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.
Servings 4 people
Calories 450kcal
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
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