How To: Coconut Bacon

Fed up with “But Bacon?” comment when someone finds out you’re vegan? Or perhaps Facon isn’t doing it for you anymore? Maybe this recipe is for you!
Bacon seems to be the big thing for anyone trying to give up meat. But if you narrow down the actual tastes of bacon, it’s essentially just the salt and fats that are addictive; both of which can be vegan! So I experimented a little with my favourite vegan fat, coconut oil! Plus the saltiness of soy (or tamari for the GF-ers). Combined, these flavours make a perfect, bacon-tasting coconut flake!
However, these would not be complete without the smokey flavour, that I love on all my food. No fancy smokers are used though. It’s just a simple addition of liquid smoke. If you haven’t heard of it, it might sound a little fancy, but I assure you it’s available in most supermarkets and is well worth a buy (especially if you are as smokey as me).

So this time I’ve used coconut for the bacon base, yet there are countless vegetables and other weird and wonderful ingredients that can be used to make vegan bacon. Rice paper, aubergine, carrot… Maybe if you’re lucky i’ll put my head down and create some exciting bacon recipes using the same marinate ingredients as below!

Bacon bits are so easy to make, yet bring such a unique flavour and texture to your dishes. It’s a great recipe to learn, make and jazz up your dishes. My non-vegan friends were loving my coconut bacon topping on pizza the other night, even the one who hates coconut. To those who are still dubious, just go and try it! See if it reminds you of the Western Worlds favourite meat.

One last tip, don’t bake it again. If you want to use it on cooked food, put the coconut bacon on AFTER, otherwise it will go brown to black. Too smokey even for me.

Let me know how it goes and what you used your “bacon” on!