Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

Yid.Dish: Apricot Glazed Tempeh & Onions

Thanksgiving can be a tough time for a vegetarian. Sure there are a million delicious side acts to choose from, but the star of the show – that juicy, golden-brown turkey, straight out of Norman Rockwell’s fantasy – is strictly off limits. But that’s no reason for meat eaters to have all of the fun.

I’m absolutely terrified at the thought of consuming a Tofurkey, and think its a bit of a cop-out to try to replicate and entire turkey for one’s vegetarian Thanksgiving table. I’m also a bit scared to think that someone out there dreamed up the bacon-wrapped Turbaconducken. (It’s probably delicious – but come on people!) Instead, here’s a delicious recipe for apricot-glazed tempeh & onions that will keep any vegetarian happy at the Thanksgiving table.

Below the jump: The recipe and a bonus Thanksgiving surprise! Keep your eyes peeled next week for more Thanksgiving recipes.

Apricot & Apple Glazed Tempeh with Onions

Serves 6-8

For Tempeh

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs minced ginger

1 cup tamari

2 Tbs toasted sesame oil

16 oz tempeh (I use Soy Boy’s 5-grain brand)

1 large white onion, quartered, and sliced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbs olive oil

For Glaze

Remainder of marinade

1 cup apple butter

1 cup apricot jam

1/4 cup brown vinegar

Make the marinade: combine ginger, garlic, tamari, and sesame oil in a bowl.

Cut Tempeh into 1 inch x 1/2 inch rectangles. Place tempeh rectangles into a large, sturdy plastic bag, and pour marinade into bag. Let sit for one hour, rotating bag occasionally, to evenly coat tempeh. Meanwhile, slice onions and set aside. Combine apple butter, apricot jam, and vinegar in 2-cup measuring bowl.

After one hour, remove tempeh from plastic bag and place in one layer onto baking sheet and broil on either side for 5 minutes. Stir remaining marinade into glaze mixture.

In a large pot, heat 2 Tbs olive oil and red pepper flakes over medium heat. Turn heat up slightly and add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions turn fragrant and brown. Add glaze and stir to coat onions. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until glaze thickens slightly.

To serve: Arrange tempeh on a flat serving dish. Pile glazed onions on top.


BONUS: Tips for being a happy vegetarian on Thanksgiving (via Treehugger)

1) If a relative is baiting you, don’t rise to it. Some wag once said, “Of course your family can push your buttons, they installed them.” Chances are the uncle who is goading you is never going to see things from your point of view, and is just trying to get you going, so don’t bother arguing with him.

2) Offer to bring a vegetarian main course so that you aren’t making extra work for your parents. Make something that is ready to serve and doesn’t require precious oven or stove space.

3) Don’t cover old ground. Families have a way of endlessly reprising touchy topics. Keep in mind a list of things to talk about that will help you avoid the mobius strip of argument.

4) Before the big day, ask the cook to keep unnecessary meat additions out of the side dishes. Really, no one is going to miss bacon bits in the salad.

5) Be open to friendly discussion about your food choices if this is your first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian. Being a vegetarian is a normal, everyday thing for you and if you are matter of fact about it your family will see that it needn’t be a big deal.

6) If you’ve already had the friendly discussion and you don’t want to keep having it, it’s time to set some limits. Politely point out that there may be other topics more interesting than what you eat.

7) Don’t apologize to your family for your food choices, but also recognize that they have the right to their own choices as well.

8) Smile and be thankful.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.