Since I got my Instant Pot last Christmas I have been constantly looking for ways to use it and save time. Tempeh is the perfect food to make in an Instant Pot because it makes use of its two most useful modes: pressure cooker and yogurt maker.
Making tempeh in the Instant Pot is not only easier, it’s also quicker. Obviously, it still requires several hours to incubate but the pressure cooker simplifies the whole process.
So, what are the advantages of making tempeh in the Instant Pot?
- You don’t have to soak the beans! Just rinse and pressure cook.
- Beans cook a lot faster and require less attention. This is the main advantage to me, I used to cook beans on the stove top and it took over 1 hour and constant attention, checking from time to time to see if there was still enough water or if the beans were not overcooked.
- No oven required for the incubation step. Yes, you read right! Thanks to the yogurt mode of the Instant Pot, the tempeh is at the perfect temperature, meaning the mold develops well. I used to incubate tempeh in my oven, meaning I couldn’t use it for 48H. Not good when you have a cookie craving…Problem solved with the Instant Pot!
Ready to make your own tempeh?
Start by pressure cooking the soybeans for 40 minutes, no soaking needed. Just rinse the beans, cover with water and pressure cook.
To speed up the process even more, I used peeled split soybeans. They don’t only cook faster, they also do not require peeling, which is usually the most time-consuming step when making tempeh from whole soybeans. If you can’t find split and peeled soybeans, there is an extra step you will have to do, check out the recipe notes.
Once your soybeans are cooked and soft, the next step is to pat them dry. This step is essential as the mold won’t grow well if there is too much moisture. I usually spread the beans on a clean kitchen towel and let it sit 15-20 minutes. Then top with another kitchen towel and press slightly to absorb excess moisture.
Next, you stir in a tablespoon of white vinegar, which lowers the ph and prevents bad mold from growing. Sprinkle the tempeh starter and mix well before transferring to freezer bags.
Make sure to pack the soybeans well in the freezer bags, you don’t want too much space between each soybean.
To incubate, we will use the Instant Pot’s yogurt mode! Pour 1 cup of water into the liner, add the steamer rack and place the soybean bags on the steamer so they don’t touch the water.
Set the Instant Pot on yogurt mode and let it do its magic! After 16 hours you can turn it off and let it incubate for another 24 hours. You don’t need the Instant Pot to generate heat anymore as the mold will start to generate its own. It’s actually funny how the tempeh is still warm after 24 hours!
You will start to see white mold growing after about 18-20 hours (2 hours after you turn off the yogurt mode), and it will fully cover the beans after about 40 hours.
Finally, when your tempeh loafs are firm and completely white, transfer to the refrigerator and use as you wish!
This recipe yields two tempeh loafs of about 13 ounces. If you like tempeh as much as I do it won’t last long, otherwise, it freezes very well and will keep for months in the freezer. For those of you who eat soy-free, check out my chickpea tempeh recipe, the base is basically the same.
If you have never made your own tempeh you should definitely try! It’s not as complicated as it seems and requires very little active time. Plus it tastes so much better than store-bought (no bitterness or aftertaste)! It’s also budget-friendly!
You can use this tempeh to make Sesame & Peanut Tempeh Skewers, Tempeh Khao Soi, or these Thai Tempeh Buckwheat Wraps.
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Note: This post is not sponsored, I just really enjoy cooking with the Instant Pot. This post contains affiliate links though. I earn a small commission if you order through one of these links. It helps support this blog and keeps the recipes coming.
How to Make Tempeh in the Instant Pot
Easily make your own tempeh in an Instant Pot! No other equipment required. It’s cheaper and tastes a lot better than store-bought tempeh!
Yield: 2 Loafs of tempeh 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups split and peeled soybeans (see notes for whole soybeans)
- 6 cups water
- 1 tbsp white rice vinegar
- 1 tsp tempeh starter
Instructions
- Rinse the soybeans under cold water. Transfer to the Instant Pot liner. Cover with the water and close the lid. Set the valve to “Sealing”.
- Pressure cook for 40 minutes and let the pressure release naturally (about 25 minutes). Once there is no more pressure, open the Instant Pot and drain the cooked soybeans.
- Transfer the cooked soybeans to a clean kitchen towel and let dry for 20 minutes. The soybeans should not be wet, if they still appear too wet, top with another clean kitchen towel and press a bit to absorb excess water.
- Transfer the soybeans to a large mixing bowl. Add the rice vinegar and stir using a wooden spoon. Sprinkle the tempeh starter and stir again until well combined.
- Take two freezer bags and pierce them using a fork or a chopstick at 1-inch intervals. Divide the soybeans into the freezer bags and pack them well. Then fold the rest of the bag over the soybeans to keep it tight.
- Wash the Instant Pot liner. Place 1 cup of water in the bottom and top with the steam rack. Place the two tempeh loafs on the steamer. Cover with a glass lid (or use the Instant Pot lid if you don’t have a large glass lid).
- Press the Yogurt button 3 times to set it on “Less” mode. Set the timer for 16 hours.
- After 16 hours, turn off the Instant Pot. You should start to see some white mold appearing. Remove the excess water from the lid using a paper towel. Place the lid back into place and let the tempeh incubate for another 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, the tempeh should be fully covered with white mold and bind the soybeans together into a firm cake. You can now place it in the refrigerator and use as you wish!
- Tempeh will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.
Notes
If you can’t find split and peeled soybeans: Soak the whole soybeans overnight. The next morning, rinse and place in a large bowl. Cover with water. Using your hands, massage the beans to remove the hulls. Hulls will float on top, remove them using a colander and discard. Then you can cook the soybeans and follow the recipe.
