This is the best vegan bacon recipe ever! It combines the crispiness of rice paper bacon and the meatiness of tofu bacon into perfect salty, smokey strips that will satisfy all of your bacon cravings!
There are many types of vegan bacon out there. You can buy Smart Bacon and tempeh bacon at most grocery stores. You can also easily make homemade bacon bits, coconut bacon, rice paper bacon, mushroom bacon, and tofu bacon.
I've been making vegan rice paper bacon for years and love the crispy texture that it makes, but I missed the meatiness. I also frequently made tofu bacon and tempeh bacon, which is also delicious and full of protein, but not crispy. So one day I got the idea to combine my two favorite types of vegan bacon into the perfect balance of crispy and meaty and the result was truly amazing!
My son took one bite and said, "Your whole life has led up to the creation of this bacon!" This method has such an authentic texture, Gordon Ramsay even used it to make vegan bacon.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- This meatless bacon is crispy, meaty, salty, and smokey.
- It's gluten-free and easily made soy-free if needed.
- It's fun to make.
- This recipe is simply delicious and any bacon lover's dream!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Rice Paper - for the formation of the bacon strips and to make it super crispy. These are the thin sheets of rice paper that are used to make summer rolls. You can find them in the Asian section of most large grocery stores. I find that the brands that contain wheat give the crispiest texture. The square rice paper will give you cleaner ends, but the round rice paper is fine.
- Firm Tofu - to crumble inside the layers of rice paper to give your bacon a meaty texture.
- Bragg's Liquid Aminos - or soy sauce for the saltiness and flavor. You can also use soy sauce or Tamari instead. (I don't recommend coconut aminos) Use low sodium soy sauce for less salty bacon.
- Liquid Smoke - Hickory Flavored - for the smoky bacon flavor. (Hickory has a nicer flavor than mesquite in my opinion.)
- Smoked Paprika - for additional smoky flavor and color. You can use regular paprika if you don't have smoked, but it won't give you the natural smoke flavors.
- Garlic Powder - for flavor. You can use onion powder instead if you wish. (optional)
- Nutritional Yeast - for a rich umami flavor. (optional)
- Light Olive Oil - You can also use vegetable oil, canola oil, or refined coconut oil for the richness of real bacon. (See the note below about oil).
🥄 Instructions
Make the bacon-flavored marinade
- Combine soy sauce, liquid smoke, water, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast in a bowl, then stir with a fork.
Prepare the ingredients
- Pour 2 tbsp of the marinade into a small bowl (to marinate the tofu) and the rest on to a large plate. (This will be used to dip your strips of rice paper.)
- Drain and press the excess liquid out of a block of firm tofu, then crumble 1/4 of the block of firm tofu into the bowl with 2 tbsp of the marinade and let it soak while you prepare the rice paper.
- Cut the rice paper into long strips about 1 1/2 inch wide with kitchen scissors. (a little wider than you want the final strip of bacon to be since it will shrink a little when it cooks.) You can layer up to 4 sheets on top of each other when you cut them to save time.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (204 C).
Assemble the bacon
- Spread 2 tbsp of oil on a cookie sheet. (or line it with parchment paper for oil-free)
- Dip a stip of rice paper in the marinade quickly. Don't let it soak and get soft, just get it coated with the mixture.
- Lay the strip on the oiled cookie sheet and sprinkle with about 1-2 tsp of crumbled marinated tofu.
- Dip another rice paper strip in the marinade and lay it flat on top of the first. (It will not stick to the bottom layer at first. Don't worry, they will fuse together and seal the tofu inside once it cooks.)
- Repeat this process until your sheet of full of bacon strips, but they are not touching each other.
Cook the bacon
- Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 7 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and flip each piece and then bake again for about 7 more minutes until the edges start to curl up and it gets crispy.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- Don't let the rice paper soak up too much marinade. You just want to get some flavor on it. If it gets too wet, it will take longer to cook and won't be as crispy.
- Make sure to use an oil with a high smoke point to avoid any burnt flavor in your bacon.
