This Vegan Banana Peel Bacon Recipe Is Perfect for Weekend Brunch

You can make bacon out of bananas—a sentence we never thought we'd type. But it's true! After tossing your banana in the blender for your morning smoothie, you can take that compost-destined peel and turn it into a plant-based version of one of America's most beloved breakfast meats.

We're not going to lie: Turning bananas into bacon almost seems as unlikely as turning water into wine (still waiting on someone to make that how-to video). But we can't pass up a good food waste hack. Plus it's a meat alternative, and plant-based diets have been shown to be one of the best ways to lessen your environmental impact.

To walk us through the process is Jamie Koll, the health coach behind Girls Who Eat. In a TikTok video that's garnered nearly four million views, she shares exactly how to go about making banana peel bacon.

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"I gave up eating red meat over a decade ago, so when I heard banana peels could mimic bacon, I needed to try it," she says. "This is also a great recipe to limit food waste."

We've gotta admit: Koll makes the process of making banana peel bacon look pretty simple, and the final product does appear quite meat-like. She even goes as far to say that "you might not even miss bacon after making these." Hard not to be intrigued, right?

Continue reading below for step-by-step instructions on how to make banana peel bacon. Who knows—it might be exactly what your weekend brunch is missing.

Banana Peel Bacon Recipe

Ingredients:

Organic banana
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. The first step in making banana peel bacon is super easy: eat a banana. Enjoy it as is, make banana bread in a mug, or combine it with oat milk to make a smoothie. If you want to save it for another time, put it in an airtight container and freeze it.

2. Rinse your peel to wash away any potential germs or pesticide residue. Then, shred it into 3 to 4 pieces, which will serve as your "bacon" strips. You'll want to get as much banana off the peel as possible. To do this, take a spoon and scrape away at each strip.

3. To flavor your banana peels, combine the coconut aminos, maple syrup, paprika, garlic powder, and salt in a bowl and mix well.

4. Coat the banana peels with your mixture by either using a basting brush or combining it all in a bowl.

5. Take your spice-coated banana peel bacon strips and place them on the stove or in your air fryer. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes and enjoy!