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    Home » All Recipes » Sandwiches, Wraps and Burgers

    Vegan BLT with Baked Tempeh Bacon

    April 30, 2018 By Melissa Huggins / 26 Comments

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    Vegan BLT with Baked Tempeh Bacon - Pin

    A healthy and kind twist on a classic, this Vegan BLT is made with smoky-sweet baked tempeh bacon. It's so easy to make, just marinate, and bake for 20 minutes or less. 

    Fully assembled vegan BLT sandwich. Chips and pickles on the side.

    Have you heard about the TTLA craze at Whole Foods? It's basically a Vegan BLT, but instead of mayo, they add vegan garlic aioli. It's also served with avocado slices, red onion and pressed ciabatta bread.

    The TTLA was made famous by actress, Tabitha Brown's viral video of her happily eating the sandwich. Her genuine enthusiasm had everyone running to get one.

    Sadly, I still haven't made it to Whole Foods because they are almost an hour from me. But, I've been making my own classic Vegan BLTs for years and this video sparked me to share it on Vegan Huggs.

    You can easily turn this into a TTLA if you prefer. Sometimes I'll change things up with Creamy Chipotle Sauce or a slice of Vegan Cheddar Cheese. It's a versatile sandwich!

    I don't usually buy the premade tempeh bacon, because it's so easy to make it homemade. I like adding my own flavoring and easily switching it up too.

     

    A block of tempeh cut into slices.

    What is Tempeh?

    It's typically made from whole fermented soybeans and it usually comes in block form. Some contain only soybeans and some also include grains and seeds.

    Tempeh has a hearty texture and a mild nutty flavor. It does have a slight bitterness too, but I usually don't notice it after cooking in seasonings.

    However, if that slight bitterness bothers you, the tempeh can be steamed for 10 minutes before marinating. This will mellow it out.

    I love tempeh because it's healthy, protein-rich, and it has a great texture. BUT, without seasonings, it's kind of blah! That's where the marinade comes in and It will turn that blah into oh-so-tasty!

    A bowl of marinade on a wooden cutting board. All ingredients on the side.

    How do you make Tempeh Bacon?

    STEP 1

    Cut the tempeh block into ¼ " slices (see photo above).

    STEP 2

    Whisk the marinade ingredients together and pour into an 8 " rimmed shallow dish or baking dish.

     

    Tempeh soaking marinade in a white casserole dish.

    STEP 3

    Place the tempeh slices into your prepared marinade and let the pieces marinate in the fridge for 15-20 minutes or longer if preferred.

    Baking pan lined with parchment paper and marinaded tempeh on top. Ready to go in oven.

    STEP 4

    Place the marinated strips on your parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a little room in between each piece.

    Fully baked tempeh on a baking pan.

    STEP 5

    Pop the pan in the oven and bake until lightly browned and the surface is slightly crisp on each side. Watch the tempeh closely to prevent burning.

    Mayo being spread on a slice of bread.

    HOW TO ASSEMBLE A VEGAN BLT

    To assemble your sandwich, coat each bread slice with vegan mayo and top with tomato slices, lettuce, and tempeh bacon. Close bread together and cut if desired.

    Assembling vegan blt sandwich. Mayo in a jar on the side.

    Make it your own!

    I made a classic Vegan BLT which I love, but feel free to add your own twist. You can add things like hummus, guacamole, avocado slices, red onion, chipotle sauce, garlic aioli, pickles, jalapénos, roasted peppers, sauteéd mushrooms and so much more.

    THE PERFECT SIDES FOR A VEGAN BLT:

    • Creamy Vegan Coleslaw
    • Vegan Macaroni Salad
    • Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
    • Black Bean Corn Salad

     

    Enjoy!

     

    Vegan BLT sandwich on a black plate. Pickles and chips on the side.

    I’d love to hear from you

    If you make this Vegan BLT, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don’t miss it.

