Another great substitution for protein in your plant-based diet are these Toasty Tempeh Crumbles. If you’ve never worked with tempeh before, be sure to check out this article, “Cooking with Tempeh.”
Tempeh is cake-like fermented soybeans. This fermentation process makes the soybean easier to digest. Some people like to steam it a little before preparing it in a recipe and it does prepare it for any marinades that you’re using, but if you’re not marinating it, I find it delicious to eat just the way it is.
You can find tempeh in the refrigerated section of your grocery store near the meat and dairy substitutions, sometimes near the regular cheese. You may see some dark spots on the tempeh, but it’s just more fermentation and perfectly fine to eat.
You could make your own tempeh That’s something I have yet to tackle but it looks intriguing. See an excellent video below on making it if you’d like to try!
For this recipe, you can steam the cake in a little water in a covered pan for 10 minutes. When it’s cooled enough, crumble the tempeh in a non-stick pan over medium-low heat to start the toasting.
This photo shows what the crumbled tempeh looks like before you’ve toasted it. Once the crumbles start to brown a little you can add the rest of the ingredients, adding the Tamari (vegan soy sauce) after the garlic and spices are incorporated.
Here are a few more tempeh inspired recipes to try:
- Tempeh Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Potato Gratin with Jalapeño & Tempeh Bacon
- Tempeh Salad Sandwich
- Tempeh Reuben Sandwich
These toasty tempeh crumbles would be great in a taco for a meat substitution or used to top a baked sweet potato, throw on a salad, on top of pizza or in pasta.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Toasty Tempeh Crumble Recipe! If you have a photo, post it on Instagram, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
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This recipe is Plantricious Friendly because it meets the following guidelines.
The Trusted Seal for
Plant-Based Nutrition
- Must be whole food plant-based, contains no animal products
- May be minimally processed
- No added oil
- No added sugars
- No artificial additives or preservatives
- *Plantricious Friendly foods may include but are not limited to condiments, fermented foods, soups, sauces, beverages, dressings, marinades, etc.
Toasty Tempeh Crumbles
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Silicone Cooking Utensil Set
Ingredients
- 1 8-ounce package tempeh (original soy)
- ½ tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried savory
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp low-sodium tamari
- 1 clove garlic finely minced or crushed
Instructions
- Cut tempeh block in half and place in a steamer basket in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 inch of water, cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and steam for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the block to cool.
- When the tempeh is cool enough to handle, crumble it into small pieces into a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often until it just starts to brown.
- Add sesame seeds, thyme, savory, oregano, cayenne, turmeric, and black pepper for an additional 3 to 4 minutes until it is lightly browned,
- Add the tamari and the garlic to the tempeh crumbles and cook for another 2 minutes. Season the crumbles to taste with additional herbs or tamari before removing from the heat.
Is this missing a step? It goes from drying the tempeh to “Add the tempeh,” but it doesn’t say what I’m adding it to. Does it just mean to start cooking it in a frying pan, with oil (I’d assume)?
Anyway, thanks for the recipes. I’m always looking for good tempeh ideas.
You’re welcome and thanks for letting me know, Sandra. 🙂 I updated the instructions so it makes more sense.
I have never heard of savory and do not have any. Can I just leave it out or increase any other of the herbs? I am not a very seasoned cook and I follow recipes exactly. I thought this would work in a spaghetti sauce instead of using those fake hamburger crumbles.
Sure, you can leave it out and it’ll probably be fine. Some say it’s a peppery taste or umami which some describe as “meaty.” Of course, give the dish a taste and you might want to add more of some of the other flavorings depending on your taste. Hope that helps.