Smoky Tempeh Bacon (Air Fryer, Oven, Vegan Gluten Free)

This tempeh bacon is a great substitute for meat due to its complex umami flavors and meaty dense texture. It takes just a few minutes to make this vegan bacon, and it can be cooked in the oven, air fryer, or pan.

This tempeh bacon ticks all the boxes if you’re looking for a plant based bacon.  It has a meaty texture and taste, delicious umami undertones, and soaks up the flavor of the marinade beautifully. 

It’s also extremely fast to make, so if you happen to have some tempeh in your fridge, this can be something you whip up very quickly if a bacon craving arises. 

Tempeh has a complex flavor as it is made by fermenting soybeans with probiotics until they stick together into a solid block.  The flavor isn’t for everyone but I personally adore the taste and texture of tempeh.  I would eat it a lot more often if I could get hold of it a bit more easily. 

If you compare tempeh to tofu by weight, it’s got almost double the amount of protein that tofu does, but it also contains almost double the calories because it’s so dense.  If you compare tempeh to tofu by calories alone, tofu actually contains more protein. 

Tempeh came 8th in my top vegan protein sources list.  The interesting thing is that 2 of the vegan protein sources that came above tempeh in my list were spinach and mushrooms.  If you want to make mushroom bacon, I have a recipe very similar to this one using mushrooms instead of tempeh.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This recipe and all recipes on my website are suitable for the special diets, vegan, plant based, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, free from refined sugar, and vegetarian.
• This recipe contains 145 calories per serving.
• This recipe contains 11g protein per serving.
• One serving of this recipe contains 22% of your recommended daily intake of protein
• One serving of this recipe contains 11% of your recommended daily intake of iron.
• This recipe takes 1 minute of active preparation time and 5 minutes of cooking time.  
• This recipe is made extra tasty by the addition of liquid smoke and BBQ Seasoning.
• I have simplified this recipe by limiting the number of ingredients.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Olive oil: Use any oil you choose.  Or omit the oil completely and just saute the vegetables in a little water.
• Tempeh: You can replace the tempeh with tofu, mushrooms, canned chickpeas, or canned beans.
• Tamari: Replace this with sea salt or vegan Worcestershire sauce.  If you’re not gluten-free you can use soy sauce as it’s most similar to tamari.
• Maple syrup: You can omit the syrup or replace it with any sweetener of your choice.
• Liquid Smoke: You can either omit the liquid smoke completely or replace it with 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
• BBQ seasoning: You can replace it with ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon onion powder

The Structure Of A Plant Based Plate

Each of the recipes I create fits into my Plant Plate System.  This system incorporates 5 food groups into every meal. 

The 5 food groups are 1) Plant Protein, 2), Leaves, Fruit, And Veg, 3) Aesthetic Additions, 4) Nutrient Packed Carbohydrates, and 5) Taste

This recipe adds plant protein to any dish.  It falls under the “vegan protein” category on the Plant Based Plate and is not a complete meal.

The diagram below helps you visually see how this element features on a Plant-Based Plate.

Click here to discover more about my Plant Plate System and some of the benefits of eating this way.

Here’s how this recipe is structured according to the Plant Plate System.  

Adding each ingredient to the following categories helps you to easily see how to make substitutions.  It also lets you know the exact reason why the ingredient is in the recipe. 

Plant-Based Protein

• Tempeh

Leaves, Fruit & Veg 

• n/a

Aesthetic Additions

• Salad onions (optional)

Nutrient Packed Carbohydrates

• n/a

Taste 

• Olive oil
• Tamari
• Maple Syrup
• Liquid Smoke
• BBQ Seasoning

Recommended Equipment

Here are the main kitchen equipment tools I have used to create this recipe.

How To Make This Recipe

Pan

• Cook the tempeh in a frying pan until golden in color on both sides.
• Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and add to the pan.
• Stir and cook until the liquid has been absorbed.

Oven

• Slice the tempeh and lay it flat on a baking tray.
• Mix all of the other ingredients in a bowl and pour over the tempeh.
• Bake until the tempeh is cooked.

Air Fryer

• Slice the tempeh and lay it flat on the air fryer basket.
• Mix all of the other ingredients in a bowl and pour over the tempeh.
• Bake until the tempeh is cooked.

What To Serve With Tempeh Bacon

Here are some of my favorite things to serve with this recipe: 

• Smoked Vegan Tempeh BLT Sandwich
• Gluten Free Burger Bun Recipe
• Vegan Dough Balls
• Tofu Scramble
• Vegan Full English Cooked Breakfast
• Spicy Vegan Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
• Vegan Zucchini Fritters
• Vegan Ranch Dip Recipe
• Crispy Homemade Baked French Fries
• Oil-free Sweet Potato Fries

For more options, see all of my best vegan, gluten-free carbs side dishes.

How To Reduce The Calories

If you’d like to reduce the calories of this recipe even further, I suggest removing the oil.  The Recipe will still work without it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Store Leftovers

This recipe keeps for up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.  Defrost it before using it. Reheat it by warming it up gently in a pan, oven, or air fryer.

More Tasty Vegan Meat Recipes

This recipe is part of my Vegan Meat series.

If you’re looking for easy, plant based meat recipes, check out some of my other recipes:

• 10 Minute Plant Based Black Bean Burger (Gluten Free)
• Easy Vegan Gluten Free Black Bean Meatballs (3 Ways)
• Easy Vegan Meatloaf With Mushrooms And Oats

You can see all of my plant based meat protein recipes here.

Recipe

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