Serves 8
Time: 30 minutes
These are the perfect little morsels to tuck into a BLT, or a Caesar Salad. Anywhere delicious smoky saltiness is warranted! The perfect slice has varying textures from crisp and browned in some spots, to tender and chewy in others. To that end, hand slice these babies instead of using a mandoline and aim for 1/8 inch slices, but don’t worry about perfection. The varying degrees of thickness will work to your advantage here. Just don’t get too thick, the eggplant needs to crisp up and slices that are much thicker will just get soggy.
This recipe is so easy you’ll be making eggplant bacon in your sleep! It was originally published in Appetite For Reduction, but this version is doubled. If you don’t feel like dealing with two pans, feel free to half the recipe.
1 pound eggplant, cut into 1/8 inch thick strips
1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari if you’re gluten free)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 425 F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Prep the eggplant while the oven is preheating. Eggplants vary in size, so if using baby eggplant that is 2 inches wide at its widest, just slice into 1/8 inch thick circles. If using large eggplants, first cut in half lengthwise, then slice the halves into 1/8 inch thick halfmoons. Now what we’re going to do is bake it at a high temperature with just a bit of cooking spray oil, then let it cool, then give it smoky salty flavor and reheat.
Cover baking sheets in parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Arrange eggplant pieces in a single layer and spray lightly once more. Place in oven and bake for about 8 minutes, keeping a close eye. Rotate pans about halfway through baking.
Remove from oven and flip slices. They should be browning already, and if any are slightly burnt, don’t worry. Just move them to a plate to cool. Return remaining strips to the oven for about 3 minutes.
Remove from oven. Eggplant should be dark brown to burnt in some places, and yellowish white and tender in some places. Transfer to a plate to prevent further baking.
Lower oven to 350 F. Mix soy sauce and liquid smoke together in a large bowl. Dip eggplant slices in mixture a few at a time and return to the baking sheet. Bake for about 3 more minutes, until heated through. Serve! Keeps well for a few more hours, but definitely use these the day of.
YUM!
This is a much simpler recipe for eggplant bacon than others I’ve seen. Will have to give this a try soon!
Mmmm a nice simple way to get more eggplant in my life!
Hi! I love your recipes! This is a lovely way to eat eggplant (I love eggplant, real love..)! I’m going to try it soon!
Such a great idea! I love eggplant in all forms!
This looks really good! I was just wondering–would it be a good idea to sweat the eggplant slices first?
Nope, totally not necessary. I think they would actually disintegrate into nothing if you tried.
I LOVE eggplant yes I do, I love eggplant you do too!!!!!!!! First eggplant bacon recipe that actually looks easy and delish. Amazing.
That is painfully yummy looking! Can’t wait to give it a try! Do you happen to know the ingredients in “Liquid Smoke”? My grandmother used to use it often. : )
I harbor such eggplant fears, but this recipe may be destined to vanquish them. Thanks for posting.
Can you freeze these (maybe vacuum seal them to keep them fresher)? I’d love to make a large batch and have them at the ready for sandwiches, or at-the-ready to make your latest yummy Scalloped Potatoes and Eggplant Bacon dish.
They are so fragile, I think they would just turn to nothing if you reheated them. You can keep in the fridge and they won’t go bad, but they will get soggy. They’ll still taste good, though!
Do you have a print gadget I’m not seeing??
Yes, but it’s kind of messed up. Best to just copy and paste in a doc. It’s on my to-do list to get that fixed.
Would it be possible to use zucchini instead of eggplant?
I added 2 tsp of maple syrup & really liked the addition of the maple-y taste & caramelization.
This looks delicious! I’m new to the vegan world and am wondering.. where do I find liquid smoke and is there anything I might already have that I could substitute for it?
Liquid smoke is usually with the condiments in most supermarkets. Often next to BBQ sauce, vinegars, etc. There are a few other ways to get smokiness without a smoker, such as smoked salt and smoked paprika. I think smoked paprika might be a good choice, but then you’d obviously be adding a paprika flavor to the eggplant.
I just got an AWESOME hickory smoked salt that has a super-strong smoky flavor. Maybe you could try that instead, if you’re worried about the ingredients in liquid smoke. 🙂
isa, i luuuuuuuv you…
I loved this stuff! I had to cook it for a lot longer to get it browned. Maybe I Sliced it too thick? But it was still delicious!
I liked these, but mine were really salty even though I used low sodium soy sauce. I will cut way back on that next time.
i had to cook for quite a while to get mine crispy…i had to resort to the broiler on low at the end. i know i didn’t cut them too thick…perhaps it was the fact i was trying to use up an old-ish eggplant…? i also added a touch of some sweet potato hot sauce. that kicked it up quite a bit!
In cooking school we made mushroom bacon… basically toss thinly sliced shittake mushrooms (or portobello/button whatever you have) with a bit of olive oil s&p and roast in the oven till just crisp. They don’t need anything to make the flavor insanely delicious and bacon like! Perfect for ceaser salad or anything really!
What brand of liquid smoke do you recommed?
yummmmmmmmmmy! i just made this, and they are so delicious! thank you 🙂
So i keep trying these and can’t seem to get it right. As delicious as they taste, they’re soggy and not crisp at all. I haven’t been using the parchment paper. Would that make a difference? The slices are definitely thin enough.
These are so awesome, i made them to eat with dinner but they never quite made it to the table! oops
Try these on pizza. Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh.
I’m going to try putting these slices in my dehydrator instead of the oven. It’s how I make eggplant chips anyway, but I usually use just a sprinkle of salt. I bet this would make them even better!
I have been looking for liquid smoke for years does anyone know where to get it? Would smoked salt instead of soy sauce + liquid smoke work instead?
You can mix 1/3 teaspoon of smoked paprika with 1 teaspoon of hot water to make a teaspoon of liquid smoke substitute. I would also add a 1/4 teaspoon of tarragon, 1 teaspoon of maple syrup or dark agave to the 1/4 of soy sauce.
I found the liquid smoke in the meat section of a fairly fancy pants grocery store. It was 5 cups for a smallish bottle (i guess its not that small give how much you use per recipe…).
Am making currently… having trouble getting them to the finished product- they keep disappearing into mouths!! 🙂
Why not marinate the eggplant and then bake it? Wouldn’t that save some time? thanks for the recipe, it looks easy and delicious!
This is so good that I have made it twice in a week. I made a bunch the second time, put the leftovers in the fridge and heated them in a hot cast iron pan. They were very good that way, too.
Why call it bacon? This is a great site, but can’t we embrace vegan/tarianism without making pretend meat? X 🙂