I used to love the taste of crunchy bacon. Now that I eat mostly vegan, I truly don’t fancy the pig aspect so much anymore. But the chewy, crunchy, salty part… yum! I’m always open to suggestions for that.

I have experimented around trying to come up with good alternatives and what has worked best so far, is two things: 1) crushed almonds, salted and fried. They taste great and are very healthy but miss the chewy part. Enter number 2): soy chunks!

Eew, you say? Yeah I know. And it sounds even more horrible in Dutch: sojabrokken. But get over it and bear with me. When you think about it, spekjes/bacon are not really that appetizing either.

Without further ado, here comes the recipe. It’s not culinary; it’s simple what it is: a great vegan alternative for crunchy, chewy, salty bacon:

Vegan bacon alternative

4-6 cups of soy chunks
1 cup extra strong & salty vegetable or mushroom stock
4-6 tablespoons of oil (suitable for baking)

  • Mix oil and stock.
  • Add soy chunks.
  • Mix well and wait until all fluid has been absorbed. (While soaking, there might be a smell which some people associate with dog food. Don’t worry; that won’t be there in the end result.)
  • Spread out on a baking tray in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees celsius, or until light brown and crunchy.
  • Check regularly.
  • Add salt if desired.

This is great on salads, as a soup topping, on stamppot (a Dutch dish), with potatoes, in a vegan pasta carbonara (sorry Italians), on sauerkraut, beans, etc. You can store them in a jar in the fridge for a few days. Enjoy!