Tempeh Marinade with Garlic, Thyme, and Hungarian Paprika

This easy savory garlic thyme tempeh marinade recipe has reduced sodium soy sauce, stone ground mustard, Hungarian sweet paprika, and more. The first time I cooked up it up, we just ate it right out of the skillet. It never made it to our plates. But if you have more restraint that we did, this marinated tempeh would be stunning in a bowl, a top a salad, as the star of a sandwich or an easy main dish for Thanksgiving.

This recipe makes enough marinade for an 8 ounce block of tempeh.

A few things…

• ・To blanch the tempeh, I like to add water to a glass loaf pan, and then, microwave it for 4 minutes. Then, I add the tempeh to the pan, and microwave for another 3 minutes. I remove the tempeh and let it cool.

• ・Why bother blanching tempeh? Because tempeh is inherently bitter. Blanching (or steaming) helps remove the bitterness. Plus, it makes the tempeh more receptive to soaking up marinade.

• ・I prefer to chop up my blanched tempeh before adding it to a marinade. This way I know the flavor will deeply penetrate it. Cubes, triangles, slices… the sky is the limit.

• ・Use a good quality, flavorful Hungarian paprika. Personally, I like Pride of Szeged Hungarian Sweet Paprika, which is easy to find in the U.S. at some national grocers (like Kroger), Walmart or Amazon.

• ・For best results, marinate overnight. For good results, marinate for 5 hours.

Please enjoy this delicious savory garlic thyme tempeh marinade recipe! And don’t miss out on other UVK recipes, like Chipotle Tempeh Kebabs, Tempeh Bacon, Vegan Almond Ricotta Cheese, Vegan Soy Curl Paprikash, and more.

Tempeh Marinade with Garlic, Thyme and Hungarian Paprika

4 garlic cloves, chopped

¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp stone ground mustard

1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika

½ tsp dried thyme

½ tsp dried marjoram

8 ounce package of tempeh, blanched, cooled and chopped (see notes above)

1. In a container with a lid, add the garlic, soy sauce, olive oil, maple syrup, stone ground mustard, paprika, thyme and marjoram. Mix together the tempeh marinade.

2. Add the tempeh and stir to coat. Put the lid on the container and refrigerate overnight (or for a minimum of 5 hours).

3. Pan fry the savory marinated tempeh with some oil until crisped on all sides. Serve in a bowl, on a salad, as part of your vegan Thanksgiving spread and more.