Cheesy Tempeh Bacon Salad

I consider myself lucky for not being addicted to bacon, it’s something I missed the least during my vegan transition. But it seems to be like crack for some, including my fast food-loving boss who’s trying a plant based diet this week after seeing Forks Over Knives and grilling me with questions about it. But I’ve become quite the fan of tempeh since going vegan. It’s cheaper and healthier than meat, is probiotic, packs tons of protein, super easy and fast to cook, and has a satisfying nutty flavor. What’s not to love?

But I’m open to finding new ways of enjoying it, so I impulse bought Turtle Island Foods Tempeh Smoky Maple Bacon strips at Whole Foods this week because it was on sale.

And the nutrition information was considerably more appealing than actual bacon packed with fiber and protein and lacking in fat and cholesterol. Yes please!

Sealed in the package, the tempeh strips even kind of looked like bacon.

And filled the kitchen with a wonderful smell while I cooked stove top over medium heat.

And this clever product had two chihuahuas fooled into begging at my feet for some nibbles.

And they continued to beg after inhaling a couple of pieces, so it’s chihuahua approved. :-)

Thinking I’d create a classy, restaurant-style dish, I chopped a huge salad and dressed it with Gena’s Cheesy Chia Seed sauce, one of my favorite veggie-based cheesy sauces.

And topped a heaping serving of the salad with the Tempeh Smoky Strips for a sort of classy looking salad.

While I can’t tell you if these strips tasted exactly like bacon, I can say they’re delicious! They have a rich, smoky and slightly sweet flavor that worked well with the mustard tang in the cheesy sauce dressing. Kind of a vegan, plant-based salad version of a bacon cheeseburger. :-)