Crispy Vegan Bacon Strips

Plant-based meats are having their moment, including bacon. Here’s our version. Because we feast with our eyes in addition to our taste buds, we wanted to make sure this recipe didn’t just taste like bacon, but also looked like it. Our recipe is a riff on chef Gordon Ramsey’s ingenious vegan bacon that calls for layering two pieces of rice paper together with crumbled tofu, creating that marbling look synonymous with actual bacon. 

• Prepare the tofu. Crumbled tofu sandwiched into the vegan bacon adds color variation so it looks more like bacon. To keep the bacon crisp, it’s important to drain the tofu well by lining plates with paper towels and then pressing the tofu between two plates for about 15 minutes first. Then, using your fingers, very finely crumble the tofu before adding it into the rice paper. 
• Stir up the magic bacon flavor. Whisk together a flavorful marinade reminiscent of bacon by combining oil, soy sauce, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. 
• Make the bacon strips. Brush both sides of two pieces of rice paper with marinade and sandwich that drained and crumbled tofu between the two. Then slice into 6 long strips. You can trim the rounded edges if desired for that bacon look, but we like to leave them on so we don’t waste anything. 
• Bake the bacon. Line up the strips evenly on baking sheets and bake until crisp around the edges and darkened slightly. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet; the bacon will continue to crisp in the center as it cools. Then enjoy! 

There are several great vegan substitutes for bacon. Shiitake mushrooms, tofu pieces, tempeh, and coconut flakes all taste incredible as vegan bacon, but you won’t get the look of bacon strips, more of bacon bits. For us, these crispy rice paper and tofu strips are best when you are looking for flavor, texture, and the look of bacon.

For flavor, we emphasized four key flavors in bacon: savory, salty, sweet, and smoky. Soy sauce and nutritional yeast add savory saltiness, while maple syrup provides the sweetness. For smoky flavor, liquid smoke can be too intense and cloying, not to mention expensive. Instead, we opted for smoked paprika, which is easily available at grocery stores and provided just the right amount of smoke.