How to Prepare and Cook Tempeh

If you don’t know how to cook tempeh, or you’ve been stuck with just one or two techniques, below you’ll find seven ways to prepare and cook it. Experiment with each one to add more variety to your culinary repertoire.

Steam

Steaming is a great technique to use alone or before you use another cooking technique. I like to steam tempeh because it eliminates some of the bitter flavor overtones that it has and makes it expand and become less dense. This allows the tempeh to quickly soak in more of the marinade or other liquid that you may be using. I steam it for 10 to 15 minutes on each side.

Note: Most store brands are pasteurized, so they’re precooked. Even so, it’s still recommended that you cook it with one of the techniques listed on this page.

Crumble

After steaming and cooling the tempeh, you can use your fingers or a fork to crumble it into a texture resembling something between ground meat and flaked tuna. I do this when I want to create faux tuna or chicken salad. It’s also great for chilies, Sloppy Joe’s, bolognese sauce, and even vegetarian meatloaf.

Use a Grater

With a grater, you can get a great crumble without using any additional preparation. Use the grated tempeh as is and add to chilis, make meatloaf, and other recipes that call for ground meats.

Grill It

Yes, you can even grill tempeh. Larger pieces are easier to work with and if you decide to steam it or marinate it first, be aware that it will be more delicate and trickier to handle on the grill.

Fry, Deep Fry, or Stir-Fry

Slice or cube the tempeh and then use the frying technique of your choice. Frying tempeh gives it a great texture. Just make sure that the oil is hot otherwise the tempeh will quickly soak up all the oil. I like to use coconut oil as it has a high smoke point. A high smoke point allows you to cook at a high temperature without damaging the oil.

After using one of the frying techniques, you can place the tempeh on paper towels to absorb the excess oil, if needed.

Bake

Tempeh is fairly dry. So if you bake it, do so in a marinade or other liquid to make it moist and flavorful.

Marinate

Using a marinade adds lots of flavors, and can create a delicious glaze or sauce. Tempeh absorbs liquids easily, so you don’t have to marinate it for very long, especially when you steam it first.

Simmer

You can use this method alone or to precook tempeh before baking, frying, etc… Like marinating, this technique allows you to add loads of additional flavor to the tempeh.

Experiment with all the techniques. Once you master how to cook tempeh, you’ll have an excellent source of not only different recipes, but you’ll be able to add a lot more vegetarian protein to your diet.

Vegetarian & Vegan