Shake up your taco game with these smoky and hearty tempeh tacos with corn, cilantro, and avocado. The recipe is incredibly easy, fresh, healthy, and it might just become your new taco obsession!
Why This Recipes Works
We can’t get enough of tacos around here and not just for Taco Tuesday! I’ve already got several vegan taco recipes on the blog using tofu, crispy baked cauliflower, or jackfruit. But these tempeh tacos are my new favorite!
If you haven’t tried tempeh yet, you just need to try this recipe. Trust me, this plant-based spin is about to become a star in your kitchen.
Tempeh has a rich and nutty flavor and it can be seasoned any way you like. Plus, it’s packed with plant-based protein and fiber that makes it the perfect meat replacement for vegans and vegetarians. But it’s much more than a meat replacement!
It is a nutritional powerhouse and it has an amazing texture and taste. I love to cut it into cubes and marinate them with a mixture of paprika, soy sauce, maple syrup, cumin, and liquid smoke.
The liquid smoke gives the tempeh the perfect smoky flavor while the spices and the soy sauce provide it with a hearty and slightly spicy taste.
I usually serve the crispy tempeh cubes in taco shells with lettuce, cilantro, corn, red cabbage, and avocado. And don’t forget a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice. Plus, I like to top everything off with an easy yogurt garlic sauce made with soy or coconut-based yogurt.
So get ready to redefine your taco night and give this recipe a try. I hope it will become a staple in your dinner lineup and you will enjoy it as much as we do!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Tempeh
- Onion & Garlic
- Spices – sweet and hot paprika, and cumin.
- Soy Sauce – for a gluten-free version replace the soy sauce with tamari.
- Maple Syrup
- Liquid Smoke -it gives the tempeh the perfect smoky taste. You can find liquid smoke in the condiments aisle of most well-stored supermarkets. If you have a hard time finding it, you could also order it online. A bottle of liquid smoke will keep forever as you only need very little of it!
- Lime Juice – fresh lime juice adds a nice tang.
- Lettuce – I like to use Romaine lettuce.
- Green Onions
- Cilantro
- Corn – use frozen or canned corn.
- Red Cabbage
- Avocado
- Plant-based Yogurt – I like to use soy or oat-based yogurt for a simple yogurt garlic sauce. Make sure the yogurt is unsweetened.
- Garlic – fresh garlic.
- Salt & Pepper
How To Make This Recipe
1. Step: Cut the tempeh into cubes.
2. Step: Heat some olive oil in a large pan. Then add the tempeh cubes, spices, soy sauce, and liquid smoke. Stir and cook on high heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Step: In the meantime, finely chop the onion.
4. Step: Then add it to the tempeh.
5. Step: Pan-fry for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Step: Cut the Romaine lettuce and the red cabbage into slices.
7. Step: Dice the avocado. Cut the green onions into rings.
8. Step: In a small bowl, combine the plant-based yogurt, minced or finely chopped garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
9. Step: Arrange everything in taco shells.
10. Step: Drizzle with the vegan garlic yogurt and fresh lime juice.
Storing
The filled taco shells with yogurt sauce will get a bit soggy after a few hours. So I recommend eating the tacos on the same day within a few hours.
If you store the tempeh and vegetables in separate containers, everything will last up to 3 days.
Freezing
Tempeh freezes really well. So you could easily double the batch and freeze part of it for later.
Variations
The tacos are also great with:
- halved cherry tomatoes
- sliced jalapeños
- roasted bell pepper and zucchini
- Chipotle mayo and Chipotle corn salsa
- Mexican street corn salad
Related Recipes
I Love To Hear From You!
I hope you like these tempeh tacos as much as we do around here.
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to know what you think about it. Just leave me a comment and a star rating below. Your comments really make my day!
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Sina
Tempeh Tacos
Equipment
- 1 chopping board
- 1 large knife
- 1 large pan
Ingredients
- 7 oz tempeh
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon hot paprika
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 8 taco shells
- 2 cups Romaine lettuce, sliced
- 1 cup red cabbage, sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 cup frozen or canned corn
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 cup unsweetened soy or coconut yogurt
- 1 clove of garlic, minced or finely chopped
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut the tempeh into cubes.
- Heat some olive oil in a large pan. Then add the tempeh cubes, spices, soy sauce, and liquid smoke. Stir and cook on high heat for about 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, finely chop the onion.
- Then add it to the tempeh.
- Pan-fry for another 3-4 minutes.
- Cut the Romaine lettuce and the red cabbage into slices.
- Dice the avocado. Cut the green onions into rings.
- In a small bowl, combine the plant-based yogurt, minced or finely chopped garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
- Arrange everything in taco shells.
- Drizzle with the vegan garlic yogurt and fresh lime juice.
Notes
- The filled taco shells with yogurt sauce will get a bit soggy after a few hours. So I recommend eating the tacos on the same day within a few hours.
- If you store the tempeh and vegetables in separate containers, everything will last up to 3 days.
- Tempeh freezes really well. So you could easily double the batch and freeze part of it for later.
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