Air-Fried Carrot Bacon
A simply delicious plant-based and vegan-friendly carrot bacon recipe. It can be made free from dairy, gluten, grains, nuts, and soy, and with a few minor tweaks, it can even be whole-food plant-based. This recipe takes 5 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to marinade, and 10 minutes to cook, and it makes approximately six hefty servings of oh-so-delicious bacon.
Servings
Ingredients
- 16 oz. of thinly sliced carrots (I use a Y-shaped vegetable peeler)
- 3 tbsp. liquid smoke (I use Wright's Applewood Liquid Smoke)
- 3 tbsp. coconut aminos (I like BetterBody Foods’ Organic Coconut Aminos)
- 3 tbsp. oil of choice (I use cold-pressed avocado oil)
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. adobo (optional; I use Loisa’s Organic Adobo)
- 1 tsp. saźon (optional; I use Loisa’s Organic Saźon)
Instructions
- Start by making the bacon-flavored marinade by mixing all the ingredients except the thinly sliced carrots in a bowl.
- Dip each carrot slice into the marinade and ensure it is evenly coated.
- Place the dipped carrot slices to the side and let marinade for at least 30 minutes (I usually let them sit overnight in the leftover marinade).
- When you're ready to cook them, let the air fryer pre-heat before cooking at 350°F for 5 minutes, rotate the pan, and repeat for another 5 minutes. When it comes out of the air fryer, it will seem limp and not crunchy. Let it sit for five to ten minutes before determining if it needs more cooking time.
Notes
- If you wish to omit the oil, you should still be able to swap the oil 1:1 with vegetable broth. I haven’t tried this method, so let us know how it goes if you do.
- I have tried making this on the stovetop, and the bacon always comes out tasting burnt and chemically, so I stick to the air fryer method. I have not tried making this in the oven, so if you do, let us know how it goes.
