Tempeh Marinade
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Looking to add delicious flavor to your tempeh? I’ve got you covered with 6 different Tempeh Marinades that are easy to make and will liven up any tempeh recipe! Use these marinades to bake, pan-fry or air fry your tempeh. No more boring tempeh!
When it comes to cooking tasty, satisfying tempeh, a good marinade is absolutely key. After experimenting with making my own marinades and eventually creating my 6 go-to marinade recipes for tempeh, I’ve discovered that making homemade marinade is really very easy and so tasty too!
I have six core tempeh marinades that I turn to time and time again. Take a scroll, pick out your favorites and enjoy these amazing recipes!
Making Homemade Tempeh Marinade
If you really want to add wonderful, unique flavor to your tempeh, I highly suggest whipping up your own marinades at home! Here are just some of the key reasons why you should DIY instead of buying pre-packaged bottles and mixes:
- Quick + easy. It only takes a few minutes to stir together fresh ingredients for these marinades.
- Fresh. These marinades are as fresh as it gets! You know it hasn’t been sitting on a shelf for months.
- Control. When you make your own marinade you can experiment and adjust ingredients to suit your taste.
- Flavorful. It tastes way better and has fresher flavor!
- Healthier. By making your own recipes, you can avoid highly-processed ingredients and additives found in some store-bought marinades.
Before we get to all of the details of each individual marinade, let’s go over some frequently asked questions:
Why marinate tempeh?
Marinating will infuse tons of flavor into the tempeh and makes such a HUGE difference the way it tastes. On it’s own and uncooked, tempeh has a very mild taste and is almost flavorless. However, it does a great job soaking up marinades and flavors and if cooked well, tastes AMAZING!
How long to marinate tempeh?
If you’ve got the time, it’s really best to marinate tempeh for a few hours or even overnight. However, I’ve found that even just 30 minutes of marinating your tempeh will make a big difference and result in a much more flavorful dish.
How do I cook marinated tempeh?
You can use these marinades in almost any recipe. But if you’re looking for various different ways to cook your tempeh, take a look at this tempeh guide, which includes instructions for pan-frying, air-frying and baking tempeh.
How to Store Homemade Tempeh Marinades:
If you want to pre-make these marinades, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for at least a week.
These marinades also freeze beautifully! You can even freeze the tempeh marinading in the sauce for up to about 6 months. When you’re ready to use it, simply place it in the fridge to thaw and cook as desired.
How to Marinate Tempeh:
Marinating tempeh is VERY simple, especially for how wonderful it is for adding GREAT flavor to the tempeh recipe. Simply pick your flavor and add all of the ingredients to a plastic bag, stasher bag, or resealable container of choice.
- Prep your tempeh: Remove from packaging and slice the tempeh as desired. I show you lots of different ways to cut it HERE. I usually go with simple cubes.
- Make the marinade: I like to whisk together my marinade directly in the dish/bag that I plan to marinate the tempeh in. A plastic bag, silicone bag, or really any kind of shallow resealable container works well. Add all of the ingredients (minus the tempeh) and whisk until fully combined.
- Add the tempeh: Place the tempeh pieces into the marinade and let marinate for 30 minutes or even overnight. Ideally, this will marinate for a good few hours, but even just 30 minutes makes a big difference.
- Cook as desired and ENJOY! Read my post HERE detailing all the different ways to cook tempeh.
Use the Marinade as a Tempeh Sauce
Having a tasty sauce to spoon over the cooked tempeh adds even more delicious flavor! It works especially well when I’m serving tempeh over rice.
Make a sauce: Use the leftover marinade to make a sauce for your tempeh (this works with all of the marinades EXCEPT the peanut marinade). Add it into a saucepan with a cornstarch slurry (a mixture of 2 tablespoons of water + 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch) and cook over medium heat until thickened (about 3-5 minutes). So good!
Teriyaki Marinade
What you need:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Thai Peanut Marinade
What you need:
- ¼ cup of peanut butter
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of maple syrup
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger
Cilantro Lime Marinade:
What you need:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup/ honey
- ½ cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
BBQ Marinade:
What you need:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/4 cup favorite BBQ sauce
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Dash of liquid smoke (optional)
Balsamic Marinade:
What you need:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
Fajita Marinade:
What you need:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1–2 tablespoons chili powder
- Optional: dash of liquid smoke
Tempeh Marinade
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 2
- Diet: Vegan
Description
See how easy it is to make TRULY delicious tempeh by marinating it using one of my 6 delicious tempeh marinades!
Ingredients
TERIYAKI MARINADE:
- 1 package of tempeh, roughly 8 ounces
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
THAI PEANUT MARINADE:
- 1 package of tempeh, roughly 8 ounces
- 1/4 cup of peanut butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of maple syrup
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger
CILANTRO LIME MARINADE:
- 1 package of tempeh, roughly 8 ounces
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup/ honey
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
BBQ MARINADE:
- 1 package of tempeh, roughly 8 ounces
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/4 cup favorite BBQ sauce
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Dash of liquid smoke (optional)
BALSAMIC MARINADE:
- 1 package of tempeh, roughly 8 ounces
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
FAJITA MARINADE:
- 1 package of tempeh, roughly 8 ounces
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons of water
- 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1–2 tablespoons chili powder
- Optional: dash of liquid smoke
Instructions
- Prep your tempeh: Remove from packaging and slice the tempeh as desired. I show you lots of different ways to cut it HERE. I usually go with simple cubes.
- Make the marinade: I like to whisk together my marinade directly in the dish/ bag that I plan to marinate the tempeh in. A plastic bag, silicone bag, or really any kind of shallow resealable container works well. Add all of the ingredients (minus the tempeh) and whisk until fully combined.
- Add the tempeh: add in your tempeh pieces and let marinate for 30 minutes or even overnight. Ideally this will marinate for a good few hours but even just 30 minutes makes a big difference.
- Cook as desired and ENJOY! Read my post HERE detailing all the different ways to cook tempeh. As desired, you can use the leftover marinade to make a sauce for your tempeh (this works with all of the marinades EXCEPT the peanut marinade). Add it into a saucepan with a cornstarch slurry (2 tablespoons of water + 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch) and cook over medium heat until thickened (about 3-5 minutes). It makes for a great sauce to put on top of the tempeh!
Notes
- These marinades work well for tofu as well!
- Once the tempeh is in the marinade, you can freeze it (sitting in the marinade) and leave it in the freezer for up to 6 months. When ready to eat, simply place it in the fridge to thaw and cook as desired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Marinate Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Marinade
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: tempeh, tempeh marinade, marinade
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.