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.

Mushroom bacon cooking in an iron skillet with a red handle.

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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.

❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It’s plant-based bacon, not a processed vegan meat product.
  • This is naturally vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free.
  • Mushroom bacon is quick and easy to make.

🧾 Ingredients and substitutions

  • 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.

🥄 Instructions

  • Wash your mushrooms by rubbing them gently under running water until all the soil is off of them.
  • Cut off the stems and slice them about 1 cm thick.
  • Place 2 tbsp of oil, and 1 tsp of liquid smoke in a shallow dish and give it a stir.
Oil and liquid smoke mixed to make a mushroom bacon marinade.
  • Place the sliced mushrooms in the oil and liquid smoke mixture then flip them so that both sides of the mushrooms are coated.
Raw mushrooms marinating in oil and liquid smoke.
  • 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.
  • 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.)
  • Lay on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Serve as you would bacon.
Vegan mushroom bacon cooling on a paper towel.

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 release more liquid.

🥗 Serving suggestions

A close up of portabello mushroom bacon cooking in a pan.

🥓 Other ways to make vegan bacon

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Sliced portabella mushrooms cooking in a skillet.
5 from 2 rating

Mushroom Bacon

Yield: 4
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
A vegan bacon alternative made from mushrooms.
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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
 

  • Wash your mushrooms by rubbing them gently under running water until all the soil is off of them.
  • Cut off the stems and slice them about 1 cm thick.
  • Place 2 tbsp of oil, and 1 tsp of liquid smoke in a shallow dish and give it a stir.
  • Place the sliced mushrooms in the oil and liquid smoke mixture then flip them so that both sides of the mushrooms are coated.
  • 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.
  • 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.)
  • Lay on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Serve as you would bacon.

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.
Serving: 5slices, Calories: 102kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 149mg, Potassium: 157mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Iron: 1mg
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