The Best Plant Based Bacon Guide | 3 Must Tries!

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Bacon is something I loved before going veggie, so I’ve sampled as many of the best plant based bacon as possible! There are so many, but these three stand out for flavor, texture and taste. We’re in an amazing plant based revolution and I’m here to help guide you. These are three must tries!

 

Plant based bacon is fabulous and offers a great variety of styles and flavors to fit your meal. Even if you’re not vegetarian or vegan, you’ll love these veggie bacon options. They are delicious and swapping your bacon for a plant based version is totally a great area to cut calories, fats, and meat consumption. Because of the accessibility and quality, even staunch meat eaters have embraced the best plant based bacon. I have spent a lot of time trying different plant based bacon, culling through the variety until I found the best. Here are my three must tries from Sweet Earth, Lightlife and Upton Naturals.

More BuzzChomp: The Five Best Plant Based Burgers

When it comes to plant based meat, remember that it’s not about recreating the complete taste and texture of traditional meat. It’s about having a great taste and texture and cooking it just right so your veggie bacon is crispy to your liking. To put things into perspective, McCormick’s Bacon Pieces which is recognized as a traditional bacon product has absolutely NO BACON in it. Yes, you read that right. Despite everyone thinking otherwise, it is 100% vegan! So if you enjoy those little bacon bits, then you’re already enjoying plant based bacon. Now for my three favorites.

 

Best Plant Based Bacon

 

 

Sweet Earth’s Benevolent “Bacon”

This veggie bacon is DELICIOUS! All of the Sweet Earth products that I’ve tried taste great, but this one is easily my favorite. The combination of flavors is so yummy. The sauce on this “bacon” is what makes the taste and the texture so good. You can cook it on the stove top, but the best way I’ve found is in the air fryer. This is a thicker cut bacon, so it really shines when you air fry it. The seasoning mixes perfectly in the air fryer as well. If you don’t have an air fryer, don’t worry because it is equally as delicious on the stove top.

Another great thing about this bacon is that you really can’t go wrong anyway you cook it and it’s really hard to mess it up. Because its thick, you will never burn this bacon. My favorite way to eat this plant based bacon is with pancakes. Since the bacon has a bit of a sweet taste, it really compliments pancakes and waffles extremely nicely. It’s absolutely delicious!

 

 

Lightlife’s Smart “Bacon”

Lightlife’s smart bacon was the first veggie bacon I ever tried. From the moment I tasted it, I loved it! It gives me a classic thin bacon feel and that makes it perfect for when I’m craving crispy bacon. The one thing I remember about eating pork bacon from when I was a kid is that I loved it crispy. That was the way I preferred it and I dug on crispy turkey bacon as well, although it never felt as essential to be crispy. Maybe that was because I didn’t like the grease of pork bacon. Bye bye grease. These veggie bacon strips are a crispy bacon girl’s dream.

The best way to eat this veggie bacon is to make it into a fabulous BLT, bacon with lettuce and tomato. I have such fond memories of the BLT sandwich when I was growing up and this bacon is perfect for that. I always have a box of this bacon in my fridge! If I’m not making a BLT, then I love this in an omelette or on the side of my eggs. My whole family loves this bacon and it’s definitely the most versatile veggie bacon on my list!

 

 

Upton Naturals’ Seitan “Bacon”

Upton Naturals makes a great seitan based bacon, different from the first two in texture and flavor. This is an extremely tasty veggie bacon with a more meaty flavor and texture. For those who loved thick and meaty bacon with zero fanfare, this is for you. It’s a bit blander than the other two varieties, yet still has plenty of natural flavor. I prefer this over the ones you can find in the frozen aisle any day.

This bacon is great for pairing with something sweeter like pancakes or waffles. It’s also perfect to cook up and make crispier, then chop it up to put into things. It’s a great addition to salads, tofu scrambles or eggs if you still partake. Add it to a breakfast burrito and it adds protein and a great flare. I call this this bacon accompaniment.

 

Meet our Vegetarian:

Mandi Mellen is Lead Editor, Writer, and Co-Owner of BuzzChomp. She’s an acclaimed Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for her film work, or get lost in her comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow her on TikTok, X and Instagram.

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