How to cook tempeh (beginner recipe)

Easy BBQ tempeh recipe

Learn the secret of how to cook delicious, tender, bbq tempeh on the stove, baked in the oven, or on a grill. High protein, vegan source of protein.

Tempeh! What the hell is it and how the hell do you cook it? If you’ve ever wondered about this amazing vegan protein source, then let me show you how to make tempeh insanely delicious.

What is tempeh?

Tempeh is whole soy beans that have been boiled, fermented and then pressed into a cake. Tempeh is a lot less processed than tofu. Here’s an interesting article on how Tempeh is made.

Tempeh is really high in protein; about 18 grams per serving. It’s also high in antioxidants, minerals and fiber.

Tempeh originally came from Indonesia and it’s still the most popular soy food there. Tempeh is often called “poor man’s meat” in Indonesia because it’s much more affordable than meat. Who ever said being vegan was expensive?!!

What can you make with tempeh?

There are many different ways to cook tempeh. You can use it any way that you would meat. It’s chewy and has a nice, mild, nutty flavor.

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You can make tempeh tacos, burgers, bacon, meatballs and also use it for ground beef substitute in lasagna or pasta recipes.

This recipe is going to show you you two ways of making tempeh: baked bbq tempeh and bbq tempeh on the stove or grill.

Tips for cooking tempeh

Before you cook tempeh, simmer it in vegetable broth for about 10-30 minutes. This will make sure then tempeh isn’t bitter or dry when you cook it. Simmering it in some sort of flavored liquid infuses it from the inside out with flavor. It becomes tender, flavorful and delicious.
Sometimes tempeh has grey or black lines running through it. That’s totally normal and is just part of the fermentation process.
After simmering the tempeh for 10-30 minutes, cover it in your favorite marinade. For this recipe, I’m using store bought bbq sauce. Sweet baby ray’s is actually accidentally vegan.
If you have time, let it marinate in the fridge over night. This will infuse the tempeh with flavor even more. It’s ok if you don’t have the time and just cook it right away, too. It’s great to prepare tempeh before a party or bbq, and then grill it the next day.
After tempeh is covered with bbq sauce, you can either fry it in a pan, bake it or grill it. It usually only takes 3 minutes on each side if you grill or fry it. Bake it for 20-25 minutes at 370 degrees fahrenheit.
Serve bbq tempeh with cooked collard greens. Cook the collard greens in a splash or two of the veggie broth that you cooked the tempeh in.

Serve this tempeh with:

Final thoughts on cooking tempeh

There you have it. I hope that this recipe helped you to get started cooking tempeh and you can see just how easy it is. Simmering the tempeh in a flavorful broth is really the trick to always having tender, moist and delicious tempeh that is never bitter or dry. Hope this article helped you!

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