Smoky Shiitake Bacon (5 ingredients!)

Crispy, smoky, shiitake bacon takes just minutes to make in the oven. And you only need five ingredients to make it!

Table of Contents

• Ingredients and substitutions
• How to make shiitake bacon
• Helpful tips
• Serving and storage directions
• Frequently asked questions
• More vegan bacon recipes
• 📖 Recipe

Shiitake bacon gives you all of the smoky-sweet-salty-toothsomeness of bacon, but no animals harmed!

The great thing about shiitake mushrooms is that -- when you cook them until crispy -- they get a really nice, chewy texture that's similar to animal bacon.

Now you just need to add the remaining elements that make up bacon's flavor and texture:

• salty
• sweet
• smoky
• greasy

When you're making vegan bacon, you want to hit all of those same notes using plant based ingredients.

The flavoring mix that I use for this shiitake bacon is similar to the one I use in my cashew bacon. Instead of molasses and salt, though, I use maple syrup and soy sauce here.

The mix of soy sauce, maple syrup, and liquid smoke hits that salty-sweet-smoky spot, and you get bacon's crisp greasiness from a dash of olive oil

Ingredients and substitutions

• shiitake mushrooms - Tender shiitake mushrooms have such a perfect texture for making into vegan bacon! You can use other sliced mushrooms instead, but the baking time will vary.
• soy sauce - Adds the salty element of bacon flavor. Feel free to use tamari, shoyu, or liquid aminos instead, if needed.
• maple syrup - This brings the sweet note you get in conventional bacon. You can sub agave nectar.
• liquid smoke - This is just condensation from the steam created when you burn wood. It's an all natural ingredient that's great for adding a smoky flavor to recipes like this shiitake bacon as well as things like beans and vegan sausage.
• olive oil - Traditional bacon is greasy, so a little bit of oil helps imitate that texture. You can use neutral-tasting oils, like sunflower or canola oil, instead.

How to make shiitake bacon

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl, tossing to coat the mushrooms well in the bacon seasonings. Transfer to a lined baking sheet, spreading the mushrooms into a single layer.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are nice and crisp.

Serving and storage directions

I like to serve shiitake bacon up over vegan grits, but you can really use it anywhere you'd use animal bacon.

• Pile that mushroom bacon onto a vegan BLT.
• Serve it alongside a tofu scramble.
• Sprinkle it on top of roasted vegetables for an umami punch.
• Toss it with crispy potato slices for a next-level appetizer.
• Use it in a kale breakfast bowl.

Store any leftover shiitake bacon in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for up to three days.

To reheat, toss leftovers back into a pan on medium-high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil and cook until crispy.

Frequently asked questions

More vegan bacon recipes

📖 Recipe