This vegan bacon recipe came to be in a moment of inspiration while making pasta that needed a salty garnish. I had shiitakes on hand and the rest is history!
The result is a savory-sweet, smoky, crispy plant-based bacon that’s SO FAST to make and perfect for adding to salads, sandwiches (hello vegan BLT), pasta, and more! Just 1 pan, 7 ingredients, and 15 minutes required! Let us show you how it’s done.
How to Make Shiitake Bacon
How do you make mushrooms taste like bacon? It’s all about the seasonings and a method that gets them crispy and caramelized!
The smokiness comes from liquid smoke and smoked paprika, while tamari adds a salty kick, maple syrup a subtle sweetness, and black pepper that classic peppered bacon texture.
The mushrooms are cooked in a skillet (preferably cast-iron) where they soak up the flavors. They’re then transferred to the oven, which allows them to get crispy!
We hope you love this shiitake bacon! It’s:
Salty
Smoky
Naturally sweet
Crispy
Versatile
& SO delicious!
It would make a delicious breakfast or brunch alongside our Fluffy Vegan Scrambled Eggs, Perfect Fried Eggs (if not vegan), Southwest Tofu Scramble, and/or Best-Ever Vegan Breakfast Potatoes. It’s also perfect as a salty, umami garnish for savory dishes, such as our Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta.
More Ways to Use Vegan Bacon
- Vegan “BLT” Sandwich
- Simple Tofu Quiche
- Creamy Vegan Broccoli Salad (Mayo-Free!)
- Brussels Sprout Slaw with Coconut Bacon
- Coconut Bacon Collard Greens (15 minutes!)
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Quick Crispy Shiitake Bacon
Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp oil (if oil-free, omit)
- 2 cups sliced shiitake mushrooms (sliced ~1/4 inch thick // if stalk is stiff, remove)
- 2-3 tsp tamari (or coconut aminos if soy-free, just use a bit more as it’s not as salty as tamari)
- 1 ½ tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F (204 C).
- Heat a large rimmed oven-safe skillet (we prefer cast iron) over medium heat. Once hot, add oil, then mushrooms, tamari (starting with the lesser amount), maple syrup, liquid smoke, black pepper, and smoked paprika. Stir to coat.
- Sauté, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Then transfer to preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned, dried, and slightly crispy.
- Serve alongside vegan scrambled eggs or the perfect fried egg (if not vegan), or add to quiches, sandwiches, salads, pasta, and more!
- Store cooled leftovers in a loosely covered (to allow some airflow) jar in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in a 350 degree F (176 C) oven or on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. These are also delicious served at room temperature or even a bit cold. Best when fresh.
Amanda K says
I absolutely love the flavor of these mushrooms, I’ve made this dish several times now, but I cannot seem to ever get them to be crispy! I’m slicing thinly, sautéing them before baking, I even have let them go on for upwards of 20-30min, and it just starts to crisp up, but I worry about burning them, so I take them out after so long. What am I doing wrong?? The flavor is as close to Chef Chloe’s shiitake bacon as I’ve ever gotten, but I need them crispy like hers!
Hi Amanda, is it possible to slice them even more thinly than you are? That would be our best recommendation. Otherwise, maybe try convection bake (at a slightly lower temperature) if you have that setting on your oven!
Kelle says
Have you used these as a replacement for bacon/pancetta in a baked dish and if so, what was the texture and did the flavor hold up?
Hi Kelle, that’s a great question! We can’t think of a time we’ve tried it on a baked dish. We aren’t sure if it would become crispy or chewy – probably crispy if at a high temperature (~400 F or above) and chewy at lower temperatures. Let us know if you try it!
Alton says
Lovely :)
So glad you enjoyed, Alton!
Tammy S says
Delicious! I didn’t have any liquid smoke so I used a little more paprika, also used liquid aminos (that’s what I had on hand) and the recipe came out great! Easy to make, I’ll be making more as soon as I get more shiitake mushrooms. Thanks for a great recipe!
