Everyone needs a good, classic stir fry recipe in their back pocket for quick lunches and dinners, and I think this should be the one.
It comes together in just 30 minutes, uses up leftover grains and vegetables from the week, is rich in protein and fiber, and delivers big flavor. What’s not to love? Let me show you how easy it is to get this dish on the table.
It all starts with marinating the tempeh.
What is Tempeh?
Did you know tempeh originated in Indonesia in the early 1800s? (source)
Tempeh is a fermented soy product that’s made of cooked, dehulled soybeans that are inoculated with mold, packed, and incubated until the beans are bound together by the mycelium.
Sounds like weird science, but this fermentation process makes nutrients more available to your body. Plus, tempeh is rich in prebiotics which have been known to promote gut health. It also boasts a whole range of other health benefits, including its iron and calcium content (source).
Cube your tempeh, mix with your peanut-coconut aminos (or tamari) glaze, and set aside. While that’s happening you’ll prep your other ingredients.
Once marinated, sauté your tempeh on both sides until golden brown and delicious. Then you’ll add your veggies and grains and stir-fry until crispy and browned before adding your tempeh back to the pan to warm. That’s it!
Origin of Stir-Fries
Stir frying is a quintessential Chinese cooking technique of cooking ingredients over high heat, stirring constantly. In Chinese, “chao” means stir fry.
Stir frying is traditionally done in a wok, which is a frying pan that dates back to the Chinese Han dynasty that distributes heat evenly due to its concave shape and sloping sides. Learn more about the history of stir-fry here.
We hope you LOVE this stir fry! It’s:
Quick & easy to make
Incredibly flavorful
Vegetable-packed
Protein- & fiber-rich
& So delicious
This would make the perfect weeknight meal when you want something hearty and nutritious on the table fast. I also love making it for lunch when I want something fast and filling.
If you’re into stir fries, be sure to check out our Cauliflower Rice Stir-Fry, Quinoa “Fried Rice,” Almond Butter Tofu Stir-Fry, Tofu that Tastes Good Stir-Fry, and the fan favorite General Tso’s Tofu Stir-Fry!
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
30-Minute Tempeh Stir-Fry
Ingredients
GLAZE
- 3-4 tsp chili garlic sauce (adjust to preferred spice level)
- 4 Tbsp salted creamy peanut butter (or almond, cashew, or sunflower butter)
- 4 tsp sesame oil (if avoiding oil, sub water)
- 1/3 cup coconut aminos (or sub slightly lesser amount of tamari to taste as it can be more pungent in flavor)
- 4 tsp lime juice
- 3 tsp freshly grated ginger (or sub 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
- 1 tsp maple syrup (plus more to taste)
- 3-4 Tbsp water
TEMPEH
- 8 ounces tempeh (chopped into large, bite-size squares // if GF, ensure gluten-free friendly)
THE REST
- 4 tsp sesame oil (or sub double this amount in water)
- 2/3 cup chopped green onion
- 4 cups mixed chopped vegetables (we used red bell pepper, broccoli, carrots & kale)
- 4 tsp coconut aminos (or tamari)
- 3 cups leftover cooked quinoa,* brown rice,* or uncooked cauliflower rice*
Instructions
- Prepare glaze by adding chili garlic sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil, coconut aminos (or tamari), lime juice, fresh ginger, and maple syrup to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add water until a thin, pourable sauce is formed. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more chili garlic sauce for heat, maple syrup for sweetness, lime juice for acidity, or coconut aminos for saltiness. Don’t be shy — you want this quite flavorful.
- Add the chopped tempeh to the glaze and toss to coat. Then cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes (or cover and refrigerate up to 24-48 hours). Prep your other vegetables and toppings at this time.
- Heat a large rimmed cast iron or metal skillet over medium heat. Once hot, spoon in the tempeh, reserving most of the glaze in the bowl (set aside for later). Sauté for 3-4 minutes, turning on each side until browned. Then remove from pan and set aside.
- To the still-hot skillet add sesame oil, green onion, and mixed vegetables (if adding greens, wait to add until step 6). Season with a bit of coconut aminos (or tamari) and stir to coat. Cover to cook and steam the vegetables, stirring occasionally until slightly golden brown and tender (about 4-5 minutes). If they stick to the pan, add 1-2 tsp of water to loosen.
