July 8, 2020

Vegan BLT Bites- Vegan Party-Friendly Snack

The crispy edges of these vegan BLT bites continue to a chewy, smoky, bacony shell, which holds crisp lettuce and juicy tomatoes. After a dip in a vegan mayo/mustard sauce, each bite is like a little, breadless BLT housed in a spring roll shape. The bacon element of these dippable beauties is actually the spring roll wrapper, marinated with all the smoky, salty, savory, sweet bacon seasonings. That leaves lots of room in side for your crisp lettuce and oh-so-amazing juicy, ripe summer tomatoes. It’s the party-perfect vegan bite.

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Summer Food=Drinks and Bites

It’s the summer of COVID, masks, and travel restrictions (especially for US residents like myself), and for the first time in my life I’m not going on my annual summer trip. Every year since I was born (well, they might have skipped the summer I was literally born in) I’ve gone up to Canada, and spent time with extended family there. And now, at the ripe old age of 28, that tradition has been broken.

So I made this recipe, that reminds me of going up to our summer get away. Evenings there are often filled with little get-togethers, where we chat, drink, and snack on dips, bites, and bits. Appetizer-like things. Sometimes the socializing would go so long that these bits end up being dinner rather than appetizers. These vegan BLT bites would be perfect for one of those evenings, next to a plate of hummus and vegetables and a bowl of chips. Summer beer in hand, sun going down, silly recipes like this help me imagine I’m still going on my summer vacation this year.

(And just to clarify, while I’m a little bummed about not going to Canada this year, I would SO much rather miss vacation and not endanger others by spreading the virus.)

Looking for Some Good Vegan Bites? Try one of these!

Visual Learner? Check out our BLT Bites Video!

Making Vegan BLT Bites

Making these vegan BLT bites is a little bit of a process- I like to describe this recipe as being a little more goofy and fun than strictly practical. The first thing you have to do is make your molds to make the spring roll shape. Usually spring rolls are just formed around the fillings, but we decided to do it a little differently since lettuce doesn’t hold up too well in the oven. We used tin foil to create the right shape, and then rolled our spring rolls around the tin foil to bake them empty.

To make the “bacon” element of this dish, we used the spring roll wrappers. Rice paper bacon is a favorite, because it can get crispy and chewy, and is great at holding on to the smoky, salty, sweet bacon flavors. Make a marinade, and then dip the rice paper into water before brushing it with the marinade. Don’t hold it in the water long, or it will become very flexible and hard to work with. We also made a double layer of the rice paper to make it more sturdy. If you wait just a minute to roll the rice paper, it will relax a little and become less stiff. Roll it onto your molds and bake.

Then it’s just chopping lettuce and tomato, and mixing a little sauce up. Once the rice paper bacon is baked, pull it out of the oven, remove the tin foil from the inside, and stuff it full of lettuce and tomato. If you’re feeling extra fancy, you could add some avocado, sprouts, or anything else you like with a BLT too. Serve right away, and enjoy!

Vegan BLT Bites- Vegan Party-Friendly Snack

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 12 Vegan BLT Bites

Vegan BLT Bites- Vegan Party-Friendly Snack

Ingredients

3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. liquid smoke
½ tsp. Hungarian paprika
¼ tsp. black pepper
12 rice paper wrappers
1 large tomato
6 large lettuce leaves
1/3 cup vegan mayo
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

To begin, we need to make molds for our spring roll wrappers. You want to make 12 cylinders, roughly 3-4 inches long with a 1-inch diameter. I made mine out of strips of aluminum foil- you can watch my video here for some help on making yours.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat, and set aside. Add the soy sauce, nutritional yeast, olive oil, maple syrup, garlic powder, liquid smoke, Hungarian paprika, and black pepper to a medium-large bowl, and whisk together. Prepare a second large bowl with warm water, and prepare a clean cutting board or workspace.
Take a rice paper wrapper, and cut it in half. Dip one half in water for a second or two, and then place on your cutting board. Brush with the prepared soy sauce mixture, flip it over, and brush the second side. Dip the second sheet of rice paper in water, shake off the excess water, and place on top of the first sheet. Brush the second sheet with the soy sauce mixture, and let sit for about a minute to soften. To roll the rice paper around your tin foil molds, line up the bottom edge of the mold with the straight edge of the rice paper. Fold the curved edge over the top of the mold, and roll the cylinder along the straight edge. Place standing on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 12 sheets of rice paper.
Place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until it is crispy on the edges. While the wrappers are baking, thinly slice your lettuce and cut your tomatoes into strips. Make your dipping sauce by combining vegan mayonnaise, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.
Once the rice paper wrappers are done, gently pull the aluminum foil out of the center of the wrapper. Stuff the cooked wrappers with lettuce and tomato, and serve along with the dipping sauce.

Notes

If you use a different method of molding your rice paper wrappers, make sure whatever you use is oven-safe! For some added fun, try adding other elements to your BLT bites- bits of avocado, purple onions, sprouts, or a coconut “bacon” could all be delicious additions!

https://veryveganval.com/2020/07/08/vegan-blt-bites-vegan-party-friendly-snack/

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