I've never been a bacon lover myself, so I haven't missed it since going vegan, except for a few times when I tried to make recipes that require this ingredient. For those times, I’ve used our tempeh bacon and tofu bacon recipes, which are great.
Unfortunately, tempeh it's not easy to find in Spain and is pretty expensive, so when I saw eggplant bacon for the first time, I knew I needed to experiment with our bacon recipe and make an alternative using eggplant instead of tempeh.
This is not real bacon, so it hasn't the same consistency and flavor, but it's so good and a healthier alternative. Besides, it's much more affordable than tempeh bacon and store-bought vegan bacon.
This eggplant bacon can be used as regular bacon, as a snack, for breakfast, to make salads, pasta, or vegan pizza.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment below, share it, rate it or tag a picture @simpleveganblog on Instagram and hashtag it #simpleveganblog. We’d love to see what you cook!
Eggplant Bacon
Ingredients
- ½ medium eggplant
- 2 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon agave or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon tahini, or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional
- 2 teaspoon smoke paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250ºF or 120ºC and line one (or two) large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- If you use oil, just mix all the ingredients (except the eggplant) in a large mixing bowl. If you use tahini, blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth and then pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl.
- Slice an eggplant in half lengthwise, we're going to use only one half. Then use a mandolin to slice the eggplant into thin strips (⅛ inch or 3 mm). If you don't have a mandolin, use a sharp knife, but the mandolin works much better.
- Some people brush the eggplant slices with the sauce, but I prefer to dip them in the sauce, it's simpler and works great. Then wipe it off a little bit the excess.
- Place the eggplant slices onto the baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes for one side and another 45 minutes for the other side. The eggplant slices are crispier when they're cool. If you prefer a simpler alternative, just sauté the bacon slices for both sides in a frying pan with some oil until they're golden brown and crispy.
- Store the eggplant bacon in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Baking time may vary depending on the oven.
- If you can't eat soy, use coconut aminos or add sea salt and some liquid instead, like water, more vinegar or even lemon juice.
- Feel free to use lemon juice instead of the vinegar.
- Add your favorite spices.
SteveO says
Question — do you peel the eggplant or no?
Iosune says
Hi! No, I don't 🙂
Helen says
I love you're recipies,want to try this. Can I leave the aubergine/egg plant to soak in the sauce over night like do with the carrot hot dogs? Just thought best to check so I don't ruin it ,thanks
Iosune says
Hi Helen! I've never tried it myself, but I think it should work 🙂
Vicky says
I prefer to try it in some veg oil until crispy. Delicious in a sandwich!! Tried the baked version and I didn’t really like the texture.
Especially lovely with added liquid smoke.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Vicky! Sounds so good 🙂
Cornelia D Layton says
How do you store the left overs? Can they be left out so they stay crispy?
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Thanks for your comment! Have a look at step 6 🙂
Adie says
I've used this recipe a number of times and it's delicious ❤️
Your timings need updating as it looks like 45 mins 😁
Definitely my go to recipe when making a vegan "fry up"
Thank you 😋
Iosune Robles says
Hi Adie! Thanks for your kind words 🙂 Have a nice day!
DM says
I've made this a couple of times already. My family and I love it! It has that nice smokey flavor and if you slice them thin enough you'll get some crispy ones too. Thank you for sharing this recipe. We love to make ELT(Eggplant, lettuce,and tomato)sandwiches.
Iosune says
Hi Dm! You're so welcome 🙂 SO glad you enjoyed it!
Becky says
This sounds wonderful...Can't wait to try it. Silly question: do you feel the eggplant
Iosune says
Hi Becky! Thanks a lot 🙂 I hope you like it. Yes, you can feel it, but not so much.
renae says
Hi there.I can't have soy and unfortunately coconut aminos is crazy expensive,so how much salt would i use? And would i just use two tablespoons of water instead of the soy sauce to make up for lost liquid? Thank you 🙂
Iosune says
Hi Renae! I've never made this recipe using salt, so I can't tell you the exact amount you need. I would add some salt to taste and then you can add more if needed when the bacon is cooked 🙂 Add some broth or water instead to get a similar consistency. Hope it works!
Romy says
She can try Braggs Liquid aminos. It's soy based, but cheap.
Iosune says
Hi Romy! Thanks for your comment 🙂
lisa says
I live overseas as well. It can be hard to be vegan here at times, but mostly, I am so grateful for Italy's abundance of GMO free healthy fruits and vegetables. Thanks for sharing this. A GREAT idea! I will be trying it soon. Glad I found you,
Iosune says
Hi Lisa! So glad you like our recipe 🙂 Italian food is AMAZING!
Shanasy says
This recipe looks fantastic and I LOVE that you offer an alternative to oil! I have shared this with my FB group "Super Quick Plant-Based Recipes" - my group will love it AND your site!
Iosune says
Hi Shanasy! Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe 🙂 Hope you like it!
Yael Tamar says
Brilliant! This looks so good! I’ve been looking forward to seeing this recipe for some time now and plan to make it this weekend!!!
Iosune says
Hi Yael! Thanks a lot 😀 Hope you like it!
TheFoodSea says
this dish is a bit new for me. never tried something like this. hope it will turn out tasty when i will make it soon.
Iosune says
Hi! Hope you like it! 🙂