Did you know that those simulated bacon bits you can get at the grocery store are often vegan!? Weird eh. Although it's easy to buy vegan bacon bits, I'm not a fan of all of those artificial ingredients. Inspired by all of my tofu crumble recipes, I played around in the kitchen to make my own homemade vegan tofu bacon bits, which are easy to make, use just 7 ingredients, are oil-free, and are actually HEALTHY! Healthy bacon? I like the sounds of that!
These bacon bits are the perfect combo of crispy and chewy with a smoky salty taste. I love having a jar on hand at all times as it's such a great way to add oomph to any dish you sprinkle them on!
There are two key ingredients that make these tofu bits taste like bacon, and they are smoked paprika and liquid smoke. Do you see a theme here? Haha.
Normally I would choose only one smoky seasoning at a time to use in a recipe but to make these crumbles taste extra bacon-y I really found I got the best result using some of each. Pair the smoke flavour with salty soy sauce, a little hit of maple syrup, and a few other seasonings and you get the best homemade bacon bits ever!
How to Make Vegan Tofu Bacon Bits:
Mix the nutritional yeast, soy sauce, smoked paprika, maple syrup, garlic powder, and liquid smoke in the bottom of a large bowl.
Crumble the block of tofu with your fingers into the bowl over the seasoning. Mix the tofu crumbles with the seasoning making sure all of the tofu is evenly coated. 
Spread the tofu crumbles evenly over the prepared pan. Break up any larger pieces of tofu to ensure they tofu is evenly crumbled. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, stopping to stir the tofu every now and then. Keep a close eye on it towards the end so that it doesn't burn. You want the tofu to get browned and crispy.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before storing (it will crisp up more as it cools). Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Sprinkle these vegan bacon bits anywhere you like. I love them on pizza, on potato soup, on salad, on pasta, just about everywhere!
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Vegan Tofu Bacon Bits
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce, (gluten-free if preferred)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 block (350g) extra-firm tofu drained (no need to press it)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet or line it with parchment paper (see notes).
- Mix the nutritional yeast, soy sauce, smoked paprika, maple syrup, garlic powder, and liquid smoke in the bottom of a large bowl.
- Crumble the block of tofu with your fingers into the bowl over the seasoning. Mix the tofu crumbles with the seasoning making sure all of the tofu is evenly coated. Spread the tofu crumbles evenly over the prepared pan. Break up any larger pieces of tofu to ensure they tofu is evenly crumbled. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, stopping to stir the tofu every now and then. Keep a close eye on it towards the end so that it doesn't burn. You want the tofu to get browned and crispy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before storing (it will crisp up more as it cools). Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or it freezes wonderfully as well.
These are yummy! Was pleasantly surprised that they were still crispy after being refrigerated. I'd like to boost the flavor. Is there one or more of the ingredients that I could increase without throwing the flavor balance completely off? Or another ingredient I could add?
Hi Bev, you can add more of any ingredient you like 🙂 Enjoy!
We love the tofu taco crumbles recipe in our house and I was so excited to see this recipe in my inbox right as I was looking for a GF bacon sub for warm german potato salad. This was so quick and easy to make and both the flavor and the texture held up so well, not just in the part we ate right away but in leftovers the next day too. As my kids say, "This goes on the make-again list!"
Woohoo!! Love it.
Looks delicious! Does it get soggy or spongey when used as topping on potato soup?
Nope! It stays perfect 🙂
This recipe amazing. I make a version of this and add it to my cauliflower mac and cheese all the time (or I just eat it cold out of the fridge). It is my favorite tofu recipe ever!
That's wonderful Christine! 🙂
Would this freeze well?
Yes! I will add that to the recipe. 🙂
How long can these keep? Store in fridge?
♀️
Oops I see you answered that in the post. Sorry!
No worries 🙂
It says in the recipe, it will keep for a week (or longer) in the fridge. 🙂