Super light and crispy puffed rice crackers packed with pizza flavor! Just 8 ingredients, vegan and gluten-free! Delicious dipped in cream cheese, guacamole, or cheese sauce!
Rinse the sticky rice. Drain and transfer to a medium saucepan. Cover with the water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and let simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until rice is tender and no water remains. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Transfer the cooked sticky rice to a bowl and add the tomato paste, nutritional yeast, sugar, oregano, basil, salt, and onion powder. Stir to coat the rice with the seasonings.
Transfer the seasoned rice to a large sheet of parchment paper (about 20x14-inch). Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and flatten the mixture using a rolling pin into a thin layer (about the thickness of a grain of rice). Carefully remove the top sheet of parchment paper.
Transfer the sheet of parchment paper with the layer of rice to a baking sheet. Bake at 250°F (120°C) for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes. The layer of rice should be soft and foldable. Using a pair of scissors, cut the layer of rice into 1.5-inch squares. Arrange the squares into a single layer on the baking sheet and bake at 250°F (120°C) for another 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven. The crackers should be dry and hard. That is normal. Let cool for a few minutes.
To fry: heat about 2 cups of oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, fry 3-4 crackers at a time for about 10 seconds, or until crackers have puffed. Do not fry for longer than that, or the crackers will be overcooked and get a bitter taste.
Transfer the puffed crackers to a plate lined with a kitchen paper towel to drain the excess oil, and repeat with the remaining crackers.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.