How Many Carbs Are In Rice Paper?

Are you sticking to a low-carb diet such as Keto, or having to cut down your carb intake for health reasons? It can be a bit of a difficult task to master, right?

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When I first started ditching carb-rich food from my diet I thought it would consist of avoiding pasta, potatoes, and bread and that the rest of the food world was my oyster.

But that was a pretty misguided and naive assumption on my part because carbs are actually in so many different food items that I would never have even thought of being remotely carb-based.

So there I was tucking into things that I thought were free from carbs, giving myself a pat on the back for sticking to my diet so well, just to find out, actually, no, I was still partaking in a highly rich carb diet.

Therefore, I thought it might be helpful to outline some of the pitfalls that I fell into to help you avoid making the same mistakes.

And in this article, we’re going to talk about rice paper – spoiler alert, it’s actually packed full of carbohydrates.

What Is Rice Paper?

Popular for wrapping up your favorite snacks, tasty rolls, and scrumptious salads, rice paper originated from Vietnam.

The edible paper that is made up of a variety of plants has now become popular across the globe.

It’s generally used to wrap up a variety of foods, but I’d say it’s most well-known for wrapping together those delicious vegetable spring rolls.

It can be used for salads, and many other snacks too.

How Healthy Is Rice Paper?

I have just always assumed that rice paper is pretty healthy but I thought, you know, it’s probably quite a good idea to actually check that it is.

And when I took a look at the nutritional information, I found that it was somewhat healthy coming in at 34 calories per serving.

It contains no fat whatsoever, saturated or trans fat. There’s no cholesterol.

There’s also no potassium or protein, which isn’t necessarily a good thing as these can be beneficial to your health.

It’s also pretty devoid of dietary fiber which keeps you fuller for longer and collectively contains just 0.7%of your daily value of all vitamins and minerals.

So to be honest, it really doesn’t contain much of anything apart from carbohydrates and a bit of sodium.

There is 15mg of sodium in each serving along with 8.3 grams of carbohydrates.

Can You Eat Rice Paper On Keto? (Low Carb Diet)

I really, really wouldn’t recommend it. A 9.7g serving of rice paper contains a whopping 8.3g of net carbs, so it really isn’t in theme with a low-carb diet.

It’s one of those food items that I would have happily tucked into thinking that I was being healthy and sticking to my diet when in reality, it’s actually a really bad option for anyone following a ketogenic diet.

That means you’ll need to find some alternative options – but don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

Rice Paper Alternatives That Are Low In Carbs

NuCo DuO Coconut Wraps

Okay, so they’re not quite rice paper, but they are great alternatives to wrap up your favorite foods. They even work well with desserts!

They use all-natural ingredients such as coconut water, oil, and meat and contain just 4 grams of carbohydrates for a 14-gram wrap which is a much better option.

Sheet Seaweed

This will have a similar texture to rice paper though it does have a slightly saltier taste and doesn’t give you as much of a satisfying crunch.

However, one sheet of dehydrated seaweed contains just 0.1g of carbs, along with some potassium and vitamins.

Lettuce Leaves

You can always opt to wrap your favorite fillings up with a lettuce leaf.

Lettuce is always a healthy option and it contains 0.1g of dietary fiber and which is basically it in terms of its total carbohydrate content.

Keto Recipes For Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are basically the most popular use of rice paper, so I thought I’d go digging on the internet to find some recipes that you can follow instead that are all low in carbs.

Final Thoughts

Trying to get to grips with what you can and can’t eat on a low-carb diet can be pretty difficult.

There are so many food items that you think will be fine to eat only to find out that they really aren’t.

It can definitely be a little frustrating at first, but I promise you that it does get a lot easier with time.

The best advice I can give you is to always research some substitutions for the foods that you miss eating because I promise you there are tons of delicious recipe alternatives out there to choose from.

But in terms of rice paper, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s just not suitable for a keto diet.

A 9.7-gram serving of the stuff contains a massive 8.3 grams of carbohydrates. And let’s face it, it’s never just one serving either.

Not if like me you have no impulse control, anyway. I can easily chow down on at least 5 spring rolls before I’ve even realized how many I’ve eaten.

And that would equate to a massive 41.5 grams of carbohydrates in one mindless snacking session.

Luckily, there are many alternatives to choose from that will give you a similar taste and texture, just without all those annoying extra calories.

Give some of the recipes listen in this article a go, and you’ll soon see that rice paper was never really necessary for a super-tasting meal anyway!

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Jenna Priestly

Hi, my name is Jenna Priestly and I have been a dietician for 13 years.

One of the most common things I talk to my clients about is calories, but so few of them actually know anything about them.

Calories is not a dirty word. If you remove emotion from it, it is simply a unit of energy.

We need calories to live and thrive, and knowing how many to consume is important to ensure that you’re living a healthy lifestyle.

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