This Crispy Sesame Tempeh Recipe is one of my favorite ways to make tempeh! Golden and crispy on the outside, tender inside, and coated in a sticky, savory-sweet sesame sauce. Serve over rice with colorful veggies for an easy, protein-rich vegan dinner. Includes my restaurant-tested trick for making tempeh taste delicious! Video included. Vegan.
Looking for delicious tempeh recipes? This crispy sesame tempeh is golden, flavorful, and coated in a sticky savory-sweet sauce. Easy, vegan, and protein-rich!
Back when we had our vegetarian restaurant, tempeh was a regular on the menu, and customers often asked how we made it taste so good. Over the years, we perfected a simple technique that transforms tempeh from dense and sometimes bitter to tender, flavorful, and deliciously crispy.
The secret? Simmer the tempeh before pan-searing it. This helps mellow its bitterness and soften its texture so it pairs beautifully with the sticky sesame sauce.
Of all the tempeh recipes I’ve made over the years, this is one I keep coming back to. Serve it over brown rice with steamed broccoli, crunchy vegetables, and a drizzle of creamy tahini sauce for a nourishing, satisfying vegan dinner.
Melissa’s Five Star Review
This way of cooking the tempeh - boiling then adding the sticky sauce and reducing - made the bitter tempeh taste perfect!
Why this is one of the best Tempeh Recipes!
- Restaurant-tested technique! Simmering tempeh before pan-searing helps mellow bitterness, tenderize it, and create a delicious golden crust.
- Irresistible sesame flavor! A sticky, savory-sweet sauce with soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, maple syrup, and a touch of sriracha coats every crispy bite.
- A satisfying plant-based meal. Packed with plant protein, this vegan tempeh is delicious in rice bowls with steamed broccoli, crunchy vegetables, and creamy tahini sauce.
What is Tempeh?
Tempeh is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans pressed into a firm cake. It has a pleasantly nutty, earthy flavor and a hearty texture, making it a wonderful plant-based protein. If you’ve found tempeh bitter in the past, simmering it before cooking can help mellow its flavor.
Tempeh Recipe ingredients
- Tempeh - Choose organic, non-GMO tempeh, cut into bite-sized cubes.
- Soy sauce - Adds savory, umami flavor. Substitute gluten-free tamari if needed.
- Maple syrup - Creates a sticky, lightly sweet glaze.
- Mirin and rice vinegar - Add subtle sweetness and acidity. Substitute water for the mirin.
- Sesame oil - Adds a delicious nutty aroma.
- Garlic and ginger - Fresh aromatics that bring the sauce to life. Ginger is optional.
- Sriracha - Adds a little heat. Adjust to taste.
- Sesame seeds - For a nutty finish and a little crunch.
- Oil for pan-searing - Use avocado, coconut, peanut, or olive oil.
- For serving - Brown rice or jasmine rice, steamed broccoli, crunchy vegetables, scallions, and optional creamy tahini-soy sauce.
How to make Crispy Sesame Tempeh
If making bowls, set rice to cook if using.
Simmer: Cut tempeh into ¾ inch cubes, place in a medium pot, and cover with water (just enough to reach the top of the tempeh). Add soy sauce and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. This step softens the tempeh and helps remove bitterness.
Stir Fry Sauce: Whisk the sesame stir fry sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set it by the stove.
Steam: After the tempeh has simmered for 10 minutes, feel free to steam broccoli florets overtop of the tempeh. If the pot needs a little more liquid, add more water (again to the level of the tempeh), place the broccoli florets over the tempeh, cover, and steam for 3-4 minutes or until the broccoli is tender-crisp. Using tongs, remove the broccoli and set it aside. Drain the tempeh and pat dry.
Crisp: In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Season the oil with salt and pepper. Carefully add the tempeh to the seasoned oil and brown each side until deeply golden. Pour in the sesame sauce, reducing by half. It will thicken as it reduces. Turn heat off and taste and adjust salt and heat level.
Assemble the bowls: Divide rice among bowls and top with steamed broccoli and any other veggies.
Divide the crispy tempeh. Sprinkle with scallions and spoon the bowl with this optional creamy tahini-soy sauce!
Peanut sauce works great on top too. A squeeze of lime juice adds a bit of extra flavor.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerate: Store leftover sesame tempeh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep the rice, vegetables, and sauces separate when possible.
- Reheat: Warm the tempeh in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat until heated through. The glaze will soften in the refrigerator, but pan-reheating helps restore some of its texture.
- Meal prep: Prepare the rice, vegetables, and sesame sauce ahead of time. Pan-sear and glaze the tempeh just before serving for the crispiest results.
