How to Make Rice Paper Bacon
This rice paper bacon is so easy and fun to make! It requires simple pantry ingredients you can keep on hand for whenever that smoky-salty-sweet craving strikes. It’s vegan + cholesterol-free, can easily be made gluten-free, and tastes shockingly like the bacon we grew up eating. It even sizzles while it cooks! Serve it with tofu scramble for an epic vegan brunch or on a vegetarian BLT!
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We’ve been playing around with rice paper bacon for a few years now. It’s easily one of our favorite animal-free bacons and the one we turn to most frequently!
Even though we love ourselves some coconut bacon salt, this rice paper bacon is purrrrfect when you’re looking for good vegan bacon strips.
There are a ton of recipes for rice paper bacon out there, but the concept originated on the Danish blog Veganer. From there, it basically blew up the internet. Once you try it, we think you’ll understand why!
After testing and experimenting so much with different methods and flavor combos, the rice paper bacon recipe we’re sharing today has become our go-to, no-fail version that always hits the spot.
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Is rice paper bacon all hype?
If you’ve never tried the rice paper bacon phenomenon before, let us be the first to tell you it is most certainly NOT just hype. This stuff really, crazily, wonderfully tastes and FEELS like bacon.
I mean…if we can turn carrots into hot dogs, why the hell can’t we turn rice paper into bacon, right?!
Let’s talk ricepaper bacon ingredients:
- Rice paper: If you’ve never worked with rice paper before, fret not, friend. If I can figure it out, you certainly can. In the US, you’ll find this in the “International” section at your local grocery store. They are sold dry and last a loooooong time in the pantry for future bacon-makin’. SCORE!
- Soy Sauce + Liquid Smoke + Maple Syrup: If you’ve ever made vegan bacon before, you’ll be familiar with this combo. It’s the perfect blend of salty / smoky / sweet that totally lights up the “bacon” sensors in your brain. We also like to add some black pepper, brown sugar, and nutritional yeast to round the flavor out.
- Beet Powder: This is our own little addition we really dig. This is totally optional and doesn’t affect the flavor, but it does add a nice pink bacon-y hue that is totally killer (and also, nutrition and stuff). Alternatively, you can use beet puree by pureeing a can of sliced beets.
- Refined Coconut Oil: Make sure you get *refined* coconut oil, unless coconut-flavored bacon sounds good to you. The refined coconut oil is a great addition here because it adds a heavier “fatty-ness” to the whole she-bang that is very indicative of animal fat.
The best part about all these ingredients is they are total pantry staples! It’s super easy to keep all the ingredients on hand and grab ’em whenever the mood strikes you. Which, for me at least, is at least once a week. 🙂
How to Use Rice Paper Bacon
We use this vegetarian bacon to spice up our sandwiches and burgers, serve next to a pile of tofu scramble, or chop up and mix in with some mac and cheese.
Now, grab some rice paper, and let’s get to makin’ bacon!
When you try this recipe, we totally wanna hear about it! That’s pretty much our favorite thing. 🙂 You can rate the recipe and leave a comment below our tag us in your drool-inducing vegan bacon photos on Instagram. If you’re not already following along, we’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”.
Enjoy!
Rice Paper Bacon
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce use tamari for GF
- 2 Tbsp water
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp refined coconut oil melted
- 1 Tbsp beet powder*
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
For the bacon:
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F, generously grease 2 large baking sheets with refined coconut oil, and use a whisk to mix together all the ingredients for your marinade in a shallow dish or pie plate.
- Set up your assembly line: Fill a large bowl with room temperature water and set it on the counter. Next to it, place your marinade dish. Next to that, place a large cutting board.
- Take 2 sheets of rice paper and press them together. Submerge them in the bowl of water for about 15-30 seconds. This should make them adhere to one another.
- Carefully remove the rice paper and place it in the marinade. Marinate for one minute, flip, and marinate one more minute. Then, move the rice paper to the cutting board.
- Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the rice paper into 6 slices and transfer these to the greased baking sheet. Repeat this process with the remainder of your rice paper.
- Before baking, brush the excess marinade onto each bacon strip. Then, sprinkle with a bit of brown sugar and freshly ground black pepper. Bake at 400F for 3 minutes (or 4 for crispy). Use tongs to carefully flip each slice, brush each once more with excess marinade, sprinkle with brown sugar and black pepper, and return them to the oven for another 3 minutes (or 4 for crispy).**
- Let the bacon cool for 5-10 minutes before digging in (it will crisp up a bit more as it cools), and enjoy!
Notes
- *If you don’t have beet powder, you can replace the powder + water with 2 Tbsp beet puree made by draining a can of beets and processing them in our food processor until a thick puree forms.
- **Cooking times will vary depending on your oven. If your rice paper bacon still feels a little too chewy after cooling, pop it back in the oven for another 30-60 seconds.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on Plant Power Couple in February 2019. Its most recent update was in April 2022.
Any thoughts on leaving the coconut oil out? I’m trying to keep as much fat/oil out of my eating as possible
Hi, Shannon! If you were going to remove the oil, I’d sub some flavorful veg broth and just be sure to keep a close eye on it while it’s cooking, as the time will be different. The texture will be a bit different as well, but I think it could definitely work. Let us know if you try it!
This is INSANELY GOOD
We are definitely in agreement on that one! 🙂
I’m very interested to try this! I’m imagining a delicate crispy texture 🤞
After baking, is this more of a “serve immediately” scenario? I’m inspired to put this on my homemade vegan maple donuts. Do you think the moisture from the glaze will make the “bacon” lose its crispy texture and become soft/chewy?
