TikTok's Latest Viral Trend Is Making Realistic Bacon From Bread

Are you craving a few slices of bacon for your vegan burger but don't, you know, want to eat actual bacon? If so, the latest trend to go viral on TikTok will revolutionize your future munchies, assuming you include bread in your plant-based dietary arsenal. The homemade vegan bacon involves ordinary white bread, some sauce, and a skillet.

The vegan bread bacon creation was brought to the Internet by TikTok user RJtheMagican who enthusiastically presented his method for creating faux bacon out of bread slices, some sauces, and a hot skillet with oil. Extra attention was paid toward getting the wavy bacon-like design, as well, using three forks as molds.

RJ presented the final product, which actually looked remarkably like a slice of the real thing, describing its flavor as similar to 'candied bacon.' The video quickly went viral, spurring a series of videos attempting to replicate the process — and many of those users report that, despite their skepticism, the vegan bacon is actually pretty tasty.

The popularity of this homemade plant-based bacon alternative caught the attention of some Internet chefs and cooking channels that went on to replicate and, they say, improve the original project. At the core of the recipe is simply slices of white bread with the crusts removed. The bread is then smashed thin using a rolling pin and soaked for a few minutes in a marinade.

The sauce depends on which recipe you ultimately try, but generally speaking, you'll need Tabasco Chipotle hot sauce, soy sauce, olive oil, mushroom seasoning, liquid smoke, onion powder, smoked paprika, maple syrup, black pepper, and other ingredients often found in the modern kitchen.

Once the marinated bread strips are fully soaked, toss them in a hot skill with oil, cook them like you would bacon, and the end result is — the Internet swears, at least — fried bread strips with a very bacon-like flavor.