Description

This vegan bacon is not only crispy and smoky, but it is also gluten-free, oven-baked and lower in oil than most other vegan bacons on the market!

Ingredients

• 8–10 pieces rice paper 
• 3 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or cooking oil of choice)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup 
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke 
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Note that this recipe will fill about 2-4 baking sheets depending on the size of yours. We baked ours in multiple batches. 
2. Stack two sheets of rice paper on top of one another. Using sharp scissors or kitchen sheers, carefully cut both of the stacked sheets into 6 strips. If there are small tears here and there, it is not an issue! Keep the two pieces stacked on top of one another and set aside. Continue until you have cut all of the rice paper. 
3. In a large shallow bowl or pan, whisk together all of the ingredients for the marinade. Set aside. Prepare a second large shallow bowl or pan, add in warm water.
4. Keeping the two strips stacked, dip them into the water for about 15 seconds. You don’t want the rice paper to soften up like you are making spring rolls, but rather to keep its stiff shape and just begin sticking to one another. If it is not fully stuck together, no worries, it will stick as it bakes. Shake off excess water.
5. Dip the “fused” pair of rice paper strips into the marinade and coat generously. No need to shake off excess marinade. Transfer it to the baking lined sheet.
6. Repeat with additional rice paper/rice paper strips until your baking sheet is filled. Keep in mind that these will not expand, so you can keep them fairly close to one another. Stop to whisk the marinade every once in a while to be sure it is uniform as the oil will start to separate over time. 
7. Bake for 7 minutes and then remove the pan from the oven and carefully flip the bacon with tongs. The bacon will seem soft and loose, but don’t worry, this is only the halfway point. Place the baking sheet back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until crispy. You will know the bacon is done when you start to see small white bubbles forming on them. Note: If your oven has hot spots, rotate the tray partway through.
8. Remove from the oven and cool completely. The bacon will continue to crisp up as it cools.
9. Repeat with the remaining strips until you have baked all of the bacon. Enjoy!

Notes

• You can adjust seasonings as desired, just keep in mind that a little liquid smoke goes a LONG way so be careful, you can go overboard very fast.
• We served ours in a BLT and it worked really well ,but keep in mind that the bacon is susceptible to getting soggy if it is in contact with  a spread, sauce, etc. We like to place it on the top of the sandwich away from the mayo so that it stays extra crispy
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.