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With 8 tempeh marinade flavors to choose from, you’ll never get bored of tempeh again. This easy-to-make protein is perfect for baking, sautéing, air frying, or grilling!
save this recipe!Tempeh and tofu are like blank canvases for vegetarians and vegans because they soak up marinades so well.
Once you know how to marinate tempeh, nothing can stop you from creating new flavor options. Whether you air fry, bake, or saute, you’ll be locking in those delicious flavors, especially if you follow our guide on how to cook tempeh).
Reader rating
“I’m obsessed with the Herby Balsamic! I’ve tried other balsamic marinades and this one is great! Perfect for salads. Thank you!” —Lisa
Tempeh Tip
Tempeh is usually found near the tofu and vacuumed-sealed, making it a great option to keep in your fridge at all times. Since it’s fermented, it has a stronger taste on its own than tofu does, but I’ll teach you how to tone that down and let the marinade shine through.
Smoked Bacon
Smoked paprika and liquid smoke add that bit of kick you need (combined with maple syrup) to make a wonderfully warm bacon flavor. This flavor pairs perfectly with cottage cheese omelettes or egg muffin cups.
Sesame Ginger
Sesame oil is key to the perfect Asian tempeh marinade. This variation also contains ginger and brown sugar. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh would all be perfect on a Buddha bowl.
BBQ
This BBQ tempeh marinade couldn’t be easier. I thin out my favorite barbecue sauce with vinegar and add some zing with fresh garlic. Pair it with a light summer vegetable salad.
Herby Balsamic
It’s pasta night! Serve this tempeh along with a Caprese salad, or pick your choice of pasta and top both pasta and tempeh with the best homemade marinara.
Fajita
Obviously, since I’ve named this marinade after fajitas, it would be perfect to add to vegetable fajitas or vegan burritos. Fajitas are one of the easiest meals to serve to a crowd because everyone can customize their plates.
Garlic And Herb
Yup, I put 6 cloves of garlic in this marinade! Paired with Italian seasoning, I’d love to cube this tempeh up into bite-sized pieces and whip up some pizza dough, then add plenty of Parmesan and maybe pesto.
Tandoori
Garam masala, garlic, coriander, and more combine to make a really delightful Indian-inspired tempeh marinade. Serve this up with homemade naan and Greek yogurt for a hearty, flavor-packed meal.
Cilantro And Lime
Fresh cilantro has to be my favorite herb of all time. Cubed and seared cilantro lime tempeh would be a great way to add protein to avocado soup or crispy avocado tacos.
8 Easy Tempeh Marinades
Ingredients
- 1 8-oz pack tempeh, 226 g
Smoked Bacon
- ¼ cup oil, 60 mL
- ¼ cup soy sauce, 60 mL
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup, 30 mL
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Sesame Ginger
- ¼ cup soy sauce, 60 mL
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil, 30 mL
- 2 Tbsp unflavored oil, 30 mL
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
BBQ
- ½ cup BBQ sauce, 120 g
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 30 mL
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp salt
Herby Balsamic
- ¼ cup oil, olive oil is great here, 60 mL
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar, 60 mL
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp dried basil
Fajita
- ¼ cup oil, avocado oil is great here, 60 mL
- ¼ cup lime juice, 60 mL
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp each cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
Garlic & Herb
- ¼ cup oil, olive oil is great here, 60 mL
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 30 mL
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp salt
Tandoori
- ½ cup canned coconut milk, 120 mL
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
- 2 tsp each paprika, ground coriander
- 1 tsp each garam masala, garlic powder, cumin, turmeric
- ¼ tsp salt
Cilantro Lime
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, 20 g
- ¼ cup oil, coconut oil is great here, 60 mL
- ¼ cup lime juice, 60 mL
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut: Cut tempeh into your desired shape (triangle or cubes are common!)
- Steam (optional): To remove the bitterness from the tempeh, place the cut tempeh into a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water, cover, and steam for 10 minutes.
- Mix: Choose your desired flavor and stir together all ingredients.
- Assemble: Add tempeh to a bowl or plastic bag, along with the marinade. Allow tempeh to marinate anywhere from 1 to 24 hours.
- Cook: Fish the pieces of tempeh from the marinade and cook as desired (baked, air fried, or sauteed all work well with marinated tempeh!)
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!
I just pulled the cilantro lime marinated tempeh out of the fridge. The marinade was hard (due to the coconut oil). Is my tempeh going to be adequately flavored? I have a hard time believing the marinade will soak in if it’s frozen like that. I guess I’ll find out. Do u just let it sit at room temp w/that marinade then? Can’t sit for too long .. will go bad. Maybe half an hour?
Great question! Yep, the coconut oil solidifies in the fridge, which can make it look like the marinade isn’t doing its thing, but your tempeh should still soak up plenty of flavor.
Can I use tempeh recipe for tofu
Yes! All of these tempeh marinades work well with tofu. Happy eating!
Found your 8 Marinades for Tofu first and now found how to use them on tempeh – which I have not had before. Grew up on tofu and when I used the Smoked Bacon marinade – I could not believe the wonderful flavor profile. Was so bored with using just shoyu or ponzu with furikake seasoning.
Garlic & Herbs is next. So look forward to preparing my first tempeh dish.
Big smiles over here Ev, thanks for trying it!
I keep coming back here whenever I’m using tempeh, ever since I discovered it. I’ve found that the steaming really makes a difference, but this time I added something new that turned out great: I added some veggie broth base, garlic, and ginger to the steaming water and it really enhanced the flavor. For anyone out there who’s allergic to coconut, like I am, I subbed 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup cream for the coconut milk in the tandoori marinade, which worked well. I added some pressed tofu cubes to the mix then dumped the whole thing into my curry-delish! Thank you so much for all these recipes!
You’re the best, thanks so much for the feedback!