Bacon-Flavored Almonds
This bacon-flavored almonds recipe makes a tasty snack or even a simple salad topper. Bacon almonds are so easy to make, with only 7 ingredients and only 15 minutes! It’s a great vegan bacon substitute you can use in a variety of recipes.
We love serving veggie bacon on these vegan twice-baked potatoes.
Have you noticed there are so many recipes right now with bacon in the oddest of places? Bacon in cookies. Bacon in ice cream. And even bacon in popcorn. It seems like everyone has drunk the bacon-flavored Koolaid. All I can think of is poor, little pigs.
The good news is, you can make just about anything taste like bacon. All you need is my secret bacon sauce and a little bit of time. That’s one reason I love these bacon-flavored almonds so much!
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Liquid smoke is combined with maple syrup and other ingredients to create a sweet and savory smokey sauce
- Toasting the almonds before coating them in the sauce adds more tasty crunch to the finished almonds
- Coconut oil helps the sauce adhere to the almonds, ensuring each almond is coated with delicious flavor.
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Lemon — We’ll use both the zest and the juice of the lemon.
- Oats — I used rolled oats for this recipe, but you can substitute instant oats.
- Chia — We’ll add some ground chia seeds to create a thicker texture. You can use whole chia seeds; I just prefer ground because it creates a smoother finished texture.
- Syrup — I used maple syrup, but you can substitute agave nectar.
- Milk — We’ll use almond milk for the best overnight oats! Substitute your favorite plant-based milk.
- Yogurt — I love adding some plant-based yogurt (plain, unsweetened) for an even more tangy flavor.
- Protein Powder — I add some vanilla protein powder for increased flavor and nutrients. If your protein powder is not sweetened, you may want to add an extra teaspoon or two of sweetener.
- Cornstarch — We’ll use cornstarch to thicken the lemon curd topping.
- Turmeric — A pinch of turmeric makes that lemon curd sunny yellow.
- Almonds — I buy raw almonds regularly on my frequent vegan shopping at Costco!
- Liquid smoke — You can buy this next to the BBQ sauce in most grocery stores. You can substitute smoked paprika.
- Maple Syrup — You can substitute agave nectar, but maple syrup adds flavor that’s well worth it.
- Soy Sauce/Tamari — Use tamari if you prefer gluten-free bacon-flavored almonds.
- Coconut Oil — You can use either refined (for a neutral taste) or virgin coconut oil (for a stronger coconut flavor).
- Spices — You’ll need some paprika, ground turmeric, and salt.
If you’re opposed to added sugars in any form, you can leave out the maple syrup. I’ve made them that way, too, and they’re still smoky and tasty!
How to Make Bacon Almonds
You can find the full recipe and ingredients below, but here’s a synopsis of the steps involved:
- Toast the almonds by placing them on a pan and baking for 5 minutes.
- Prepare bacon sauce by stirring together the liquid smoke, maple syrup, tamari, paprika, and turmeric.
- Infuse almonds with the sauce by pouring the liquid smoke sauce over the toasted almonds and stirring to coat each piece.
- Spread the seasoned almond slivers across the pan and bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan and stir and then bake for 5 to 7 more minutes.
- Sprinkle baked almonds with sea salt, and allow them to cool.
Marly’s Tips
Be sure to keep an eye on the baking almonds to make sure they don’t burn.
Storage Tips
Store seasoned almonds in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.
Using Almond Slivers
You may not be able to find whole almonds or you prefer the finer texter of almond slivers. If so, here’s how you can make this recipe using almond slivers:
- Spread almond slivers in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet (we won’t be toasting almond slivers).
- Create the sauce ad pour it over the almond slivers, stirring to coat them.
- Bake for a total of 5 to 7 minutes, removing the pan at least once to stir them.
- Watch them closely while baking because they can burn easily.
Keto Bacon Almonds
These bacon-flavored almonds are low in carbs. However, if you prefer even lower carbs with zero added sugars, you can eliminate the maple syrup. I’ve done this and they taste pretty good with and without the syrup.
