Air Fryer Tempeh Bacon

5 from 5 votes

Delicious tempeh bacon made in the air fryer is flavourful, quick and uses just five ingredients! A brilliant snack, great with pasta or in a sandwich.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dinner, lunch

Cuisine: American, british

Servings: people

Calories: 31kcal

Author: Vanessa Sturman

Equipment

1 Air fryer can also fry or bake
1 Tupperware or mixing bowl

Ingredients

1 block tempeh usually around 250-300g or 1½-2 cups
3 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari if you want it gluten-free
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1½ tablespoon brown sugar I like using cococnut palm sugar or maple syrup

Instructions

Cut up the tempeh into slices (around half a cm thick). Tempeh blocks differ in size and shape, so don’t worry if yours isn’t the same shape as mine.
Make scores with a knife on one side of the tempeh, being careful not to go all the way to the bottom (you don’t want it to break). This helps it absorb more marinade.
Mix up all the other ingredients in a tupperware big enough to hold all the tempeh.
Add the tempeh pieces to the marinade, making sure all the tempeh is covered with the marinade.
Leave it marinate for a few hours if possible (even better overnight for extra flavour absorption).
Air fry the tempeh at 180°C for around 8 minutes or until crispy and browned. You can bake or fry the tempeh bacon if desired - frying on a griddle pan gives those lovely char lines so it looks even more bacon-like.

Nutrition