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to serve this Crispy Sesame Tempeh is in a colorful rice bowl with plenty of fresh, crunchy vegetables and a creamy sauce. Mix and match your favorites!
- Rice or noodles: Brown rice, jasmine rice, forbidden black rice, or rice noodles.
- Steamed vegetables: Broccoli or cauliflower.
- Fresh, crunchy veggies: Shredded cabbage, carrots, beets, bell peppers, or cucumbers.
- Creamy additions: Sliced avocado adds richness and balances the savory sesame glaze.
- Fresh herbs and garnishes: Scallions, cilantro, sesame seeds, and a squeeze of fresh lime.
- Sauces: Drizzle with our creamy tahini-soy sauce or Thai Peanut Sauce for extra flavor.
Meal prep tip: Prepare the rice, vegetables, and sauce ahead of time, then crisp the tempeh just before serving for the best texture.
Chef’s Tips
- Simmer the tempeh first. This is the trick we perfected in our vegetarian restaurant! Simmering tempeh in lightly salted water with a splash of soy sauce helps mellow its bitterness, soften its texture, and add savory flavor.
- Dry before pan-searing. After simmering, drain the tempeh and pat it dry. Removing excess moisture helps it develop a beautiful golden crust instead of steaming in the pan.
- Get it golden and crispy! Use a hot, lightly oiled skillet and let the tempeh develop a deep golden crust before turning. Avoid overcrowding the pan for the best texture.
- Add the sauce last. Once the tempeh is crispy, pour in the sesame sauce and let it simmer briefly until thickened and glossy, coating every piece. Adding it too early can prevent the tempeh from crisping.
Give the Crispy Sesame Tempeh a try this week and let me know what you think!
If you enjoyed this bowl recipe, be sure to try our Spicy Jerk Tofu Bowl, Tofu Shawarma Bowl, and any of our other healthy bowl recipes or Buddha bowls!
More Favorite Tempeh Recipes!
Watch how to cook Tempeh!
Crispy Sesame Tempeh Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: bowl, tempeh recipes, vegan, vegan dinner, vegetarian dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Description
Looking for delicious tempeh recipes? This crispy sesame tempeh is golden, flavorful, and coated in a sticky savory-sweet sauce. Easy, vegan, and protein-rich!
Ingredients
- Tempeh
- 8 ounces tempeh, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or gluten-free liquid Aminos)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and fresh cracked pepper
- Sticky Sesame Stir-Fry Sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin or water
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, finely minced, optional
- 2–4 teaspoons sriracha
- 1– 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- salt and pepper to taste
- Optional Bowl Ingredients:
- Rice: 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice or sub other cooked whole grain.
- Veggies: 3–4 cups total steamed broccoli or cauliflower, grated carrot, shredded cabbage, bell pepper or other veggies of choice.
- Garnish: scallions or cilantro
- Optional Creamy Tahini Soy Sauce!
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or gluten-free liquid aminos)
- 2 tablespoons tahini paste
- 2 teaspoons sriracha, more to taste
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1–2 teaspoons maple syrup.
Instructions
- Set rice to cook if using.
- Simmer: Cut tempeh into ¾ inch cubes, place in a medium pot, and cover with water (just enough to reach the top of the tempeh). Add soy sauce and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir Fry Sauce: Whisk together the Sticky Sesame Stir-Fry Sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set by the stove.
- Steam: After the tempeh has simmered for 10 minutes, feel free to steam broccoli florets overtop of the tempeh. If the pot needs a little more liquid, add more water (again to the level of the tempeh), place the broccoli florets over the tempeh, cover, and steam for 3-4 minutes or until the broccoli is tender-crisp. Using tongs, remove the broccoli and set it aside. Drain the tempeh and pat dry.
- Crisp: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season the oil with salt and pepper. Carefully add the tempeh to the seasoned oil and brown each side until deeply golden. Take your time here! Pour in the sauce, reducing by half, spooning the sauce over the tempeh. It will thicken as it reduces. Turn heat off and taste and adjust salt level and heat level to your taste.
- Assemble: Divide rice among bowls and top with steamed broccoli and any other veggies. Divide tempeh. Sprinkle with scallions and spoon with optional Soy Joy Sauce!
Notes
Creamy Sauce: To make the Creamy Tahini Soy sauce, just whisk everything together in a small bowl. If the sauce is “separating”, it is just in an “awkward” stage, just keep whisking, and it will eventually grow out of it and become smooth.Â
Extra Crispy: Dredge tempeh in cornstarch right before searing in the seasoned oil. Once tempeh is crispy, remove it from the pan. Pour in the sauce, and reduce. Toss tempeh with sauce at the very end, no more than 30 seconds.Â
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounces crispy tempeh
- Calories: 324
- Sugar: 7.6 g
- Sodium: 544.9 mg
- Fat: 15.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.8 g
- Fiber: 10.2 g
- Protein: 23.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This was my first time having/cooking tempeh and it turned out really nice! I served it with thinly sliced cabbage, carrots, Kewpie mayo, and crushed peanuts as toppings. Very good alternative texture to tofu.
