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    Home » Recipes » Breakfast

    Vegan Bacon

    Published: Sep 10, 2022 · Modified: Jul 23, 2024 by Richard Makin

    🥜 NF
    <15 mins
    🌱 VG

    Publised on 10/09/2022. Last Updated on 23/07/2024 by Richard

    Jump to Recipe
    5 from 79 votes
    vegan bacon

    My smoky vegan bacon is crispy, chewy and super easy to make. It even bubbles and crackles like real bacon.


    I know, I know, it's literally insane that I haven't made a vegan bacon recipe yet, but we're here now and I'm holding your hand as an apology. I make my vegan bacon out of a really really special ingredient which is about to change the way you cook. But hang tight on that reveal.

    I was about 5 when I stopped eating meat and weirdly bacon is one of the only things I actually remember the flavour of. I guess that makes sense, since it's so flavoursome and umami. Anyway, my job is to try to replicate that flavour from memory using ONLY PLANTS! Shall we do it?? LET'S DO IT!!

    vegan bacon sandwich

    What is this vegan bacon made from?

    Famously vegans will try to make bacon out of everything. I've seen vegan bacon made from mushrooms, rice paper, aubergine - ALL SORTS OF THINGS! But here's my issue - I want a vegan bacon that's actually high in protein, as well as being able to soak up a whole bunch of bacony flavours!

    So, personally, I like to use paper tofu! It's a kind of bean curd made in thin sheets. It's thicker than yuba (which weirdly is more like paper thickness) but it really comes into its own when marinated! It soaks up so much flavour and when you grill it, it pops and bubbles like REAL bacon.

    paper tofu

    How do I make vegan bacon?

    As always, the FULL RECIPE for my vegan bacon is at the bottom of the page – If you're skipping forward because it's breakfast time and you're starving, then don't worry! Just go for it!

    Alternatively, here's a bit of a breakdown below!

    1. Create your "vegan rashers"

    paper tofu

    Paper tofu is thin and easy to tear. You'll get a much more natural bacon-y shape if you tear the tofu instead of slice with a knife. You want to pull it into strips about 4 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. 

    Set them aside in a baking tray while you prepare your marinade. 

    2. Prepare your marinade

    vegan bacon marinade

    The marinade for the vegan bacon is all about getting that balance between sweet, salty, smoky and umami! Dark soy sauce brings the umami and the saltiness, we use liquid smoke for the smokiness and maple syrup for the sweetness. 

    I also like to use some beetroot juice too, to make sure the paper tofu takes on a bacon-y redness! You can leave this out if you like, but I'll know, and I'll judge you, silently. 

    3. Marinate your paper tofu

    marinating tofu

    How long you marinate your tofu for is REALLY up to you, but I'd really recommend giving it at least 2 minutes. I think the optimal time is about an hour in the fridge, but if you want to prepare in advance, you can marinate the tofu overnight in the fridge! That way it's ready for grilling as soon as you wake up!

    4. Grill the vegan bacon

    vegan bacon

    To get gorgeous ripples in your vegan bacon, you'll want to make sure it's slightly folded while you grill it. I like to lay it over the bars of a grill rack and push down slightly. This way, when you brush the vegan bacon with extra marinade before grilling, it'll pool in the troughs and help to give a nice variation in colour and texture across the rasher. 

    vegan bacon

    And that's it! This recipe can burn quite easily, so watch it like a hawk, but otherwise, have fun! You can now make an incredible vegan BLT, a killer full English breakfast - ALL without any animal products!

    What else can you make with an insanely good vegan bacon? Maybe carbonara??

    grilled vegan bacon

    As always, it helps me MASSIVELY if you can rate and review this recipe below. This blog only exists because people like you actually use it and cook these recipes, I'd absolutely love it if you could let others know that you rate this recipe or that you’re just excited to make it!