- Once the vegetables are nearly done, add your greens and grains and sauté for 3-4 minutes or until warmed through and slightly browned. Then add in the cooked tempeh and the rest of the glaze and stir to coat. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until everything is hot and well incorporated.
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days. If freezing, store in the freezer up to 1 month. Let thaw before reheating in a hot skillet with a little sesame oil.
B says
Excellent! The sauce is amazing. I used what I had on hand for vegies.
Thank you!
Whoop! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
sarah says
Thank you!!
Sarah says
I haven’t made this yet, but “30 minute stir fry” is misleading when the instructions say to marinate tempeh for 24-48 hours! Guess I won’t be making this for dinner tonight.😢
Hey Sarah! You can marinate the tempeh for 15 minutes if you’re short on time. The longer marinade is optional. Hope this helps! xo
Anne Matava says
Do you think it would work if I roasted the tempeh and vegetables instead of frying them? Thanks.
Hi Anne, we think that could work! You can use this recipe as a guide. Let us know how it goes!
Gemma says
This recipe surpassed my expectations! Really easy and very tasty, satisfying and high protein content too. Will definitely be keeping this one on a regular rotation
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Gemma! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Trisha says
“Great way to cook tempeh. Keep that recipe,” said my husband, going for seconds.
Delicious success on my first attempt to start eating tempeh because it’s even healthier than tofu, being fermented and less processed. Plus it has a meatier texture. Many thanks!
We’re so glad you both enjoyed it, Trisha! Thanks so much for the lovely review. xo
Jennifer says
Loved this recipe so much! I will be making this often! I love tempeh and veggies and rice and try to eat vegan most nights. Only issue is that the tempeh wrapped in sauce burns the pan while cooking. Not sure on how to fix that issue!
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Jennifer! One reader has suggested taking extra care that there is no extra sauce left on the tempeh before adding it to the pan. Hope this helps! xo
sadie says
Howdy, I’ve long since wanted to find a tempeh recipe that looks this yummy to bring into my weekly roster. My hesitation in trying? Everytime I try a tempeh recipe? It’s bitter AF. What can I do to temper/reduce this? I love tempeh when I buy it from delis or such, but making it myself? Always heinous with the bitter. :( It’s such a great foodstuff for fiber & protein. I’m at a loss. Any tips? TQ
Hi Sadie, a flavorful sauce/glaze is key in our experience! A couple other ideas: 1) trying a different brand – flavor can vary a lot by brand or 2) steaming the tempeh before cooking – we haven’t found it makes a huge difference, but others report it’s helpful!
Stephanie says
I made this, except that I mistakenly bought and used baked teriyaki tofu instead of the tempeh. No other changes. It was really good. I recommend making sure the tempeh/tofu is drained from the sauce before sauteing it so that the tempeh gets toastier and any extra sauce doesn’t burn in the bottom of the pan.
We’re so glad it turned out well! Thank you for sharing, Stephanie!
Janet says
Yum! Yum! Yum! This was sooooo delicious, really easy to put together and wonderful to be able to put on the table for everyone to serve themselves from one pot. Before I found this recipe I have never found one that really highlights how tasty tempeh can be. Thank you for yet another great recipe from your website.
Aw, thank you for another lovely review, Janet! We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes! xo
Esmee says
How can I sub the chili garlic sauce?
I cannot find a ‘healthy’ version without sugar.
Hi Esmee, you can use red pepper flakes instead!
Tessa says
It was ok but a bit dry which with the peanut butter made it hard to eat.
Hi Tessa, sorry to hear it turned out a bit dry! We’d recommend a drippy peanut butter for best results. Or thinning with a little bit of water or oil. Hope that helps if you’re up for giving it another try!
Molly says
So delectable!! Eating it right now and it’s a new favorite for sure. I’m not vegan or anything, but that’s one thing I love about these types of recipes… being able to use the leftover tempeh “marinade” without food safety worries!! Thank you for another delicious meal. :-)
Yay! Thank you so much for the lovely review, Molly! We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Jen Beddia says
This recipe is AMAZING, so flavorful. Question though, am making for my in-laws tonight and they will not eat tempeh. If I omit it, should I use the glaze for the vegetables? Or should I just omit that altogether and cook the veggies in the coconut aminos?