- Flip the bacon carefully, rice paper tends to stick to itself and it will stick to other slices as well.
❓Frequently asked questions
When testing the recipe I thought that refined coconut oil would be a great choice to cook the bacon in, but every time I used it, there was a slightly burnt taste even though the bacon wasn't burnt. I realized that since you cook this bacon at a high temperature, the oil that you use needs to have a high smoke point. Make sure to choose an oil that has a smoke point at 400 degrees or above for the best flavor. Here is a chart that shows smoke points of different oils to help you pick one that's best for you.
Pan-frying also works well to cook the bacon. You can fry your prepared strips of bacon in a little oil over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon for about 2-3 minutes on each side until crispy. I usually bake the bacon since I can assemble it all at the same time and all of the slices are ready at the same time.
Make sure to use rice paper that is gluten-free, surprisingly some brands have wheat flour. Also, be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce like Tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos.
🍴Oil-free instructions
Yes, if you want to have oil-free bacon, line your cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake your strips on the parchment paper. This will ensure that your bacon doesn't stick to the cookie sheet.
🍴 Soy-free instructions
If you don't want to use tofu, you can use mashed chickpeas instead. Crush 1/3 cup of chickpeas (that have been drained and washed) with the back of a fork until they are crumbly. Soak the mashed chickpeas in the bacon-flavored marinade instead of the tofu.
🥡 Storage and reheating
You can keep it covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Heat the bacon by quickly pan-frying it or pop it back in the oven. Reheating in the microwave will make it soggy.
🥗 Serving suggestions
- Serve the bacon on the side of some Vegan Scrambled Eggs, a Vegan Omelet, Vegan French Toast, or Vegan Cinnamon Rolls for a breakfast that will blow your family away!
- Crumble it into a Vegan Quiche!
- Use it on veggie burgers or sandwiches or make a Vegan BLT with it.
- Crumble it over salads for delicious crispy bacon bits or use my Vegan Bacon Bits recipe that uses TVP instead.
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
Vegan Bacon
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos or Tamari for GF
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
- 2 tbsp oil (for greasing the baking sheet or frying pan)
- 3.5 oz firm tofu (This is 1/4 of a block of tofu)
- 6 sheets rice paper
Instructions
Make the bacon-flavored marinade
- Combine soy sauce, liquid smoke, water, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast in a bowl, then stir with a fork.
Prepare the ingredients
- Pour 2 tbsp of the marinade into a small bowl (to marinate the tofu) and the rest on to a large plate. (This will be used to dip your strips of rice paper.)
- Drain and press the excess liquid out of a block of firm tofu, then crumble 1/4 of the block of firm tofu into the bowl with 2 tbsp of the marinade and let it soak while you prepare the rice paper.
- Cut the rice paper into long strips about 1 1/2 inch wide with kitchen scissors. (a little wider than you want the final strip of bacon to be since it will shrink a little when it cooks.) You can layer up to 4 sheets on top of each other when you cut them to save time.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F(204°C).
Assemble the bacon
- Spread 2 tbsp of oil on a cookie sheet. (or line it with parchment paper for oil-free)
- Dip a stip of rice paper in the marinate quickly. Don't let it soak and get soft, just get it coated with the mixture.
- Lay the strip on the oiled cookie sheet and sprinkle with about 1-2 tsp of crumbled marinated tofu.
- Dip another rice paper strip in the marinade and lay it flat on top of the first. (It will not stick to the bottom layer at first. Don't worry, they will fuse together and seal the tofu inside once it cooks.)
- Repeat this process until your sheet of full of bacon strips, but they are not touching each other.
Cook the bacon
- Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 7 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and flip each piece and then bake again for about 7 more minutes until the edges start to curl up and it gets crispy.
Video
Notes
- Don't let the rice paper soak up too much marinade. You just want to get some flavor on it. If it gets too wet, it will take longer to cook and won't be as crispy.
- Make sure to use an oil with a high smoke point to avoid any burnt flavor in your bacon.
- Flip the bacon carefully, rice paper tends to stick to itself and it will stick to other slices as well.
Nutrition
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