    Alternatively, take a picture and pop it on instagram! 

    vegan bacon

    Vegan Bacon

    My vegan bacon never lets me down! Bubbles and crisps like real bacon and takes only minutes to prepare!
    4.98 from 79 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 8 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 8 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 146kcal
    Author: Richard Makin

    Ingredients

    • 2 sheets paper tofu see ingredients notes below
    • 60 ml dark soy sauce
    • 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 3 tablespoon liquid smoke
    • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
    • 2 tablespoon beetroot juice see ingredients notes below
    • 2 teaspoon potato starch
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    • To make the vegan bacon, carefully tear the sheets of paper tofu into rasher-sized strips. 
      2 sheets paper tofu
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
      60 ml dark soy sauce, 4 tablespoon vegetable oil, 3 tablespoon liquid smoke, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 2 tablespoon beetroot juice, 2 teaspoon potato starch
    • Place the vegan bacon rashers in a small baking tray or container and pour over the marinade. Cover and leave to marinate for at least 2 minutes. Alternatively, place in the fridge for up to 8 hours, but this is not required.
    • When ready to cook, preheat the grill (aka broiler) to its highest temperature. Place a grill rack on a grill tray and spread the vegan bacon over the rack, allowing it to ripple and fold over the bars of the rack. Brush with some of the remaining marinade. Drizzle with a little extra oil. Place under the grill for 4 minutes then remove, flip, brush again with marinade and grill the other side. The paper tofu is liable to burn easily, so don’t take your eye off it. 
    • Remove the vegan bacon and serve hot. 

    Notes

    1. Paper tofu is a form of bean curd which is formed in thin sheets. You'll find it in the refrigerator section of most Asian supermarkets, usually in a sealed plastic packet.
    2. The beetroot juice in this recipe is mostly for colour, so it can be omitted if necessary. If you plan to use it, you can avoid buying a whole bottle of beetroot juice and instead just buy a vacuum pack or jar of cooked beetroot. These usually come with a few tablespoons of beet juice inside.
    3. It’s also possible to fry this vegan bacon if you wish. My advice is to use a low heat as the bacon burns or crisps very quickly.
    4. It would seem obvs that the longer you marinate your vegan bacon, the more it'll taste of bacon. But honestly this only really matters for about 8 hours. After this point I've found the paper tofu sort of gets saturated with flavour and it stops soaking up the marinade. You can even just brush the marinade onto the paper tofu and grill straight away, but I'd really recommend letting it marinade for at least two mins, if you have the time.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 848mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.4mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @SchoolNightVegan or tag #schoolnightvegan!

    WANT MORE BREAKFAST!?

    Why not try:

    Vegan Granola Base

    Vegan Omelette

    Banana, Chocolate and Cardamom Oatmeal Bars

    More Vegan Breakfast Recipes

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      Vegan Pumpkin Scones (Starbucks Copycat Recipe)
    • Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
      Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Scones with Lemon Glaze
    • vegan hash browns
      Crispy Vegan Hash Browns (Baked, Fried or Air Fried)
    • tofu scramble
      Tofu Scramble

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      4.98 from 79 votes (73 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Vegan mom

      March 06, 2025 at 7:26 pm

      5 stars
      I use this marinade recipe on tempeh (more protein) and it’s tasty!!

      Reply
    2. Paraic McCormack

      May 12, 2024 at 5:17 am

      5 stars
      Fabulous cruelty-free facon !

      Reply
    3. Reshma Goolamy

      June 06, 2023 at 8:00 pm

      Hey there !
      What do you think of the use of liquid smoke ? Some say it's kinda dangerous...
      Can I substitute the liquid smoke with BBQ sauce ? Or Sticky korean BBQ sauce ? Which is not that better either but at least I have one in my fridge haha

      Reply
    4. Hayley

      January 08, 2023 at 2:52 pm

      This sounds so easy! As I’m only cooking for one, does the uncooked marinated tofu keep ok in the fridge bewteen meals, or would you recommend only marinating what you intend to eat in that sitting? Thanks!

      Reply
    5. Lindsay

      September 11, 2022 at 4:48 pm

      5 stars
      Finally a bacon option that is both vegan AND gluten free. Off to find paper tofu

      Reply
    6. Naomi Scott

      September 11, 2022 at 2:25 pm

      5 stars
      Genius!

      Reply
    7. Janette Westman

      September 11, 2022 at 3:44 am

      5 stars
      Can’t wait to get my teeth into this !!

      Reply
    8. Elaine

      September 11, 2022 at 1:29 am

      Paper Tofu and beetroot juice added to my shopping list. This is a must try for me. Thanks again for another great recipe!

      Reply
    9. Lina

      September 10, 2022 at 9:58 pm

      5 stars
      Sounds amazing! Very excited how this compares to my usual rice paper go-to recipe 🙂

      Reply

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