These vegan bacon-wrapped scallops are made with king oyster mushrooms, wrapped in smoky tempeh bacon. Drizzle with a creamy buttery sauce for a perfect and pretty appetizer!
I’ve never had a bacon-wrapped scallop before, even when I ate meat. However, I wanted to replicate this dish simply because I love making vegan seafood and am amazed at what king oyster mushrooms can do. These vegan scallops are succulent and buttery, and the tempeh is nicely textured and smoky … it’s a winning combo!
Here’s Why You’ll Love These Vegan Bacon-Wrapped Scallops
Easy to make: Planning a small gathering? These are easy to make and assemble. Just have your ingredients lined up and ready to go. Feel free to double or triple this recipe. Your guests will love them!
Rich and creamy: Drizzle these vegan scallops with a creamy and buttery sauce. It makes such a satisfying bite!
Unique and fun: Scallops and bacon are a classic combo. The succulent texture and smoky crispiness are both there, but this version is completely plant-based.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
King Oyster Mushrooms: King oyster mushrooms, also known as king trumpet mushrooms, are a type of edible mushroom characterized by their thick, meaty stems. They make a great vegan scallop substitute and have an excellent texture when seared. Our king oyster mushroom cooking guide will give you all the info you need to master this mushroom!
Tempeh Bacon: Fermented tempeh bacon typically comes in packaging that includes liquid smoke, maple syrup, and spices. Bake or sauté until crisp. It develops a super crispy texture around the edges when cooked.
Vegan butter: Miyoko’s cultured butter, Earth Balance or Violife are all great vegan butter brands, but use whatever you like. It’s going to work wonderfully with the texture of the vegan scallop!
Coconut cream: Scrape the thick part of the cream off the top of canned coconut milk. Don’t fret—this will not add any coconut flavor—just a different note of richness.
Liquid Smoke: This will add a smoky taste and aroma without using a smoker. To make liquid smoke, smoke from burning wood is condensed and the liquid is captured and diluted with water. This is essential to imparting a smoky undertone to this appetizer. Use less than you think you need. If you add too much, it will overpower the dish.
Garlic: Finely mince the garlic here. It’s important to ensure the garlic does not brown or burn—this will add a bitter taste. You just want it softened, with just a tiny tinge of gold.
Vegetable broth: Use a good broth brand here for best results. I love Better than Bouillon garlic base, but their No-Chicken would work as well.
Check Out These Recipes For More Ways to Use Vegan Scallops
- Check out this Creamy Pasta with Vegan Scallops is perfect for a night in, and fun to make with a partner or friend. Succulent vegan scallops and pasta are so amazing together!
- This Vegan Scallops with Pea Puree and Watercress appetizer uses cashew cream and bright peas and crisp watercress for a fresh vegan seafood dish!
- Make this Vegan Scallops in a White Wine Cream Sauce recipe for a creamy pasta dish with capers and lemon. It’s so good!
- This Vegan Dynamite Rolls recipe used chopped king oyster mushroom stems to make vegan sushi. it’s creamy, spicy, delicious and so fun to make!
- Cross-hatch vegan scallops to make this Vegan Scallops in Pasta with a Mint-Pea Puree dish. The sauce runs into all of the nooks and crannies, making this a delicious and decadent dish!
FAQs
No scallops are not vegan. They are living creatures that can experience pain and stress. Harvesting scallops can also damage marine habitats and harm other non-target species. Minimizing harm and extending compassion towards all living creatures is the goal of veganism, so consuming scallops is not vegan.
King oyster mushrooms make a great vegan scallop substitute. Slice and soak the stems in water to create a vegan seafood version of a scallop. Sear until a little color develops around the edges.
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Vegan Bacon-Wrapped Scallops
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 pieces
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These vegan bacon-wrapped scallops are am easy and fun appetizer to entice your dinner guests or start a meal for two. King oyster mushroom stems are wrapped in tempeh bacon for a one-bite delight!
Ingredients
for the sauce
- 1 tsp vegan butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 TB coconut cream (skim it off the top part of the can)
- 4 TB vegan broth
- 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 king oyster mushroom stems, sliced and soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
- 1 TB olive oil
- 8 slices of tempeh bacon
- a few dashes of liquid smoke
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
to make the sauce
- Melt the vegan butter in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add in the garlic and allow to soften for about 30 seconds. Add in the coconut cream and saute for about a minute. Turn the heat up to medium and add in the broth. Allow to sizzle for a minute or two, then whisk in the paprika. Remove from the heat.
to make the vegan scallops
- Return the pan to the stove and allow it to heat for about a minute over medium heat. Add in a little olive oil or vegan butter, then very carefully place the mushrooms into the pan. (Since they contain water, they will sputter once they hit the heat.)
- Place a lid over the top and allow the mushrooms to cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until they are slightly brown on top.
- Remove from the heat and transfer to another plate to cool.
to make the tempeh
- In the same saute pan, add a little more oil if the pan is dry, then add in the tempeh strips.
- Allow to cook on each side for 4-5 minutes, checking them occasionally to ensure they do not burn. Once they are almost done, add a few dashes of liquid smoke, then allow it to sizzle, then remove from the heat.
to assemble
- Wrap a piece of tempeh around the scallop so both end slightly overlap each other. Cut off any excess, then spear with a toothpick. Spoon an little of the sauce over the top and serve immediately.
Notes
Soaking king oyster mushroom stems allows for a more succulent texture, so be sure not to skip this step. Take care when adding them to a hot pan, as they will sputter a bit. They vegan scallops are done when they develop a little color around the edges.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizer, Snack
- Method: Sautéeed
- Cuisine: American
Hi Erin! Can these be made the day before a dinner party and then just reheated in the oven?