Air Fryer Bacon Almonds
I like a “dryer” sauce when making these seasoned almonds in an air fryer. We have an air fryer with a basket and this minimal “sauce” version works best. Here are the ingredients:
- Almonds
- Coconut Oil
- Smoked Paprika
- Soy Sauce (or Tamari for gluten-free)
Here’s how to make bacon almonds in an air fryer:
- Toast the almonds in the air fryer and for 3 minutes at 325°F/160°C.
- Make the sauce by stirring together the melted coconut oil, smoked paprika, and soy sauce.
- Pour the toasted almonds into a bowl and stir until they’re all coated with the sauce.
- Transfer the seasoned almonds to the air fryer basket (if your air fryer has a pan, transfer the almonds to the provided pan).
- Cook at 325°F/160°C for 3 minutes, then remove the basket and shake the almonds (or stir them if using a pan).
- Return them to the air fryer and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, checking them frequently to make sure they don’t burn.
Veggie Bacon Options
I enjoy adding veggie bacon to my dishes. Sometimes I buy it at the store (there are plenty of options at most health food stores) or I make my own.
Here are other ways you can make veggie bacon at home:
- Coconut Bacon – substituting large flakes of coconut
- Eggplant Bacon — thin strips of eggplant are saturated in the bacon sauce (see recipe below) and baked
- Tempeh Bacon — this is one of my favorites because it’s so easy to make and tasty
- Rice Paper Bacon — several strips of rice paper are used in this recipe which creates veggie bacon that looks surprisingly real!
How to Serve Bacon Almonds
I like serving these bacon-flavored almonds with some vegan popcorn for movie night. But they are a perfect bacon substitute in just about any recipe that calls for bacon. For example:
I’m sure you could even chop some bacon-flavored almonds and sprinkle them over some vegan cupcakes.
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Bacon-Flavored Almonds
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole almonds (see notes for almond slivers)
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon paprika (or smoked paprika)
- ⅕ teaspoon ground turmeric
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F/163°C. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place the almonds in the pan and bake for 5 minutes.
- In a bowl, stir together the liquid smoke, maple syrup, tamari, coconut oil, paprika, and turmeric.
- Pour the liquid smoke mixture over the almonds and stir gently to ensure each piece is covered.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir to redistribute the seasoning. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them because they burn easily. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sea salt, and allow the almond to cool.
- Once cool, transfer to a lidded container to store. They will keep for up to 10 days at room temperature.
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
Here’s an example of one of the old photos.
These look so good! They sound absolutely perfect mid morning!
I came to this recipe when Jenni Field used it on an apple salad on her site, pastrychefonline.com.
I made these with almond slivers, not slices, and have used them twice: first on a bitter greens salad, where they were great, but yesterday showered them on a cabbage and apple slaw, and they were DIVINE. Really, truly little flavor bombs — smokey, salty, sweety, crunchy, all the adored qualities of actual bacon. Even as a carnivore, I kinda preferred them in some ways to bacon as a salad garnish; they’re more substantial, somehow.
Thanks so much for this recipe, Marly. Definitely going into my permanent repertoire.
I need to make these and see if they really do taste like bacon but if not; I sure love the flavors going into them so it’s all win win!
I do eat bacon, yes, real bacon. But not from pigs like Babe. Nope, mine comes from mean, ornery pigs that bully pigs like Babe. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it. 🙂
Win-win is always the best. You can have these on your Meatless Mondays!
One of my favorite salads is that broccoli one with the bacon but I always hesitate to bring it to potlucks because not everyone eats bacon. In fact, in most of the countries I’ve lived in recently, it’s likely that several someones don’t eat bacon. These almonds are the perfect, perfect alternative! I am thinking I should make a double batch and just keep them in a jar in the refrigerator for sprinkling on everything.
I love that broccoli salad stuff too. I actually have a Vegan Broccoli Salad that is quite yummy, but adding Bacon-Flavored Almond Slivers to your regular broccoli salad would be good too!