Trying to find *the* perfect slice of vegan bacon? Look no further.
On this episode of Eatkindly With Me, influencer Suresh Seneviratne puts three vegan bacon products to the test to find out which one tastes the best.
“Today, we’re going to be doing a fry up and taste. We’re going to make BLTs. And then we’re going to do maple vegan bacon cookies,” he explains.
So, aside from animal welfare issues, what’s wrong with animal-derived bacon? “Very unfortunately,” he continues. “Pork is one of the top four greenhouse gas generating animal products right after lamb, beef, and cheese.”
“Americans consume enough bacon a year to produce 49.6 billion pounds of CO2 emissions, which is the same amount as 4.75 million cars,” he continues.
Ultimate Vegan Bacon Taste Test
For the vegan bacon taste test, Suresh tries three products: Yves Veggie Bacon, Upton’s Naturals Bacon Seitan, and Lightlife Smart Bacon.
So, how do they stack up? “Delicious,” Suresh says of Yves veggie bacon. “It has a nice texture, good body to it.” For the bacon seitan, he says the vegan bacon smells and looks just its animal-derived counterpart. “Oh my God, you guys,” he says. “That tastes just like bacon! It’s very crispy. It has a nice bite to it.” And for the third product: “Oh, it’s so good,” Suresh says after the first bite. “Legit tastes like bacon. It handles like bacon. It’s not as greasy. It has a lot more flavor.”
And the winner is… “My favorite of all of them is the Lightlife one,” Suresh says. “It has the most texture. It feels and handles very much like bacon. It’s so good!”
For the second portion of the taste test, Suresh whips up vegan maple bacon cookies using the three different brands (see recipe below). “All three of the bacons held up quite nicely in the oven,” Suresh says.
“They didn’t dry out. They didn’t lose their flavor,” he continues. “I would say the winner of this bacon taste test round is our bacon number two: the Upton’s Naturals bacon seitan.”
The final round: vegan BLTs. Suresh uses Follow Your Heart Vegenaise, organic tomatoes, and arugula. “I have to say, the winner of this round is our bacon seitan from Upton’s Naturals,” he says.
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