Tempeh Reuben Panini

It's been 6 months since I've posted a recipe... so this is a good one! This can easily be made vegan by substituting vegan mayo for the regular mayo. OR, it can be made more delicious w/ some cheese!

Tempeh Reuben Panini


1 packet Soy Tempeh
6 slices of bread (Rye for a classic reuben but I used Arnie's Jogga Bread)
Sauerkraut (as much as you want to pile on)
Cooking oil spray

"Thousand Island" spread:
2 Tbs Ketchup
1-2 Tbs Dill relish
4 Tbs Mayo (I used the olive oil based variety)
a dash Fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Chipotle sauce

Tempeh Marinade:
1-2 Tbs Olive oil
1-2 Tbs Soy sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs Hoisin sauce
a sprinkling of ground steak seasoning

1. Mix the Tempeh Marinade in a casserole dish
2. Using a mandolin slice the tempeh patty into 3 pieces, I think I set mine to the second largest slice setting
3. Place tempeh in the casserole dish dipping each side in the marinade and refrigerate for 30 min-1 hour

4. Drain some sauerkraut so it isn't too moist, I put some in a strainer and pressed it, then let it sit for the rest of the sandwich preparation
5. Preheat oven to 375˚
6. Place tempeh slices on a baking sheet pouring a bit of the marinade over each
7. Bake for 12-15 min, flip (pour the rest of the marinade over each) and bake for an additional 8-10 min
8. Mix the "Thousand Island" spread

9. Spread each slice of toast w/ the "Thousand Island"
10. Each sandwich gets 1 slice of tempeh (1/3 of the patty), with 1/2 a slice on each side
11. Put as much sauerkraut as you like in the middle (we like a lot!!!)
12. Lightly spray each side of bread w/ cooking oil spray
13. Grill in a sandwich or panini press (if you want to add cheese, put it on the bread before the tempeh and it will hold the sandwich together)


Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the final product at the moment because I didn't realize this recipe would be so delicious until after we ate it... but I have a leftover slice of tempeh and once I make another reuben I'll add that picture.

However, the sandwich was truly SO good that my mom ate her sandwich even though she dropped the entire thing on the floor (and we have cats!).