How to make vegan coconut bacon that’s smoky, sweet and crunchy just like regular bacon. It’s perfect for snacking or using in recipes that call for bacon like BLTs or chopped salads!
As most of you know, I’m pescatarian. I don’t really like to label it because I basically just eat the things I like, but saying pescatarian makes it easier when I’m describing what I do and do not eat to people. Well, now that I think about it, it only works half the time because sometimes I get the whole, “pesca-what?”.
Anyhow, I’ve eaten this way for over five years. I don’t crave meat or choose to eat a bunch of meat substitutes. But, when I heard about coconut bacon I couldn’t resist. I honestly still like the smell of bacon cooking. Bacon was always served when we had “big breakfasts” as I was growing up (remember, I’m from the country) and I loved having BLTs with crispy bacon and perfectly ripe tomatoes during the summer. So when I saw Dreena Burton (the author of some of my favorite vegan cookbooks) mention making Baconut on Facebook earlier this month, I knew I needed some coconut bacon in my life.
Let’s just say I was right!
I googled coconut bacon and soon found that it was indeed a thing. I looked over a few recipes and got to work!
It’s crazy to me to think that coconut mixed with a few ingredients and baked could taste like bacon, but it really does. It’s smoky and sweet, just like crunchy little pieces of bacon.
Please do remember that I haven’t had bacon in over five years.
This actually reminds me of the time I posted these green bean fries and said they tasted like french fries. I went into the office the next day and my co-worker greeted me with, “Sooo I tried your recipe for green bean fries, you know, the ones you said taste like french fries? Well, when was the last time you had a french fry…” Ha!
So yeah, it does taste like bacon to me, but I’m sure some avid bacon lovers would disagree. Although, even if you don’t think it tastes like bacon, it’s still tastes amazing.
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PinIngredients
- 2 cups large flaked unsweetened coconut
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos (coconut aminos or tamari would also work)
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 Tablespoon liquid smoke – Colgin brand is plant-based, some are not
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together your aminos, liquid smoke, maple syrup and paprika. Once combined, pour coconut flakes into bowl and stir gently until all pieces are evenly coated with the sauce.
- Pour coconut onto a greased baking sheet. I used a baking stone (which doesn’t need to be oiled) and the coconut bacon didn’t stick at all.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, taking the pan out to stir the coconut every 5 minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye on it at the end of the cooking process because it can easily burn.
- Once you have the coconut out of the oven, move it to a plate or bowl to cool — it will continue to crisp up a bit as it cools and should be perfectly crunchy at room temperature. The coconut bacon can be stored in an air-tight container and should last about a week. It didn’t last that long around here.
WOW.. definitely so, so unique! Probably one of the most interesting recipes I’ve seen in awhile. I’d love to try making it sometime. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hahaha I honestly laughed out loud at the part about the green bean fries. This may or may not have happened to me with some of my recipe substitutions 😉
haha. 🙂
I have seen the concept of using coconut to make “bacon” on another blog and I think that it is genius!! I cannot wait to give it a try!
Love all of the wedding photos in the previous post! Such cute details everywhere 🙂 And my vegan friends have made me the bacon and talked about making stuffed dates!
Please visit NutrionFacts.Org for shocking and alarming facts about so called healthy fish!
Looks amazing enough to eat! I hope you do not mind, but I posed your recipe and a link to your blog on the Weight Watcher’s site. So if you get a lot of comments or traffic from WW members then you will know who the guilty, food loving party is.
Your blog is totally fun to follow and I love your face cream!
★★★★★
BTW, at 4 servings the coconut bacon is 6 points plus a serving. Used as a garnish and whatnot, the coconut bacon will not be so high in points.
Thanks Autumn! 🙂
HAVE to make it!!! Didn’t even realise you were a pescatarian! 🙂
OMG…these seriously sound amazing! I must make them asap!
I’m not a huge fan of bacon but I love coconut and this looks amazing! I might have to try it out!
LOVE THIS!! Totally trying this out!!!
No words…Bacon wrapped dates are one of my favorite things but to make it vegan is even better!
LOVE it!
Ooo, really interesting! I laughed at the green bean thing — I am always shocked when people can tell my baked good are gluten-free, because I always think, this is so moist/delicious/whatever, it HAS to be just like gluten-full baked goods! Well, how should I know, I haven’t eaten gluten in ten years 😛
Dates are just SO versatile! Love this salty and sweet combo!
What a fun idea!
Delighted to know that my FB post inspired you, Brittany! Your idea of stuffing the dates is brilliant, what a great salty/sweet/nutty contrast. Thanks for the mention and link. 🙂
You’re so welcome Dreena. I’m so glad I saw your post because I used to love bacon. 🙂
Was tricky finding the flaked coconut, but I did….Just made the coconut bacon…..is awesome!! Had some dates in pantry so tried with, so good!
Going to try on salad too! Will be making these regularly 🙂
Thanks for awesome idea!
This is GENIUS!
Thank you!! It’s so good. 🙂
Can’t wait to try this (as just like you I used to love crispy, crunchy bacon)! Just one question: I don’t have liquid smoke, just smoked paprika, should I use more of that? Can the recipe be made without it? Thanks!
Yes, you can make it without the liquid smoke. Maybe add a little Sriracha for some extra heat if you want, but otherwise it should be fine without the liquid smoke. Let me know how it turns out.