Tempeh BLT with avocado
Smoky, crispy tempeh bacon stacked with lettuce, juicy tomato and creamy smashed avocado on toast, a plant-based BLT with 30 grams of protein.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $3.67 a serving
- 610 calories
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 8 oz tempeh
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 slices whole wheat bread
- 1 avocado
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1 cup green leaf lettuce, about 4 leaves
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1½ tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 pinch salt
Each serving has about 610 calories, 34 g protein, 51 g carbs and 34 g fat, and costs about $3.67 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No tomatoes? Roma tomatoes work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the tempeh into thin strips, about ¼ inch thick.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dolly’s tip: Thin is the whole trick. Thick slices stay soft in the middle instead of going crisp.the soy sauce, maple syrup, smoked paprika, garlic powder and 1 tablespoon of water in a shallow dish. Lay the tempeh in, turn it, and leave it 10 minutes.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Timer: 10 min
Heat the oil in a large over medium until it , then lay in the tempeh, saving the leftover .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Marinate. Marinating means letting food sit in a flavorful liquid, called a marinade, before you cook it. Always marinate in the fridge, and never reuse marinade from raw meat unless you boil it first.
How you’ll know: The food is coated all over, sealed in a bag or covered dish, and chilling in the fridge.
Medium heat
Cook 3 minutes a side, until deep and at the edges. Pour in the leftover for the last 30 seconds and let it sizzle into a .
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Marinate. Marinating means letting food sit in a flavorful liquid, called a marinade, before you cook it. Always marinate in the fridge, and never reuse marinade from raw meat unless you boil it first.
How you’ll know: The food is coated all over, sealed in a bag or covered dish, and chilling in the fridge.
Glaze. A glaze is a thin, glossy coating, often sweet, brushed or spooned over food near the end. It adds shine and flavor, and because it has sugar, it can burn quickly.
How you’ll know: The food looks shiny and evenly coated, sticky at the edges but not blackened.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Dolly’s tip: The maple can scorch. If the pan starts to smoke, turn the heat down a notch.Move the tempeh to a plate, wipe the , and toast the bread in it over medium for 1 to 2 minutes a side, until .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Mash the avocado with the lemon juice and salt.
Spread the avocado on the toast, then stack the lettuce, tomato and tempeh and close the sandwiches.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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