Incredibly smoky, savory and flavorful, this vegan seitan bacon will please even non-vegans! It is chewy and meaty, packed with protein and has all the flavors of traditional ones.
I especially love meat substitutes that are actually high in protein! Yes, bacon made with rice paper, mushrooms or carrots are all brilliant ideas, but I want something that is actually hearty and will fill me up. Hence, introducing my latest creation - seitan bacon!
I am definitely a big fan of seitan here, as it makes a great meat substitute, thanks to its meat-like texture. You can use it to make everything from andouille sausages, seitan steak, and chicken tenders to now this incredible vegan bacon.
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Meaty, smoky and savory - You will be surprise by how flavorful this vegan seitan bacon is! It has all the flavors of your traditional bacon without the use of any animal products.
- Great source of protein - Thanks to vital wheat gluten (seitan), this meatless bacon is actually packed with plant protein! A serving of 4 slices contains around 25g of protein.
- Versatile and pairs well with almost everything - You can serve it for breakfast, lunch or dinner, in sandwiches, casseroles or even as a topping for salads. The combination is endless!
- Stores well and freezable - Hence, this vegan bacon is perfect for meal prep! You can also easily double the ingredients to make a larger batch.
🧄What you will need
For seitan bacon
For marinade
📃Notes/substitutions
- Vital wheat gluten - Gives vegan bacon its meaty texture. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE this with other kinds of flour.
- Whole wheat flour - Can be substituted with all purpose or chickpea flour.
- Soy sauce - Tamari can be used in place. You can also use reduced sodium ones to keep this recipe low sodium.
- Liquid smoke - To imitate the smokiness of bacon. I definitely do not recommend skipping this one!
🔪How to make
Start by combining vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, nutritional yeast and other spices in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
Next, add in water, tomato paste, soy sauce and maple syrup. Mix well until a dough forms.
Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes on a wooden chopping board (or if you are lazy like me, straight in the mixing bowl 😉). It should be pretty firm and elastic after kneading.
Shape the dough into a square and loosely wrap it in foil. Steam it for 30 minutes in a steaming basket inserted into a pot of boiling water.
After steaming, carefully remove foil and let it cool down completely. Slice it into thin strips using a sharp knife.
Combine everything needed for the marinate in a bowl and whisk to mix. Using a pastry brush, brush on the marinade on both sides.
Now, you can either pan-fry or bake your seitan bacon -
To pan-fry: Heat up a small amount of oil in a non-stick pan. Place 4-5 slices of bacon in the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes on each sides, or until both sides are nicely charred. Repeat for the remaining slices.
To bake: Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Place vegan bacon slices in one layer on a lined baking rack. Place rack at the uppermost layer of the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, before flipping over and baking for another 8-10 minutes on the other side.
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✔Helpful tips
- Remember to wrap bacon dough loosely in foil. It will expand upon steaming!
- Depending on your strength, you will have to knead dough for 6-8 minutes. You will know that it is done kneading when dough is firm to the touch and bounce back when it is slightly stretched. For this recipe, you actually want seitan to be tough and chewy, so it shouldn't be a problem if you knead it for a little too long!
- Let seitan bacon cool down completely after steaming before slicing. It will firms up as it cools, hence making vegan bacon easier to be sliced. A sharp knife will also help!
🥪How to serve
This seitan bacon is seriously super versatile, and there are literally hundreds of ways to serve it!
Make yourself some vegan English breakfast by serving it with some vegan Italian sausages, tofu scramble, baked beans and toast.
You can also use it to stuff sandwiches along with lettuce and tomato to make vegan BLT sandwiches. Seitan bacon can also be used to stuff burritos too!
For a light meal, serve a few slices of it along with some salad greens and your favorite salad dressing. (I especially love this creamy Italian dressing.) It also works great as a topping for heartier salads like this vegan rice salad or this creamy protein pasta salad.
Lastly, you can chop vegan bacon up and throw them into casseroles or pasta dishes to bump up the protein and add some flavor to your meal!
❔Commonly asked questions
This vegan bacon has the flavors of traditional bacon, and has a crispy exterior and is chewy and meaty on the insides. It is perfectly smoky, savory and sweet, and will definitely satisfy your cravings for bacon!
Unfortunately, this vegan bacon is not and cannot be made gluten-free. The primary ingredient in this recipe is vital wheat gluten, a high protein flour that mainly consist of gluten. It is close to impossible to substitute this flour.
If you are looking for a gluten-free vegan bacon, definitely check out this rice paper bacon, tofu bacon or tempeh bacon.
You can either store the whole chunk of unsliced seitan bacon that is yet to be pan-fried or baked, or strips of cooked ones.
