TLT Sandwich
A vegetarian TLT sandwich inspired by the classic BLT sandwich. This version includes chipotle-marinated tempeh alongside oven-roasted cherry tomatoes, a bit of shredded lettuce, and a generous avocado slather on a thin slice (or two) of great bread.
At this point in time, no other sandwich I make is more requested. Instead of a classic BLT sandwich, I make a TLT - tempeh, lettuce, and tomato. Not an original concept, but my secret is this...every component needs to be over-the-top flavorful. 
My version features chipotle-marinated tempeh alongside roasted cherry tomatoes, a bit of shredded lettuce and a generous slather of avocado on a thin slice (or two) of great bread. For anyone looking for a hearty, substantial, satisfying, nutritious, and meatless lunch - it's hard to beat .
You'll need to plan ahead a bit to marinate the tempeh and roast the tomatoes, but I promise it's well worth the effort, and if you make extra you'll have sandwiches for the week. Tempeh is easy to find in most Whole Foods Markets or natural food stores - here's a link to another favorite tempeh recipe in case you are interested in other ways of using it.
I enjoy this TLT sandwich on a big, ultra-thin slice of whole wheat walnut bread - toasted until crisp. You can go the traditional sandwich route, or enjoy it open-faced. And now I'm thinking that miniature versions of these might be great bite-sized party food?
If you're game for more tempeh inspiration, don't miss out on these tempeh recipes. And be sure to pay special attention to this Spicy Tempeh Crumble Bowl, and this Tempeh Taco Salad.
Premium Ad-Free membership includes:
-Ad-free content
-Print-friendly recipes
-Spice / Herb / Flower / Zest recipe collection PDF
-Weeknight Express recipe collection PDF
-Surprise bonuses throughout the year
TLT Sandwich Recipe
I buy the Lightlife organic flax tempeh or the grain version. A bit of crumbled goat cheese might be good too.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup shoyu sauce (or soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or maple syrup)
- 3 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers
- 8 ounces of tempeh, cut into 1/3-inch thick strips
- 1 small basket of cherry tomatoes (2 cups)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil olive oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or maple syrup)
- scant 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 small head of romaine lettuce, cored, then cut into 1/4-inch ribbons
- 1-2 large avocados, mashed with a pinch of salt just before assembling
- 4 or 8 extra-thin slices of hearty whole grain bread, well toasted
-
Whisk together the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, shoyu, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and adobo sauce. Pour 1/3 of the tempeh marinade into an 8x8 baking dish (or something comparable) - you want a dish that is just big enough to hold the tempeh in a single layer - this way it will be fully enveloped by the marinade. Pour the remaining marinade over the top of the tempeh, cover and keep in the refrigerator for a couple hours, overnight or until ready to use.
-
While the tempeh is marinating, go ahead and roast the tomatoes. Heat the oven to 375F. Cut each tomato in half and arrange them in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix together the olive oil, sugar, and salt and pour this over the tomatoes. Gently toss them a bit, making sure they all get coated, finishing with each tomato facing cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or so, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.
-
When the tempeh is done marinating heat a large pan over medium-high heat and cook the tempeh slices for a few minutes on each side. You may need to do this in batches if you don't have a big enough pan. Set the tempeh slices aside until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.
-
To assemble each sandwich take one slice of bread and slather a generous layer of mashed avocado. Place a small helping of the shredded lettuce on top of the avocado, a few tomatoes, then a few slices of the tempeh, and more tomatoes. Enjoy either open faced or topped with another avocado-slathered bread slice.
Serves 4.
Related Recipes
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Keep these on hand to dial up all your favorite meals. They are intensely flavorful roasted cherry tomatoes. Made by roasting in a hot oven with olive oil, salt, and a bit of brown sugar. So simple to make and so good!
50 Vegan Recipes
Great vegan recipes are like gold. Especially when they feature real whole foods, and lots of plants. This type of cooking supports your health and overall well-being in important ways. No meat? No dairy? No eggs? Don't sweat it. There are many other ingredients to get excited about.
How To Cook Quinoa (and 20 Quinoa Recipes)
How to cook quinoa perfectly, every time. You can use it in everything from salads and bowls, stews and sourdough, or any of my 20 favorite quinoa recipes highlighted below.
Tempeh Taco Salad
All the things you love about a taco, in salad form. Tempeh taco salad - crushed tortilla chips bring the crunch, black beans and crumbled tempeh coated with taco seasoning brings the substance, and a strong, smoked paprika-apple cider dressing pulls everything together.
Spicy Tempeh Crumble Bowl
A riff on one of my favorite recipes in Andrea Nguyen's Vietnamese Food Any Day - a caramelized tempeh crumble. The sort of thing that immediately becomes the best component in your rice bowl.
A California Panzanella
This is a wildcard panzanella. And it is very Northern California inspired - featuring multi-grain bread, a spicy peanut sauce, sprouts, and grilled or roasted tofu.
