Buffalo Tempeh + Ranch [vegan]

I’ll admit that before going plant-based, I was a buffalo wings kinda girl. While I can’t even think about eating wings today, I do still love all things buffalo-flavored, so this recipe is for those times when I crave it… which was last night.

We don’t cook too much in the summer due to the heat but I wanted to make something nice (and awesome) for Joe for dinner last night. He’s been asking for more vegan dinners lately, which I may have mentioned before. It makes my life and I will happily oblige. What’s better than some buffalo “wings” made much healthier and kinder? We’re both huge tempeh fans, so it was perfect. He thoroughly enjoyed them (weeee!) and so did I. So if you have a meat-eater in your life that you’re trying to ease into more plant-based choices, I think this substitute recipe will be a hit.

Just a forewarning – I do recommend marinading the tempeh for about an hour or so. If you remember to start the recipe a bit early, you’ll be golden.

Recipe

OVEN: 425 F
COOK TIME: 40 minutes

You will need:

FOR WINGS:

• 1 package organic tempeh, sliced fairly thin (but not too thin)
• 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce
• 2 tbs Earth Balance butter, melted
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• 1 tbs maple syrup
• Dash of pepper

FOR RANCH:

• 1/3 cup vegan mayo
• 2 tbs soy milk
• Dash of onion powder, garlic salt, and pepper

To make:

WINGS:

• Slice tempeh into strips.
• In a small bowl, combine hot sauce, melted butter, soy sauce, maple syrup, and pepper.
• In pyrex/tupperware, line up the tempeh strips and layer if necessary. Pour buffalo sauce over, cover up, and shake gently so that all tempeh is coated. Allow to marinade for about an hour or two.
• Once done marinading, preheat oven to 425 F and line a baking sheet with foil and use a non-stick spray to coat bottom.
• Lay tempeh strips on sheet (and set aside the sauce in the container for now) and put into the heated oven for about 20 minutes – after 20 minutes, flip over and let cook for another 20 minutes (about 40-45 minutes total, or until there’s a crisp to them).
• Once done, add tempeh back to the container with buffalo sauce and coat well before serving.

RANCH:

• Add all ingredients into a small bowl and stir until smooth.

I like to serve mine with some carrot and celery slices for a cool and refreshing side, but you can do whatever you’d like. Totally optional.

I also have had seitan “wings” in the past which were also great, but I think I much preferred the tempeh. Both are great, though. Do you prefer one meat substitute over the other? I always find myself gravitating to tempeh. Just curious!

I hope you enjoy the recipe and have the very best Monday. xx bianca