These vegan bacon bits are gluten free, dye free, and preservative free too, but they taste better than any that you can buy at the store! Perfet for sprinkling on salad, baked potatoes, soups, or anywhere you like the flavor of bacon!
Are bacon bits vegan?
Yes, most of the bacon bits that you buy in the stores are vegan.
What are vegan bacon bits made of?
Most bacon bits are just made of TVP – which stands for textured vegetable protein (soy protein) and some spices.
Why make your own bacon bits?
When I learned that bacon bits were vegan, I started buying them to sprinkle on salads. Then, I started to read the label closer and noticed the list of chemicals and food dyes in them. My homemade bacon bits have not food dyes or preservatives!
How do you make homemade vegan bacon bits?
- Make a broth out of boiling water, salt, liquid smoke, and some oil.
- Pour in the TVP and stir, coating the TVP in the broth.
- Allow the TVP to soak up the broth for about 5 minutes.
- Spread onto a cookie sheet and place in the oven for about 30 minutes.
- Give them a little stir every 10 minutes while in the oven to make sure they cook evenly.
Tips for making homemade vegan bacon bits:
- If you dry them out well and then keep them in an airtight container in the fridge, they will last a few weeks.
- This makes a fairly large batch (2 cups) so you may want to cut it in half if you don’t think that you can use that many within 2-3 weeks.
- If you want them to be lower in sodium, reduce the salt.
- If you want red bacon bits, add a tablespoon of beet juice to the broth.
- Want fat free bacon bits? Just leave out the oil, the will still come out great!
Note: If you taste them before they are done cooking, they will taste different than the finished product.
What can I put the vegan bacon bits on?
What else can I use instead of TVP to make vegan bacon bits?
Easy to make homemade bacon bits that are vegan, gluten-free, and dye free.
- ½ cup boiling water
- 2 TBS canola (or refined coconut oil)
- 2 TBS liquid smoke
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 cups TVP crumbles
Preheat oven to 250°F (130°C).
Put boiling water, oil, liquid smoke, and salt into a mixing bowl.
Mix well until salt dissolves.
Add TVP and stir well until evenly coated.
Let it sit for about a minute until it soaks up all the liquid.
Pour onto a cookie sheet and spread it thin.
Bake for about 30 minutes until dried out and crisp. (Check on them and give them a shake about every 10 minutes to help them dry evenly).
- Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge, they will last a few weeks.
- If you want them to be lower in sodium, simply reduce the salt.
- Make sure to shake the cookie sheet or give a little stir a few times while baking to make sure they cook evenly.
- You can also substitute Butler soy crumbles instead of TVP. These are very similar, but they are made with whole soy instead of soy flour.
- If you taste them before they are done cooking, they will taste different than the finished product, so don't toss them out thinking that they are not done.
Great recipe. Super simple. I didn’t have liquid smoke, so I substituted smoked paprika and they tasted just like the real thing and the paprika gave them a lovely red color so no need for the beet juice as suggested in your tips. Thanks!
Great idea to use smoked paprika! I’ll have to give it a try. So happy that you liked them! 🙂
These are so easy and delicious!
Thanks Emily, they really are simple. Glad that you liked them!