Grilled Tempeh Burgers

These tempeh burgers are packed with 30 grams of protein each! Make them either on an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan, as you kick off the month of June.

Ahead of time, slice one (8-ounce) package of soy tempeh in half horizontally, then each of those pieces in half again crosswise (so you have 4 pieces total). Place in a zip-top bag.

In a saucepan, combine 6 tablespoons water, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger, a pinch of ground red pepper, and 1 small minced garlic clove. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and pour over the tempeh; seal the zip-top bag and marinate in the fridge at least 3 hours, and up to overnight.

Note: since I didn't have zip-top bags big enough, I placed the tempeh in a shallow baking dish, and poured the marinade over the slices, then covered with plastic wrap.

When you're ready to eat, heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Place both halves of 2 whole wheat hamburger buns, cut-sides down, on the grill and grill for 1 minute, until nicely toasted. Set aside. I recommend Whole Foods' newly formulated hamburger buns, with vegan shortening!

Remove the tempeh slices from the marinade and grill for 2 minutes on each side, basting with the reserved marinade frequently.

Spread 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ketchup (such as Organicville) and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard (such as Whole Foods' German-Style mustard) on the top half of each bun. On the bottom half of the buns, layer 1 green leaf lettuce leaf, 2 tempeh pieces, 1 (1/4-inch thick) tomato slice, and 1 (1/8-inch thick) Vidalia onion slice; top with the top half of the buns.

Each burger is 360 calories.

Cost:
tempeh $1.99
ginger $1.24
hamburger buns $2.89
spicy brown mustard $1.99
green leaf lettuce $2.49
tomato $1.00
Vidalia onion $0.80