    Recipe

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
    5 from 12 votes

    Vegan BLT with Baked Tempeh Bacon

    A healthy and kind twist on a classic, this Vegan BLT is made with smoky-sweet baked tempeh bacon. It's so easy to make, just marinate, and bake for 20 minutes or less.
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time20 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: lunch
    Cuisine: Gluten-Free Option, Nut-Free, Vegan
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 450kcal
    Author: Melissa Huggins

    Ingredients

    • 8 ounces tempeh (*not all brands are GF)
    • ¼ cup vegan mayo , more to taste
    • 8 slices bread (GF if preferred)
    • 4 lettuce leaves
    • 2 medium tomatoes , sliced

    Marinade

    • 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or preferred oil)
    • 3 tablespoons low sodium tamari GF if preferred (sub soy)
    • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
    • 1 ½ teaspoons liquid smoke
    • 1.5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
    • 1 ½ tablespoons nutritional yeast
    • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
    • ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
    • ½ teaspoon granulated onion
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350° F (176° C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. 
    • In a small bowl, add all marinade ingredients and whisk to combine well. Pour marinade into an 8 " rimmed shallow dish or baking dish. 
    • Cut tempeh into ¼ " slices. * If you cut them thinner, the tempeh falls apart easily in the marinade. 
    • Now place the tempeh slices into your marinade. Gently flip to coat all sides well. Let the pieces marinate in the fridge for 15-20 minutes or longer if preferred. 
    • Place the marinated strips on your prepared baking sheet, leaving a little room in between each piece (*save leftover marinade). Bake for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned. *If the tempeh seems dry, you can lightly brush on some leftover marinade.
    • Now gently flip each slice with tongs and bake 8-10 minutes more, until lightly browned and the surface is slightly crisp (*The inside remains soft). Watch closely to prevent burning. Remove from oven.
    • To assemble your BLT, coat each bread slice with mayo and top with tomato slices, lettuce, and tempeh bacon. Close sandwich and cut if desired. Enjoy! 

    Notes

    ** The nutritional information includes all the marinade amounts. However, a lot of the marinade will be left behind, which will make some of the values lower. The nutritional info also includes the bread, vegan mayo, tempeh, lettuce, and tomatoes.
    * Tempeh has a slight bitterness to it, but I usually don't notice it after seasoning. However, if that slight bitterness will bother you, the tempeh can be steamed for 10 minutes before marinating. This will mellow it out.
    * Prep time doesn't include marinating time. 
     
     
     
     
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1sandwich | Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 523mg | Potassium: 539mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 2090IU | Vitamin C: 6.4mg | Calcium: 165mg | Iron: 4.2mg
    Tried this recipe?Follow me @veganhuggs and mention #veganhuggs!

     

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    About Melissa

    I’m Melissa Huggins – the creator of Vegan Huggs. I started this blog to share delicious vegan recipes that everyone will love. Yep, that includes carnivores, too! Read more...

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    Comments

      5 from 12 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Patricia B

      November 16, 2022 at 12:02 pm

      5 stars
      So good. Thank you for sharing this.

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        November 17, 2022 at 9:44 am

        You are welcome, Patricia.❤️

        Reply
    2. Rhonda Johnson

      October 03, 2022 at 6:58 pm

      5 stars
      Love your page. I have it saved on my phone home screen as a quick resource to bomb vegan food.

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        October 08, 2022 at 2:38 am

        Thank you so much, Rhonda. 🥰 I am so happy to hear your feedback. Happy cooking!

        Reply
    3. Patricia B

      January 17, 2022 at 12:12 am

      5 stars
      Regarding the comment about pop up ads, I find them on all good recipe sites, however I find that printing out the recipe makes it easy to read without ads. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes.

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        January 18, 2022 at 8:16 am

        You are so welcome Patricia! A printed copy is really convinient, and something you can keep for future use too. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Penny J Collins

      October 29, 2021 at 2:05 pm

      5 stars
      Hey, I was so curious about the tempeh but afraid of it at the same time. Tofu is so hard to get adjusted to as still being new to the plant-based life. Tempeh is the complete opposite. it was a delicious and filling sandwich!

