TVP Vegan Bacon Bits

❤️ Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Full of umami flavor, these meatless bacon bits can be added to salads and soups, put into sandwiches and wraps, sprinkled over veggies, or eaten as a tasty snack.
• This recipe could not be any easier - it is as simple as dumping everything into a bowl, stirring, crisping up, and enjoying.
• These vegan veggie bacon bits are also gluten-free, sugar-free, and oil-free.  
• And they are a healthy alternative to store bought bacon bits and real bacon.

What Is TVP?

TVP is an abbreviation for textured vegetable protein. It is a highly processed meat substitute made from soya beans.

TVP is the high protein paste and a by-product of making soybean oil.

This high protein paste is forced through hot nozzles to create different shapes such as granules, nuggets, strips, or flakes, which are then dehydrated.

Before using TVP has to be rehydrated in hot water or stock. It's a great plant-based alternative for dishes like meatballs, patties, and ground meat.

🥘 Ingredients

Please note that below is a guide for some of the ingredients we used in the recipe. The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.

TVP granules - see above for information on TVP.

Soya sauce - we used light soya sauce, but you could also use dark.

White miso paste - this fermented soybean paste adds a unique mild flavor to this recipe. You can get this from most supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. Read more about white miso paste.

Nutritional yeast - we used flakes in this recipe. The nutritional yeast adds another flavor level that works well with all the other ingredients in this recipe. You can get this from health stores and some supermarkets. Read more about nutritional yeast here.

For more flavor - garlic powder, onion powder, and Worchestershire sauce.

🍳 Instructions

Step 1 - Place the soya sauce, white miso paste, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powders, and Worcestershire sauce into a small mixing bowl. Add the hot water and mix well.

Step 2 - Mix in the TVP, and stir well to combine the ingredients. After mixing, allow it to stand for 10 minutes so that the TVP can soak up all the liquid. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer until needed.

Step 3 - Crisp up the pieces before using.

When ready to use, place the required amount in a dry frying pan and cook over low/medium heat for 3-5 minutes to dry out most of the bacon bits.

Constantly stir the bacon bits to avoid burning. Once the smaller bits start to darken, remove them from the heat, transfer them to a plate, and allow them to cool.

💭 Recipe Tips

• You could crisp up all the vegan bacon bits soon after mixing in the flavorings, but we find that they taste better if left in the fridge and crisped up just before eating.
• If you don't want to pan fry the bacon bits, you can oven-bake them.
  Spread the bacon bits out in an even layer onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake them at 150°C (300°F) for about 10 minutes. 

👪 Serving Size

This recipe makes about 1 and ¾ cups of bacon bits (214 grams / 7.5 ounces) or 19 (1 tablespoon) servings.

🍬 Calories Per Serve

A one-tablespoon serving is about 20 calories.

🥗 Serving Suggestions

These vegan bacon bits are nice when sprinkled over salads, soups, pasta, and baked potatoes. Use them as a filling in sandwiches, wraps, and a topping on tofu cream cheese.

📖 Variations

Smoked bacon bits

If you would like a smokey flavor to the imitation bacon bits, you could: add liquid smoke or smoked paprika to this recipe. Use these ingredients sparingly because the flavors can be overpowering if used in excess.

Sweet bacon bits

If you like your bacon on the sweet side, mix in to taste some maple syrup.

🌡️ Storage

Refrigerator: These keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for about seven days.

Freezing: These bacon bits freeze very well. Place them in small zip lock bags and squeeze out all the air before sealing, then freeze. When you need them, defrost them and crisp them up before serving.

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