Easy Meals: 4 Recipes Using Tempeh

2 mins to read

Tempted to try the nutritious, protein packed tempeh, but not sure where to start? Here’s 4 recipes to get you on your way.

Everyday healthRecipes

Tempeh is often called a meat substitute, as it can be used with most recipes designed for meat – think burritos, pasta dishes, stir fries, casseroles or salads according to Ben Saravia, a plant-based diet and fitness expert.

He recommends the easy vegan tempeh fingers with dipping sauces as an easy introduction to cooking (and tasting!) tempeh.

Easy vegan “fish fingers”

Ingredients

300g Tempeh cut into finger sized potions
½ cup white spelt flour
¼ teaspoon cracked salt and pepper
⅛ teaspoon paprika combined in a bowl
1 tbsp coconut oil

How to make

Preheat Heat oven to 180ºC
Slightly heat coconut so it is liquid but not hot. Lightly coat the tempeh fingers in the coconut oil, and then roll gently into flour mixture until evenly coated
Place tempeh fingers evenly onto baking paper covered tray, and place directly into oven. Bake for 20 mins, turning half way through
When golden brown, remove, allow to cool slightly

Serve with your favourite dipping sauces.

Our next 3 recipes come courtesy of Roo and Adam Guthrie, authors of the I Feel Good Vegan Magazine.

TLT (Tempeh, lettuce & tomato) sandwich

(serves 4)

Ingredients

Marinade

2 medjool dates, pitted
¼ cup tamari
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Sandwich

250g tempeh, thinly sliced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced (or 2 medium tomatoes, cut in half)
4 large lettuce leaves
8 slices of sourdough bread, toasted
1 tbsp of oil and egg-free mayonnaise or your favourite sauce salt & pepper to taste

How to make

Place the marinade ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth
Pour the marinade over the tempeh until completely covered
Heat a non-stick frying pan and add the tempeh strips. Turn over when brown on one side. Add any leftover marinade and turn strips over to brown other side. Cook until marinade is absorbed then remove from the heat and set aside
Heat a clean non-stick frying pan on a high heat. Add the tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook until browned and softened
Place a piece of toasted bread onto a serving plate and top with a few pieces of lettuce, 3 or 4 strips of tempeh, some cooked tomatoes and your favourite sauce or mayonnaise. Top with another slice of toasted bread, cut in half and serve

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Crispy tempeh & grilled tomato salad

(serves 2)

Ingredients

Salad

300g tempeh, sliced into thin strips
4 tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 handful kale, roughly chopped
1 handful baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 handful fresh coriander leaves
1 tbsp kecap manis

Dressing

¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp lemon juice

How to make

Place the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well
Heat a non-stick frying pan and place the tomato halves face down and cook until brown and juicy. Turn them over, turn off the heat and set aside
Place the tempeh on baking trays lined with baking paper and bake the tempeh in the oven at 200°C, turning after 10 minutes, and cook until crisp on both sides
Add the tempeh back into the warm frying pan. Drizzle the 2 tbsp of kecap manis over the baked tempeh. Turn gently until all the tempeh is covered with the kecap manis
On a chopping board roughly chop 1 handful of kale, 1 handful of spinach and 1 handful of fresh coriander and toss all the chopped leaves on the serving platter
Place the cooked tomato halves on top of the salad leaves, add the cooked tempeh to the top and drizzle the mayonnaise generously around the dish

Maple syrup marinated tempeh with noodles & Asian greens

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 cup liquid vegetable stock
1 x packet of whole wheat noodles - or noodles of your choices
1 x packet fresh tempeh, sliced 2cm thick

Marinade

2 oranges, juiced
2 cm piece of ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 x small red chilli, thinly sliced
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin

How to make

Prepare the vegetables and ingredients ready for cooking
Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the whole wheat noodles, cook until tender then set aside
Prepare the marinade by placing the chilli, sliced garlic and grated ginger in the bowl, then add the orange juice, 2 tbsp of maple syrup, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tbsp tamari sauce and 1 tbsp mirin and mix well
Add the sliced tempeh to the marinade and soak for a few minutes while you heat a frying pan on a high heat
When the pan is hot add the marinated tempeh. Cook until brown on one side, then turn the tempeh and cook to brown on the other side
Add the remaining marinade and simmer until the marinade totally evaporates and caramelizes the tempeh
Remove the tempeh from the pan and set aside
Add 1 cup of vegetable stock to the used pan, stir well to add the tempeh marinade juices to the stock
Add the bok choy and simmer for a couple of minutes until the greens go dark green, then remove from the pan
Place the noodles on a serving plate. Place the bok choy on top of the noodles, place the tempeh on top of the bok choy and pour over some broth