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This Sesame Ginger Tempeh Stir Fry Recipe is one of the most popular recipes on my blog! It’s an easy vegan stir fry that only requires 25 minutes to make and SO DELICIOUS! Even my meat loving husband enjoys this dish!
Interested in trying more tempeh recipes? You’ll love my Tempeh Tacos as well as this Tempeh Chili and this delicious Tempeh Bacon!
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Please tell me that you’ve tried tempeh before? PLEASE!
If not, then you’ve come to the right place because this tempeh stir fry is seriously SO so good! But I’m a little biased because I happen to think that tempeh is THE most underrated vegetarian protein source out there. Seriously so good.
Tempeh is SO GOOD that I created a whole roundup of my favorite tempeh recipes and even have a whole post on Tempeh 101. Check em out!
I recently wrote a whole post about how to marinate tempeh and it makes a huge difference when cooking with it!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick & easy – Ready in under 30 minutes!
- Packed with flavor – Sweet, savory, nutty, and tangy all in one.
- High in protein – Thanks to the tempeh and nut butter.
- Great for meal prep – Stores well for leftovers!
- Customizable – Swap the veggies or protein for whatever you have on hand.
Ingredients we’re working with:
- Tempeh – A great plant-based protein! You can swap it for tofu if needed.
- Ginger paste – Can substitute with grated fresh ginger or ground ginger in a pinch.
- Garlic paste – Swap for minced fresh garlic if you prefer.
- Sesame oil.
- Rice vinegar – Gives the sauce a slight tang. Apple cider vinegar works too.
- Soy sauce or coconut aminos – Use tamari for a gluten-free version.
- Maple syrup – Adds natural sweetness. Swap for honey or agave syrup.
- Cornstarch – Helps thicken the sauce. Arrowroot starch is a good alternative!
- Nut butter – Adds depth and richness! Peanut butter or almond butter work well but you can use tahini or sunflower seed butter for a nut free option.
- Green beans & carrots– other veggies can easily be swapped or added in as desired!
How to make this easy stir fry
The full printable recipe can be found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card but let’s go over the main steps:
STEP #1: Make the sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a blender and blending until smooth.
STEP #2: Cook the tempeh in a large skillet and toss in just a little bit of the sauce to coat the tempeh. Set aside to cook the veggies.
STEP #3: Cook the veggies in a large skillet with a little oil. During the last few minutes, add in a little water to steam the veggies until tender.
STEP #4: Combine all of the ingredients – add the tempeh back into the skillet along with the sauce and cook until the sauce has thickened and the veggies and tempeh are covered in the sauce.
Expert Tips
- Adjust the sauce thickness: If too thick, add a splash of water. If too thin, let it simmer longer.
- Marinate the tempeh: Let it soak in the sauce for 15-30 minutes before cooking for extra flavor.
- Crispy tempeh hack: Air fry or bake the tempeh at 375°F for 15 minutes before adding to the skillet.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan: Cook in batches if needed for even browning.
If you try this Sesame Ginger Tempeh Stir Fry recipe or any other recipe on Food with Feeling, don’t forget to leave a comment and a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below to let others know how much you loved it. Happy cooking!! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe, and I would love to hear about your experience making it. And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @foodwithfeeling!
More Tempeh Recipes:
Sesame Ginger Tempeh Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 8 ounces tempeh, cubed into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons ginger paste, sub for grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons garlic paste, sub for 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon nut butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups green beans, ends trimmed
- 2 cups carrots, thinly sliced (or baby carrots)
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the sauce ingredients: ginger, garlic, sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, cornstarch, and nut butter. The sauce can also be whisked together in a bowl but I find the blender much easier.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add in the tempeh and cook for about 8 minutes, flipping every few minutes so that all sides are browned. Turn the heat to low and toss in 2 tablespoons of the sauce and continue to cook until the tempeh is fully coated in the sauce and it has started to caramelize a bit. Remove to a clean plate and return skillet to the heat.
- Turn the heat back to medium, and add in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and toss together the green beans and the carrots in the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add in a few tablespoons of water and place a lid on the skillet to steam the veggies a bit until tender. About another 5 minutes. Remove the lid and take out any excess water.
- Pour in the remaining sauce as well as the tempeh. Toss to coat everything and continue to cook until sauce thickens and everything is nicely coated in the sauce. Cook about 2-3 more minutes.
- Serve over rice or quinoa and ENJOY!! Also great on its own!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How many servings does this recipe make?
It serves 2 medium-large servings or 3-4 smaller portions
Delicious! But 3 garlic cloves is probably too much for one serving, I only used about 1 1/2 and it was just fine
haha I do really love garlic and I’m always worried it’s not enough :) SO glad that you liked it!
This is really tasty and easy to put together. We’ve had it about 4 times and I’ve always used peanut butter for the sauce. I would like to also try it with almond butter. Also, I’ve always used fresh ginger and fresh garlic in the sauce instead of the paste in a tube. The last time we had this we also had a small amount of broccoli that was uncooked and was going to go to waste so I also included that. One of my daughters is vegan and the other will eat almost anything. Both like this recipe. Everyone I’ve served this to has liked it.
This turned out really well. I didn’t have any green beans so I used spinach, red bells pepper and carrots. I substituted the Corn flour with Arrowroot and served with cauliflower rice . This will definitely be a go to recipe.
Super easy to make! Delicious!
I used broccolini, carrot, green beans and mushroom
and substituted corn starch for arrowroot powder, rice malt syrup instead of maple syrup and tamari instead of soy sauce. SO delicious, will make again!
also used fresh ginger and fresh garlic, made it extra tasty
Not a great texture. I followed the recipe but my sauce turned out thick and gluggy. Will need to make again to see where I went wrong.
sorry about that! You can try leaving out the cornstarch so the sauce won’t be as thick and then just whisk a little in if you end up wanting it thicker
I served with rice noodles. Delicious easy and healthy! Five stars!
Very tasty introduction to Tempeh.
What can you use instead of maple syrup? I’m all out but wanting to try this tonight !
agave is a good sub :)
This was incredible! Thank you for the recipe. I used baked tofu instead, so full of flavor. Peanut sauce was addictive! Added cilantro and lime. Delish! Leftovers in microwave better the next day!
YAY! So glad that you liked it! This is def one of my favorites on the blog!