Amazing! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Tammy! xo
Jeff says
I don’t think you ever made this, did you just copy and post ? . 10 to 12 minutes is not long enough to “crisp” the mushrooms. More like 25 to 30.
Hm, we’ve made this recipe multiple times and other readers have also had success. Did you sauté before baking or just bake them?
Sandra says
Hi, I love your recipes! Just wanted to know if you think it would impact the end result if I tossed the mushrooms in everything but the oil before adding it to the pan. I’m always afraid the mushrooms will absorb flavors unevenly and they won’t be coated uniformly if I add the ingredients one by one. Thanks!
Hi Sandra, We think that would be fine. Let us know if you try it!
Fifi says
I made this with twice the oil and agave instead of maple syrup. Even after 20 minutes in the oven, they were still just soft, chewy mushroom slices. Tasty and I will put them on a rice bowl, but not “bacony” or crisp at all! I fear that 1/8″ slices would just burn however…
Hi Fifi, thanks for sharing your experience. Did you use shiitake mushrooms for this recipe? It’s possible that they did need to be sliced thinner, or baked a bit longer. Thanks again for your honest feedback!
Fifi says
Hi! Yes I used fresh shitakes, and sliced them 1/4″ thick. I doubled the oil, so it’s possible that prevented them from drying out? I baked them for 20 minutes and they were getting extremely dark, so I took them out. They were still chewy though.
Doubling the oil is likely the issue.
Rebecca says
Do you think these would work with cremini mushrooms? It is what I have on hand!
Hi Rebecca, we think so, but they may take longer to cook and/or not crisp up as much. Let us know if you try it!
Tori says
I’ve made this “bacon” in the past to top your potato leek soup, and it was fantastic! I’m planning to make it again soon as an addition to a tofu scramble burrito, but I wonder: if I prep the burritos and freeze them to reheat later on, would the mushrooms turn soggy? Should I add them after I’ve reheated the burritos?
Hi Tori, that sounds delicious! We think it should be fine in the burritos since most of the moisture gets cooked out. They won’t have quite the same crispiness though unless cooked fresh!
Kathleen says
So many vegan bacon options out there but this one has to be my fav. Not too smoky or sweet and a perfect texture for my blt
Woohoo! Love to hear this. Thanks so much for the lovely review, Kathleen!
Lucy says
Made for the second time today. The first was recommended as a topping on a squash noodle recipe you had (so good). Today, I made the “bacon” and used it as a pizza topping, and it was so, so good. I still haven’t found liquid smoke (maybe it’s with the BBQ sauces but I forget to check); otherwise, I follow the recipe as described. We are enjoying “meatless Mondays” with your fabulous recipes. Thank you!
Whoop! Thanks for sharing, Lucy!
Georgia says
I love this receipe. I had always loved bacon but years ago I became a vegetarian. Last night I made it for the second time and I will keep using this receipe. Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Georgia! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
McBethany says
No crispy parts at all! I followed the recipe exactly using my well seasoned large cast iron skillet. Loved the flavor but not even the tiny pieces were crispy.
Hi, sorry to hear that! We wonder how thinly were the mushrooms sliced? For crispier bacon, you can leave it in the oven longer, but watch closely to prevent burning.
Loriel says
I just made this with dried shiitake mushrooms. I doubled the marinade and then added 1/2 cup boiling water to the dry shiitakes. I let them marinate for several hours (because I got distracted!) and then baked them in the air fryer for 10 minutes. They are amazing!! I probably could have soaked them much shorter – they are very potent! (That’s how I like them). Hope this is helpful to everyone who was asking about dried mushrooms and air fryers.
Amazing! So helpful, Loriel. Thanks so much for sharing!
Dinie van den heuvel says
Loved every recipe I tried so far. This one sounds delicious. Question, would it also work with dried Shiitake? I usually prefer them because they have a more in dept Flavour. Maybe if I soak and then treat them as fresh?
We haven’t tried with dried shiitakes, but we don’t see why not. We would suggest rehydrating first. Let us know if you give it a try!
