Tempeh Bacon
I haven’t felt like cooking.
(She wrote with chagrin after letting her website collect dust for two months…)
To avoid spending half of my paycheck on takeout, I’ve been relying on easy favorites that can go in anything, like my tempeh bacon. Originally shared in my potato flatbread post, I figured I’d make this recipe easier for you to access on those days when you don’t even feel like scrolling through a lengthy post.
I get it.
Tempeh Bacon
1 pack tempeh, crumbled or sliced into strips/bite-sized pieces
*4 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1.5 tablespoons Lawry's Seasoning Salt
Process
Mix the liquids and spices together in a bowl.
Add the tempeh and marinate for at least 15 minutes; it can stay in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2 days.
*Fry the tempeh in a skillet over a medium heat, stirring consistently, until the sauce bubbles and is cooked into the tempeh - 5-8 minutes. Be careful not to burn!
If you’re cooking strips, fry the tempeh like you would with bacon. Let it brown as the sugar caramelizes.
Once the sauce has cooked into the tempeh, remove it from the heat and work it into your dish.
Notes
Tempeh cuts - You can cut the tempeh into long, thin strips if you want something more directly reminiscent of bacon, cut it into smaller bite-sized pieces to accent a salad, or crumble it to mix into a dish like my mac and cheese.
Vegan Worcestershire - You can skip the vegan Worcestershire if you need to. It adds a nice tang, but isn’t 100% necessary for the dish. It will still taste like delicious, fake bacon without it.
Burning - With the brown sugar in the marinade, it’s easier for it to burn in the pan, so you’ll want to babysit it a bit.
If you’ve been stuck in a “Nope” kind of mood for a while, this bacon will help you through it. After making it so easily, you’ll be more motivated to make something awesome to go with it.
Or eat it plain, we all have those days.