Tempeh Bacon with Chimichurri
This tempeh bacon with chimichurri is ideal for a quick healthy lunch or dinner! It’s naturally protein rich, easy to make, light in oil (most chimichurri recipes have a lot of oil), and full of flavor. Only 211 calories per portion!
It’s a fantastic idea for vegans and non vegans because this recipe is just delicious. Even if you don’t like tempeh, the flavor combination of these little delights will tempt you to give it another try.
Healthy Tempeh Bacon with Chimichurri
Since I come from the Chilean Patagonia, I used to travel to the Argentinean Patagonia pretty often as a child. It’s in the south of Argentina where I first tried chimichurri, a fantastic sauce that combines fresh parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. At the time I used to pour it over BBQ but since I no longer consume meat, these days I enjoy chimichurri on top of my Tempeh Bacon recipe. I love it because it’s:
Less oily than traditional recipes I’ve seen.
Easy to make.
Packed with natural protein.
Full of flavor!
Ingredients
Tempeh
Parsley
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Garlic powder (or garlic cloves)
Smoked chili powder (optional)
Dry oregano
Soy sauce
Liquid smoke
I buy organic tempeh at Trader Joe’s in Chicago, but if you are patient enough, you could make your own tempeh too. I’ve seen recipes of bean tempeh, which means you could make it soy free and gluten free if necessary.
Liquid smoke: I buy it at Whole Foods, and while it may not be the healthiest thing, you only use a small amount for this recipe.
Garlic: it’s essential for the chimichurri recipe so don’t skip it. This time I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic because I ran out of fresh cloves. The nice thing is I discovered that both options work great.
Red wine vinegar: while the traditional recipe has wine vinegar, I have also made chimichurri with apple cider vinegar and I liked the flavor as well, so it could work as replacement.
How to Make Tempeh Bacon with Chimichurri?
You need a food processor and a saucepan.
For the vegan bacon: mix the liquid ingredients, except the oil, and set aside.
Cut the tempeh into thin slices (21) and sauté approximately 2 minutes with olive oil, flip them over, add more olive oil, and sauté until brown.
Pour in half of the liquid mix and cook until the liquid is gone, flip the tempeh, add the rest of the liquid, and cook until the liquid is gone again.
You can cook it a bit longer if you want them extra crispy, just be careful not to burn the tempeh bacon too much.
For the chimichurri: throw everything in the food processor until partially smooth like in the pictures. Taste it and add more salt and pepper to your taste if needed.
This Tempeh Bacon with Chimichurri Is
High in protein
Egg-free
Dairy-free (without butter)
Healthier than many chimichurri recipes I’ve seen
Refined sugar-free
Easy to make
Amazing as lunch, dinner, or as a post-workout meal