How to Make Tempeh in the Instant Pot

Recipe

How to Make Tempeh in the Instant Pot

4.71 from 54 votes

Easily make your own tempeh in an Instant Pot! No other equipment is required. It's cheaper and tastes a lot better than store-bought tempeh!

Prep Time : 45

Cook Time : 1

Incubation Time : 2

Total Time : 2 1 45

Servings 2 loaves of 13 ounces

Calories 192 kcal

Equipment

Instant Pot

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups (345 g) soybeans (whole or dehulled split soybeans)
▢ 6 cups (1.4 L) water
▢ 1 tbsp (15 ml) white vinegar
▢ 1 tsp tempeh starter

Instructions

1. If Using Whole Soybeans:

Soak them. Add the soybeans to a large bowl and cover them with water. Soak them for 16 to 24 hours.
Remove the skins. Once the soybeans have soaked, rinse them and return them to the bowl. Cover with water. Then, using your hands, massage the beans to remove their hulls. Hulls will float to the top – remove them using a colander and discard. Note: It's fine if you can't remove all of the skins. Just try to remove most of them. For example, I usually remove roughly 1 cup of skins from 2 cups of soaked soybeans.
Cook the soybeans. Drain the soybeans and add them to the Instant Pot. Cover them with 6 cups of water and pressure cook for 12 minutes. Then, follow the second part of the recipe.

1. If Using Dehulled Split Soybeans:

Rinse the soybeans. Add the soybeans to a large bowl and cover with water. Stir using your hands to clean them. Drain and repeat this step 2-3 times.
Pressure cook. Transfer the drained soybeans to the Instant Pot and cover with the 6 cups of water. Close the Instant Pot with its lid and set the valve to the "Sealing" position. Press the pressure cook button and set the timer to 40 minutes.
Let the pressure release naturally. Once the timer has turned off, allow the pressure to release naturally (about 25 minutes). Once the pressure is released, open the Instant Pot and drain the cooked soybeans. Then, follow the second part of the recipe.

2. Prepare the Tempeh

Pat them dry. Transfer the cooked soybeans to a clean kitchen towel and let them sit for 15-20 minutes. The soybeans should not be wet. If they still appear too wet, top them with another clean kitchen towel and gently press to absorb any excess water.
Toss with vinegar. Transfer the soybeans to a large mixing bowl. Add the vinegar and stir using a wooden spoon.
Toss with the starter. Sprinkle the tempeh starter over the soybeans and stir again until well combined.
Transfer to bags. Take two small freezer bags and pierce them with a fork or a chopstick at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals. Divide the soybeans between the freezer bags and pack them well. Try to shape them into thick loaves. Then fold the rest of the bag over the soybeans to keep it tight.
Transfer to the pot. Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot liner and place the steamer rack inside. Arrange the soybean loaves on top of the rack. Make sure they don't touch the water.
Incubate. Cover with a glass lid (or use the Instant Pot lid if you don't have a large glass lid). Then, press the Yogurt button 3 times to set it to "Less" mode. Set the timer to 32 hours. After that time, turn off the Instant Pot. Allow the tempeh to incubate for another 12 to 24 hours or until the loaves are firm and completely white.
You can now place it in the refrigerator and use it as you wish!
Tempeh will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Notes

Pack it tight.

Pack the soybeans as tightly as you can in the freezer bags. This helps the tempeh turn out firm and hold together nicely. If the beans are packed too loosely, the tempeh may fall apart easily when you try to cut it.

Be patient!

You will start to see white mold growing after approximately 18-20 hours, and the soybeans will be fully covered after only about 40 hours. So, don't worry if nothing happens in the first few hours. This is normal, just be patient :)

Pat the lid dry every 6 to 8 hours.

Open the Instant Pot every few hours and gently pat the lid dry with kitchen paper towels to remove any condensation.

Adjust the incubation time.

Depending on different factors, the incubation time may vary. Remove the tempeh from your Instant Pot only once it's firm and a white layer covers all the beans.

Nutrition