OMG vegan maple doughnuts sound like perfection. I could understand your concern; these are definitely best served right away. But, I think if you bake them a little longer making them on the “extra crispy” side, they would work really well on the doughnuts. Let us know if you give it a try!
ummm, where’s the recipe for the delicious vegan maple doughnuts please? ^_^
I used the bacon from this recipe for a maple bacon cupcake. I would suggest making the bacon the day before, storing in an airtight container in the fridge and warming back up on a griddle to get it crisp enough to go with these donuts. We experimented with using the bacon the day of and the day after and day after is definitely easier to add to baked goods. We let it cool on a wire rack after warming. We had the “bacon” standing straight out of the maple icing and it held up well.
Mine came out more like bacon candy. Very chewy and not crispy. Thoughts?
Oh no! So sorry to hear that, Venita!
A couple thoughts:
Too much brown sugar sprinkled on could over-caramelize and give it a candy-like and chewy texture. It’s also possible the rice paper was too wet and/or didn’t cook long enough to get to your preference of crispy. If you feel as if it’s not crisping properly or to your liking, I’d suggest turning the heat up a bit and keeping an eye on it. (Also, maybe moving it closer to your oven’s hottest point near the heating element. i.e. top or bottom rack, depending)
Hope this helps! Let us know if you continue to have any trouble.
This is the first time in almost ten years I’ve had a decent “bacon”!!!! I just wanted to note that I let this fully cool on wire racks, stored it in the fridge, and it warmed back up on a griddle JUST LIKE BACON. It Sizzled, it was crispy, chewy, all the things.
Like some others reviewers my “bacon” was too soggy (I suspect I soaked the rice paper too long out of habit from making fresh spring rolls) so I skipped the flip and marinate instructions and just left it baking (took an additional 8 minutes or so) until it crisped up. So, don’t lose hope if its in the oven and turns into a gel strip – just keep an eye on it and it will start to crisp up and turn into the bacon you’ve been dreaming of.
Thank you for the very kind words, Sharon! Some great tips in there as well! This truly was the bacon we’d been dreaming of! Glad you love it too!
I tried your recipe today, written. While I thought the flavor was fabulous, I struggled with cooking time. Too soon it was rice paper rubber, too long was crispy but maybe too dark. I will try this again. Any Hints to help my process? Thanks
Hmmm, nothing really except keeping an eye at that crucial moment where you like it. (I’m assuming closer to the crispy end??) I know I always had that same problem with animal-derived bacon as well. It will darken as it cooks longer because of the sugars (Maillard effect). Maybe take it from the oven just prior to your desired level and let it crisp atop the hot oven? I’m so glad you like it, and sorry I don’t have anything better to tell you.
I recommend using the air fryer to heat up any leftover rice paper bacon… it adds a nice crunch, which I wasn’t able to get in a normal oven
Just made this and it’s really really good! The consistency is most impressive, and it tastes really nice as well! Thanks for the amazing recipe, I’ll absolutely be making this again and cannot wait to have this batch in a veggie BLT tonight. Next time I will double the recipe to have more, they do shrink quite a bit! But the way it was sizzling in the oven… so good!
I’m so glad you liked it, and I definitely love this on BLTs! Thank you for reaching out!
Fabulous recipe! Modify the seasoning a little bit and it turns into “chicken skins”! Do the exact method above, but soak the sheets in water for 20 seconds (until they are more goo-ey), and add these to the marinade: “Simply Organic Turkey Rub” and “McCormick Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple Seasoning” (both on Amazon). YUM!
That’s brilliant, Grace! We’d been thinking of trying something similar using our chickenless bouillon powder! Thanks for sharing!
This surely tastes so much better than the soy bacon bits offered in stores. I am not vegetarian, but am trying to cut down on meats. I loooovvvveee bacon and this is a great meatless sub. It was pretty easy to make (after a learning curve). My “bacon” turned out crispy. The only thing is I needed to bake it a bit longer to get the crispiness I wanted. I put the extra on a paper plate in a plastic baggie. So far, it has stayed crisp for 3 days. Thanks for another great recipe.
I’m so happy you’re enjoy it so much, Julieanna! Thank you for reaching out and letting us know!
Hi Terrence,
I’m going to make this in the near future. Wondering what you think about cooking this in a flat top grill (Blackstone)?
Kim
Hi, Kim! I think that would totally work. I haven’t tried it myself, but I’d love to hear how it goes!
How long does it last in an air tight container in fridge
Hi there! In the fridge they should last 7-10 days. About 3 days if left at room temperature. Hope that helps!
If you don’t like maple bacon can you leave the maple syrup and brown sugar out?
Sure can!
Another fabulous recipe by these inspiring vegan chefs! I’ve made so many of their recipes since discovering them and am never disappointed.
Thank you so much! We really appreciate the comment and the support!
I loved the flavor of the marinade and will play with the timing to get the perfect amount of crispness as ovens may vary. I’m thinking of using the marinade with broiled Brussels Sprouts to give an animal free bacon flavor.
Ooooh, that’s a fantastic idea!
I tried tofu once and I hated it, until I saw your tofu “chicken” and it was fabulous! I haven’t tried this “bacon” yet but I can’t wait!! I’m not vegan but I try to eat a lot more plant based things these days and anything you guys make IM GONNA TRY! I have never been disappointed!
Wow, thank you so much. What a compliment! 🙂
Absolutely delicious and easy to make. Next time, I will reduce the oil. Thanks.
So glad to hear that, Wendy! Thank you for the review!
Hi there! I am very excited to try this recipe and I know it will be fantastic! I just have one question: is the beet powder (or puree) just for color, or do I need it for a better earthy flavor?
Thanks in advance!
It’s mostly for color!