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Vegan BBQ Tempeh Ribs

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5 from 9 reviews

BBQ Tempeh Ribs are smoky, sweet, savory, and so easy to make. Smother these vegan ribs in my homemade barbecue sauce then bake or grill for one amazing backyard bbq!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 16 ounces of packaged tempeh (usually comes in 8-ounce packaging)
  • 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. liquid smoke
  • 1 cup Easy Vegan BBQ Sauce or favorite sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400˚F and line a baking sheet or baking tray with parchment paper.
  2. To a small bowl add smoked paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper. Use a small fork or whisk to combine all the spices. Then add the water, maple syrup, soy sauce, and liquid smoke. Mix until well combined and a marinade is formed. Set aside.
  3. Take each block of tempeh and slice into desired rib size. I like thick strips and was able to get about 11-12 ribs per block of tempeh.
  4. Place tempeh in a large skillet or small saucepan and pour the soy sauce mixture over the tempeh. Lightly toss with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon if needed until all of the tempeh is coated.
  5. Set the skillet on the stove over medium heat until the sauce starts to simmer or lightly boil. Stir frequently and continue cooking the tempeh until the mixture has thickened and dried up and all the tempeh pieces are coated (usually about 10-15 minutes). As the tempeh cooks, now would be a good time to make the barbecue sauce if you are using a homemade sauce.
  6. Remove the tempeh from the stove, transfer to a small baking dish, and smother with bbq sauce. Place the tempeh ribs on the lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Use any extra bbq sauce to baste the ribs halfway through the cooking process.
  7. Transfer to a serving dish and cover with any remaining leftover sauce.

Notes

One of my favorite ways of adding extra flavor is letting the tempeh ribs marinate in the bbq sauce for at least a couple of hours before baking them. SO GOOD!

Prepare the bbq sauce ahead of time so you can eliminate an extra step.

I like my ribs more on the “burnt” side so I let them cook for about 30 minutes.

If you want those cool grill marks but don’t want to cook outside simply use a nonstick grill pan.

Place in leftovers in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy cold or reheat in the microwave.

Only cooking for one? Don’t feel pressured to use an entire package of tempeh. Cut it in half, wrap it up, and save it for later.

Use extra firm tofu if you’re no a fan of the texture of tempeh. Just be sure and press it for at least 20 minutes before cooking.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://shaneandsimple.com/vegan-bbq-tempeh-ribs/