Post Your Comment
Comments
I have been trying to roast little tomatoes but the results have been not so great, perhaps I have been setting the oven too high. I will try your method tonight. Love, love, love tempeh. I want to make these sandwiches to pack for our trip to the Boston Area "Pignic" (which is a gathering for Guinea Pig owners and enthusiasts...to love and enjoy the piggies, not to eat them!). Do you think they will travel well? Os should I pack the components separately and assemble right before eating?
What a great coincidence for me: I ate tempeh last night, sliced thin, marinated in an awesome marinade, then broiled, in a Mega Protein Salad from the tasty cookbook "Refresh" (from Canadian vegan restaurant Fresh), and said "this tempeh would be great in a BLT." Lo and behold my inbox contained this recipe today. Thanks!!
I have never tried tempeh this way, but this sounds delicious!
I don't chime in about tasting Heidi's recipes that often, but here's one I really have to add praise to. I ate it about 5 minutes after the photo above was taken. It's one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. It's certainly the best with veggie protein (tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc.). Even better than the tempeh reuben that was my previous favorite. Getting the tempeh marinated nicely is important, but as the photo shows, those awesome tomatoes are key to the flavor. The right thickness of toasted crunchy bread is necessary for texture.
Hello all: I went to my local health food store and they three different Tempehs ( Lightlife ) I got the garden veggie and made the sandwich, It was wonderful the sauce was just lovely and theonly thing I added was I carmelized some onions and layered them with the tomatos.. this sandwich is going to be on my list it is a 5 star. If it was not answered before Tempeh is a very compacked soybean product and really the flavor is mild and will take on the favor of your sauce if one is used. Heidi keep ones like this coming! Kay
Heidi; Talking about tempe, it would sound graet, if you are in Hong Kong, Japan and specially Indonesia..tempe are the one of favourite food. simple way to proceed (white beans boiled into water then poured with very little yeast and put in side some like plastic bag or leaves specially banana leaves store in the normal temperature between 15C - 25 for one night) you can cook it in the way you like...it is very delicious...someone like to try it? I'v been tried this kind of sandwich, it's just relly perfect taste...well done Heidi...
What a gorgeous photo!! Makes my mouth water just looking at it. And I've never had tempeh before. I just recently acquired a wheat allergy and had just started to read about tempeh. I've had avocado,tomato,lettuce, cucumber, sprout sandwiches before and LOVE them. thanks for the inspiration to try tempeh. Love your blog and photos too. Courtney
Avocados are so amazing on sandwiches! and slow roasted tomatoes...delicious!!!
This sandwich looks great, I've never had tempeh before.
Doesn't that make it a TLAT? :) I love tempeh, but stopped buying when I learned who owns Lightlife. Doesn't anyone else make it??
sorry, i accidentally pressed the wrong button. to continue the recipe: boiled the tempe in water with the mixture, add salt. once the water gone, fry the tempeh, or just leave it as it is
Definitely looks mouth-watering. Being an Indonesian, I love tempeh and often put it in between my sandwich. your recipe reminded me of another way we prepare tempeh. If anybody wants to try it: slice the tempe about 1/2 inch. Use a blender (or mortar as we do here) to mix these: shallot, garlic, corriander (seed), brown sugar
Dang that looks good and I don't even know what tempeh is. I'm going to have to check it out. I love a toast, whole grain, veggie, avocado-ey sandwich! I love your blog. I may have commented a few days ago, but I made the banana cookies and love them. I even froze a bunch in balls of dough and they are good just as an unbaked frozen treat (since they have no egg they can be eaten raw!) Your friend did a great job on these.
This looks absolutely delicious! Suddenly bagged lunches everyday isn't such a horrible thought. Now, to find some tempeh...
This looks fabulous. I've ventured to try a Tempeh Reuben but that's about as far as my sandwich experiments with tempeh go (though I do love it on its own!). Looking forward to trying this.
This looks wonderful! I've been a long-time fan of tempeh, and who wouldn't love it with all these other sumptuous extras? You've inspired me to blog about tempeh again VERY soon! :)
Good lord, this looks amazing! Lately, I've been obsessed with adding chipotle chilis to, well, pretty much everything, and I keep homemade chipotle vegenaise on hand for emergencies. Unfortunately, I've been eliminating soy from my diet due to thyroid issues, but I'll have to give this sandwich a try with seitan. Thanks for the yummy recipe :)
Though I'm an omnivore, I've been experimenting w/meatless sandwiches lately (OTHER than my standard tomato & cream cheese sandwich). This looks incredible, though I've never tried tempeh before. I also agree that avocado is a MUST on any _LT sandwich, whether it be bacon, chicken, etc. Can't wait to try this!
Forget mini versions, I'd like to come to the party and eat the full sized version. That looks really, really fantastic!!!
This photograph makes you want to jump into the photo and eat everything!! I love it . . . when a sandwich comes together!