Buffalo Tempeh Nuggets

The other week at Whole Foods it was Team Member Appreciation Week. For us Whole Foods employees, we can't wait for this week every year because we get a sweet 40% discount! That's right, 40%!

Since me and Sarika were moving the week after TMAW, we decided to stock up on lots of foods that we eat often: refried beans, chick peas, veggie burgers, and ginger ale. I have used tempeh before but I couldn't even tell you what I used it for! I figured I needed to step up my vegan game so I bought some more this time around and figured I could pinterest some awesome recipe.

With a little bit of tweeking different recipes, I decided to make these buffalo tempeh nuggets. When I used to eat meat, I loved anything buffalo. Buffalo chicken nuggets, buffalo chicken sandwiches, buffalo chicken salad. If it had chicken and buffalo, I was eating it. An old roommate of mine used to eat buffalo "chicken" nuggets which I thought were wonderful! When it came to switching to vegan though, I realized that they still used dairy and eggs to make them so I wouldn't buy them anymore so it was up to me to make my own! These might not taste exactly like chicken, but they sure are scrumptious! Hopefully you will also think the same!

1 Package of Tempeh
1/2 Cup Buffalo Sauce
1 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs
Chili Powder, to taste
Paprika, to taste
Salt, to taste

1. Cut the tempeh into 1 inch "nuggets"
2. Evenly coat the nuggets with buffalo sauce and let sit for about 10 minutes
3. Mix breadcrumbs and seasons together (if you want to use other seasonings go right ahead!)
4. Dip the buffalo sauce covered tempeh into the breadcrumbs to make a good crust
5. Place in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.
6. Take some of the leftover buffalo sauce and put a little extra on each nugget and put back in the oven for another minute or two.
7. Serve on top of a salad, with vegan ranch and celery sticks, or french fries!

You could absolutely make this recipe with larger pieces of tempeh and turn it into a buffalo tempeh sandwich, I bet that would be delicious!

I'm always looking for new recipes so if any one out there has some yummy recipes using tempeh please feel free to share! I would love to try them out!