when I say BLT sandwiches are one of my favorite lunch classics - I’m not playin. I have made this sandwich in so many variations. with rice paper bacon, mushrooms and tempeh. as much as I do love all the versions - I do have to say this is the one I go back to time and time again.
Tempeh BLT
serves 2 and takes about 30 minutes to put together.
Ingredients for the Tempeh Marinade
1 pack of tempeh cut into semi thick slices.
2 tbsp - oil
1 tbsp - soy sauce
1 tbsp - franks red hot or tabasco
1 tbsp - maple syrup
1/2 tbsp - garlic powder
Other Ingredients
Sliced bread - I recommend using a square or rectangle… the more round breads make this sandwich hard to eat.
Romaine lettuce - cleaned & trimmed into nice pieces for a sandwich.
Sliced tomato - I love using heirloom tomatoes when I can find them.
Vegan Mayo - you can use store bought or can make your own using aquafaba.
Plant-Based Mayo
yields 1 1/2 cups
¼ cup - aquafaba
¾ cup - warm safflower oil, or any oil you like
1/2 tsp - Dijon mustard
1 tsp - sea salt
1 tbsp - lemon juice
2 tsp - maple syrup
1 tsp - cream of tartar
Instructions for the mayo
Step 1 - Whip the base
Pour the aquafaba in the blender or if you are using a hand held emulsifier contraption, find a pitcher or a large mason jar that you can use to whip everything together. Once the aquafaba has been whipping for about a min or two and has started foaming, add in that cream of tar tar and allow that to integrate for a minute before slowly pouring in that warm oil letting it slowly build and thicken. Take your time with this step as this will build up the strength in the mayo for everything else to be added.
Step 2 - Add in the remaining ingredients
After pouring in all the oil and your mayo is formed, whip in the remaining ingredients and let that whip together to integrate everything for another minute.
Step 3 - Chill it
Store it in a jar or food safe, air tight container and let it chill for a couple hours to really get firm. Keep it in the fridge and enjoy for up to 2 weeks.
Instructions for the sandwich
Step 1 - Marinade the tempeh
Cut the tempeh into slices and add to a bowl. Add in your marinade ingredients and give everything a good toss to get the marinade well combined on the tempeh.
Step 2 - Air-fry the tempeh
Place a parchment liner into your air fryer and cook these babies for about 15 min at 380 flipping the tempeh half way to allow optimal crispiness.
Step 3 - Prepare the sandwich
Prep your veg by washing your lettuce and tomato and cutting them for the sandwich. For each sandwich I like to use 2 slices of tomato and maybe 4 to 5 good pieces of romaine. Toast your bread and slather on some vegan mayo, plop on your lettuce and tomato on one side and tempeh on the other - I always like to add a bit of extra buffalo or hot sauce here but that up to you. Then all that’s left is to marry the two pieces together and enjoy.
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3