Tempeh Sandwich – Give in to Temptation
- Updated on Dec 14, 2018
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If you’ve followed us for even a short amount of time, it might have become obvious that I love sandwiches. And now I love sandwiches EVEN MORE as I’ve realised I can put tempeh in them. Mmmmm, tempeh sandwiches!
Tempeh is a relatively new discovery for us, but it’s quickly becoming a very firm vegan favourite.
Not only is it high in protein (click here for a FREE veggie high-protein meal plan), it’s quick to cook, can be made to taste absolutely delicious and is less-processed than most other soy products.
Why a tempeh sandwich anyway?
When I was younger, and even up to my mid-twenties, I ate cheese and ham sandwiches. Soooooooo many cheese and ham sandwiches.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I would calculate to having eaten about 8000 sandwiches in my life, the vast majority being cheese and ham.
After I turned vegetarian I naturally cut out the ham, and made sure I used cheese that didn’t contain rennet. What’s rennet?
It’s an ingredient taken from a baby cow’s stomach and used in the production of many cheeses – it’s definitely not vegetarian. If that’s important to you, please look for ‘artificial rennet’ or ‘microbial rennet’ in your cheese instead.
Cheese sandwiches were never quite as great without ham. Don’t get me wrong – they’re infinitely better as we don’t end up with situations like this – but they were missing something.
It turns out tempeh was the missing ingredient. Tempeh is a really tasty replacement, and very easy to work with. Actually, it’s so good I think we can safely cut out the cheese as well now, too.
If you’ve already tried tempeh then you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, this is a good place to start!
It’s not our first tempeh recipe, either. We’ve got a high-protein tempeh salad over here, and a broccoli-tempeh pan this way (30 Day Challengers only, sorry!).
A recipe for success!
Not only do we love vegan and veggie foods on our site, we’re quite dedicated to weight loss (FREE meal plan here), sports and exercise as well.
We know first hand how great a well balanced veggie or vegan diet can be with regards to weight loss or physical prowess and we’re determined to share it with the world.
And finally…
Back to the tempeh sandwich! We couldn’t resist some smashed avocado in here, they’re just so tasty (and healthy!). Really healthy actually, check this out.
So go, enjoy your sandwich, an revel in just how great good vegan food can and should be!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 slices wholegrain bread
- 3 oz tempeh (in 8 slices)
- 2 handfuls rocket (arugula)
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp vinegar (balsamic, malt or wine vinegar)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 avocado
- ½ lemon (juiced)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Slice the tempeh and fry in oil. After a couple of minutes add the soy sauce, vinegar and maple syrup. Stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- In the meantime, chop the dried tomatoes.
- Spoon the flesh out of the avocado and add to a bowl along with the lemon juice and salt and pepper. Give it a mash together.
- Spread the avocado over half the slices of bread.
- Rinse the rocket and lay it on the slices of bread. Add the chopped dried tomatoes.
- When the tempeh is ready, lay it on the rocket slices of bread.
- Place the avocado breads on top. Done!
Optional:
- You could also fry the sandwich in a little oil after it has been assembled, flipping halfway through, for an extra bit of crispiness.
NOTES
Nutrition
Comments
Leave a comment below
20 comments
Delicious, I used honey instead of Maple syrup and it worked. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome, Jon! Yes honey definitely works, I’ve tried it too :). Glad you enjoyed!!
Honey is not vegan!!!
Have to google rocket, and there is lots of fat here. I may try tempeh with something else.
Hi Maggie, good point – rocket is also known as arugula! I’ll add that in. Yes, there is fat in this recipe but the vast majority of it comes from the avocado! And those are the so-called ‘healthy fats’ 🙂
Amazing! I added some extras like paprika, carrots and onion and it was really the most delicious burgers I’ve ever eaten.
Delicious!
I just made this for an impromptu breakfast. Had no rocket or spinach so used romaine lettuce instead. I used the soy sauce,etc as a quick marinade halfway through cooking, rather than pour it all straight in the pan – just my preference
Great sandwiches! Since my tempeh came in an 8 oz. package, I doubled the sauce and cooked it all up – the extra tempeh was perfect for snacking.
Coooool Nancy, glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for the feedback. Yes, gotta love a bit of tempeh-snacking! 🙂
Do you toast the bread in a toaster or do you compile the sandwich and toast in a pan like a cheese toaster?
Hi Liz, good question! For the photos we fried it in the pan, you could also eat it as bread or yep, toast it in the toaster. I think my favourite was is in the pan :). Hope that helps! I will update the recipe now.
Even if you don’t think you’ll like this, try it anyway. It’s a giant flavor bomb. It’s hard to imagine how good it is until you try it. Equally good on bread or as a wrap.
Thanks Nancy!! A tasty sandwich, isn’t it?!
Love this recipe! So quick and flavourful!! I didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes but had a sweet and spicy tomato sauce sitting in my fridge so I used that. It worked wonderfully. I also added some “everything but the bagel” seasoning to the avocado. This will definitely become a staple for me.
Thanks Kerstin! Really glad you enjoyed it. Oh, I’ve never heard of that seasoning! Will have a look. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
Can’t wait to try this. How long does the cooked tempeh keep for in the fridge?
Hi Sandy, I’ve never had cooked tempeh for more than a couple of days in the fridge. I just did some googling and while most sources say up to 10 days, they’re a bit vague on whether that’s fresh or cooked. I’d aim for no more than 2-3 days just to be on the safe side. Apparently you can also freeze cooked tempeh, so then it would last much longer, if that’s more helpful 🙂
I found this recipe to be okay. It is very flavourful, as other reviewers have mentioned, but not to my taste. I didn’t have any arugula but I could see how arugula/bitter greens would complement the overall flavour, and I think maybe my version of the sandwich may have suffered a bit because of the lack of arugula. I used soy sauce, sherry vinegar and maple syrup. I wasn’t a fan of the vinegar/maple syrup combo. Maybe a different kind of vinegar would have worked better. Anyway, thanks for the flavour experience! I was looking for a different type of tempeh sandwich filling and I got one! It can’t always work out. I did like the avocado and sundried tomato combo. That was nice.
Thanks for the thorough review! Even though we didnt get 5 stars, I was happy to read your opinion!