Balsamic Salad with Vegan Bacon

February 23, 2024 Evann Ryan

Balsamic Salad With Vegan Bacon

I take my salads very seriously. In order for a salad to go from good to great, snack to meal, bland to flavour packed it requires a few things. The first being texture. You must add a variety of textures to your salad. Soft ingredients like fruit or avocado (I know avocado's a fruit, but you get it), crunchy ingredients like nuts or seeds. Creamy ingredients like a good vegan feta (I've tagged my absolute favourite down below). A crisp ingredient like onions, radish, or something pickled. Then of course it has to have a protein, a really nice lettuce or green (although sometimes you can skip this) and of course an epic salad dressing. It needs sweet, salt, crunch, fat, and acid. And when you perfectly bring all those things together, then, and only then do you have a great salad.

This Balsamic Salad with Vegan Bacon brings everything together. A base of crispy lettuce, steamed green beans, raw red onion, ripe and juicy plum, crunchy pecans, salty vegan bacon, and a creamy, tangy, tart balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I'm literally drooling and we're talking about a salad...

What You'll Need To Make This Salad:

Textured pea protein crumbles or textured vegetable protein crumbles. The difference? Pea protein is made from, well.. peas. And vegetable protein is made from soy. Textured vegetable protein is much easier to find and is sold by popular brands like Bob's Red Mill. You can usually find this product in the baking aisle (weird I know), and if not check the middle aisles because this product is dehydrated and doesn't require refrigeration - until you cook it anyways. Pea protein crumble I usually find online. I have some in my Amazon shop here. Or you can try these pea and fava bean chunks!

You can use regular soy sauce, or my preferred choice is Braggs Liquid Aminos. It's basically a gluten free, higher protein, less ingredient soy sauce. Alternatively you can go soy free with their Coconut Aminos.

Tahini for the oil free balsamic salad dressing. This dressing is a twist on a classic balsamic vinaigrette with the use of creamy tahini instead of oil. This adds a rich and creamy texture you wouldn't get otherwise. It's also higher in protein.

A good balsamic vinegar. I love this one I get from Costco, but you don't have to get that one. Just know the better quality your balsamic vinegar the tastier the dressing!

Substitutions:

Switch the green beans to asparagus or another preferred vegetable.

Try green onion instead of red onion.

Plums not in season? Try chopped apples or berries.

Vegan feta not your thing? Try vegan mozzarella or even a good quality vegan cheddar like this one would be great!

More About This Recipe:

Recipe is from the High Protein Vegan Lunch Ebook! Find this recipe and many other incredible recipes that focus on protein while ensuring loads of flavour, micronutrients, and are incredibly easy to make!

Grab the FULL E-Book here: High Protein Vegan Lunch

There are two recipes in this one, the vegan bacon bits, and the salad ingredients/dressing. The bacon bits have been given a page of their own with their individual macros so you can use them in a variety of different ways! They go great on top of soups, as a sandwich or wrap filling or on another type of salad!

Balsamic Salad with Vegan Bacon

Recipe makes 4 servings

Macros per serving for the full salad:

544 cals - 32g fat - 32g carbs - 32g protein

**Reduce the fats by removing the vegan feta, pecans, or both**

Ingredients, vegan bacon:

1 1/2 cup textured pea protein crumbles
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp liquid aminos, or soy sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp salt

Ingredients, salad:

1/2 cup vegan feta (my favourite)
1/2 cup roasted pecans
8 cups spring mix
2 plums
1 1/4 cup green beans
3/4 cup red onion

Ingredients, dressing:

2 tbsp tahini
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp salt

Recipe, vegan bacon bits:

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and pour over textured pea crumbles, set aside to hydrate, 10 minutes.

To a small bowl add: olive oil, soy sauce, hot sauce, balsamic vinegar, date syrup, smoked paprika, and salt, whisking well to combine, set aside.

Drain pea crumbles well and add to a flat bottom container, spreading the pea crumbles evenly across the bottom.

Pour the marinade over the pea crumbles and mix together well.

Set in the fridge to marinate, minimum 1 hr but preferably overnight.

Bake:

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Add prepared pea protein crumbles and spread evenly across the baking tray.

Bake for 15 minutes, stir the crumbles around, and bake another 10-15 minutes or until crispy.

Macros for one serving bac'un: 189 cals - 8.5g F - 8g C - 20g P

Recipe, salad:

Prepare your vegan bacon bits prior to starting the salad.

Prepare the green beans by slicing into bite size pieces.

Bring 2 cups water to a boil.

Drop the green beans in boiling water and boil for 3-4 minutes.

Drain green beans and immediately rinse in cold water to stop from cooking further.

Slice the red onion into thin slices.

Chop the plums into bite sized cubes.

Dressing:

Add all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk really well to combine. If needed add 1-2 tbsp water to thin to desired consistency.

If salads are being prepped in advance, either keep the dressing aside until ready to eat, or simply add it to the bottom of each container, layering the fresh ingredients on top. When ready to eat, shake container well to coat everything.