Smoked Tempeh Bacon
This crispy, smoky and sweet tempeh bacon can be made on the stove or in the oven. Perfect in BLT sandwiches, crumbled into soups or enjoyed with breakfast!
Servings: 20 small slices
Calories: 33kcal
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce block tempeh
- ¼ cup vegetable broth or water
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil canola also works
Instructions
- Slice tempeh widthwise into 20-22 thin pieces.Optional: Steam sliced tempeh in a steamer basket for 10 minutes (see tips below if you don't have a steamer basket). This removes the bitter/astringent flavor that tempeh sometimes has.
- Meanwhile, mix together the marinade: vegetable broth, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, liquid smoke, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika. Taste the marinade and add additional liquid smoke, just ½ teaspoon at a time, to reach desired level of smokiness.
- Line the tempeh up in a shallow dish. Pour the marinade over the tempeh. Marinate for at least 15 minutes and up to 24 hours.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add enough oil to coat.
- Add the marinated tempeh without the marinade. Reserve the marinade for later.
- Sauté until golden on one side, about 2-3 minutes. Flip the tempeh. Pour in the reserved marinade. It will look like a lot of liquid, but should cook off completely within 3-5 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium-high if needed.
- Continue sautéing until the tempeh is crisp and golden. If the tempeh starts to blacken, decrease the heat slightly. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Steaming: You can use an all-metal colander or metal sieve in place of a steamer basket. Simply fill a similarly sized saucepan with 1 inch of simmering water. Place the colander on top of the pan. Cover with that pan’s lid to steam.
- Baking instructions: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line tempeh bacon up on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, careful to not overlap. Reserve the marinade. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the tempeh and baste or brush with reserved marinade. Bake another 10 minutes, until golden and crisp.
- Storage: Keep refrigerated in a closed container for 3-4 days. Reheat in a pan over medium heat to recrisp.
- Gluten-free option: Use tamari and make sure your tempeh is certified gluten-free. Sometimes tempeh is processed with gluten-containing ingredients even though the tempeh itself is gluten-free.
- Bacon bits: Finely dice the tempeh instead of slicing it. Use the same cooking method. The bacon bits are ready when crisp and almost fried.
Nutrition
Serving: 4slices | Calories: 33kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 66mg | Potassium: 52mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 31IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
