-based bacon on the stovetop. After that, flatbreads get slightly crisp in the oven and are topped with a homemade herb cashew cheese, the walnut-pear mixture, plant-based bacon, and some arugula. Drizzle balsamic glaze on top for a gourmet finish.
Get the Roasted Pear “Bacon” Flatbreads
7. Beet & Coconut Bacon Flatbreads
For a different pizza-style dinner, toss toasted coconut with a plant-based bacon glaze. After spreading your homemade herb cashew cheese atop flatbreads, add your plant-based bacon and some beets. Roast and serve with some dressed arugula for a fresh final touch.
Get the Beet & Coconut Bacon Flatbreads recipe
8. Cavatappi Carbonara
Spiral noodles meet herbs, veggies, and plant-based bacon in this all-star pasta dish. Roasted broccolini, toasted coconut fried with a sweet-umami-smoky glaze, and a luscious cream cheese sauce get combined with the noodles for a comforting delight. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top for a lively final note.
Get the Cavatappi Carbonara recipe
9. Spaghetti Carbonara
Thinner and longer (and gluten-free!) noodles meet even more umami bacon. The coconut chips used in this recipe are baked in a smoky miso-maple mixture, and the pasta sauce is made from sauteed shallots, garlic, and a blended mixture of cashews, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. Peas are added as the chickpea spaghetti boils, then rapini is quickly made tender before everything gets thrown together for an indulgent dinner.
Get the Spaghetti Carbonara recipe
10. Autumn Quinoa Bowl
Cook fluffy, protein-dense quinoa on your stovetop, then make a slaw from toasted walnuts, apples, Brussels sprouts, scallions, and napa cabbage. Bake coconut chips in a smoky miso-maple paste, then whip up a quick tahini dressing and mix it with the slaw. Serve the slaw, coconut bacon, and pomegranate seeds atop the quinoa for a healthy, flavor-packed lunch.
Get the Autumn Quinoa Bowl recipe
Get your plant-based bacon fix with Purple Carrot
From our meal kits to our grocery store, plant-based bacon is a staple at Purple Carrot. Our meal kits, whether Thanksgiving-friendly or just ideal for dinner any time of year, are chef- and dietitian-created, and they’re 100% plant-based. Our grocery store often stocks ready-to-cook plant-based bacon too, so shop Purple Carrot now for $100 off your first month of deliveries.
