Easy Vegan Recipe: Barbecue Tempeh Sandwich

30 Minute Vegan's Famous BBQ Sauce = A Rockin' Tempeh Sandwich

30 Minute Vegan's BBQ Sauce has gotten rave reviews from countless satisfied customers over the years. The tempeh makes a rockin' vegetarian sandwich, and you can also serve the cutlets over quinoa and top with the BBQ sauce.

The Barbecue Sauce is also great with rice or quinoa dishes, stir fries, veggie burgers, tempura. Create a BBQ Burrito, by chopping up the baked tempeh, and combining with rice, beans and the BBQ Sauce in a wrap.

Serves 4: Marinate the tempeh longer, or overnight, for a deeper flavor

BBQ Sandwich Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp olive oil, or coconut oil
• 2 (8 oz) pkg tempeh, cut crosswise into 4 cutlets
• 1 recipe BBQ sauce (recipe follows)
• 8 slices whole-grain bread or other bread of choice, toasted (optional)
• 8 leaves lettuce
• 1 lg tomato, sliced
• 4 red onion slices

BBQ Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 cup ketchup
• 3 Tbsp molasses or barley malt syrup, OR 2 TBSP pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 tsp chile powder (try chipotle)(note: use a lot less if you don't want it too hot)
• 1 1/2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp Dijon or stone-ground mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°
2. Place the soy sauce, water, and oil in a small dish and add the tempeh cutlets. Marinate 5 min., flipping few times to evenly coat
3. Place the tempeh and marinade ingredients in a baking pan and cook for 5 minutes. Flip, and cook for 10 more minutes
4. While the tempeh is baking, prepare the BBQ sauce. combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk well
5. Pour some BBQ sauce over the tempeh while it is baking
6. When the tempeh is finished cooking, place the cutlet on the bread, toasted if you wish, with the remaining ingredients, and as much BBQ sauce as you like
7. Store any extra sauce in a glass container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days

Variations:

• Replace the tempeh with an equal amount of tofu
• Serve on toasted sourdough, rye bread, or an artisan bread such as olive-rosemary - or a bun as shown in the picture above
• Add 1 Tbsp of minced garlic or peeled & minced ginger to the tempeh marinadel
• For BBQ Sauce: if you don't have ketchup, replace it with one 6-ounce can tomato paste + 1/4 cup water
• Tempeh Reuben: prepare the tempeh as above. Create a Russian dressing with 1 c. Vegan Mayonnaise, 1 c. ketchup, finely diced lg dill pickle. Serve on whole-grain bread with sauerkraut and tomato slices

Excerpted from the book The 30-Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray, published by Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. ©2009.

Read the Savvy Vegetarian Review of 30 Minute Vegan