Fresh, light, and packed with protein, these crispy tempeh vermicelli bowls with sweet and sour lime sauce are ready in just 20-25 minutes. This vegan lunch or dinner recipe is full of colorful veggies and is perfect for days when you want to keep cooking at a minimum. (vegan and gluten free recipe)
These vermicelli bowls are what I dream of eating as the weather starts to warm up. They’re inspired by one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes, Bún Chay, which is typically made up of a combination of vermicelli rice noodles, lettuce, crisp veggies like cucumber and carrot, fresh herbs, and a vegetarian protein like tofu. For my version, I used crispy tempeh to keep it high protein and simple to prepare. While the tempeh crisps up in the pan, you can chop the veggies, cook the noodles, and whisk together the sauce making prep for this vegan dinner recipe a breeze!
Why You’ll Love This Crispy Tempeh Vermicelli Bowl
- It’s ready in about 20 minutes!
- It’s both vegan and gluten, as long as you check the ingredient labels on the hoisin and sweet chili sauce.
- There’s minimal cooking involved.
- It’s fresh and light but still packed with protein (about 25g per serving!).
Vermicelli Bowl Ingredients
Don’t be frightened by the longer ingredient list of this recipe! It’s mostly made up of veggies and the sauce components. Here’s a closer look at what makes these vermicelli bowls absolutely delicious:
- Crispy Tempeh — for the protein, we’re cooking up crumbled tempeh in a pan until crispy. While the tempeh crisps up (about 10-15 minutes), you’ll be able to complete all of the remaining components of the recipe!
- Vermicelli Rice Noodles — I love using these because they’re gluten free AND cook really quickly. The brand that I buy just needs a soak in boiled water for about 4 minutes. You can use different noodles if you prefer but I really like the lightness of vermicelli here.
- Veggies, Herbs, and Garnishes — While any fresh veggies and herbs work here, I went with a combination of crisp romaine lettuce, Persian cucumbers, carrots, radishes, cilantro, and mint. Roasted peanuts add a crunchy element and a touch more protein. For a mild onion flavor, I scattered chopped scallions on top but you can leave them off if you prefer.
- Sweet and Sour Lime Sauce — honestly, this is my favorite part of these vermicelli bowls! Don’t be thrown off by the boring brown color. This sauce is sweet, tangy, spicy, and has such a gorgeous depth of flavor thanks to the hoisin.
If you’re vegan, make sure to check that your sweet chili sauce is as well. Hoisin can sometimes contain gluten so make sure to check the label if you’re gluten free!
Putting Everything Together
You’ll need just about 20 minutes to bring everything together from start to finish. I recommend getting the tempeh started first as it will take about 10-15 minutes to crisp up in the pan. Make sure to crumble it into small pieces because it will cook faster! While the tempeh cooks, you can tackle the noodles, the veggies, and the sauce components. You can either serve everything like I did in the photos and create a separate mound of each component in your bowl. Or, you can toss the noodles and veggies together. Either way, don’t forget to drizzle on some of the sweet and sour lime sauce!
Want more Vegan and Vegetarian Dinner Recipes?
If you love these vermicelli bowls, I have a feeling you’ll really like this veggie sushi bowl with tofu and spicy mayo or these peanut noodles with edamame. Or, you can peruse all of the dinner recipes here.
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Crispy Tempeh Vermicelli Bowls with Sweet and Sour Lime Sauce
- Total Time: 20-25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Fresh, light, and packed with protein, these crispy tempeh vermicelli bowls with sweet and sour lime sauce are ready in just 20-25 minutes. This vegan lunch or dinner recipe is full of colorful veggies and is perfect for days when you want to keep cooking at a minimum. (vegan and gluten free recipe)
Ingredients
- 8 ounces tempeh
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- sea salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
- 1/4 cup hoisin
- 2–3 tablespoons tamari
- 1 medium lime, zested and juiced
- Sriracha, to taste (optional)
- 4 ounces vermicelli rice noodles
- 2 medium carrots
- 5–6 romaine lettuce leaves
- 2 Persian cucumbers, or 1 English cucumber
- 4–5 radishes
- 3 scallions
- 2–3 tablespoons roasted peanuts
- 1 handful fresh mint leaves
- 1 handful fresh cilantro
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium. While the skillet comes to temperature, crumble the tempeh with your hands into small pieces (the smaller the better as it will cook faster).
Add the avocado oil to the hot skillet, followed by the crumbled tempeh and a pinch or two of salt. Stir, then allow the tempeh to cook undisturbed for about 3-4 minutes. After that, stir every 1-2 minutes until the tempeh is golden brown and crispy. This should take 10-15 minutes.
While the tempeh cooks, complete the remaining components. Add the sweet chili sauce, hoisin, 2 tablespoons of the tamari, and the lime juice and zest to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Taste the sauce and add more tamari as needed for saltiness and sriracha if you prefer a spicier flavor. Set the sauce aside.
Prepare the vermicelli rice noodles according to the package instructions then drain and rinse them under cold water.
Peel or scrub the carrots well then use a vegetable peeler to peel them into ribbons or use a box grater to shred them. Thinly slice the romaine lettuce. Ribbon the cucumbers or cut them into thin slices. Cut each radish in half then thinly slice. Trim off the roots and bruised tops then thinly slice the scallions. Chop the peanuts.
Divide everything between two bowls. Serve the sauce drizzled over the noodles or on the side for dipping.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container and enjoy within 3-4 days. The sauce will be good for up to a week. There is no need to reheat anything.
Notes
- Want even more protein? Add some cooked shelled edamame to your bowl.
- This can easily be doubled or tripled depending on how many servings you’d like to make.
- Feel free to mix up the veggies. Sliced bell pepper, bean sprouts, avocado, and salad greens would also be great here.
- Make sure to check the label of you sweet chili sauce to ensure that it is vegan and that your hoisin is gluten free if those are dietary concerns.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
- Category: main
The texture on this was just so perfect. I love that extra crispiness.
Yay! So glad you liked the crispy tempeh 🙂
My kind of bowl! I can eat them all day!
Same! I used to order something similar for takeout all the time but am so excited to have a version I can easily make at home 🙂
I had never tried tempeh before, but was looking for a high-protein ingredient for a vermicelli bowl. The crispy texture of the tempeh was wonderful paired with the soft vermicelli noodles. I loved the way the carrots were prepared (like noodles themselves), being as thin as they were. All around a delicious meal!
I’m so happy you liked the tempeh! It’s become one of my go-to protein sources because it crisps up beautifully and is so versatile.
I loved the flavor and texture of these bowls. I am still thinking about them! Can’t wait to make these again.