Glad you enjoyed Harvey!
Oh my gosh! The flavor in this one was sooo good! Thank you for another great vegan dish. We love your recipes!
Nice to hear this Ana! Appreciate you taking time to review.
Hi, does this keep well in the fridge for a few days? I’d like to make it as meal prep (cook on Sun and eat on Wed)
The tempeh won’t be crispy but other than that it would most likely be delicious!
Esta receta es absolutamente deliciosa, la mejor forma que he encontrado para preparar Tempeh. Mil gracias!!
So happy you enjoyed Johanna!
We enjoyed the tempeh and stir fry sauce as in the recipe. We also added fried onions, Asian stir fry greens and steamed squash to the pan after the stir fry sauce cooked with the tempeh. We ate it over rice.
We will make this again.
Sounds great Yafa! Really appreciate the review!
Delish!
Yay!
This was so tasty and a really unique dinner (for us, anyway). I’d never cooked tempeh, but, with this recipe, it has a new fan! It was much easier than tofu. Thank you!
So glad you gave it a try Lisa! Thanks for the review!
Hello how much of each of those ingredients do I need for the recipe please? Also are they all for the sauce. You said to put the soy in the water for the tempeh? How much should I add please and will I also need to put it into the sauce. What do I do with the ginger! I’m a bit confused but would love to make this. Thank you.
Hi Rosanna, Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe card and instructions (or press the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the post).
Another winner! I am working my way through your bowl recipes and all of them are so good. Hard to say which is my favourite so far but this one is definitely a contender. So delicious I am already looking forward to eating it again. I love how simple it was to put together and that I could make some of the components early. I made both the stir fry sauce and the peanut sauce earlier and prepped the tempeh, purple cabbage and broccoli so it was pretty effortless and quick to do the final cooking. Thank you so much for easy, delicious, nutritious recipes.
So glad you enjoyed this Rachel!
Another excellent recipe – I made this as a bowl with brown basmati, avocado, carrot, bell peppers, and cabbage. I skipped the broccoli, but made the sauce. Absolute keeper, will go into the weekly rotation with our other vegan faves from this site (drunken noodles, coconut bowls, sesame noodles). My only regret is that I didn’t double the recipe, so no leftovers this time!
So happy you enjoyed this Delphulia!
Just made this today . Excellent recipe for vegans . Very flavorful . For vegetables I used Enoki mushrooms, bok choy , bell peppers and shredded carrots . It was a very nutritious , filling bowl . I used brown basmati rice . It was a perfect bowl . My family loved it . Definitely will be doing it again . Thanks Silvia .
Great to hear Rohini!
Tonight is the second time making this in two weeks…we love it that much. It comes together quickly and tastes delicious!
So happy to hear this Jen!
Absolutely delicious .. first time cooking with tempeh..the recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks so much!
Great to hear this Kathryn!
This was my introduction to tempeh and I was surprised how good it was!
My meat-loving husband was skeptical, but he finished his portion so that says more than his words! I served it hot with rice and the steamed broccoli without any sauce(did not have some of the key ingredients on hand) and it was very tasty. I did put on some Bachman’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce and enjoyed very much for dinner and reheated for lunch the next day.
Glad you gave it a try Linda!
Delicious! We want to try it with tofu as well, just for fun 🙂
glad you enjoyed, let us know how it goes with tofu!
We loved all the flavors in this bowl. This way of cooking the tempeh – boiling then adding the sticky sauce and reducing – made the bitter tempeh taste perfect! We’re under rainy skies in Memphis, TN – no wolf moon, but the carnivores in my family didn’t complain that I had sneaked in a veggie bowl! Thanks, Sylvia!
Awesome Melissa, so glad all enjoyed!
Loved the texture and flavor!
Great to hear Deb!
Can I use air fryer instead of frying in olive oil?
You could get them crispy in the air fryer, but I would reduce the sauce in a pan, and then drizzle the sauce over top after they comeout of the air fryer.
We really enjoyed this. I used TJ’s coconut liquid aminos and felt it needed more salt but once I added that at the end like you suggested, it was perfect. I wonder if it is less salty than soy sauce? It was nice to steam the broccoli at the same time too.
Glad you enjoyed it Jensen. Yes, soy sauce and liquid aminos can vary in salt greatly!