Mushroom Bacon? For Real?

Okay this sounds crazy but yes, mushroom bacon. Is is bacon? No. Is it made from mushrooms? Yes. Does is taste like bacon? YES! I am not a strict vegetarian but I prefer veggie based stuff vs. meat based, so if I can find vegetarian or vegan replacements I will pretty much always go that route. When I heard through a friend of a friend about this meat free "bacon" option, I was all over it! It's so simple and adds so much to anything you would use crumbled bacon bits for.

So here we go!

You will need:

Shitake mushrooms

Olive oil to drizzle

salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Clean shitake, ready to go!

Sliced shitake, about a teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Toss.

spread evenly on a cookie sheet.

Bake for approximately 7 minutes. Basically just bake til crispy. Your oven may be hotter than mine, so check at 5 minutes and take it from there. 

I decided to use my crispy mushroom "bacon" on a simple salad with baby romaine lettuce, arugula and delicious ripe avocado. I was fortunate enough to snag an amazing aged balsamic vinaigrette from a local Italian import market before they closed their doors. So a little drizzle of balsamic and there you go!

close up of the delicious crispy mushrooms and avocado.