Jordan Myrick
Ariana Losch
The best plant based bacon doesn’t have to be dupe for the real thing—it simply has to taste yummy. Every strip should bring that savory, umami flavor and crispy, sturdy texture. (Bonus points for a bit of grease, too.) Even if the best veggie bacon won’t fool you into believing it’s pork, it should absolutely reinforce one key concept: Plant based food is damn delicious. If it’s not sizzling with flavor, it’s not making this list, period.
While plant based bacon has come a long way over the years, it’s certainly had its ups and downs, even recently. The maker of our previous #1 best veggie bacon, Ozo, discontinued its popular flavors of vegan bacon, which left fans disappointed and searching for a worthy replacement. Luckily, as we revisited this taste test and searched for more brands of the best vegan bacon we hadn’t tried yet, we ended up with three good options for your vegan breakfast spread and VBLTs. As they say: Let’s bring home the plant based bacon. (And hey, if you have more recommendations for us to try, leave a comment!)
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- Sweet Earth Hickory & Sage Smoked Seitan Bacon
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Let me preface this by saying that Sweet Earth’s plant based bacon does not taste like bacon—like, at all. It actually tastes like soyrizo, the tofu-based vegan version of chorizo. But hey, like we said, the best plant based bacon doesn’t have to taste like the real deal. If you can ignore the fact that this “bacon” is less like vegan bacon and more like spicy, smoky seitan strips, I think you’ll really like it! It’s jam-packed with flavor, and the Mexican flavor profile of chipotle and cumin would be perfection in a breakfast burrito. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Merc / Kroger
- Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips
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I grew up eating Morningstar Farms Bacon Strips and always thought they were delicious. My mom whipped up VBLTs all summer long with these, and that sandwich was one of the things I looked forward to the most during the summer months. Before this taste test, however, I was fully prepared for this product to suck. I know sometimes nostalgia primes us to like things that are not actually good. But I was thrilled to find out that it’s actually delicious, although big, important caveat for the vegans: Morningstar Farms bacon is plant-based, but it is not vegan. The strips contain egg whites. Why is Morningstar still making plant based food that isn’t vegan? We couldn’t tell you, but if you’re vegetarian, this is still a tasty option—really crispy, a little smoky, and pleasantly salty. I also totally stand by the fact that this is A+ on a BLT (shout out to my mom). —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Merc / Target
- MyBacon
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I’m not messing with you: MyBacon is one of the tastiest vegan foods I’ve tried during my time at Sporked. But that’s mainly because I adore mushrooms, and MyBacon is, at its core, just an incredibly savory, smoky mushroom. But it’s delicious. Each strip comes wrapped in what appears (and tastes like) real bacon fat—but is, in fact, coconut oil that melts on the pan and creates a mouthwatering layer of grease. Like most of the best veggie bacon, the texture is very different from the real deal—it’s actually much closer to Canadian bacon with its slightly firm chewiness. But the strips are very thinly sliced and crisp up beautifully. I am, no joke, obsessed with this stuff (and ate the rest of the package over the course of two days). This is the best vegan bacon we’ve found so far. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Merc / Erewhon
Best for Breakfast Burritos
Best Not-Vegan
Best of the Best
Other Products We Tried: Be Leaf, Hooray Foods, Upton’s, Lightlife
Matt Crowley
Luke Field
Joe Rumrill
I really like morningstar farms and particularly happy with the ” bacon” because it contains eg white. Not vegan but don’ t eat most meats and like fact I can get some egg white not yolk.
Lie eggs and yoik cdn be healthy in limited amounts but egg white anytime.
really loved the Sweet Earth bacon. but nestle bought the company and discontinued it.
My favorite vegan bacon is Vegan Bacon Slices from All Vegetarian Inc. East Village from Portland, Oregon, is also great. I really wish Morningstar with stop it with the egg whites already.
Hey, it’s hard to find gluten free vegan food, can you make it more clear when it’s both please? Also, thank you for your recommendation on Truff sauce for Libra’s, still love that sauce!
Thrilling Bakon from Thrilling Foods. Gluten free, vegan. best taste by far- crunchy & chewy
Ozo is discontinued and has been for some time. This is why I always bulk buy and freeze my favorite things. Morningstar Farms is NOT plant based or vegan. I has eggs and milk. It really offends me that it always shows up when I do a google search for vegan bacon.
So I’m gonna try some of these. I was looking for vegan and not veggie. Wish there was something to take the place of eggs. Thanks for sharing all this.
I have never heard of Ozo – now I have to find it because it sounds incredible! East Village’s Mistaken for Bacon is also really good – like a better version of the Sweet Earth one, but I think it might only be available in Oregon and Washington.
I love the MorningStar bacon too but I’m pretty sure it’s vegetarian, not vegan
I have very fond memories of the Morningstar too. My grandmother lived on the stuff.
Look for Hooray Foods vegan bacon. It’s amazing!