These Austin Vegan BLTs Will Make You Forget About the Bacon

It’s risky territory to mess with one of America’s most popular tried-and-true sandwiches — the BLT, and even more so, to create a vegan version. The BLT, itself, is a cultural fixture built on bacon; its assemblage, a ritual; and its legacy, dating back to the dawn of sandwiches.

Just as various factors can turn the already simple sandwich sour, so too can things get complicated when meatless alternatives are introduced to act as a bacon conduit. Too thick a slice of tofu, and it’s a dense brick with little flavor in the middle, while a lack of proper seasoning or marinade makes for a spongy, bland block. But if the tofu or seitan is sliced just right and seeped in a combination of sweet and savory spices, a BLT (hold the B) can successfully capture the essence of the long-beloved original sandwich.

It turns out, as long as it’s executed well, real bacon in a BLT is not essential — especially if Austin’s Bouldin Creek Cafe, Rebel Cheese, and Mr. Natural have anything to say about it. Here is a breakdown of each restaurant’s vegan version of a BLT — sandwiches that can surely stand up to the original.

Aaron Boehmer

The Wanna BLTA at Bouldin Creek Cafe

The Bouldin Creek restaurant is considered one of Austin’s best spots for vegan and vegetarian dishes. And while the name of its vegan BLT — Wanna BLTA — suggests aspirations to be something it’s not, the sandwich itself is extremely well-balanced. The creaminess of the avocado, the rich flavor of basil aioli, plus the crunchy bite of toasted sourdough, fresh lettuce, and tomato complement the star of the show: perfectly thin-sliced “fakon.” Owner Leslie Martin says the key to Bouldin Creek’s homemade tofu bacon is to cook it long enough without over-cooking it. “Cooking it too long makes it too much like jerky,” she said via email. While more tender than crispy, this vegan bacon has all the right flavor notes — smokiness from a combination of Liquid Smoke and black pepper, plus a tanginess from the soy sauce that’s cut by the sweetness of brown sugar and maple syrup.

Aaron Boehmer

The BLTA at Rebel Cheese

This Shark Tank famous dairy-less deli, so named for its artisanal spread of vegan cheeses, also makes all of its faux meats in-house. Co-owner Kirsten Maitland points to its vegan bacon as the most labor-intensive meat Rebel Cheese sells. “It’s a very physically demanding product to make,” she says. “You have to roll it out, and … you have to keep rolling it until it’s the correct thickness.” Faux bacon made out of seitan is piled onto each sandwich in a fashion more akin to a generous helping of deli meat than strips of bacon— then, paired with a rich garlic aioli and avocado, tomato, and lettuce. That’s not a problem, though, especially when the restaurant’s laborious process of cooking, slicing, and marinating results in a robust flavor as smoky as it is sweet.

Aaron Boehmer

The BLT Sandwich at Mr. Natural

The longtime family-owned vegetarian spot approaches its menu from what it considers a holistic perspective, focusing on good nutrition (all products are made in-house) and feeding the mind, body, and spirit with its restaurant and its next-door natural medicinal center. But healthful and holistic doesn’t mean skimping on flavor. When longing for a crunchy, meatless bacon alternative that rivals the pan-fried original, look no further. Mr. Natural’s meatless bacon is wholly satisfying. Made from a combination of soy and wheat protein, the edges deliver ideal crispiness and warm notes of salt and smoke.