I prefer to make my own food, it’s cheaper, healthier and tastes better because I can use my favorite ingredients. I don’t eat vegan substitutes very often because they’re not healthy and they’re also really expensive in my country. Searching for the perfect vegan bacon recipe I found many amazing recipes, some people use coconut or even eggplant to make facon (or fake bacon), but I thought the tempeh bacon probably taste better and it’s really delicious.
Although this is not the healthiest food in the world, at least, is much healthier than regular bacon and also has less fat and is cholesterol-free.
I used store bought tempeh, but if you make your own tempeh, good for you! I rarely buy tempeh, actually this was the second time I used it. The first time I made these awesome vegan tempeh meatballs. If you have a good homemade tempeh recipe, please share it in the comments!
This vegan tempeh is really easy to make, you just have to slice the tempeh, mix the marinade ingredients, soak the tempeh slices in the marinade for 1 or 2 minutes and fry them, that’s all! You can also bake it if you want.
The best oils for frying are those that can be heated to high temperatures before burning. I usually use extra virgin olive oil, but coconut oil is also great. Please avoid refined oils, they’re bad for your health.
To make the marinade you need: soy sauce or tamari, extra virgin olive oil (or other non refined oil), agave syrup (or any other liquid sweetener), red hot sauce, liquid smoke or smoke powder, ground cumin and black pepper.
You can use any hot sauce you like (Tabasco is great) or even you can add cayenne powder. I know the liquid smoke or smoke powder is not a healthy ingredient, but it’s necessary to get the real bacon taste. If you can’t find it, use barbecue sauce instead (you’ll probably need to add more).
There are so many recipes you can make with the tempeh bacon, but I used it to make the beautiful vegan Cobb salad you can see in the picture below, I’ll share the recipe soon!
Don’t forget to leave a comment or tag a picture #simpleveganblog on Instagram or Twitter if you make this tempeh bacon, we love your pictures and comments!
Tempeh Bacon
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: How-To
- Cuisine: Vegan, American
This tempeh bacon is not the healthiest food in the world, but is much healthier than regular bacon and also has less fat and is cholesterol-free.
Ingredients
- 8 oz tempeh (250 g)
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil for the marinade + extra virgin olive oil to taste for frying the bacon
- 1 tbsp maple or agave syrup
- 1/2 tsp red hot sauce or 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp liquid smoke or smoke powder (optional)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- Pinch of salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Slice the tempeh as thin as you can without it falling apart.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients (except the salt) in a bowl. Soak the tempeh slices in the marinade for 1 or 2 minutes.
- Heat extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan and when it’s hot, add the tempeh and cook for 1 or 2 minutes each side over high heat until both sides are browned and crisp.
- Lay cooked tempeh on paper towel to cool. Add salt to taste.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Healthy Happy Life
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10 of the recipe
- Calories: 75
- Sugar: 1.3g
- Sodium: 109mg
- Fat: 5.3g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9g
- Carbohydrates: 3.6g
- Protein: 4.4g
Deborah Vail says
May 2, 2019 at 16:39The flavor was spot on , wish it was crispier, going to put in dehydrator to try and crisp up, looking forward to a blt sandwich, mmm
★★★★
Iosune says
May 3, 2019 at 08:32Hi Deborah! Have you fried it? Try to slice it even thinner 🙂
Danielle says
March 29, 2019 at 16:41Tasty, but next time I’ll omit the cumin. It overpowered the other flavors and didn’t taste authentic to me.
★★★
Iosune says
April 1, 2019 at 03:00Hi Danielle! I think bacon is usually made with cumin, but it’s up to you 🙂
Emilie says
March 29, 2019 at 00:26Wow, I just made this and it’s so good. Love that marinade! Gonna go make a BLT now!
★★★★★
Iosune says
March 29, 2019 at 01:35Hi Emilie! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 Hope you enjoy your BLT!
Alancia says
February 12, 2019 at 00:19This recipe was a hit with the kiddos!! They barely noticed that it wasn’t bacon and they asked for me to make this recipe again. We put the Tempeh on sandwiches.
★★★★★
Iosune says
February 12, 2019 at 08:38Hi Alancia! So glad they enjoyed it 🙂
Yvie says
January 30, 2019 at 01:16Delicious! I made this tonight and loved it! Does it taste like animal bacon? No. Does it satisfy that craving without harming animals? YEP!
This was so quick and easy to make – it’s definitely a recipe that’ll be made over and over again! <3
★★★★★
Iosune says
January 30, 2019 at 12:02Hi Yvie! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Rachel says
January 9, 2019 at 15:10Just exactly what I was looking for, making a plant based Reuben casserole for dinner. This fakin’ bacon added the perfect umami. We don’t use oil and I didn’t miss it in this recipe at all. Thanks Iosune for sharing.
★★★★★
Iosune says
January 10, 2019 at 08:08Hi Rachel! You’re so welcome 🙂 Sounds great!
Janet says
December 4, 2018 at 21:47Thanks so much for this easy bacon sub recipe!
I have yet to make it, but when I do I will replace the hot sauce and smoke products with organic smoked paprika. I just have to pick up some organic tempeh.
Iosune says
December 5, 2018 at 09:26Hi Janet! You’re so welcome 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
Lorianne says
November 9, 2018 at 12:38This tasted so good and was very easy to make.
★★★★★
Iosune says
November 27, 2018 at 09:21Hi Lorianne! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Kathy says
October 31, 2018 at 15:30If I make this the night before, what’s the best way to keep it crisp for the next morning?
Iosune says
November 1, 2018 at 08:31Hi Kathy! It’s best when fresh, but I keep it in a sealed container in the fridge and then reheat it in a pan with a little bit of oil. Hope it helps!
Ramona says
October 28, 2018 at 14:29Thanks for the recipe. As I began my vegetarian lifestyle journey this assisted my bacon craving. I made some fried potatoes with yellow peppers, variety of spices and drizzled this marinate. Deliciousness to the max.
Iosune says
October 28, 2018 at 16:40Hi Ramona! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!