Carrot Bacon Topped Avocado Toast

If you have been in the veg community for any length of time, you’ve probably heard about the wonder that is, Carrot Bacon! And, while I can’t lay claim to this recipe nor the base idea, I do have enough people ask me about it when I post photos that feature it that I thought I would share with you all how I make my Carrot Bacon!

I believe that the original recipe came from, the reigning vegan queen herself, Ms. Tabitha Brown, or at least that who I first saw share it! She uses a veggie peeler and an air fryer and my version uses a mandolin and the oven…just one more example of how most of cooking really is just good improv! Feel free to jump down to the end of the recipe if you just want my quick tips and tricks!

What you are going to need to buy:

Fresh Carrots

Liquid Smoke

Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)  

Maple Syrup - (The good stuff, not pancake syrup.)

Garlic Powder, Paprika, Onion Powder

Salt & Pepper

Avocado

Sliced Vegan Cheese (like this ONE from Field Roast)

Tomato

Bread

Vegan Feta (this recipe uses the Block Feta from Violife!)

What you are going to need to do:

For the Carrot Bacon:

Using a mandolin or a veggie peeler slice your carrots into long thin strips/ribbons. This is why you want those fat carrots because they do tend to shirk up quite a bit in the oven.

Into a zip-top baggie that is large enough to hold your ribbons add:

1 -2 tablespoons of Liquid Smoke

1-2 tablespoons of Maple Syrup

1 teaspoon on minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon each of the spices. (Garlic Powder, Paprika, and Onion Powder, Salt and Pepper)

Let the carrot ribbons marinate for anywhere from 10-30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

On a baking tray lay out your carrot ribbons and place them in the oven to crisp up for 15-20 minutes. (Keep an eye on them, flipping after 10 minutes. You can also baste the reverse side with the leftover marinade when you flip them.

Feel free to turn on your broiler for the last 5 minutes or so to get your bacon extra crispy but watch is carefully so that it doesn’t burn…because it will!

Remove from oven and let sit for 1 -2 minutes until cool enough to handle.

The Assembly:

Apply your best practices for standard avocado toast preparation! I like mine to resemble a BLT and use tomato layered over some sliced vegan cheese and topped with dairy-free feta

Now, for the TIPS & TRICKS:

🌿 Use giant carrots...like really the fattest ones you can find. My local Asian Market has the biggest carrots I’ve ever seen!
🌿 Use a mandolin or a peeler because you won't be able to slice the carrots thin enough with a knife. I love my Pampered Chef Simple Slicer. I use it for everything!
🌿 The longer you can marinate the carrots, the better the flavor!

🌿 I bake mine on parchment because when that sticky marinade cooks onto your baking sheet at 400 degrees, it’s a pain to get off!

🌿 Use the leftover marinade to base when you flip the bacon half-way through cooking

🌿 Use the broil feature of your oven at the end to really crisp up the bacon but watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn! - I leave the oven door cracked so I can keep an eye on what’s happening!

Enjoy! And as Tabitha says…

“Hey, you have a good day, but if you can't, don't you go out messing up nobody else's.”

Vegan Walnut Banana Bread

Vegan baked goods are actually much easier and tastier than you might imagine and this Vegan Walnut Banana Bread is a perfect example. Moist, with plenty of lift, and a crunchy brown sugar crust it’s sure to become a family favorite.

Homemade breads are the kind of comfort foods that I can never resist! One of the best things about Vegan Banana bread is that you don’t need to stress out over trying to figure out an egg substitute because the bananas do that heavy lifting for you! This delicious recipe is the perfect way to use up your over-ripe fruit and can be totally customized with whatever mix-ins that you love! As with a lot of vegan baking, the trick to this banana bread is cooling time. Make sure to let this loaf cool completely before slicing or it will be crumbly and want to fall apart. Even letting it sit overnight, covered, isn’t a bad idea.

What you are going to need to buy:

3 Over-Ripe Bananas (The more brown and spotty, the better: I have, in a pinch used two over-ripe bananas mixed with one regular one and the recipe has worked out just fine.)

1/3 cup of White Sugar

1/3 cup of Brown Sugar (+ 1/4 cup to sprinkle on the top before baking)

1/3 cup of Vegetable Oil

1 tablespoon of Vanilla Extract

2 cups of All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon of Salt

1 teaspoon of Baking Powder

1 teaspoon of Cinnamon

1 teaspoon of Nutmeg

1/2 cup of Walnuts, chopped

What you are going to need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To begin, mash your overripe bananas together in a mixing bowl until smooth.

To your banana puree add your oil, sugar, and vanilla and mix until well incorporated.

In another bowl sift together dry ingredients (minus the walnuts) and then add slowly to the banana/sugar/oil mixture.

Do not overwork the mixture. Gently fold in flour until just incorporated. Batter will be thick.

Fold in walnuts (or whatever other mix-ins you prefer. (Chocolate chips, cranberries, etc…)

Spoon batter into a loaf dish that you have oiled and floured

Using the back of the spoon smooth batter into pan making sure mixture is worked into all corners.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of brown sugar onto the top on the batter for a crunchy top crust (Don’t sip this step…is it a lot of sugar…yes! Is it the best part? Also, yes!

Bake on the center rack of your oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving (several hours, if not over night)

Enjoy!