How to Cook Protempeh Tempeh Bacon
Updated: Sep 9
Your Protempeh Tempeh Bacon arrives fully cooked and ready to eat — frying is purely for texture and colour. Five minutes from pack to plate. Here is how to cook tempeh bacon so it crisps at the edges rather than steaming in the pan.
Author: Olivier Laudus
Serves 2-3
What's in our Tempeh Bacon:
Tempeh (soybeans, water, culture), water, gluten-free soy sauce, maple syrup, olive oil, cider vinegar, smoked paprika, sea salt, liquid smoke, garlic powder.
Allergens: soybeans, soya.
Ingredients:
300g pack of Protempeh Tempeh Bacon.
1 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil.
1 tsp maple syrup, to finish (optional).
A pinch of black pepper (optional).
Recipe:
Pat the slices dry. Take the slices out of the pack and pat them dry with kitchen paper. This is the step most people skip and it makes the biggest difference — surface moisture has to boil off before browning can start, so damp slices steam instead of crisping.
Heat the pan. Warm the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Resist going higher. There's maple syrup in the marinade and it will catch and turn bitter over a fierce heat before the slices have had a chance to colour properly.
Fry the first side. Lay the slices in a single layer without crowding the pan and fry for 2–3 minutes until the underside is deep brown and the edges have started to crisp. Work in two batches if your pan is small — crowding traps steam and you'll lose the crisp.
Turn and finish. Flip the slices and give them another 2–3 minutes. They firm up considerably as they cool, so pull them while they still have a little give rather than waiting for them to feel crisp in the pan.
Glaze and serve. Off the heat, brush with the maple syrup and add the black pepper if using. The residual heat is enough to glaze them without the sugar catching. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and serve straight away.
Ways to use it:
Tempeh bacon is smoky, salty and firm rather than fatty, so it crisps at the edges and keeps its bite instead of shrinking away. It is good hot from the pan and just as good cold the next day, which makes it worth cooking the whole pack at once. Everything below is vegan as written.
Breakfast. Alongside avocado on toast, roasted tomatoes and mushrooms, or a plate of scrambled tofu. Also very good on pancakes with an extra drizzle of maple syrup.
Sandwiches and wraps. A plant-based BLT on thick toast with lettuce, tomato and vegan mayo, or rolled into a wrap with hummus, avocado and salad leaves.
Salads. Broken into shards over a kale, potato or pasta salad, where the smoke and salt lift a creamy tahini or cashew dressing.
Pasta and risotto. Chopped small and stirred through a cashew or oat cream sauce, or scattered over a mushroom risotto at the end for texture.
Jacket potatoes and soups. Crumbled over a baked potato with vegan soured cream and chives, or across a bowl of split pea, sweetcorn or leek and potato soup.
Burgers and buns. A couple of slices tucked into a bean, mushroom or tempeh burger, or into a bap with grilled halloumi-style cheese.
Beans and hash. Stirred through a smoky bean stew or a potato hash, wherever a dish needs something salty and savoury running through it.
Air fryer method:
Lay the slices in a single layer, spray lightly with oil and cook at 180°C for 8–10 minutes, turning once. Give them room — crowded slices steam rather than crisp. If your basket has strong airflow, weigh the slices down with a rack so they don't lift. Expect a drier, crisper result than the pan, closer to a crisp than a rasher.
Storage:
Keep refrigerated and use within the date on pack. Once opened, use within 3 days. Suitable for home freezing. Slices will keep in the fridge for a day or two after frying and are good cold in a sandwich.
Nutritional information: Per 100g: energy 210 kcal, fat 12.1g, carbohydrates 12g, fibre 5g, protein 18.3g, salt 0.6g, riboflavin (B2) 0.3mg.