Hi Maryam, I don’t think these would reheat very well, unfortunately. The texture of the mushrooms would change, and the tempeh bacon would burn before the mushrooms were heated through. I do plan to rework this recipe at some point and will try to find a way to make either reheating or prep easier. Stay tuned!
Just wondering, you recommend soaking the mushrooms — for how long and it what ?? just water? broth??
Erin, you are going to soak the sliced mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes. Take a peek at the recipe card. This softens the mushrooms up so they have a nice soft texture before searing them.
Hi Erin, I don’t understand how you got the consistency of the sauce to be as shown in your photos. I’ve tried twice now and each time the sauce comes out with the oily consistency (and look) of a chili garlic oil, like the kind you’d see in a Thai restaurant. How does yours come out looking so thick and creamy and pink? Thanks
Hi Josh, sorry the consistency is not turning out right for you! The sauce is not thick and creamy—it is quite thin.
This was a great recipe, however, I had trouble wrapping the ‘scallops’ with the cooked vegan bacon. Tried several times with varying degrees of doneness on the bacon, and it broke and was not pliable each time. Ended up crumbling the bacon and using as a garnish. Still tasted great. Used vegan bacon from Whole Foods. Also, needed to torch the scallops to make them look grilled. Tasty recipe, though!
Would this be appropriate for a potluck (where it would cool down)?
Thanks! We also made your calzones, I'll let you know when the review is up. Spoiler alert: it was awesome!
haha, awesome … glad you enjoyed!
Thank you for this recipe! They came out amazing, we used vegan scallops instead of mushrooms. We posted a review on our new veg cooking blog, http://adventurebuddiez.blogspot.com/2013/05/vegetarian-bacon-wrapped-scallops.html
Glad you enjoyed, awesome review!
Fantastic. I love your blog and as an ex-pro photographer, your husband does an excellent job of photographing your cooking. Its a sign that you both have passion for what you do.
Thank you for your kind words!
I wanted to come back and comment… I've made this recipe twice now, and it's been wonderful both times! I now keep a regular supply of french horn or king trumpet mushroom at home for when vegan scallops are mandatory (which feels like every day). And who knew that I would eventually love tempeh?!
Thanks Nina! I do the same thing with the mushrooms. : ) Glad you like the recipe!
Is King Trumpet the same as King Oyster? I’m a forager, and in the wild, “trumpets” and “oysters” are different. Though, trumpets, a member of the chanterelle family, would be awesome for their sweet buttery flavor — except you’d need the whole mushroom. I’ve never heard of King Oysters — no idea where to get them. So glad to see posts of having tried this!
I’m going to try it with carrot “bacon” though — really don’t like tempeh.
That's awesome Nina! I hope that you liked this dish. And I'm so happy that the blog is useful to you! : )
The 3rd(?) recipe of yours that I will be making tonight. Thank you. You're teaching me how to cook!
These look incredible!
wow. they're stunning. must try. thank you!
how fun! they are so pretty and perfect looking. I've never had a real-life scallop! I think my husband would like these… thanks! 🙂
I made a version of these last year with tofu scallops—can I tell you how insanely good (and better) yours look?!? Must give these another try w/ mushrooms! 🙂
Oh, I SO hope you are secretly working on a cookbook… I will buy every copy. :)Seriously, though, your recipes often remind me of Peter Berley's or Myra Kornfeld – high praise, as I am sure you well know!
Amazing! Way to start Mofo with a bang! I must try this as my husband is a scallop lover.
Wow I'm actually obscenely excited to make these. I have missed seafood so much since I went vegetarian and these just look so freaking goooood!
I have no words for this except for 'Yum' and 'Seriously?' – love it!
Looking absolutely awesome and complex! Can't believe they're really easy to make… 😉
Oohers this does look very elegant! I love the idea of using mushies – that means this is something I could try!
wow- stunning in appearance, and I'm betting they tasted great too:) Clever girl!
That's just beautiful. *swoon*
how did your husband like this?
i'm sitting here wondering how mushroom stems compares to scallops. this item would totally blow my friends' minds if i were to ever serve them this. you come up with the best ideas for food!
He liked them! The secret here is to soak the sliced stems in water so they cook up soft like a scallop. Easy peasy! Thanks Lan!
Thank you. Good pointer.
Wow! This looks so delicious! 🙂
This looks lovely! I think I'll try it with some tofu bacon because I'm not the biggest fan of tempeh bacon.
wooooaaa that looks so fancy and tasty!
Beautiful photos! They look too pretty to eat. Although I wouldn't mind eating one or two of those right now. Yum!
This looks amazing!
So creative, fancy, and gourmet!
These look amazing! I just hope I can find some oyster mushrooms!
Wow, those are flippin' pretty!
Great use of mushroom stems!
These are amazing! Your food photography is stellar, btw 🙂 Happy MoFo – I am excited to spend a month watching your creations!
These are amazing! Happy MOFO! <3
so interesting!
Woah this is so clever and they look delish- the photos are beautiful too!
Utter UTTER genius!!!
you make such magical food, erin, and your husband takes beautiful photos of it. these look so savory and delicious, i could jut about pull them out of the computer screen with my fingers.
aw, thanks Caitlin! I shared your comment with jeff.
p.s. Congrats on your new purchase! : )
Oh my! This is incredible! I will definitely be trying this at my next dinner party. Wow. Just wow.
I added it to my "to try" Vegan MoFo Pinterest Board: http://pinterest.com/vegangela/vegan-mofo-2012/
These are super impressive for such simple ingredients! This recipe makes me want to host a cocktail party just so I have the excuse to serve such fanciness!
I am drooling over here. Wow. These look amazing.
One word for this recipe- WOW!
Question: why soak the mushroom stalks in water?
Whoa! These look amazing! Totally bookmarking
So pretty and clever!
xo
kittee