Vegan bacon
Craving that smoky, sweet flavor of bacon but looking for a plant-based alternative? Look no further than this high-protein caramelised vegan bacon alternative.
This caramelized tempeh bacon is a flavor explosion! It’s packed with umami, offering a nutty flavor from the tempeh itself, sweetness from maple syrup and molasses, saltiness from tamari sauce, and a smoky kick from paprika. This vegan bacon alternative is incredibly satisfying, juicy, and has a fantastic texture, thanks to the caramelization process.
Tempeh is It’s a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans, offering a wealth of health benefits. Packed with probiotics, vitamins, minerals, and protein, tempeh is a nutritional powerhouse.
This vegan bacon is perfect for elevating your sandwiches, salads, roasted veggies, or eggs to new heights. If you’re following a vegan or plant-based diet, this recipe is an absolute must-try.
Ready in just 20 minutes, this homemade tempeh bacon blows store-bought substitutes out of the water.
If you love tempeh, you should try Best Air Fryer Tempeh Topping and Loaded Grilled Radicchio with Vegan Bacon Bits.
If you love vegan staples like this burrata, you’ll definitely want to try:
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Packed with key flavor elements present in the actual bacon (smokiness, sweetness, and saltiness), this tempeh bacon recipe is beloved by carnivores as well as those following a plant-based diet.
- Ready in 20 minutes, and even less for using an air fryer.
- Can be stored in the fridge for up to five days.
- Tempeh is a nutritional powerhouse, full of protein, fiber, antioxidants, and probiotics – read more about its health benefits here.
Ingredients
- Tempeh – with its firm texture and nutty flavor, it is a great canvas for this recipe. It provides a protein-rich base that can mimic the chewiness of bacon.
- Tamari – is a gluten free-soy sauce, that provides the umami, which is an essential component of bacon’s flavor profile. You can replace tamari with a light soy sauce.
- Smoked paprika – mimics bacon smokiness.
- Molasses – contributes a deep and rich sweetness, that mimics the caramelization of perfectly crisped bacon.
- Extra virgin olive oil – for grilling the radicchio and for the bacon bits marinade.
- Seas salt – deepens the other flavors present in this dish.
How to make vegan bacon
Marinade
- Add the maple syrup, olive oil, tamari, smoked paprika, molasses, and salt to a bowl and mix together well.
Tempeh
- Slice the tempeh with the mandoline slicer. We suggest slicing it on a mandoline setting between 3 to 5. If you cut the tempeh any thinner it might break apart when dipped into the marinade.
- Dip the slices in the marinade. Tempeh can be quite crumbly, so do it gently – we suggest dipping them individually. Alternatively, you can place the slices directly on a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush both sides with the marinade.
Bake
- Oven baking: Place the marinated tempeh slices on a baking tray with a baking sheet. Brush the rest of the sauce on the tempeh. Use up all the sauce. Giving it enough marinade to bake in is the key to making juicy tempeh bacon.
- Air fryer tempeh: Place the marinated tempeh crumbs in the air fryer at 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for 5 – 7 minutes. To prevent it from drying, brush it with marinade 3 times while baking.
Finishing touches
- When you take them from the oven or the air fryer, brush a bit of maple syrup on top of each slice to give to that glaze and shininess.
Similar recipes
Air fryer tempeh crumble
Stuffed courgette
Easy creamy vegan burrata (with cashews and sunflower seeds)
Savory granola
Vegan bacon
Equipment
- 1 Mandoline slicer
- 1 Big bowl
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Plate
- 1 Cooking brush
Ingredients
- 200 grams tempeh
- 1½ tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add 1½ tablespoon maple syrup , 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon tamari, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon molasses, and ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl and mix together well.
- Slice the tempeh with the mandoline slicer. We suggest slicing it on a mandoline setting between 3 to 5, so that it will not break apart, when dipped into the marinade.
- Dip the slices in the marinade. Tempeh can be quite crumbly, so do it gently – we suggest dipping them individually.
- Place the marinated tempeh slices on a baking tray with a baking sheet. Brush the rest of the sauce on the tempeh. Use up all the sauce. Giving it enough marinade to bake in is the key to making juicy tempeh bacon.
- When you take them from the oven, brush a bit of maple syrup on top, to give to that glaze and shininess.
Notes
- Vegan bacon can be stored in in the fridge, in an airtight container for up to five days.
- Its perfect right from the fridge as a cold cut.Â
- You can also make this in an air fryer, but it will be dryer and not so caramelized. We tried applying the marinade every two minutes or so, to prevent it from drying out, but still found it a bit too dry for our preference.
We make this vegan bacon all the time – it’s a staple on our brunch table. We make it for ourselves and guests and it’s always a hit. I hope you give it a try and love it as much as we do. If you do, I’d love to hear your thoughts – please leave a comment and a star rating to let me know how it turned out! Your feedback not only makes my day but also helps other readers decide if they want to make it too. Happy cooking!