It’s salad season here (well, it should be anyway) so I have an exciting salad topping for you today – almond bacon. I love it and have been using it for years. I use to add excitement to salads, as well as simple pastas and plates of greens and more. Almond bacon uses 6 easy to get ingredients and is really easy to make too, yet can transform a simple dish into something super delicious.

I came up with the idea of almond bacon inspired by a popular vegan hack of making coconut bacon by marinating coconut shavings in a mixture of seasonings and baking it. It was 2018 and I lived on a small Greek island at a time and plain coconut shavings were hard to get while almonds are a Greek staple so I thought to myself, why not try it with flaked almonds. It worked a treat and I’ve been using it ever since. I actually prefer using almonds to coconut now as almond bacon does not have that coconutty flavour that you don’t always want in your savoury food and is crunchier in my opinion.

Initially, I used sliced almonds, but whole almonds cut in half also work a treat. The advantage of using flaked almonds is that they are quicker – all you do is open a packet and dump it in the marinade. While using whole almonds requires a bit of prep (5 minutes tops), they are more accessible, sturdier so provide more of a crunch, plus their texture is better at retaining flavour. Try either and I can guarantee you that almond bacon will become your favourite snack.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

ALMONDS: You can make almond bacon with either flaked almonds (sometimes called sliced almonds or almond flakes) or you could use whole almonds too. Whole almonds require chopping in half so that’s a little but more work, but they also offer a little bit more crunch and make for a better snack. Pick whichever appeals to you more and based on what types of almonds have in your cupboards.

SOY SAUCE: All purpose soy sauce adds umami and of course a hefty dose of saltiness, which is so characteristic of bacon flavour. If you want to make this almond bacon gluten-free, be sure to use tamari instead of soy sauce.

OIL: A little oil is needed to keep this almond bacon nice and crispy. I used mild olive oil but any vegetable oil will work just as well, provided it doesn’t have a strong flavour.

TOMATO PASTE: A small squeeze of tomato paste gives this almond bacon a little bit of acidity, plus more umami and helps the marinade to adhere to the almonds.

MAPLE SYRUP: A little bit maple syrup adds some nice sweetness, which contrasts nicely with saltiness and smokiness. I only have ever made these using maple syrup, but any liquid sweetener will work provided its flavour doesn’t dominate.

SMOKED PAPRIKA: Smoked (sweet, not spicy) paprika adds a hint of smokiness to this bacon flavour inspired snack. You can use more if you wish, personally one teaspoon is perfect for me. If you don’t have smoked paprika, half of the amount of liquid smoke will work just as well.

If you want to use whole almonds, I suggest chopping them in half lengthwise prior to coating in the marinade. It increases surface area and gives them just the right amount of crunch. If that’s too much hassle, use shop-bought flaked almonds instead like I did below.

While these almond bacon bits are most crunchy and delicious as soon as they cool off on a baking tray, you can store them in an air-tight jar for a few days. They will get a little less crispy as they contain a form of sugar, which tends to absorb moisture from the air. If you want to crisp them up again, you can spread them on a baking tray and whack into 100° C / 210° oven for a few minutes, just to dry them out again.