Dilushani says
Can this be made with dried shiitake mushrooms? Or do they need to be rehydrated first? Thanks
We haven’t tried with dried shiitakes, but we don’t see why not. We would suggest rehydrating first. Let us know if you give it a try!
Michele says
Yum. For the truly lazy like me, you can skip the stove part altogether— I just dip in the tamari mixture (omitting the liquid smoke and maple, adding balsamic, maybe miso), spread Out on an oil-sprayed sheet pan, spray the tops, then bake 350 for 45-60 minutes ( while I walk the dog!)
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Michele!
Dilushani says
Can you make this with dried shiitake mushrooms? Do you have to rehydrate first?
We haven’t tried it, but we don’t see why not. Let us know if you give it a try!
Nora says
The flavor on these was amazing! So tasty. They didn’t get as crispy as I was hoping though – any suggestions there?
Hi Nora, we’re so glad you enjoy the taste! Did you use oil? If not, that would be our first suggestion to make it crispier. Otherwise, we’d suggest baking longer. If they start browning before being crispy, you can reduce the heat. Hope that helps!
Nicola says
This looks amazing abs I cannot wait to try! I’m curious to your thoughts on placing these babies in an air fryer?
Hi Nicola, we haven’t experimented with an air fryer, but do think it would work. Let us know if you try it!
Carolyn S Englar says
This looks amazing! Two quick Qs: would it work with oyster or other types of mushrooms? And any tips for making it using an air fryer ?
Hi Carolyn, we think it would work well for sturdier mushrooms, but oyster mushrooms may be too tender. We have a recipe for portobello bacon here. We haven’t experimented with an air fryer, so we’re not sure what to recommend in terms of specifics, but we do think it would work! Let us know if you do some experimenting!
Carolyn S Englar says
OK thanks so much! I’ll keep you posted if I give it a try :)
Christian says
Looks great.
I am so glad that you use both US and metric meassures making it much easier to realise your wonderful recipes. Just a comment: The conversion in the ingredients list is probably automatic generating some (sometimes) odd meassures like 103 grams because of the underlaying math. But when you write it in the recipe (like temperatures) it makes more sense just to write 200 and 175 instead of 204 and 176 degrees celsius. I can’t set my oven to 176 degrees ;-)
When that is said we have made a lot of your recipes enjoying every mouthfull :-)
Thanks for the feedback, Christian. We admittedly aren’t very familiar with metric measurements, but we’ll see if we can break the bad habit of being too precise =)
Geddy says
This is great! I do a very similar thing, but I use tempeh instead of mushrooms (shiitakes are super expensive by me). If you don’t have mushrooms but have a brick of tempeh laying around, slice it into quarter inch slices and use in place of the mushrooms – this recipe (and all the numbers too) should work perfectly. It’s good stuff!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Geddy! We have a recipe coming for tempeh bacon too =)
Kris says
Could this recipe work with dried shiitakes that have been rehydrated? So interested to try this out! Thanks for the recipe.
Oh that’s an interesting idea! We haven’t tried it, but we don’t see why not. Let us know if you give it a try!
Olivia says
Do you think this would work in an air fryer?
We haven’t experimented with an air fryer, but do think it would work! Let us know if you try it!
Sarah says
Hi there – this looks amazing! One question though…I am on a low fodmap diet and can only really have oyster mushrooms. Can I sub them in this recipe?
Hi Sarah, we haven’t tried this recipe with oyster mushrooms and aren’t certain. They may be a little too tender, but it’s worth a try. You also may want to bake for less time. Let us know how it goes!
Sarah says
Hi There…well I have just had the best brunch ever! I have found it hard to get fresh oyster mushrooms, so used dried ones, which I rehydrated first. They worked really well…crispy, meaty-like umami yumminess. I teamed it with a toasted gluten free bun and a fried egg, which I fried in the same pan as the mushrooms while they were in the oven (with some plum cherry toms). Low FODMAP perfection 😁
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Sarah! xo
Doug says
Is there a particular liquid smoke you would recommend for this recipe? I find they can vary quite a bit in flavor.
Hi Doug, we prefer the hickory smoked flavor and used the Colgin brand. Hope that helps!