This easy plant-based bacon seasoning known as coconut bacon salt is the perfect smoky topping for a tofu scramble, salad, or baked potato! It’s a completely vegan bacon-flavored salt that’s easy to make and undeniably delicious!
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Coconut. Bacon. Salt…because you know you need bacon-flavored salt in your life.
About three years ago, I was searching Pinterest for fun new recipe ideas and found this recipe for a seasoning I had never heard of before called “bacon salt“. Obviously, I knew I had to veganize this and began dreaming of my morning plate of tofu scramble drowning in its salt-y, bacon-y goodness. 🙌🏻
Click here to Pin this recipe for later.
Given there are about a thousand ways to make bacon these days that don’t involve a pig, I wasn’t too worried about how I’d veganize such an obviously not-vegan food. T and I had recently begun experimenting with coconut bacon though, and I thought it could be the perfect animal-free bacon for this recipe.
I believe the first time we ever made this coconut bacon salt was live on Periscope (shout out to those of you with us for that long! 💚), and it quickly became one of our favorite things to make. We’ve used this coconut bacon salt in everything from our Coconut Bacon Pancakes to our Vegan Bacon Mac and Beer Cheese.
It’s one of the simplest recipes and just so fun to make and use in creative ways.
Coconut Bacon Tips
First, let me address two common concerns:
- If you’ve tried and failed at making coconut bacon before, WE SEE YOU! And we understand, trust me. Coconut bacon can be a tricky thing to master, but we have some tips in the recipe below to really guide you through this process. With a little patience and stirring, you’ll be shocked how easy this can be.
- If you’re hesitant to try this coconut bacon salt because you’re not the biggest coconut fan, give it a go anyway. I am not a fan of coconut-flavored things, but this stuff doesn’t taste like coconut. It tastes like bacon. And love and joy and hugs. Again, just follow the instructions and tips in the recipe below to be sure yours comes out as bacon-y as possible.
How to Make Coconut Bacon Salt
Making this coconut bacon salt is simple. You start by mixing together your wet ingredients: a little soy sauce (or tamari for our GF friends!) for salty, a little maple syrup for sweet, and liquid smoke for the smoky perfection. Pour this over some shredded unsweetened coconut and let it marinate to soak up alll those good flavors.
NOTE: A lot of coconut bacon recipes call for large flake coconut, but we dig this coconut bacon salt made with the shredded kind. Just make sure it’s unsweetened!
From here, you’ll spread your coconut on a baking sheet and bake it low and slow, stopping every five minutes to stir everything around. This is definitely the most important step in the whole shebang because this stuff burns super easily!
Once your coconut is mostly browned and maybe even a smidge burnt (if you dig that crispy bacon taste), you’ll finish it off in the food processor with some coarse sea salt, and voila! You’ll want to pour coconut bacon salt all over your entire life.
Looking for more of a strip-style bacon? Check out our rice paper bacon tutorial here!
How to Use Vegan Bacon Seasoning
Make this coconut bacon salt for all your bacon-flavored salt needs, including, but not limited to:
- Your morning tofu scramble, quiche, or breakfast sandwich
- Vegan pancakes, all. the. vegan pancakes.
- Salads! (This is sometimes the only way T gets me to eat a salad.)
- Vegan mac and cheese and other pasta dishes (like our creamy roasted garlic pasta)
- This easy avocado risotto 😍
Or get crazy and throw it on some cantaloupe or that vegan salted caramel ice cream! 🤤🍦
[If you think a spicy version of this bacon salt would be awesome, you’re 100% right. Check out our spicy bacon salt recipe here.]
Yea, you gotta make this. And when you do, let us know about it and how you’re using it! Rate the recipe and leave a comment below or tag us in your most gloriously bacon-y photos on Instagram. We’re @theplantpowercouple with the ‘the’.
Until next time, friends. Enjoy!
Brittany Roche
This easy plant-based bacon seasoning known as coconut bacon salt is the perfect smoky topping for a tofu scramble, salad, or baked potato! It's a completely vegan bacon-flavored salt that's easy to make and undeniably delicious!
25 minPrep Time:
20 minCook Time:
45 minTotal Time:
Save Recipe5 based on 1 review(s)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari for GF)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp liquid smoke
- 1/4 cup coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Measure out your coconut and place it in a large mixing bowl.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together the soy sauce, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Pour this over the coconut and mix thoroughly, so all pieces are coated with the marinade. Set aside to let marinate for 20 minutes (optional, but it helps!).
- While the coconut is marinating, preheat your oven to 325F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. When the coconut is ready, pour it onto your baking sheet and use a spatula or wooden spoon to smooth it out as evenly as possible.
- Place the baking sheet in your preheated oven and set a timer for five minutes. When the timer goes off, use your spatula or wooden spoon to flip / stir the whole tray of coconut, making sure there are no pieces stuck to the sides or parchment. Then, even it out again. This step is so important because this stuff burns easily! Place your baking sheet back in the oven and repeat this step 3-4 times, or until the coconut is mostly browned. It's okay if it looks a little burnt in some areas; once you mix everything together it will be purrrrfect.
- Finally, add your coconut bacon to your food processor with the sea salt. Pulse about 10 times or until everything is combined and the coconut is a nice, almost powder-y texture.
- Let the coconut bacon salt cool and store it in an air-tight container in your pantry. Sprinkle it all over your tofu scramble, pancakes, vegan mac & cheese, pizza, salads, basically your entire life!
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