This Pretzel Crusted Buffalo Tempeh Salad has crunchy veggies, buffalo pretzel crusted tempeh and a creamy vegan ranch dressing. The perfect vegan salad!
This salad is what every vegan wishes they could get at a restaurant 😂 It has all of those classic "restaurant salad flavors" but all vegan and homemade. If you are looking for comfort food in salad form, then look no further, this is it.
How to make Pretzel Crusted Buffalo Tempeh
Start off by making the pretzel crust. This is just a combo of pretzels and seasonings blended together in a food processor until they form a breadcrumb texture. Easy enough.
Grab some tempeh and use your hands to break it into chunks. You could also make uniform cuts, but I like the rustic look of the chunky pieces.
And with every dredging recipe, you need a wet element to help everything stick. Today I am using aquafaba or "chickpea water". Just drain the chickpeas from the liquid in the can and set the chickpeas aside. Those will go in the salad - so nothing is going to waste here.
Bring it all together by dunking the tempeh pieces in the aquafaba and then the pretzel breadcrumbs - pressing it into the tempeh so it sticks. Repeat until all of the tempeh is coated and place them on a baking sheet with a spray of olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway. Once they come out of the oven, drizzle them with some buffalo sauce for an extra zing.
How to assemble Pretzel Crusted Buffalo Tempeh Salad
While the tempeh is cooking, prep the dressing and the rest of the salad ingredients. When the tempeh is done, it is time to assemble.
Layer the romaine, chickpeas, avocado, cherry tomatoes, radishes and tempeh in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and you are ready to dig in. You could also add each component to separate bowls to prep for lunches!
Need more recipe inspo? Check these out:
Pretzel Crusted Buffalo Tempeh Salad
Ingredients
FOR THE TEMPEH
- 1 cup crushed pretzels about 2 cups of whole mini pretzels
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas liquid and chickpeas separated
- 16 oz tempeh
- olive oil spray
- buffalo sauce
FOR THE VEGAN RANCH
- ½ cup vegan mayo
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 1 tablespoon dried chives
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup parsley fresh
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- salt if needed
- water or non-dairy milk, to thin
FOR THE SALAD
- 2 heads romaine chopped
- 1 avocado
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- radish slices optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the pretzels, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder and pepper to a food processor. Pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- Drain the chickpeas, reserving the aquafaba (chickpea water) in a bowl. With your hands, break the tempeh into chunks.
- To dredge, dip the tempeh into the aquafaba then into the pretzel mixture, pressing it into the tempeh. Place on the baking sheet and repeat with remaining tempeh pieces. Spray with olive oil. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until crispy.
- Meanwhile, add all of the dressing ingredients to a food processor or blender. Pulse until combined, adding water as needed to thin. Set aside.
- Remove the tempeh from the oven and drizzle with buffalo sauce.
- To assemble, layer the romaine, chickpeas, avocado, cherry tomatoes, radishes and tempeh in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and serve.
Video
Nutrition
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Tessa
Made this recipe tonight and it was awesome!! This might be my new go-to vegan Buffalo wings recipe - it came together much more quickly than cauliflower versions and stayed crispy and delicious. I followed the recipe almost exactly as written; the only tweak I made was I left out the olive oil in the dressing and just did extra oat milk. Yum-O!
Diane P
Hi!
Thanks for the recipe! It looks delicious!!! Are the nutritional stats for just the tempeh, or the whole recipe, salad and dressing ingredients included?
Rene
Hi Diane - it is for everything!