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        October 30, 2021 at 1:55 am

        Hi Penny! I am glad you liked it. There are so many options to make your transition to a plant-based lifestyle easier and more enjoyable. Wish you the best! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Tamara Hanel

      August 25, 2020 at 2:54 pm

      5 stars
      Used your tempeh bacon recipe with tofu cashew mayo and micro-greens. It was beautiful as well as delicious.

      Reply
      • Support @ Vegan Huggs

        October 02, 2020 at 12:11 pm

        Hi Tamara! We are so happy that you loved this recipe, thank you so much for sharing! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Hannah Doyle

      May 03, 2020 at 10:13 am

      5 stars
      This was SO tasty and so easy with on-hand ingredients. I whisked everything right in the 8x8 bc I'm a lazy vegan. Wow. Amaaaazing. Already forwarded the recipe to friends!

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        May 05, 2020 at 2:54 pm

        Hi Hannah, I'm so glad you liked it! You aren't lazy...it's smart to find quicker ways to provide the same results. Thank you for giving it a try and sharing your feedback.

        Reply
    7. Melanie

      January 20, 2020 at 11:36 am

      Is the tempeh reheatable? I’m thinking of making this in batches for lunches.

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        January 20, 2020 at 11:58 am

        Sure! You can reheat it in the microwave, air fryer, convection oven or regular oven. It will get slightly soft in the microwave though, but it's still delish! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

        Reply
        • Melanie

          January 20, 2020 at 12:32 pm

          I'm thinking if I cover it and microwave it at the office just enough to get warm, it will hopefully be ok. Fingers crossed!

        • Melissa Huggins

          March 03, 2020 at 10:24 am

          That's a great idea! I'd love to hear how it turns out if you try. 🙂

    8. Laurel

      August 24, 2019 at 5:29 pm

      5 stars
      Made this tonight-- 10/10!!!! We used sprouted sourdough bread and mixed up a vegan buffalo mayo (veganaise with Frank's hot sauce basically-- I added a tiny bit of coconut milk kefir to make it probiotic). SO good! I didn't have reserve marinade. In fact, I was a bit worried I didn't have enough. It tasted super, though. Next time I'll make a little more marinade. Thank you for this excellent addition!

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        August 27, 2019 at 9:39 am

        Hi Laurel, thank you for giving it a try! Sounds SO good with the sourdough and buffalo mayo! 🙂

        Reply
    9. Cathy

      September 23, 2018 at 4:28 am

      5 stars
      I made this last night. The flavors for the “bacon” were spot on! Very delicious sandwich and the ciabatta roll is an inspiring choice! Thank you so much! I will be making this again and again!

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        September 28, 2018 at 9:30 pm

        Hi Cathy! I'm so happy to hear this! Thank you for making it. 🙂

        Reply
    10. Gene

      June 22, 2018 at 9:01 pm

      You're site is overwhelmed with ads and unreadable because of them.

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        June 22, 2018 at 11:10 pm

        Hi Gene, I'm really sorry you are having a negative experience on my site. Unfortunately, I need to run ads to keep my site up and running. It's my main source of income. I've considered getting rid of ads and charging a small monthly membership, but that might be a big risk. If the ads are acting glitchy, you can report it or email me. Thank you for the feedback.

        Reply
    11. Kathleen

      May 08, 2018 at 1:35 pm

      5 stars
      Made this for my family this past weekend - adding avocados to the toppings - it was super delish and even the meat eaters in the family were saying yum! Will be making this again for sure! Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        May 08, 2018 at 4:00 pm

        Hi Kathleen, this is so great to hear! I'm so happy everyone loved it. Thank you for the feedback 🙂

        Reply
    12. Liv @ What Liv Likes

      May 02, 2018 at 7:47 pm

      Dang that looks good! I love ciabatta and your tempeh looks to die for!

      Reply
      • Melissa Huggins

        May 08, 2018 at 3:58 pm

        Thank you, Liv! I'm a big ciabatta fan too 🙂

        Reply

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