Tofu Bacon

Yum

Bacon. It’s everywhere! People love bacon. And not just eating it, they wear it on t-shirts and earrings! I’ve seen Christmas decorations that look like bacon! It pops up in ice cream, on pizza, and wrapped around everything under the sun.  It seems to be the one item that will make any food more attractive. You could say anything and if you include “bacon”, you’ve won over 99% of the population. Let’s be honest, it’s delicious.  But what if you don’t eat bacon, for one reason or another? (There are lots of reasons not to eat bacon, but right now we’re going to assume that you’ve already got a reason.) Make some Tofu Bacon! Seriously. Is there anything tofu can’t do?

Tofu Bacon is easy to make, and it has all of the qualifications that you expect from bacon. We’re talking the salty, smokey, savory, slightly sweet, crispy traits that make bacon completely irresistible! I’ve made this recipe a million times for my vegan cooking classes, and many catered brunches (full of non-vegans) with menus that included tofu bacon, so I can assure you, it’s a crowd-pleaser! There’s a few different ways to prepare it, and it’s just as versatile as the ‘real’ thing! Think, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, salads, mac and cheese, etc.!  Best of all, tofu bacon is cholesterol free, has lots of protein, and is way lower in fat than bacon. Once you’ve made this addictive tofu bacon, you’ll want to make it again and again. I’d actually recommend making a double batch, because my next two blog posts are going to be recipes that utilize this amazing tofu bacon…. and you may also be prone to eat several pieces while you’re making it… and you may have to fend off hungry kids and husbands that smell this delicious concoction coming from the kitchen and sneak in to steal several pieces off of the plate before your meal. It happens people!

 

You’ll want to get a really firm tofu for the best results. You can use tofu that comes in a tub, but for best results, try to find a vacuum packed tofu. Vacuum packed tofu is really firm and dry. In California, you can buy Wildwood brand tofu. I’ve also seen a good one from Nasoya. Check this one out.  You don’t have to use one of those brands, I’m sure there’s more. If you know of a good, vacuum packed tofu, be a pal and put it in the comments to help your fellow tofu bacon lovers! The important thing is just to get the firmest one possible. If you need to use tofu that’s packed in water, get the firmest one possible and then press some water out of it by setting a heavy plate on it for a few hours, or using a tofu press. 

There’s two ways to do this. You can use a cheese slicer, and slice really thin strips of tofu, or you can cut thicker strips with a knife.

 

You’ll want to marinade the tofu for at least an hour so it soaks up a lot of yummy flavor. I feel that about 2 hours is best, but you can play with this. Make sure the tofu is mostly submerged in the marinade, and if some if sticking out, just flip it half way through. I used a couple of large baking dishes to marinade it.

The marinade is really easy to make, only 4 ingredients! You’ll need liquid smoke (I used hickory), maple syrup, gluten free soy sauce or tamari, and nutritional yeast.

If you aren’t familiar with nutritional yeast, you can buy it in the bulk bins at health food stores, in canisters, or on Amazon. It doesn’t contain any active yeast, so no worries for people with yeast issues, and it’s gluten free too. (This is different from brewer’s yeast, or baker’s yeast.). These are the ingredients that I used. I like this liquid smoke because it’s all natural. If you aren’t gluten free, you can use regular soy sauce. I used some organic maple syrup that I bought at Whole Foods, but they have that on Amazon too, if you want to get it there. (Is there anything you can’t buy on Amazon?!)

I removed it from the baking dishes and laid it out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to ensure that it wouldn’t stick, and it makes clean up really easy. Also, I made a double batch, so I reused the marinade! (I did need to make up just a little bit more).

You can fry this or bake it. Personally, I like to bake it. It comes out great like this, and then when you want to reheat it, or if you want it to be crispier, you can fry up a few slices. I used the baked pieces in a salad (see my next post!), and I wanted nice chunky pieces.

When I make pancakes,  I put a few of the thinner pieces in the pan and cook them until they are crispy. SO GOOD! And yes, pancakes are coming to my blog very soon! I can hardly even wait, and after I post them, a link will be HERE, so if you are reading this afterwards, just go there. If you want to make sure that you don’t miss out on any upcoming recipes, sign up for my newsletter and you will get all of my new recipes sent directly to your inbox. Anyway, you can see that this is a recipe is one that you will want to master. Think of the possibilities!

I made this bacon last night, with some pancakes, for dinner, and you should’ve seen the look on my kids faces when I told them I was making pancakes and tofu bacon for dinner… it was pure joy, and the little one couldn’t even contain it, he just ran over and gave me a huge hug! So, beside the obvious perks of tofu bacon, there’s that kind of fringe benefit…. even if you don’t have a house full of boys….. Opening up the fridge and having tofu bacon in there, waiting for your pancakes, sandwiches, salads, greens, or snack time, is like giving yourself a little present. So, love yourself, and make some tofu bacon. You’ll love it!

 

 

* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through, and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission from Amazon. It helps me keep the blog running, so if you do purchase after reading my post, that’s awesome, thanks! Most importantly, I just want to inspire you, and be inspired by you.  I never write about products that I don’t use, or don’t believe in. When I do find something that I’m passionate about, I like to share it with my readers.