Coconut Bacon

Coconut Bacon! Here’s a quick recipe that you’ll be eating by the handful and tossing onto and into everything as soon as it comes out of the oven. The idea for the recipe came to me after I’d finished off a bag of savory flavored coconut chips I purchased last weekend at the I Love Me fair held at Helsinki’s conference center. You’ll be hearing more about this fair in a later post, when I share some of my favorite food finds and how to cook with them.

But in the meantime, I wanted to share this simple, healthy, savory snack with you. You’ll use just a few whole foods ingredients and spices to create this crispy treat. I like to use the organic coconut flakes from Makrobios which I buy from Ruohonjuuri, but you can use any high-quality, large coconut flakes for this recipe.

You can use this in many of the same ways you would use bacon: toss it over a Cobb salad; sprinkle some over savory oatmeal or a nice vegetable soup; or munch on a handful as a snack. You’ll be loving it!

Coconut Bacon

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons Tamari (or regular soy sauce if gluten isn’t an issue for you)
• 2 teaspoons genuine Maple Syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup/2.5 dl large coconut flakes

Preheat the oven to 160°C/300°F

Combine all of the ingredients except the coconut flakes into a 1 liter / 4 cup pot. Heat the ingredients over medium heat until the coconut oil melts (you can also do this in the microwave if you prefer). Add the coconut flakes and stir well so that the wet mixture completely coats the coconut flakes. Spread the coconut in a thin layer onto a parchment-lined oven tray. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy, stirring every 5-8 minutes until done.

Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Makes 1 cup.