With just a few adjustments to the spices, this vegan tempeh marinade recipe can go from breakfast links to Italian sausage. Regardless of the spice profile you go with, the biggest element going into how rich the flavor will be is your patience. Marinades need some time to work. And if you can wait, you’ll be rewarded with a delicious plant based protein that’s ready for your next meal, whether it’s a side to tofu scramble or the star of your pizza pie!
This recipe makes enough vegan sausage marinade for an 8 ounce package of tempeh.
A few things…
- For best results, you’ll want to let the tempeh marinate overnight or for an entire day. I tested it at the 3 hour mark, and while it was ok, it was not all the way there yet.
- When I marinate tempeh, I like to use a loaf pan. It’s surface area and depth allow the marinade to penetrate more evenly and deeply.
- Some vegan sausage recipes will ask you to grind up and shape your own links or patties. Not this one, you’ll simply slice or crumble the marinated tempeh cake to suit your needs. That’s it.
- If you want to make breakfast sausage links, I love just slicing a rectangle patty of tempeh. I used Lightlife Original Tempeh, because it’s perfect for this scenario.
May you find this as delicious as we did 💚 And make sure to check out other UVK recipes, like Vegan Biscuits and Gravy, Vegan Roasted Buckwheat Mushroom Patties, Vegan Breakfast Casserole, Vegan Sourdough Stuffing with Spinach, Fennel and Vegan Italian Sausage, Thai Red Curry Tofu or Tempeh Marinade, and more.
Tempeh Sausage Marinade
1½ tsp rubbed sage
½ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp dried rosemary
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp garlic powder
Black pepper, to taste
3 Tbsp small dice onions
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce (OR gluten free tamari)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
8 ounce package of tempeh (I used Lightlife Original Tempeh)
Olive oil, to pan fry
**If making this Italian-style: When you pan fry it, stir in ½ tsp sweet paprika and ¼ tsp fennel powder**
1. In a glass container, add the sage, thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, black pepper, onion, garlic and reduced sodium soy sauce.
2. Add 1½” of water to a large skillet. Cover it with a lid and bring to a rapid bowl. Add the tempeh cake to the skillet. Blanch for 3 minutes, and then, drain. Add the tempeh to the vegan sausage marinade.
3. Coat the tempeh in the marinade and seal the lid. Refrigerator overnight or for an entire 24 hours. Flip it at the half way point, if you’re awake 😊
4. Once it’s done marinating, it’s time to select how you want to eat it. Slice it into links. Or place the mouth of a drinking glass on top of the tempeh cake and run your knife along the edge to make patties. Or crumble it! Reserve the marinade.
5. Add ~1 Tbsp of olive oil to a skillet. You may need additional oil, as it cooks.
- For breakfast patties or links: Add the tempeh to the skillet. Pan fry until golden brown on the outside or until they are cooked through. Turn the heat down to low, and add some of the marinade right into the skillet. I kind of drizzle it over the links or patties with a spoon, but include the onions and garlic. Cook in the marinade, and then, taste and adjust the flavors, if needed (more marinade? more soy sauce?)
- For crumbles: Add the tempeh and the marinade (to taste – but often I add all of it!) right to the skillet. Pan fry until crisped up. Taste and adjust flavors (if you didn’t use all of the marinade, may little more or soy sauce?).
- For Italian crumbles: Add the tempeh, ½ tsp sweet paprika, ¼ tsp fennel powder and the marinade (to taste – I usually add all of it!) right to the skillet. Pan fry until crisped up. Taste and adjust flavors (more marinade or soy sauce?).