Vegan Tempeh Bacon

This article may contain affiliate links. please check out my policy!

Elevate your breakfast sandwiches with this simple recipe for tempeh bacon, with a delicious combination of smoky, salty, and mildly sweet flavors. This flavorful and nutritious alternative is a great replacement for traditional bacon.

finished photo of tempeh bacon and a bagel sandwich.

I was never much of a bacon person, to be fair. While I did eat it sometimes, I wasn't crazy over it. So this is just a nice little treat for when I'm really wanting something like a BLT, a breakfast sandwich, or for adding a yummy element to a salad.

If you're looking for more of something like bits that you can sprinkle on a baked potato, you can check out my TVP bacon bits!

Jump to:

🍲Ingredients
🔪Instructions
💡Suggestions
❓Frequently Asked Questions
📖 Recipe

🍲Ingredients

Use any sugars in place of maple syrup, but I can't recommend artifical sugars like stevia as the taste may completely change.

For gluten-free use tamari or coconut amnio's in place of soy sauce.

Please see recipe card below for exact measurements.

🔪Instructions

tempeh being marinated in marinade for step one.

Step Two - Marinate the tempeh for at least 30 minutes, but you can leave this overnight or even for a couple of days.

marinated tempeh in a glass dish for step two.

Step Three - Drain the liquid from the tempeh. My tempeh may be a little darker, because I let it sit a couple days in the fridge, yours does not have to look like this.

teempeh being cut on a cutting board for step three.

Step Three - Slice the tempeh into little strips.

Step Four - Cook tempeh on medium high heat and for just a few minutes on each side. Tempeh doesn't *technically* need to be cooked, just warmed up, maybe get a little char on there for some crispy tones.

👩🏻‍🍳Cook's Top Tip
You can also crumble the tempeh and cook it to simulate bacon bits or as a topping to just about anything that you would want bacon pieces on.

💡Suggestions

Allowing the tempeh to marinate over night will obviously give more flavors!
You can freeze tempeh to keep it fresh until you're ready to use it, including after you've cooked it!
Feel free to add other seasonings to your marinade, you can use any flavorings you want. Some like to add garlic and onion powder or nutritional yeast.
You can use this vegan bacon in anything you would use regular bacon for: sandwiches like a BLT or wrap, toppings regular salads, soups, or baked potatoes!
Store for up to 5 days in the fridge, or 2 months in the freezer.

To make this recipe soy-free, you will most-likely need to make your own soy-free tempeh using things like lentils, chickpeas, or black beans. It is an easy process, but it does take a couple of days.

❓Frequently Asked Questions

Can I eat tempeh raw?

If the tempeh was bought in store, yes. Tempeh prepackaged from the store has been pasteurized and is safe to eat in raw form. However, if you make your own tempeh, be sure to cook it throughout!

What is vegan bacon made of?

Vegan bacon can be made out of many different plants! Including but not limited to: Tempeh, mushrooms, tofu, eggplant, rice paper, and sometimes carrots.

Does vegan bacon taste like bacon?

Short answer: No. However, actual bacon's flavor mostly comes from seasoning, and while vegan bacon may never taste like actual bacon, it is still incredibly delicious and gives you the salty, smokey and crispy flavors you are looking for!

Check out my other delicious toppings and condiments!

If you've tried this recipe and enjoyed it, I would love it if you could rate it 5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a comment! It's a great, and free way to support me!