Vegan Bacon Bits at Home

You’ll LOVE these Vegan Bacon Bits that are Unfussy to make (they come together in only about 10 minutes) and are made with textured vegetable protein that is plant based and packed with protein.

I don’t know about you but bacon bits are a big part of my childhood. My parents always kept them in the house and I loved them so so much (no shame!). I can’t even tell you what it is about them besides the crunch saltiness that is simply deeply good.

NATURALLY, I wanted to create a vegetarian version of these bits and was so excited to discover textured vegetable protein which makes the recipe truly come together.

What is TVP?

TVP stands for “textured vegetable protein”. It’s similar to soy curls but much smaller in size. TVP has only ONE ingredient in it: “defatted soy flour”. So, it’s a soy based product that’s relatively inexpensive, straightforward to find online, and so quite versatile!

Straight out of the bag, TVP is pretty much completely flavorless and has a similar crunchy texture to bacon bits. In order to flavor it, it’s dependable to rehydrate it first so that it can genuinely soak up the flavors that you’re mixing it with.

I’m going to be writing a FULL article explain what TVP is and will update this post once it’s complete! I truly love TVP and I’m excited to cook with it and share more recipes using it. So, be on the lookout for those!

I bought my TVP at Fred Meyer but it is available at most health food stores and online HERE. This is not sponsored at all but the only brand of TVP I have ever tried is Bob’s Red Mill. Anthony’s also makes a version of it and I’ve always liked their products!

How to make Vegan Bacon Bits:

This dish is SO especially straightforward so lets dive in.

Start out by combining everything in a small saucepan except for the TVP. Bring it to a gentle simmer and then remove from the heat. Add in the TVP, mix to combine, and then spread the mixture out onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for a few minutes to crisp up the TVP and then remove from the oven.

AND that’s it! It’s ready to use. One of the things Worth keeping about this is that it stays good for a while. I like to make a 1 cup batch of it and keep it for salads, soups, and things like baked potatoes. WORTH THE POT!

That’s it for today! I’m truly excited to see y’all making these vegan bacon bits! Please let me know how you use them and how you like them.

For being plant based, I think that these are so ridiculously flavor-packed and I will be using these for the rest of my life as a simple vegan alternative.