These Asian-inspired tempeh burgers are flavor bombs waiting to explode in your mouth! Made with sweet and savory teriyaki sauce and topped with zippy slaw, they're perfect for both weeknight dinners and summer cookouts.

Tempeh is one of my favorite things to make veggie burgers out of. But it took me a while to come up with the perfect way to use tempeh in a burger.
Here's the thing about tempeh burgers: the tempeh really sucks up flavor. So when you're putting it in a burger, you want to use intensely flavorful seasonings and sauces. Teriyaki sauce is perfect!
But here's the other thing: tempeh doesn't hold together like other ingredients we normally make vegan burgers out of, namely, beans. Kind of weird, considering the fact that tempeh is made from beans (learn about that in this homemade tempeh recipe), but the fermented soy beans used to make tempeh are firm and not very starchy. They don't hold together very well when smushed.
Fortunately, that's an easy problem to solve. I simply added some black beans to my tempeh burgers! I figured they work well in a black bean burger, so they would probably work well here. They did!
While there are all kinds of ways to season a tempeh burger, I went with zesty Asian flavors and a teriyaki sauce similar to what I used in my teriyaki tofu. I topped my burgers with gingery Asian slaw. They were absolutely divine.
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Water.
- Soy sauce. Gluten free tamari and liquid aminos are a couple of possible substitutions for this.
- Rice vinegar.
- Mirin or dry sherry. This adds flavor to the teriyaki sauce, but can be omitted if needed or preferred.
- Toasted sesame oil. This is a flavoring oil (not a cooking oil). Look for it in the international aisle of your supermarket.
- Fresh ginger.
- Garlic.
- Cornstarch.
- Tempeh. Tempeh can be bought in the refrigerated area of the natural foods section at most supermarkets. It's usually right near the tofu. You might see a few varieties of tempeh, including various additions like seeds and grains. Any of them will work for this recipe.
- Rolled oats. Panko breadcrumbs should also work if you have an allergy to oats. Use certified glute-free oats (and gluten-free tamari and buns) if you need to keep this recipe gluten-free.
- Black beans. Use precooked, canned black beans to make life easy.
- Shallot. Red onion works as a substitute if this isn't available.
- Canola oil. Feel free to switch this out with your favorite high-heat cooking oil, such as vegetable oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil.
- Hamburger buns. Check the ingredients to ensure these are vegan, as many brands aren't.
- Toppings. Feel free to use what you like, but I highly recommend avocado slices and my Asian slaw. Other good options include lettuce, tomato, sliced onion, hot sauce and vegan mayonnaise.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Making the Sauce
Tip: I made my own teriyaki sauce for these burgers, but you could use your favorite bottled teriyaki sauce if you've got one. You'll need about ¾ cup of it.
Making your own sauce is very easy though. You'll be throwing a handful of ingredients into a small saucepan: water, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Also include some mirin (Chinese cooking wine) or sherry, if you can. It adds a nice flavor. If you're alcohol free or just never buy either of those ingredients, leave it out and the sauce will still taste great.
Mix everything up and let it simmer for few minutes. Meanwhile, mix up some cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add it to your sauce during the last minute or so of simmering. It should thicken up quickly. And that's it!
See! Homemade teriyaki sauce is super easy.
Making the Burgers
You have the option of steaming your tempeh for these burgers. It removes the bitterness that many people dislike about tempeh.
But there's another reason to steam it when you're making burgers. Steaming the tempeh also allows you to taste-test (and adjust the seasonings in) your burger mix before shaping and cooking your burgers. You normally wouldn't be able to do this, because eating raw tempeh is a bad idea.
Place some oats into a food processor bowl and grind them to a fine powder.
Next, crumble your tempeh into the food processor bowl with the oats. Add some black beans, shallots, garlic, and your teriyaki sauce.
Pulse the food processor until everything is finely chopped and well mixed. Feel free to give it a taste-test if (and only if) you did decide to steam the tempeh.
Cooking the Burgers
Shape your mixture into patties and pan-fry them in a bit of oil. About 5 minutes on each side over medium heat should do the job!
I like to top my tempeh burgers with a bit of extra teriyaki sauce and some Asian slaw.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover tempeh burger patties will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Prep-Ahead Tips
- The teriyaki sauce can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. I recommend making extra if you do this, because you'll probably loose a little bit of sauce when transferring it to and from the storage container (it's sticky).
- The burger mixture can be prepared in advance and refrigerated or frozen for later. To do this, follow the recipe to step 4 (of the process for making the burgers), place the mixture in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to cook it, thaw (if frozen), then pick up with the recipe at step 6.