Hi Jen, using the glaze for the veggies should work! Or other options would be tofu (if they’ll have that) or chicken (if not vegan).
Agata says
This is so tasty, and so quick & simple to make!! Thank you :)
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Agata! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Barbara H Rhudy says
Have you ever tried this with Tahini? I’m steering clear of peanut butter
and have had A LOT of almond butter of late and my gut seems to want a break from those two. Thks!
Hmm, we haven’t tried it but we think it would work! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Barbara H Rhudy says
So I did try this with tahini…used lemon juice instead of orange, although
I think the orange wld have been fine…and we loved it with tahini….
Might have been a bit milder than pb or almond butter. I also omitted the chili garlic sauce given a very sensitive stomach/intestinal system.
Thanks – I’ll definitely be making this again!
Yay! So glad to know it worked out well. Thanks, Barbara!
Joanna says
Very tasty and pretty easy to make, too. I didn’t have chili garlic sauce so I substituted 1 tsp garlic and 0.5 tsp red chili flakes. I didn’t have coconut aminos either so I just used soy sauce. Still turned out great!!
Love it! Thanks for sharing your modifications, Joanna!
Emily says
OMG my new favorite tempeh dish! Came together super easy and SO TASTY. I’m not one to write recipe reviews, but I was so blown away at how simple and delicious this was!
Woohoo! We love to hear this. Thanks so much for the lovely review, Emily!
Jen says
Delicious!! I think next time I might cut the amount of tempeh in half and double the veggies but overall super tasty.
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Jen! Thank you for sharing!
Aislinn says
Oh my god, this was delicious! I kinda eyeballed the proportions for the glaze and then just adjusted by taste, ended up making quite a large volume of it but the whole dish was so flavoursome as a result. This will for sure become my go-to stir fry sauce!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Aislinn! Thank you so much for the lovely review! xo
Ana says
This was SUCH a good recipe. Everyone in my house loved dinner last night, even the omnivores! I used soba noodles instead of quinoa/rice and it was awesome, thank you so much!!
Whoop! Thanks so much for sharing, Ana!
Madison says
DELICIOUS minimalist baker never fails me. We only had frozen veggies so I used frozen carrots, broccoli, and mixed peppers/onions and it was so good. Definitely will be a repeater!!!!!
Aw, so kind, Madison =) We’re so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Kristy says
Delicious! I didn’t follow the steps exactly because I started to sauté my veggies and cook a fresh pot of rice and then decided to look up a “tempeh stir fry” recipe to found this! I marinated the tempeh in the glaze according to the recipe while my veggies cooked, then cooked the tempeh separately and added it all together and added the remainder of the glaze. Tempeh stir fry is a recurring weekly meal in our house and I think we found our go-to!!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed it as a template, Kristy. Thanks so much for sharing!
Steve G says
Followed this recipe but substituted as follows:-
chili garlic with couple of teaspoons of srirachi and 2 cloves of garlic
maple syrup with the same amount of honey
coconut aminos with the recommended amount of tamari
This made a very tasty glaze which is why it gets 5 stars. I will be using the glaze recipe as a marinade in other stir fries.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing, Steve!
Emma says
This is so yummy! Love the flavors of the sauce with the tempeh
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Emma!
Kristina says
We just made this stir fry, as we had some leftover tempeh and quinoa. Also a great recipe for using up any leftover vegtables. We used carrots, red bell pepper, green onion, broccoli and baby spinach (instead of kale). Very delicious combination of flavors.
Kelly says
Oh, wow, this glaze is so delicious. I was wanting something to do with the last half of a pack of tempeh and this more than satisfied! Also tossed in broccoli, zucchini, carrot, and a bit of jalapeno.
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Kelly! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Ankita says
First try on tempeh and oh my god, what a delicious recipe! Loved the sauce. Will thin it out a little more next time. Added brocolli, kale, bell peppers and mushrooms with quinoa. Thanks for this recipe! :)
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Ankita! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Jackie says
Awesome! FYI for my fellow IBS buddies
this can easily be made low FODMAPs:
Exchange
garlic chili sauce for chili paste (sambal oelek is my fav)
Add garlic Oil
Ommit and veggies that are a trigger for you
Add whatever veggies your tummy likes!
Thanks for sharing, Jackie!