Turkey Bacon substitute

Substitutes for Turkey Bacon with ratios

1. 2Thinly sliced smoked turkey breast or smoked turkey deli meat

   Different texture

   Use 2 to 3 slices for every bacon strip

   The pantry version and better than it sounds.

   What changes

   Lay thin slices in a hot dry nonstick pan or on a sheet pan at 375F until the edges curl and brown, about 8 minutes, and they crisp into salty smoky shards. Less sweet than turkey bacon, which is typically sugar-cured, and thinner and shatterier rather than chewy, so it is excellent crumbled over a salad or soup and less convincing as a whole strip.

   Best for

   Crumbled toppings, Salads, Baked potatoes, Sandwiches, Soup garnish

   Brush very lightly with oil and add a pinch of brown sugar if you want it to taste closer to cured bacon. No fat renders out, so oil the pan.

2. 3Pork bacon, or pancetta

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by slice; 3 oz pancetta per 4 strips

   The only swap that reliably works when a recipe depends on drippings, because pork fat is the functional ingredient.

   What changes

   Pork bacon is fattier, saltier, smokier and much more deeply savory than turkey bacon, so a dish will taste richer and read as a bigger indulgence. Pancetta is unsmoked, so it gives you the fat and the savory pork depth without the campfire note, which suits pasta and braises better.

   Best for

   Any recipe needing bacon fat, Carbonara, Braised greens, Cornbread, Vinaigrettes, Clam chowder

   Four strips of pork bacon yield roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons of fat. If you are avoiding pork for dietary or religious reasons, use the oil-plus-smoked-paprika route below instead.

3. 4Oil plus smoked paprika and a splash of soy sauce (the fat-and-flavor fix)

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 1 tbsp oil + ¼ tsp smoked paprika + ½ tsp soy sauce for every 2 tbsp drippings

   Not a strip substitute at all, but the correct answer when the recipe only wanted bacon fat.

   What changes

   Smoked paprika supplies the smoke, soy sauce supplies the cured savory depth, and the oil supplies the fat. Greens or beans built this way taste convincingly smoky and savory but noticeably cleaner and less meaty, without the mouthcoating quality real bacon fat gives.

   Best for

   Collard greens, Beans and lentils, Chowder, Vinaigrette, Vegetarian versions of bacon dishes

   A few drops of liquid smoke work too, but it is easy to overdo; start with two drops per tablespoon of oil. Add soy sauce off the heat so it does not burn.

4. 5Turkey sausage or ground turkey, browned and crumbled

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 3 oz for every 4 strips, for crumbled uses

   Sensible when the bacon was going to be chopped anyway.

   What changes

   Browned turkey sausage brings its own herb seasoning, usually sage and pepper, so a quiche or breakfast casserole tastes herbier and more savory rather than smoky and sweet. It renders a little more fat than turkey bacon, though still not much.

   Best for

   Breakfast casseroles, Quiche, Pasta sauces, Stuffing

   Add a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika if you want the smoke back. Break it up small so it distributes like bacon bits rather than sitting in lumps.

5. 6Coconut bacon or tempeh bacon (meat-free)

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by volume for crumbled uses

   Both aim at the same target turkey bacon does: smoky, salty, crisp, no pork.

   What changes

   Coconut flakes tossed with soy sauce, maple syrup and smoked paprika and baked 12 minutes at 325F are genuinely good as a crumble, though faintly sweet and coconutty. Marinated tempeh strips are chewier and nuttier and hold up as actual strips in a sandwich, but they taste distinctly of tempeh underneath the marinade.

   Best for

   Salads, BLT-style sandwiches, Baked potato toppings, Vegan breakfast plates

   Watch coconut bacon closely; it goes from golden to burnt in about a minute. Both need oil in the pan since neither renders any fat.