If you know what an unaltered brick of tempeh looks like, then you’ll also understand me when I say that it’s an ingredient in dire need of a serious culinary transformation before it becomes palatable. Luckily, one of my passions in life is to show people how to transform ugly and altogether unappetizing foods like tempeh into unusually beautiful and tasty meals; this amazing BBQ tempeh recipe was my attempt to do exactly that. Here, I’ll demonstrate and describe for you one of the myriad ways that you can alchemize this ingredient from tasteless to something you want to taste more of.

From Flavorless to Flavorful: How To Tempeh

Tempeh simply on its own does not do much to impress neither the eyes nor the tastebuds: beige, bland, rather dense and strangely textured; it needs all the help it can get to really wow a person. But when it does, as is the case for this bbq tempeh recipe, you’ll have no trouble recalling the impactful imprint it impressed on your culinary long-term memory.

Much like its close cousin tofu – both ingredients derived in some way from soybeans – tempeh is truly a misunderstood and misused ingredient. When prepared properly, however, there are few things better and few things more satisfying in all of plant-based cooking.

Traditionally, a tried and true method of imparting ginormous flavor for any protein is with marinades; tempeh, however, does not accept this technique readily: the dense and rather compact nature of the ingredient sees to its malabsorption of moisture. This means that marinades are more of a long-term strategy – as in, a day or two – to flavor tempeh, rather than a spur of the moment thing. Therefore, a quicker way of flavoring this ingredient is instead to slather on a strongly flavored sauce – in this case a homemade BBQ sauce – and rely on the big, bold flavors there to carry the tempeh to deliciousness.

The BBQ sauce in this recipe is zippy, smokey, tangy, and full of different seasonings and spices, as all BBQ sauces should be. It’s a vibrant and amazingly tasty outside coating for your tempeh, reminiscent in taste and smell of summer-y outdoor barbecues.

Briefly, if you haven’t already, take a glance at the photos of this bbq tempeh recipe. You’ll notice that the tempeh has little slices all up and down it. There’s a reason for this: when you cut delicate, shallow slits about a 1/4-inch or so into the brick of soybean protein, without actually cutting all the way through, it helps to impart more flavor to the inside of the tempeh as the BBQ sauce seeps down into it while baking. Doing this will also give the it a more pleasing, classic centerpiece-like appearance, too.

The best tempeh to use for this BBQ tempeh recipe is undoubtedly Litelife’s Original Tempeh.

Slathering BBQ sauce on tempeh — Litelife’s Original Tempeh

The Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes. Is there a side dish more ubiquitous in traditional western cuisine than that? And yet, despite its ubiquity at many dinner tables and BBQs and holidays, it seems that there isn’t any particular uniformity regarding the way in which its prepared: some like the potatoes whipped, while some like them chunky; some like them plain and unassuming, while some load them with herbs and butter and spices; some simply use good ol’ yukon gold potatoes without skins, while others delight in a variety of potato, skins on and the like.

My approach to the mashed potatoes for this recipe is a bit of a hybrid: a conglomeration of both modesty and a little flourish of the eccentric. While you can make these mashed potatoes pretty much however you feel comfortable, this version paired perfectly well with this bbq tempeh recipe.

For me, when I’m preparing mashed potatoes, I tend to leave them more chunky than smooth, because personally I prefer to know that it’s potatoes I’m eating. When puréed or whipped, I feel that the potatoes become gummy and rather unappetizing. Also, I do flavor my potatoes with a little bit of nutritional yeast for an unctuous, cheesy kick (see My Vegan Pantry for more information about Nutritional Yeast), as well as a bit of vegan butter and dried thyme. The butter imparts a bit of salty, melty goodness, and the dried thyme adds a slight herbal note that won’t overwhelm you.

And while I claim these are the “perfect mashed potatoes” for this recipe, I would not condemn you for making them as it pleases your particular penchant, because what better engenders the classic side dish of mashed potatoes more than that which is familiar, comforting, and homey?

BBQ Tempeh Recipe with Slaw and Potatoes

Blueberries: do they belong in a coleslaw?

The answer to this question is a knee-jerk “no” for most people. Fruit in coleslaw seems absurd, and maybe it is. All I know with certainty is how it tasted: refreshing and delicious.

Blueberries, in my opinion, are the perfect berry to add to a coleslaw: firstly, they’re self-contained and don’t weep juice and squish easily, meaning your coleslaw with them in it won’t be a fruity mush; secondly, blueberries add a beautiful burst of sweetness that is a nice relief and compliment to the tang of the red wine vinegar in this slaw; lastly, along with the carrots, blueberries give the slaw a rather varied appearance: the pops of dark blue indigo contrasting vividly with the orange threads of carrot and green of cabbage.

Really, the slaw in this recipe is there to provide a much needed fresh, crunchy, and cool element that contrasts with the tempeh and potatoes. You might surprise yourself at how much you enjoy a blueberry-cabbage-carrot coleslaw, especially when eaten alongside the other two-thirds of the plate.

The only appeal I can make is to your curiosity: aren’t you the least bit interested in what how blueberries in a slaw might taste? If yes, then put everything you know about side dish sensibility on the back burner, and make this slaw. This, along with the mashed potatoes, create a wondrous confluence of perfectly complimentary side dishes that accompany and highlight this glorious bbq tempeh recipe to a tee.