Vegan Rice Paper Bacon
I belong to several vegan Facebook groups. Now and then you’ll see a bunch of folks posting their version of the latest vegan craze in the various groups. One of the latest fads is vegan rice paper bacon.
I usually ignore the fad food of the month. The recipes often use ingredients I can’t easily get in Guatemala. Sometimes they’re just too complicated. When I saw Laura Moreland’s post in the Friendly Vegan Food Sanctuary group, it grabbed my attention. It’s simple. It’s made from ingredients I already have. It’s a recipe for something that I haven’t been all that successful with: vegan bacon.
When I was growing up, bacon was an infrequent treat. That combination of crunchy, smokey, salty, and slightly sweet was reserved for special occasions. When I became vegetarian at the age of 14, bacon was the only kind of meat I ever craved. Though I haven’t had meat cravings since going vegan in 2007, my B&B guests sometimes ask about vegan bacon options. So I’ve experimented a bit.
I’ve played with tofu bacon, tempeh bacon, and coconut bacon. (No, I never tried the seaweed bacon.) They were all okay, but more trouble than they were worth.
Then I saw the post for rice paper bacon. I’ve had a package of spring roll wrappers in my pantry just waiting for this. This recipe is far and away the easiest and yummiest vegan bacon recipe I’ve tried. It gets bonus points for using ingredients that I have on hand. It gets double bonus points for having no added fat. And triple bonus points passing the dad test: my omnivorous dad liked it too.
The ingredients are just as Laura posted: I just added a bit to the instructions. Have fun and please let me know how you like it.
Note (September 2016): After more experimentation, I’ve modified my recipe. Previously, the recipe had you fry the bacon in a nonstick pan and then bake it. Turns out that’s not necessary: you can do one or the other, but I prefer the baked version. Also, I’ve clarified that you can use two sheets of rice paper for a crispier bacon or up to four for a chewier bacon. The ingredients did not change.
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Didn’t turn out too well for me. I used 3 rice papers together. Too tough. It was all too tough to eat. It was like jerky. Tasted ok. Perhaps reminiscent of bacon. I cooked some in the fry pan and baked some. All was too tough.
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. It’s been quite popular with everyone I’ve served it to, including my vegan retreat guests this week.
You might try two pieces of rice paper instead of three. I find that three is too thick.
This is so addictive!!! I used triple layer of rice paper, just lined up all three together and dunked it in the warm water until it was soft and then cut it, it stuck together just fine. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Glad you liked it!
Did three sheets together for a bit chewier texture. Will make again?? also wet all three sheets under the tap and then cut them no problems?
Best thing ever!!! Thank you so much!!!