Everybody loves bacon, right?
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Let's be honest, it tastes amazing. Just ask my dog.
But for health and moral reasons, I try not to eat bacon often. So when I discovered PigOut plant-based bacon chips, I was intrigued.
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They're made by Outstanding Foods, and they're totally plant based. The main ingredient is... drum roll please...mushrooms. The other ingredients include safflower/sunflower oil, sea salt, yeast extract, and a few other vegan components.
I've tried making bacon substitutes at home like vegan carrot bacon, but TBH it never tastes exactly like the real thing.
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It was missing the crispy, crunchy, fatty texture that makes bacon so darn addictive.
So when I got my hands on a few bags of PigOut "bacon" chips, I was pretty excited to try them. Could a chip made out of mushrooms actually taste anything like bacon?
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The answer, to my utmost surprise, was yes. The texture is like any potato chip, but there's something about the slightly sweet, very salty, and fatty flavor that immediately makes you think you're biting into a piece of extra crispy bacon.
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I shared the chips with a handful of my coworkers, some vegan and some not, but everyone had the same reaction: These were really delicious and surprisingly similar to the taste and texture of crispy bacon.
PigOut chips come in four flavors: Original, cheddar, chipotle, and Kansas City BBQ. While all four were super flavorful, but the original definitely tastes the most like bacon.
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And the crushed up pieces toward the bottom of the bag tasted almost identical to bacon bits.
They're delicious for snacking on, but I'm excited to try them as a bacon substitute in everyday recipes. I saw come creative ideas on Outstanding Foods' Instagram account. They suggest crumbling the chips on top of mac 'n' cheese, nachos, or even salads.
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And they'd definitely taste amazing in a sandwich or on top scrambled eggs.
A serving of the "bacon" chips is 160 calories, only 1g of unsaturated fat, and no cholesterol. And there are 3.5 servings in every bag.
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Right now, you can pre-order them online in packs of four ($23) or 12 ($60). You can buy all the flavors together in a variety pack or stick to just one.
But according to Outstanding Foods, they'll be available in stores too as early as December for a suggested retail price of $4.99. The website will include an updated list of retail locations.
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