Mushroom Bacon

Mushroom bacon is an easy, healthy, vegan alternative to bacon that can be made in minutes with just 4 ingredients.  It fries up crispy, “meaty” and satisfying, and is delicious on sandwiches, breakfast burritos, veggie burgers, or anywhere you would use bacon.

This mushroom bacon has a delicious smokey flavor My husband and son are not big fans of mushrooms and usually pick them out of most dishes, but they both go crazy over mushroom bacon!  There is something about that smokey flavor and when the mushrooms are cooked until crispy, that makes them taste more like bacon than mushrooms.

You’ll love bacon made from mushrooms because it’s…

• plant-based bacon, not a processed vegan meat product.
• naturally vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free.
• quick and easy to make.

Ingredients needed and substitutions for mushroom bacon:

• Mushrooms – I prefer portabello mushrooms since they can be sliced into long pieces like bacon strips.  They also have a meaty firm texture and crisp up well.  You can use button or crimini mushrooms too if you would like.
• Cooking Oil – for marinating and frying.  Any neutral-flavored oil will work well.  Refined coconut oil gives it a great flavor.
• Liquid Smoke – for the smoky bacon flavor.  You can swap this out for smoked paprika instead of liquid smoke in equal amounts if desired.
• Salt – for flavor.

How to make mushroom bacon

1. Wash your mushrooms by rubbing them gently under running water until all the soil is off of them.
2. Cut off the stems and slice them about 1 cm thick.
3. Place 2 tbsp of oil, and 1 tsp of liquid smoke in a shallow dish and give it a stir.
4. Place the sliced mushrooms in the oil and liquid smoke mixture then flip them so that both sides of the mushrooms are coated.
5. Coat the bottom of your frying pan with a thin layer of additional oil, turn the heat to medium, then place the mushrooms in the pan, and sprinkle with salt.  (The salt is for flavor and also to help draw the moisture out of the mushrooms and make them crispy.
6. Flip the mushrooms after about 7-8 minutes, sprinkle with salt again, and cook until they become darkened and crispy.  (They will reduce in size a lot when the moisture cooks out of them and they become crispy.)
7. Lay on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Serve as you would bacon.

Note:  The mushrooms will be cooked after a few minutes on each side, however, if you want them to have more of a crispy bacon texture, you need to overcook them to get more liquid out of them.

What do I do with mushroom bacon?

• Use it to make a healthy Vegan BLT Sandwich!
• Put it on Vegan Fettichini Alfredo for a smokey mushroom alfredo sauce.
• Serve it with some Vegan Scrambled Eggs.
• Put it in vegan breakfast burritos.

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Mushroom Bacon

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

A vegan bacon alternative made from mushrooms.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, vegan

Keyword: mushroom bacon

Servings: 4

Calories: 102 kcal

Author: Monica Davis | The Hidden Veggies

Ingredients

• 2 cups portabello mushrooms (2 portabellos sliced)
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil divided
• 1 teaspoon hickory flavored liquid smoke (or smoked paprika)
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Wash your mushrooms by rubbing them gently under running water until all the soil is off of them.

2. Cut off the stems and slice them about 1 cm thick.
3. Place 2 tbsp of oil, and 1 tsp of liquid smoke in a shallow dish and give it a stir.
4. Place the sliced mushrooms in the oil and liquid smoke mixture then flip them so that both sides of the mushrooms are coated.
5. Coat the bottom of your frying pan with a thin layer of additional oil, turn the heat to medium, then place the mushrooms in the pan, and sprinkle with salt.  (The salt is for flavor and also to help draw the moisture out of the mushrooms and make them crispy.
6. Flip the mushrooms after about 7-8 minutes, sprinkle with salt again, and cook until they become darkened and crispy.  (They will reduce in size a lot when the moisture cooks out of them and they become crispy.)
7. Lay on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Serve as you would bacon.

Recipe Notes

• The mushrooms will be cooked after a few minutes on each side, however, if you want them to have more of a crispy bacon texture, you need to overcook them to get more liquid out of them.

Nutrition Facts

Mushroom Bacon

Amount Per Serving (5 slices)

Calories 102 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11g17%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 149mg6%

Potassium 157mg4%

Carbohydrates 2g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 1g2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.