This Air Fryer Tempeh Bacon is the perfect meatless substitute. Just marinate your tempeh, pop it in the air fryer, and you'll have a big batch you can use anywhere you'd use vegan bacon, including sandwiches, salads, wraps, and more!
Steam the tempeh to remove the bitterness. Place the tempeh log in a small or medium pot (or steamer) with ¾ inch of water. Put the lid on the pot and steam over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
While the tempeh is steaming whisk all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Remove the tempeh from the pot and let cool for 1 minute. Wrap the tempeh in a paper towel and lightly press to remove any excess water. Then slice the tempeh into strips. (You should have 14 to 16 strips.)
Place the strips in a shallow baking dish and pour the marinade over the tempeh. Let it marinate for at least 10 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
While the tempeh is marinating, preheat the air fryer to 375F or 190C. Place the marinated tempeh in even rows in the air fryer. Brush any remaining marinade over the tempeh strips. Cook for 15 to 17 minutes, stopping halfway to flip the tempeh strips.
There are a lot of ingredients in the tempeh marinade. If you are missing something you can substitute or make adjustments and still make the recipe work.
You can double this recipe and cook the tempeh in two batches.
You could spray the tempeh with oil for extra crispiness, but this is optional.