TTLA Sandwich (Tempeh, Tomato, Lettuce, and Avocado)
BLTs used to be one of my favorite things to eat before becoming vegan. Tempeh is a common bacon replacement, but it is an acquired taste. It took like four years of being vegan, but I finally decided to take a crack at making bacon with it. I pulled the basic ingredients together I would use for a bacon marinade and played around with the measurements until I found the perfect mix of all the ingredients. Liquid smoke, tamari, and maple syrup are the big players in this, but it really takes all the ingredients to tie it all together.
I want to use this marinade on carrots like Tabatha Brown uses that look amazing and I’ve heard are spot on. I tried cooking these in the air fryer, some in the oven, and some in a pan with oil to see which on comes out the best. I found the air fryer got the best crispiness in the shortest amount of time. I flipped them halfway and occasionally basted them with the marinade. About twice on each side. Feel free to bake or pan fry these if you want.
This marinade is amazing, and I want to figure out what other things I can put it on. Thinking of making baked beans with it at some point just to see how they turn out. I’ll post the recipe if I do. It is full of flavor so I think you could easily make these after a couple hours of marinating the tempeh.
Have you made vegan bacon before? What did you use as the “bacon” and is your marinade similar to mine? Let me know if in the comments below.
Thanks for reading,
Jessica
TTLA Sandwich (Tempeh, Tomato, Lettuce, and Avocado)
Ingredients
- 8 ounce package organic tempeh (I like Trader Joe’s)
- 6 TBSP gluten-free tamari sauce (you can sub out soy sauce)
- 4 TBSP maple syrup (you can sub organic cane sugar or coconut sugar)
- 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 2 TSP liquid smoke
- 1 TSP cumin
- 1 ½ TSP garlic powder
- Fresh cracked pepper to taste (I like a lot because I love peppered bacon)
- 8 slices bread, toasted (I like Oroweat Organic thin-sliced sprouted wheat because it’s sustainably baked and they are a 1% company)
- 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced (sub your favorite tomatoes)
- 8 romaine or butter lettuce leaves
- 2 avocados, sliced
- 5 TBSP vegan mayo (I use Follow Your Heart Vegenaise)
Instructions
- Start by thinly slicing the tempeh and place in a glass dish you can cover. Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl well and pour over the tempeh slices. Turn all the slices around in the marinade and make sure all pieces are coated.
- Cover container and place in fridge for at least two hours but I like to do this overnight. Gently turn tempeh every couple(ish) hours to make sure everything gets evenly coated. I did it like twice the night before and once before when I woke up. I cooked these for lunch a couple hours after the last turn.
- Air fryer works best at getting the crisp I was looking for without deep frying them. Air fry at 365 for 12-15 minutes until crispy. Flip halfway and drizzle marinade on each one.
- Toast bread and top with remaining ingredients and cooked bacon. Serve immediately.
- Cooked tempeh can be kept in fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes:
**Inactive time includes minimum marinade time.
