Delicious tempeh recipe
This Nashville hot tempeh sandwich is gonna blow your mind. Great way to cook tempeh if you’re new to it. Seasoned with a spicy, and sweet Nashville hot sauce and marinated in a tangy vegan buttermilk. Breaded and crisped up to perfection.
If you love the Nashville hot sandwich, but don’t want to eat animals anymore, this is the perfect recipe for you.
There’s no need to eat chicken for this recipe, tempeh is an amazing and healthy alternative.
This recipe is
- Southern
- Vegan
- Mouth watering
- Better than chicken
- Meatless
Ingredients
Tempeh – I partnered with Hippie Farm Foods for this recipe. I used their seasoned Nashville hippie hot tempeh and it took this sandwich to a whole new level. This added an amazing extra layer of flavor.
I love their company because they’re vegan and they focus on sustainability and using locally grown, organic soy beans for their tempeh. They have an amazing community that lives together in Tennessee that makes the tempeh and other healthy foods from scratch. They’ve been in the business of creating healthy and high quality foods for over 45 years!
- All purpose flour
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Old bay seasoning
- Smoked paprika
- Chipotle chili powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Brown sugar – This is used to sweeten the Nashville hot sauce a little bit. That mix of spicy, smokey and sweet is amazing in this recipe.
- Unsweetened and plain soy milk
- Lemon juice
- Hot sauce
How to make vegan buttermilk
The first part of this recipe involves marinating the tempeh in some vegan buttermilk. Vegan buttermilk is really easy to make.
Grab two cups of unsweetened and plain soy milk. Soy milk is the best to use because it has a nice fat content, and it thickens the best.
Then add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Stir it up and let it sit until it thickens. This should take about a minute or two.
What is tempeh?
Tempeh is from Indonesia. It’s made from fermenting whole soy beans. It’s a healthy meat alternative because it’s high in protein, vitamins and minerals like calcium and has zero cholesterol. (1)
They call it the “poor man’s meat” in Indonesia because it’s so cheap. Tempeh is an amazing, less processed meat alternative because they ferment the whole soy beans, instead of processing them.
If you would like some more tips on how to cook tempeh, click on that article.
Storing tips
I don’t really recommend storing this tempeh, because it’s been breaded and deep fried. It will become a little soggy when you reheat it.
If you make too much and need to reheat it, heat it up in the oven, at 400 degrees, to get it nice and crispy again.
FAQ’s
Can I bake instead of deep fry?
I haven’t personally tried it yet. But, you can always bake instead of deep fry. Use a high temperature, like 420 degree.
Bake the breaded tempeh for about 20-30 minutes, or until it crisps up.
The tempeh won’t be as rich, but it will be a lot healthier for you.
Can I use an air fryer instead?
Absolutely! This is also a great way to cut down on the oil. Set the air fryer to 400 degrees, and air fry for 20 minutes. Then check on it and flip.
Cook it until the outside is nice and crispy.
Can I make this gluten free?
I haven’t tried it using gluten free flour, but you can absolutely use an all purpose gluten free flour in this recipe if you want to make this gluten free.
Where can I buy tempeh?
Tempeh is usually found in the produce section of most grocery stores, where the refrigerated items are against the wall.
It can usually be found next to tofu and other plant based meats and cheeses.
Most health food stores carry tempeh and many large grocery stores carry it now as well.
You can order some Nashville hot seasoned tempeh from Hippie Farm Foods, which I partnered with to make this recipe.
More recipes you’ll love
- Grilled portobello mushroom burger
- Tempeh bacon
- How to cook tempeh
- Easy tempeh tacos
- Vegan egg salad sandwich
Nashville hot sandwich (vegan)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces tempeh (one package – see notes)
- 3-4 cups oil (avocado or vegetable)
Buttermilk marinade
- 2 cups unsweetened plain soymilk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- pinch of salt and pepper
Breading
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
Nashville hot sauce
- ¼ cup cayenne powder
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 cups oil that you fried the tempeh in
To serve
- Vegan mayonnaise
- Buns
- Dill pickles
Instructions
Prepare the buttermilk
- Cut the tempeh in half – the short way. In a large bowl add the soy milk and lemon juice. Stir and let sit for one minute to let it thicken up. Then add the hot sauce, salt and pepper. Add the tempeh blocks in the marinade. Make sure they're completely immersed.8 ounces tempeh, 2 cups unsweetened plain soymilk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon hot sauce, pinch of salt and pepper
Bread the tempeh
- In another large bowl add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and old bay seasoning. Stir well.1 cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
- Once the tempeh has marinated for 10 minutes, pick up one of the blocks and let the excess buttermilk run off of it. Set it into the flour mixture and cover it. Gently press the flour into the tempeh.
- Take the tempeh out of the flour, and put it back in the buttermilk one more time, completely covered. Then add it to the flour mixture again, completely coating it. Set it aside on a plate and do the same thing to the other piece of tempeh
Fry the tempeh
- Add neutral oil to a skillet, enough that the tempeh will be completely immersed when fried. Turn on the heat to medium. Wait about 5-10 minutes for the oil to heat up. Test out the temperature by adding a small chunk of tempeh to the oil and seeing if it fries. Once it does, add in the tempeh pieces. Fry until golden brown. This took me about 10 minutes
- Once tempeh is golden brown, set it on a wired rack to allow the oil to drip and not make it soggy.
Brush on Nashville hot sauce
- In a small bowl, add the cayenne pepper, brown sugar, smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder and salt. Then add 2-3 ladle fulls of the oil from the frying pan. It will bubble up. Stir well¼ cup cayenne powder, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1-2 cups oil that you fried the tempeh in
- Coat the tempeh pieces with this Nashville hot sauce. Add to a bun with vegan mayonnaise and dill pickles.
Video
Notes
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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