Lemon Garlic Tempeh
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Published Apr 25, 2014, Updated May 14, 2021
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Lemon garlic tempeh served with blanched kale. This meal is 21 Day Fix approved and counts for 1 red container, 1 green container and 1 teaspoon of oil.
About a month ago, I saw that Beachbody had released a new program called the 21 Day Fix.
I’ve said this before, but the one area I tend to struggle with in terms of healthy eating is portion control. The 21 Day Fix hones in on this issue by providing a meal plan and containers to keep track of your portions. It also includes a workout plan with 30 minute workouts. I liked the idea of doing a challenge that focused on clean eating/portion control while also providing a good workout plan so I figured I would give it a try.
I started the program last Monday and so far I’m loving it! I’m eating all the foods I normally eat, I’m just more aware of the portions and keeping myself accountable with the group. The workouts have been awesome as well. Autumn Calabrese is tough, motivating (I mean, look at her abs!) and has a “no bs” attitude that I like! She also says, “Drop it like it’s hot” during several of the videos, which makes me love her even more. <— If you’ve ever been out dancing with me, you’ll know that this song is my jam and I’m a pro at doing the move. 😉
Whew, okay so now that I’ve explained what I’ve been doing lately in terms of fitness, I’ve got a 21 Day Fix approved recipe to share. If you like this one, let me know and I’ll try to most more of my 21 Day Fix approved meals throughout the next two-three weeks.
If you make this lemon garlic tempeh be sure to leave a comment and star rating below letting us know how it turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for the EBF team and our readers!

Lemon Garlic Tempeh
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1 8 oz package tempeh, thinly sliced into strips
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 4 drops of liquid stevia
- 2 cups blanched kale
- dash of sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Blanch your kale if you haven’t already: Place de-stemmed and chopped kale in boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place the kale in a bowl of ice water. Drain well. Sometimes I actually squeeze the kale to wring out all the extra liquid.
- Melt coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tempeh strips and cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and cook for another 2 minutes or until both sides of the tempeh slices are brown.
- While tempeh is browning, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, ginger, cumin, Italian seasoning and stevia in a small bowl.
- Once tempeh has browned, add blanched kale and the lemony garlic mixture. Stir to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add salt and ground pepper to taste and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have seen so many people doing this lately and have had awesome results! I will LOVE to hear what you think of it at the end of the program 🙂
Looks yummy! I LOVE garlic and kale and I’m not sure I’ve had tempeh before, but I’m a bit fan of tofu. I’ll try this recipe for sure. Thanks!
I’ve seen a few people on IG doing the 21 Day Fix with great results – I can’t wait to see yours! And I’d love to see more 21 Day Fix approved recipes!
i love tempeh. This recipe looks really good. I’ll also have to check out the 21 day fix too. Seems like a cool program and it sounds like you are enjoying it!
i am starting the 21 day fix next week. I would love recipes/tips for meal ideas….and do you have any idea if we can workout regularly at the gym while doing the fix or not?
I think you’re supposed to do the workout DVDs but you can do additional workouts too. I’ve been doing 2-3 extra workouts a week in addition to the 21 Day Fix workouts.
Thanks so much for sharing! I would love to see more 21 day fix friendly recipes and I can’t wait to try this one – I’ve never had tempeh! I’m curious to hear how you would compare the 21 day fix and T25? I’ve been doing Insanity and would love a switch and was thinking of the 21 day fix. 🙂
I first tried tempeh when I was doing the Beachbody Ultimate Reset last year. I absolutely fell in love with it. I need to try this recipe!
This looks yummy, would love to see more recipes!
Yum! Looks delicious! I have been toying with the idea of trying the 21 day fix just to see what it’s all about. Can’t wait to see more of your recipes! 🙂
I would love to see a full review of what you thought of the program + any results!! 🙂
The tempeh recipe looks terrific and has to be tried. I have a couple recipes I can share with you, just let me know and I will zip them to you.
betsy shipley betsyandgunter@gmail.com
I tried this recipe for dinner last night. Bottom line- Yummy!!
Hooray! So glad you liked it, Marina.
What are the container counts for this? I couldn’t find them.
Thank you!!
One serving of this recipe counts for 1 red container, 1 green container and 1 teaspoon of oil. Enjoy!
i dont have any stevia is it required?
No, it’s definitely not required. It adds a nice sweetness which you can easily add with a little maple syrup or honey instead. I’d start with 1 teaspoon of maple or honey if you want to try either of those instead.
This recipe is crazy delicious! Am trying tempeh as a meat alternative and was looking for recipes. Lucky for me that I happened upon this one…so good! Thank you!
May I ask what does this statement mean..?
“This meal is 21 Day Fix approved and counts for 1 red container, 1 green container and 1 teaspoon of oil.”
There is no such thing as a 21-day fix. It’s every day for the rest of your life.
The recipe was good, though.
I’ve been making this recipe for a while and it’s one of my favorites! I absolutely love it with roasted red potatoes. It works just as well with steamed kale! (If you’re like me, a little lazy and just want to throw it in the steamer). It’s so quick too. And great with white wine. I can’t say enough good things about it lol!
Hi Tara! I’m thrilled that you’ve been loving this recipe for awhile now, thanks for sharing! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and star rating. Your feedback is so helpful to the EBF team + community. 🙂
This is so delicious! Thank you for sharing, I’m so glad I stumbled upon your website. I cooked the tempeh with the sauce and served with a side of cucumber/tomato salad instead of on a bed of kale.
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Hannah! I’m so glad you stumbled upon my website too. 🙂 Thanks for trying this dish and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it.
Can’t thank you enough for the recipe. Fast easy and delicious. Am following a special Keto diet and trying to keep the fat and dairy down as well. Added some mushrooms and some pak choy which I also blanched. Used maple syrup instead of stevia (as did not have liquid stevia). Other half very happy with it too. Look forward to trying your other recipes.
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Jacqui! I’m so glad you’re loving this dish. 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to come back to leave a comment, I so appreciate it.
I used sautéed broccoli instead of kale because…I had some. This was my first time trying tempeh and I’m on the fence about it. I think I might not like cumin. And maybe the texture of tempeh. I have ADHD, so that’s just a thing for me, nothing against the recipe. I think I might try this in the air fryer next time to make it more crispy, and in bite sized pieces so more crispness all around. And swap the cumin for smoked paprika or something. As it is, the recipe tastes very fresh and Mediterranean.
Thanks for trying this recipe and coming back to leave a review, Krystal! Let me know if you try it in the air fryer and what you think about it!
Loved the tempeh but my kale was quite lemony. I used a couple teaspoons of honey since I had no stevia. Also used a large lemon. I would probably have benefited from a given measurement of lemon juice. I will try it again with less lemon. Any suggestions on the amount of hony to use?
Hey Dana – Thank you for the feedback. I’ll make a note about the amount of lemon juice since lemon sizes vary. I would start with 1 teaspoon of honey if you were to swap it for the stevia.
Can I use spinach instead of kale in this recipe? Would I then skip the blanching and add fresh spinach at the point you put everything together in the pan? I just don’t like kale.
Hi Suzy – Yes, spinach should work great in this recipe, I would probably sauté them before adding into the pan with everything to make the spinach more tender. Hope you enjoy!