More Tempeh Recipes
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Teriyaki Tempeh Burgers
These Asian-inspired tempeh burgers are flavor bombs waiting to explode in your mouth! Made with sweet and savory teriyaki sauce and topped with zippy slaw, they're perfect for both weeknight dinners and summer cookouts.
Ingredients
For the Teriyaki Sauce
- â…“ cup water
- â…“ cup soy sauce
- 3 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mirin or dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons chilled water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Burgers
- 1 (8 ounce/227 gram) package tempeh
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup cooked or canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup chopped shallots (about 2 small shallots)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, or high heat oil of choice
For Serving
- 4 burger buns, sliced open
- Toppings of choice (I like vegan mayo and Asian slaw with these)
Instructions
To Make the Sauce
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Stir the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, mirin or sherry, sesame oil, ginger and garlic together in a small saucepan.
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Place the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer.
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Lower the heat and allow the mixture cook at a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
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While the mixture simmers, stir the cold water and cornstarch together in a small bowl or cup.
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When the sauce is almost finished cooking, stir in the cornstarch mixture. Let the sauce simmer for about 1 minute more, until it thickens up.
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Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes.
To Make the Burgers
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Optional step: Fill a small saucepan with a few inches of water and fit it with a steamer basket. Break the tempeh into a few chunks, place them in the steamer basket, then place the pot over medium heat. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat, cover and steam the tempeh for 10 minutes. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
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Place the oats into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend them to a fine powder.
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Crumble the tempeh into the food processor bowl, then add the sauce, beans, shallots, and garlic.
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Pulse the food processor until the ingredients are finely chopped and well mixed. If you steamed your tempeh, feel free to taste test the mixture and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
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Shape the mixture into 4 patties.
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Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and place it over medium heat.
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Cook the patties in batches, adding as many as will fit in the skillet without crowding. Cook them for about 5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.
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Remove the patties from the skillet, stuff into buns and top with accompaniments of choice. Serve.
Can we substitute a different bean for the black beans...maybe garbanzo? Thank you
I think so! The beans are really just in there for binding. :)
Did I miss something? It says prep time 20 hours 🤪🤪
Ha! Whoops! That was meant to be 20 minutes. Thanks for letting me know! Corrected! :)
I generally substitute tamari for soy sauce. Will that be ok? And will it potentially lower the amount of sodium in a burger? That seems like a LOT of sodium! Where else would it be coming from? Thank you!
Tamari should work just fine! Most of the sodium comes from the soy sauce, and tamari generally has about the same amount of sodium. If you want to reduce it a bit try using low sodium tamari. Enjoy!
Have you tried grilling these? I have a cook out Saturday and I would like to try them!
I haven't, but what I usually recommend with veggie burgers is precooking them before grilling, just because they don't tend to hold together as well as regular burgers before they're cooked. With these I'd cook them in the skillet just a bit less than you normally would and then finish them on the grill. I hope you enjoy them!
Very good burger. I had only one problem: the burger was difficult to make. The texture was too sticky . Do you have suggestions ? Do you think I could lower the oil ?
I'm glad you enjoyed it! It can get a little sticky due to the sauce. Try wetting your hands before shaping the patties - that will help keep the burger mix from sticking. :)
Bonjour,
Very good taste.
Havé you try with less oil or none at all ?
Thank you! I haven't tried an oil-free version, but I think you could bake the patties. I'd use parchment paper and try 400°F for 15 minutes on each side. Enjoy!
I have baked these and they are delicious!!! Thanks you :)
How much sauce do I need if I don't want to make my own or use another flavor profile? I've always wanted to use tempeh for burgers.
It really depends on the sauce and how flavorful it is. For most I'd say about a half cup or so, but you'll probably want to presteam the tempeh so that you can add a bit at a time and taste test. :)
Very delicious. Love the combination of oats, tempeh and black beans, and the sauce was aromatic and savory. I refrigerated the burger mixture overnight - the next day it was easy to mold into patties that kept their texture and sautéed beautifully. This recipe is a keeper.
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for your review!
These were great. Very few recipes get printed and put into my recipe folder but this one did. I left out the shallots because i find they never get cooked through when a patty is just pan fried. This made 4 big burgers. I would make them into 6 next time so my burger (and stomach) can have room for lots of toppings. I also found refrigerating them overnight made them easy to shape and they didn't fall apart after grilling. Great recipe!
Doubled this recipe and ended up with 10 big burgers. They have amazing texture!! Trying to figure out what to put on them when we serve them. Maybe a spicy relish of pineapple, cabbage and red onion slaw? Open to ideas!
Glad you enjoyed them! That slaw sounds delicious and I think it would be great with these! I usually use this slaw and it works really well: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/asian-slaw/
Can these burgers be premade and frozen?
Absoulutely!