You won't be able to stop eating this sweet and smoky tempeh bacon! The marinade is full of flavor with liquid smoke, maple syrup, and umami flavor. It's easy to whip up for breakfast any day of the week.
Tempeh bacon is an old school vegan recipe that has found its way into the limelight again (in part due to the TTLA sandwich made famous by Tabitha Brown). As veganism becomes more mainstream, all of these tried and true recipes are getting rediscovered. I'm not mad about 19 year olds on TikTok thinking they invented tempeh bacon if it gets people to leave animal products for vegan food!
If you're new to tempeh, it's a meat alternative made from fermented soybeans. The flavor is nutty and a touch bitter, but it will absorb the flavor of its marinade, much like tofu. Tempeh bacon is a popular recipe made of pan fried (or baked—my recipe has options for both) tempeh slices flavored with a sweet and smoky marinade.
Tempeh bacon will absolutely not fool anyone into thinking it's actual bacon, but it's delicious in its own right. It's nutty, sweet, smoky, and addictive!
Breakfast plate with tempeh bacon
🥓 Ingredients
- Tempeh
- Soy Sauce
- Miso
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Maple Syrup
- Vegan Worcestershire sauce
- Olive Oil
- Liquid Smoke
- Garlic
Miso
Along with soy sauce, miso provides saltiness and umami flavor to the tempeh bacon from fermentation (can you tell we love fermented foods around here?), but the flavor is slightly different. Combining the two makes the flavor and texture more complex, which we love! Make sure to check the ingredients so that your miso doesn't have fish. A good miso will only have a few ingredients including rice, soybeans, yeast, and salt.
Maple Syrup
Make sure you're using pure maple syrup. It provides sweetness and flavor in the tempeh bacon marinade.
Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
What is Worcestershire sauce and what does it taste like?
A little bit of everything! Worcestershire sauce is savory/umami, tangy, sweet, and spicy from a mixture of tamarind (one of the main ingredients in Pad Thai sauce), molasses, vinegar, and...fermented anchovies. Well then...
Make sure you're using a vegan Worcestershire sauce. It might be hard to find at any supermarket, so try a health food store, international market, or order online. I happened to find mine at a local Asian market. Once you have a bottle, you can use it for vegan Caesar salad, marinades and dressings, and Bloody Marys!
Oh yeah, Worcestershire sauce is commonly used in Bloody Mary mix, so make sure to check if you're ordering a bloody with your brunch at a restaurant. Sorry to be the bearer of bad brunch news!
Liquid Smoke
What is liquid smoke? It's exactly what it sounds like! Liquid smoke is made from the condensed moisture of burning wood and it can be added to recipes to mimic the flavor of the grill without the smoke.
You can even get different flavors of liquid smoke depending on the wood, like hickory or mesquite. Find it near the barbecue sauce at any grocery store or order online.
A little goes a long way so taste and adjust before adding more (I'm having flashbacks to the time I used a bottle without a spout and accidentally poured half the bottle out). I use a larger amount for recipes like tempeh bacon, vegan ribs, or barbecue sandwiches, but will sometimes add a few drops to a tofu or seitan marinade to make the flavor more complex without the in your face smoky flavor.
Sliced uncooked tempeh
🔪 Instructions
Slice the brick of tempeh in half widthwise, then cut ¼-inch slices lengthwise from each piece.
Thinly slicing the tempeh
Combine the remaining ingredients (except the oil for pan frying) in a shallow container.
Add the tempeh slices and coat with the marinade. Let marinate for at least 1 hour.
Tempeh in the marinade
When you’re ready to cook, heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a cast iron pan or grill pan over medium heat.
Add the tempeh slices, careful not to overcrowd the pan. Pan fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until browned and crispy. Transfer to a plate.
Repeat with the remaining tempeh slices, then serve immediately.
Pan frying the tempeh in cast iron
🍽 Equipment
Cast Iron Pan
I always sing the praises of my big cast iron pan. It's great for cooking crispy tofu, cooking caramelizing onions and other veggies, and even baking.
Flexible Metal Spatula
I recommend using a flexible metal spatula for your tempeh bacon so the perfectly caramelized and crispy sides stay attached to the tempeh. It's also great for cooking tofu to really get in there when flipping.
💭 Tips
- Worcestershire sauce has a unique flavor, but usually contains anchovies, so make sure to use a vegan version. You can find vegan Worcestershire sauce online or at some Asian markets. If you don't have it, you can leave it out.
- You only need to marinate the tempeh bacon for an hour for it to soak up the flavor of the marinade, but if you let it marinate for a few hours or overnight, the flavor will be deeper.
Cooked tempeh bacon
♨️ Baking vs Frying
My preferred method for cooking the tempeh bacon is pan frying because it gets all caramelized, crispy, and the perfect amount of oily, just like "real" bacon. But you can totally bake it too! It may just be a little drier, but this is great if you plan to save it in the fridge to make sandwiches later so it doesn't get oil logged.
Baking Instructions: Heat your oven to 350°F and bake the tempeh on an oiled baking sheet for 10-12 minutes on each side, or until browned and crispy.
📋 Variations
- If you want to make bacon crumbles or bacon bits, crumble the tempeh into the pan rather than cooking the strips. This will ensure the crumbles are browned on all sides. They will cook faster than strips, so make sure to flip them and scrape the pan to get all the crispy bits.
- Prefer to bake your tempeh bacon? Use the instructions above.
Cooked tempeh bacon
🥞 Breakfast Dishes
You're gonna need some other vegan breakfast dishes to serve with your tempeh bacon! Here are some of my faves.
Vegan pancakes and tempeh bacon? Classic! These pancakes are simply delicious—fluffy and no frills.
If you're more of a savory breakfast person, these Tomato Basil Savory Crepes would be a *chef's kiss* match for your tempeh bacon.
Vegan Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls
If you dig the sweet and savory combo, cinnamon rolls and tempeh bacon go hand in hand. Vegan Maple Bacon Cinnamon Rolls, no less. What could go wrong? The answer is "absolutely nothing" because it's perfect.
📖 Recipe
Sweet and Smoky Tempeh Bacon
You won't be able to stop eating this sweet and smoky tempeh bacon! The marinade is full of flavor with liquid smoke, maple syrup, and umami flavor. It's easy to whip up for breakfast any day of the week.
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce package tempeh
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons miso
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-3 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Oil or vegan butter for pan frying
Instructions
- Slice the brick of tempeh in half widthwise, then cut ¼-inch slices lengthwise from each piece.
- Combine the remaining ingredients (except the oil for pan frying) in a shallow container.
- Add the tempeh slices and coat with the marinade. Let marinate for at least 1 hour.
- When you’re ready to cook, heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a cast iron pan or grill pan over medium heat.
- Add the tempeh slices, careful not to overcrowd the pan. Pan fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until browned and crispy. Transfer to a plate.
- Repeat with the remaining tempeh slices, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Worcestershire sauce has a unique flavor, but usually contains anchovies, so make sure to use a vegan version. You can find vegan Worcestershire sauce online or at some Asian markets. If you don't have it, you can leave it out.
- Prefer to bake your tempeh bacon? Heat your oven to 350°F and bake the tempeh on an oiled baking sheet for 10-12 minutes on each side, or until browned and crispy.
- You only need to marinate the tempeh bacon for an hour for it to soak up the flavor of the marinade, but if you let it marinate for a few hours or overnight, the flavor will be deeper.
- If you want to make bacon crumbles or bacon bits, crumble the tempeh into the pan rather than cooking the strips. This will ensure the crumbles are browned on all sides.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 235Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 900mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 13g
All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on seitanbeatsyourmeat.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.
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