To store the whole block, simply place it in a large freezer bag or sealed container. It will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, let it thaw completely, slice and brush on the marinade before pan-frying or baking it.
You can also keep individual strips of bacon that had been pan-fried or baked. Portion them up in sealed containers for freezer bags so you will only be taking out what you need. You can straight away reheat bacon strips from frozen, either on stove or in the microwave.
🍽More high protein vegan breakfasts
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📖 Recipe
Smoky Vegan Seitan Bacon
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten
- ⅓ cup whole wheat flour or chickpea flour/all purpose flour
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 ½ tablespoons liquid smoke
For the marinade
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Making bacon
- Start by combining dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Next, add in wet ingredients. Mix well until a dough forms.
- Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes on a wooden chopping board. It should be pretty firm and elastic after kneading.
- Shape the dough into a square and loosely wrap it in foil. Steam it for 30 minutes in a steaming basket inserted into a pot of boiling water.
- After steaming, carefully remove foil and let it cool down completely. Slice it into thin strips using a sharp knife.
Cooking bacon
- Combine everything needed for the marinate in a bowl and whisk to mix. Using a pastry brush, brush on the marinade on both sides.
- To pan-fry: Heat up a small amount of oil in a non-stick pan. Place 4-5 slices of bacon in the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes on each sides, or until both sides are nicely charred. Repeat for the remaining slices.
- To bake: Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Place bacon slices in one layer on a lined baking rack. Place rack at the uppermost layer of the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, before flipping over and baking for another 8-10 minutes on the other side.
Notes
- Remember to wrap bacon dough loosely in foil. It will expand upon steaming!
- Depending on your strength, you will have to knead dough for 6-8 minutes. You will know that it is done kneading when dough is firm to the touch and bounce back when it is slightly stretched. For this recipe, you actually want seitan to be tough and chewy, so it shouldn't be a problem if you knead it for a little too long!
- Let seitan bacon cool down completely after steaming before slicing. It will firms up as it cools, hence making it easier to be sliced. A sharp knife will also help!
To store the whole block, simply place it in a large freezer bag or sealed container. It will keep in the fridge for about a week, and in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, let it thaw completely, slice and brush on the marinade before pan-frying or baking it.
To keep individual strips of bacon that had been pan-fried or baked, portion them up in sealed containers for freezer bags so you will only be taking out what you need. You can straight away reheat bacon strips from frozen, either on stove or in the microwave.
Save this recipe!
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
Also get a FREE high-protein vegan recipe eBook + weekly new recipes! Unsubscribe anytime.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
aoriseth says
Tried this recipe and got great results. The seitan is more solid than my other attempts at seitan, but very soft and great flavour.
I did notice that adding the marinade in the end just before frying would very quickly burn the seitan. But just frying it without marinade would be ok.
What could be causing this?
Jim Mee Sha says
Thanks for the feedback! It is normal for the seitan to char abit to mimic the smoky flavors of regular bacon. However, if it is burning too quickly, the pan might be too hot. Will recommend dialing the heat down, and cooking it for a shorter time. Hope this helps!
Genko says
I made this, and it was delicious. But I found the recipe as published here confusing. The instructions don't match the ingredients above - which is wet ingredients going into the seitan and which is the marinade brushed on afterwards. I mixed up the two a bit, and it didn't ultimately seem to matter all that much, but it made me wonder which is really intended. For example, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup are included with both - is that intentional? The bacon came up a bit sweeter and not as salty as I might have liked. Granted, I was out of nutritional yeast (gasp!), and that undoubtedly added to the slight imbalance. Some clarification would be appreciated.
Meesha says
I am sorry about that confusion! It is an error on my part. I had changed the recipe, so hopefully you will find it clearer now! Let me know if you need further clarifications.😁
Aidan says
Having been vegan for a year, I've had many mixed results with seitan recipes. Your one is the best I have tried yet. I did have to add more chickpea flour to the mixer to make it 'dough up', but the result after steaming was a firm, smokey bacon. Sliced, it was definitely rashers or could be cubed for lardons as well. Thanks so much.
Aidan.
Meesha says
I am really happy to hear that, thanks for your generous review!😁
Patrice Anita says
I made this bacon yesterday and froze the slices after painting with the marinade. I took out a couple of frozen slices this morning and fried them up...absolutely delicious. The slices soaked up the marinade so quickly that there was no marinade on the pan after the slices were frozen! Thank you so much for the recipe. Oh yes, we sliced it thinner than 24 slices, got about 44 not counting the ends and they were perfect.
Jim Mee Sha says
I am so happy to hear that!