Cooking with Tempeh: Curried Tempeh Salad

This flavorful and filling plant-based curried tempeh salad is perfect for spreading on bread for a hearty sandwich, adding to a wrap or serving over crisp greens. Vegan and gluten-free.

Not to toot my own horn, but there have been some pretty amazing tempeh recipes coming out the of the EBF kitchen lately and I’m loving it!! If you need a refresher — these maple balsamic tempeh bowls and this tempeh zucchini noodle ramen are my most recent recipes and they’re definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already. And my latest creation is this curried tempeh salad.

Inspired by my curried chickpea salad, I decided to make another mock chicken salad, but this time with protein-packed tempeh.

The recipe is pretty traditional with bits of chopped celery, red onion, carrots and plump raisins. The dressing is a zippy blend of plant-based mayo, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, curry powder, olive oil, turmeric, salt and pepper. It has a sweet curry flavor that coats the tempeh nicely and makes for a deliciously creamy, well-dressed curried tempeh salad.

In terms of the prep, it’s super simple and the steaming is totally optional. I use Lightlife tempeh, which is pretty mild so I don’t usually steam it, but I figured it would be a good idea for this particular recipe because the tempeh isn’t being cooked at any other point. That said, if you’re using Lightlife, or simply enjoy the flavor of tempeh, you might find that steaming the tempeh is an unnecessary step.

This salad is one of those salads that tastes great the day you make it, but even better the next day, after marinating in the fridge a bit! I love making a batch as part of my meal prep for the week on Sunday so I can use it for lunches. It just gets better as the week goes on.

I’m not at all opposed to eating the curried tempeh salad straight from the bowl,  but it’s particularly great for adding protein to a salad or making sandwiches or wraps. I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure it would make a mean collard wrap!

If you’re a curry fan and looking for a new lunch option, I highly recommend checking out this salad because it’s absolutely delish! You might even want to double the recipe… just saying. 🙂

If you make this curried tempeh salad, please be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other readers who are thinking about making the recipe. 

Cooking with Tempeh: Curried Tempeh Salad

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★★★★★

4.7 from 3 reviews

• Author: Brittany Mullins
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 6

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Description

This flavorful and filling plant-based curried tempeh salad is perfect for spreading on bread for a hearty sandwich, adding to a wrap or serving over crisp greens. Vegan and gluten-free.

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Ingredients

• 2 8 ounce packages of Lightlife tempeh (any variety)
• 1 cup celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup vegan mayo
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons curry powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• sunflower seeds and cilantro, for garnish (optional)

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Instructions

1. Chop tempeh into bite-size chunks. Add to a pot with water and a steamer basket and steam tempeh for 10-15 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
2. While tempeh is cooling chop all the veggies.
3. In a large bowl combine tempeh, celery, red onion, carrots and raisins.
4. Make dressing by combining mayo, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, olive oil, pepper, turmeric and sea salt in a bowl. Pour dressing over tempeh, veggies and raisins. Toss to combine. Serve immediately or place in the fridge to chill before serving.

• Category: Vegan
• Method: Stove Top
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/6th of recipe
• Calories: 298
• Sugar: 10g
• Fat: 17g
• Carbohydrates: 25g
• Fiber: 9g
• Protein: 15g

This recipe was created as part of the Lightlife Blogger Ambassador Program. Thank you for supporting the brands that make EBF possible.