Plant-Based Crispy Bacon
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Looking for a vegan alternative to bacon that still satisfies your crispy, savory cravings? This vegan bacon recipe is not only delicious but also simple to make.
Packed with flavor and perfect for sandwiches, salads, or as a standalone snack, this plant-based bacon is sure to impress plant and meat eaters alike. It also happens to be gluten free!
This recipe was inspired by the company Hooray Food’s plant-based bacon. Unfortunately, they are no longer in business. On their way out they were incredibly generous and released their secret recipe online.
I took that recipe and made it (in my opinion) easier for home cooks! It was written to produce large quantities of vegan bacon and included extra steps and equipment (and more dishes!) to make it look more like animal-based bacon. I also tweaked the ingredients a bit including changing up the seasonings and adding other functional ingredients. I hope this recipe brings you as much joy as it has brought to my family!
Preheat & Mix Wet Ingredients:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a mixing bowl, combine room temperature water, room temperature beet juice, salt, mushroom powder, garlic powder, paprika, browning liquid, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Whisk together thoroughly and set aside.
Prepare Batter & Pan
- Melt your refined coconut oil in the microwave by microwaving for 30 seconds, stirring, and then microwaving again for about another 30 seconds. Time may vary with strength of your machine.
- Use a bit of your melted coconut oil and lightly grease a standard half-sheet baking pan (17.75″L x 12.75″W x 1″H) (here is pan I use). To do this, use a culinary brush or paper towel. Ensure to coat the edges of the pan as well.
Make a Batter:
- In a separate empty bowl whisk together your rice flour, tapioca flour, and the remaining melted coconut oil. Whisk until a clumpy paste forms.
- Pour the red wet ingredients mixture into the bowl containing the flour and oil. Whisk vigorously until you achieve a smooth batter with no clumps.
Spread Batter and Bake:
- Pour the batter onto the greased baking sheet, tilting it as necessary to evenly coat the pan with the batter.
- Carefully place the pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Do not tilt the pan as you put it into the oven. This will send batter rushing to one side, making for thick strips on one side and thin strips on the other.
- Bake for approximately 6 minutes, until bubbles form on the surface and it looks roughly like this:
Cool and Cut:
- Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, use a serrated dinner knife to cut the bacon into 24 strips. To do this cut once lengthwise across middle of the length of the pan and then 11 times in the opposite direction. I like to use a measuring tape for this part and cut the strips 1.5″ wide.
- If you want an easier time cutting, you can transfer the pan to the fridge and chill for 10 minutes.
Cook:
- Preheat a pan between low and medium heat and add your strips, being careful not to crowd the pan.
- Cook each side for 1.5 – 2 minutes. Pull them right before they are crispy as they will firm up as they cool.
- This part will take a bit of feel and depend on how hot your pan is, so try out different lengths of time and heat levels until you get your desired consistency. The key to cooking these perfectly is to cook them LOW AND SLOW.
- Allow the cooked bacon to rest on a paper towel or wire rack for about 1 minute before serving.
Storage:
- Wrap any uncooked bacon in parchment paper and store it in the fridge for 4-5 days or freezer for long-term storage.
- Cooked bacon can be kept in the fridge and will remain crispy for several days.
- I recommend making these several days in advance of when you first want to use them and then just take strips directly from the pack as needed.
Commonly Asked Questions
Is this recipe gluten free?
I’m no expert on what is and is not gluten free, but to my knowledge – YES it is! Please check your ingredients as products vary in what they contain.
Can you double this recipe?
Not only can you double this recipe, it is encouraged. You’ll need two baking pans to do the job. I’d also recommend weighing the liquid before pouring the batter from the bowl so that you don’t pour too much into one of the pans and not enough in the other. You’ll be able to freeze what you don’t use indefinitely.
Where do I get the ingredients?
Almost everything you need for this recipe can be found at a major grocery store chain in the United States. The only items that you may need to get online is the tapioca starch, mushroom powder and rice flour. Click here to see the exact products I use. You can usually find rice flour and mushroom powder at your local asian market.
Are tapioca flour and tapioca starch the same thing?
This is confusing and sent me down a rabbit hole for a long time. But the answer is yes, these are the same product!
Plant-Based Crispy Bacon
This vegan bacon is great on sandwiches, salads, burgers, and literally anywhere you think bacon would taste great!
It is also easy to make a lot at once, giving you plenty of leftover bacon for your efforts.
Ingredients
- ½ cup (63g) rice flour
- ½ cup (57g) tapioca flour
- ½ cup (100g) melted refined coconut oil
- ⅓ cup (77g) room temp water
- ⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp (86g) room temp beet juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp mushroom powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp browning liquid
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/177C
- To one mixing bowl, add the room temp water, room temp beet juice, salt, mushroom powder, garlic powder, paprika, browning liquid, maple syrup, liquid smoke. Whisk together and set aside.
- Melt your refined coconut oil. You can do this in the microwave by heating for 10-15 seconds at a time and stirring as needed. Every microwave’s power is different, but this will take roughly 30-60 seconds of microwaving total.
- Grease a standard half-sheet baking pan (17.75"L x 12.75"W x 1"H) with the melted oil using a culinary brush or paper towel. Make sure to grease the inside edges as well.
- To a new empty bowl, add rice flour, tapioca flour, and the rest of your melted coconut oil. Whisk together. It will clump up into a paste, which is fine. Just make sure it is combined!
- Pour in your bowl of red wet ingredients we made and set aside in stop 2 with the ingredients in the bowl containing the flour and oil. Whisk together, breaking up clumps, until you have a smooth batter.
- Pour your batter onto your greased baking sheet and tilt it as needed to cover the pan with the batter in an even layer.
- Being VERY careful to keep the pan level, place it on the middle rack of your preheated oven. Make sure you do not tilt the pan as you place it on the rack. Tilting will cause the batter to pool unevenly and give you slices that are too thick on one side of the pan and too thin on the other.
- After baking for about 6 minutes, you’ll notice the pan is bubbling in some areas. Remove from the oven and let it cool to room temp.
- Using a serrated dinner knife, cut lengthwise through the middle of the pan on the longest part and then make 11 even cuts, about 1.5” apart the other direction. This will yield 24 strips of bacon.
- If you have trouble cutting the bacon, you can put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes to make it easier to cut. The colder the bacon, the easier it will be to cut.
- Prepare them by cooking on low/medium low heat for roughly 2 minutes and 30 seconds on each side. Remove from the pan and let rest on a paper towel or wire rack for 1 minute before serving. Pull from the pan when they are still slightly flexible. They will continue to crisp as they cool. Experiment with different cooking times and temperatures that suit your cooking style. If you enjoy less firm bacon, cook it for less. They take a bit of feel to cook to taste, but the overall key to success is cooking low and slow.
- Wrap the rest of the un-cooked bacon in parchment paper and store 4-5 days in the fridge or indefinitely in the freezer. Cooked bacon will remain crispy for several days in the fridge.
Notes
- Recipe EASILY doubles making 48 strips! You’ll just need an additional baking sheet and bowls.
- Cut the final product up for vegan bacon bits!
- Beet juice is pricey, freeze what you don't use within a few days!