I was having no luck incubating my tempeh until I ran across this article as I never thought about using my Instant Pot Ultra 6 quart for that. I started using this Sterilite 03111606 Ultra Seal 3.1-Cup Rectangle container – https://tinyurl.com/y4vy6mts – which fits perfectly. I also used this steamer basket – https://tinyurl.com/yxvf6gvm – to put the container in. Two container stack perfectly. I have used a 10 bean soup mix from the bulk bin, black bean, green mung bean, red mung beans, and combination of red and green mung beans. I do soak my beans because I find that one cup of beans will expand 3x in size after 12 to 24 hours. I also use the steamer basket to steam my beans before putting them in a half sheet pan lined with a kitchen towel to cool.
My basic recipe is one cup of beans, 1 TBSP vinegar, 1/2 tsp tempeh starter, 1/8 cup of toasted sesame seeds.
The yogurt setting on Low is 91 degrees and I add a cup of water before setting it for 16 hours. I check the container’s temperature and when it measured 95 degrees I would set it on a wire rack for 15 minutes to see if it can maintain its temperature. If the temp dropped to 88 degrees I would put it back in the Instant Pot for another couple of hours. Once it can maintain its temperature I would let it set on the wire rack for another 18 hours.
My last recipe had the bean tempeh having a temp of 103 degrees F after 18 hours in the Instant pot. Temps went to 120 degrees over the course of the next 18 hours and then started declining. I would steam the tempeh for 20 minutes in the steamer basket to stop the fermentation process.
Arthur, I love the idea of a reusable dish instead of a bag! I assume you use the lids in the process. Any more specifics you could offer? Do you need to fill these all the way full to the lid? Do you stack the containers one of top of the other? Vents open? Any advice you have would be so appreciated!
I followed this recipe and had a bit of a problem. I set the instant pot to the low yoghurt setting for 16 hours (till yesterday 6 pm) no sign of mould yet. Checked on temperature several hours later (10 pm) and still no mold but it felt warm. Checked today at 7 am and it was quite warm with a bit of mold growing on the sides of the beans between where two packages were stacked. Came home from work just now (5 pm) to discover no additional mold growth and the beans at room temperature. Any idea what went wrong and how I can salvage this batch?
Thanks!
I would say this batch is gone and should be discarded. You could break this packs apart to see what it looks like on the inside. It may be that your packs overheated and that’s why you didn’t get mold growth. I use a thermometer like this one – https://tinyurl.com/y62or62m – that was designed to monitor aquarium temperatures. You could buy two and insert the probe into the middle of the packs so you can more closely monitor the temperatures being generated.
As far as what went wrong check how closely you followed the recipe, how clean your workspace is, and the kind of Tempeh Starter you are using using. It could be the starter is old and you need to use more or perhaps you need to use a different Tempeh Starter entirely.
When I’ve made tempeh it was 16 -18 hours until my container reached 95 degrees. I removed my container from the Instant Pot at that time and sat them on a wire rack. It was another 8 hours before I really saw significant mold growth. It would be another 6 – 10 hours before I would remove the new tempeh loaf from my container.
Are you sure your beans were dry before stirring in the vinegar and starter?
Also, the beans must be packed tightly in the plastic bags.
Me again… LOL. I’m getting ready to give this a go. Have one final question. I’ve tried soaking and hand removing the skins. Have been doing that with soymilk recipe and my soy yogurt recipe. More work than I want.
Have you tried cooking the soybeans and after they cool down, trying to remove them as mentioned? I’m gonna give it a try. Might be easier, might be messier. I’ll let you know, but won’t be doing that until tonight, after soaking is over, so I thought I’d ask y’all to see if you’ve tried it.
★★★★★
Hi Jim,
I haven’t as I usually buy split soybeans that have no skin. Let me know if you try it!
Will do. I’ll be back home in a couple weeks. Plan to give it a go. Will update y’all.
Hey there! I wanted to let people know that the recipe works well. I had split non GMO soybeans and I cooked them in the instant Pot for 20 minutes and allowed it to release the pressure naturally. I opted for it to have an al Dante texture so that the culture would have plenty of space to for and access to oxygen. I let it dry for about 2 hours, and then followed the instructions. After turning the instant Pot off, I did have to let it stay in there for 2 days to get a lot of white fuzz but it is good!
★★★★★
I have been making tempeth for years,I learned from a friend who runs a tempeth shop.
1) cook 4 cups soy beans for a couple of minutes in boiling water to create steam. This will help separate the skins.
2-In a food processor place a cup or two of the beans at a time and pulse five times to split the bean and also loosen the skins.
3-Fill a large pot with water, place the beans and strain from one pot to another using a strainer to separate the skins that will be almost on the water surface. This will take about ten minutes.
4-Cook the beans for an hour. Drain well and keep at medium to low heat to dry well as you stir with a large spoon. This will take about five to ten minutes.
5-After the beans are dried and cooled to body temperature add three table spoons of vinegar and a teaspoon or two of the tempeh starter. Mix well.
6-Place in sandwich bags about half full and close, then use a very clean fork (use vinegar or alcohol to clean) to punch holes every 1/2 inch or closer. This will provide ventilation during incubation.
7_-Flaten the bags by padding and place in the incubator for 12 hours at 34c and then reduce to 28c. The tempeth will be ready within 24 to 36 hours.
It is important to keep everything absolutely clean during preparation (counter , hands, utensils) and not to let the beans go above the required temperature!
I hope this guide helps you.
Hi All:
I use dried beans and do not soak them at all. You don’t want them to have lots of moisture during incubation, also after cooking them for an hour they should be still not soft, it should take a hard press with your nails to brake the beans.
When drying the beans in the pot you will know when to stop when you see that the beans are not so shyny or don’t have moisture on them.
Thanks for your great feedback! 🙂