I like to serve these crispy seasoned tempeh croutons on a salad, a noodle stir fry, or over brown rice with miso green beans. I'll show you easy they are to whip up!
Tempeh is a little mysterious to some. I often hear scoffs at tempeh, but in most (if not all) of those instances it's usually because no care was taken to make it tasty! It's a blank canvas, just like tofu. In some cases the texture doesn't appeal to everyone but it's a highly nutritious food because it's fermented and I think if you've never seasoned it with spices and pan fried it like the way I'm doing here, give it one more try before you write it off!
When you open your package of tempeh if might be super hard. Some brands are more "raw" and might require a quick steam before marinating or seasoning in order to get rid of the bitterness and get it softer so it can soak up all the flavor you'll be adding. I prefer the Lightlife brand (original) as it's soft and mild and requires no additional steaming. If you need to steam your brick of tempeh before turning them into these succulent seasoned tempeh croutons, then do it before you cut it into pieces. Either use a metal steamer insert in a pot or bamboo steamer in a pan with some water, steam for about 20 minutes, then proceed with the recipe.
You can watch another video where the leftover tempeh croutons make an appearance in an easy sushi bowl made with other leftovers!
seasoned tempeh croutons
Ingredients
- ¼ C avocado oil or other neutral vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 brick tempeh, cut into bite size cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F, if you want to bake the tempeh croutons.
- Combine oil, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt, and ground pepper in a bowl.
- Coat tempeh pieces in the marinade.
- To pan fry the tempeh, heat a nonstick or cast iron pan over medium and place pieces in the pan slightly spaced apart. Cook on one side for about 3 minutes until very golden brown and then flip and cook about another 3 minutes. Lower heat if the pan becomes too hot or is smoking. You can flip the pieces onto the other remaining sides that aren’t golden brown, cooking about 1 to 2 minutes a side.
- To bake the tempeh, arrange the pieces in an even layer spaced apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, flipping halfway through.
DONNA M. WILLIAMS
Hi Lauren,
I just made the seasoned tempeh croutons and the miso green beans! This is my first time cooking tempeh at home and I am so glad you posted this delicious recipe! I am a tempeh convert! And sending you my appreciation while I'm picking those crusty little savory tempeh bits from in the pan and wishing I had doubled the recipe for those excellent green beans! That lemony miso sauce is fantastic! I could have eaten all the delectable green beans by myself but decided to be generous and share them with the Hubs!
Kristy
Made this for dinner a few nights ago and it was so delish that we made it the next night again! LOL I love this recipe. I did find though that if I lightly steamed the tempeh, it fell apart a bit. I did not use the Lightlife brand though so maybe that had something to do with it. It was still delicious and we had little tempeh " bread crumbs" to sprinkle on top of the green beans.
Emily
I love the idea of using tempeh as crotons and the season is on point! But I don’t know if maybe my tempeh just didn’t absorb enough of the oil (I also used lightlife) but I was left with a whole pool of oil in the bottom of the bowl with all the spices. Very little stuck to the tempeh, I even let it sit for a while to marinate. When I dumped it all in the frying pan all the excess spices burnt in all the extra oil. I’ll definitely make again but cut the oil in half.
Nicole
I haven’t had tempeh in years because I didn’t like the texture or taste. Something made me make these and I loooooooove them. I’m addicted.
Nicole
Same!!! I was addicted to these for a hot minute