This blog post also is available in German.
Have you ever struggled with veganizing a recipe because it needs bacon and you didn`t know how to replace it? Maybe you even miss eating bacon sometimes? Or you just think it`s fancy to have some vegan bacon up your sleeve? To whatever group you belong, you all came to the right spot today, as I`m going to tell you my little secret on how I make my very own vegan bacon at home.
Want to know the best thing about this bacon recipe? First of all, everyone can do it, even if you`re less experienced in cooking. Second, it`s a super quick recipe. All you need is 20 minutes and you`re done. Third, yes there are looking alike vegan bacon brands out there, but wouldn`t you rather have a homemade natural version instead of a processed one? Pretty convincing points right?
Honestly, I never would have come up with the idea to make something tasting like bacon out of coconuts. So the person who invented this is an absolute genius. The first time I noticed coconut bacon was a thing was while browsing through the tasty app. This was the moment I knew, I had to give this a try. Months passed and I forgot about it until I wanted to prepare some vegan carbonara. By the way, if you`re interested in that recipe, follow my instagram account, as I will upload it there next week. But back to the bacon… The idea was fixed in my head, as there wasn`t anything that suitable for a vegan carbonara than coconut bacon.
But what to use to give dried coconut this salty and smoky flavor typical for bacon? I`ve experimented a bit with liquid smoke already when I made vegan carrot lox, so I knew this was an ingredient that would work out pretty fine. Maybe even smoked paprika? I took it to the internet and did a small research, that gave me the insight, that liquid smoke, smoked paprika, tamari, soy sauce and maple syrup were most commonly used to make coconut bacon. I ditched the smoked paprika because it kind of didn`t feel like something I associated with bacon, as well as I was pretty sure that liquid smoke would give the coconut flakes enough smoky flavor. Tamari, no idea what it is *lol*, so I left it out as well.
So everything was set and ready to start the first attempt, which actually was a fail. I terribly burnt my flakes. But as you know mistakes are here to learn from them. And as I made that experience, I can tell now, that this is the only tricky part of this recipe. Coconut flakes are delicate one minute they can look undone and within the next two minutes they already turned dark brown and can be considered burnt. That is why I highly advise to carefully watch these buddies in the oven. And don`t worry if they`re not as crunchy as you would like them to be, they will continue drying when you let them cool down. Mine turned super crunchy just after letting them rest on the countertop.
You can use your coconut bacon for all sorts of things, like cupcakes, toppings for different dishes or carbonara sauce, which is why I prepared a small bulk and stored them in a jar. Enjoy experimenting with this coconut bacon, testing out for what kind of dishes you like them.
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Sarah
Vegan Coconut Bacon
Ingredients
- 80 g coconut flakes organic
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 dash of salt organic
- 2 tsp maple syrup organic
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 200° degrees Celsius.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. The flakes should be covered evenly with the liquid ingredients.
- Put some parchment paper on a baking sheet, spread the flakes onto the paper and put them in the oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes and make sure to turn the flakes from time to time. Take them out of the oven and let them cool down completely.