For me, tacos fall into one of two camps: the fresh salsa camp or the creamy sauce camp. Sometimes the two sauces are combined, like in these breakfast tacos. But usually it's clear which sauce is best, based on the other ingredients.

You'll find several taco recipes with fresh salsa on the blog - see the lineup below. So today is all about the creamy sauce. Guacamole, crunchy cabbage and radishes, sweet roasted corn, chipotle lime tempeh strips and a creamy garlic ranch-style sauce layer up in corn tortillas to make a drool-worthy taco.

In December's Maple-Glazed Tempeh Platter I shared a tempeh tutorial and my favorite stovetop cooking method. Today, as promised, I'm sharing the oven method. Here tempeh strips are tossed in a marinade made of smoked paprika, lime, and maple. As they cook in the oven the maple caramelizes, leaving you with chewy, smoky-sweet bites that are totally addictive. So addictive that we made these tacos two weeks in a row, which rarely happens.

Chipotle Lime Tempeh Tacos

Serves 4-6

250 gr. tempeh
1/2 cup (65 gr.) frozen corn
Chipotle Lime Marinade (recipe below)
1 large avocado
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt
Toppings: warm corn tortillas, shredded cabbage, thinly sliced radishes, Creamy Garlic Sauce (recipe below), hot sauce (such as Tabasco)

Preheat oven to 375F / 190C.
If tempeh comes in two blocks, halve blocks lengthwise to get four thin blocks in total. Stack and cut into sticks ~1/2 in. (1.3 cm) wide.
In a large oven-safe baking dish mix together ingredients for the Chipotle Lime Marinade. Add tempeh sticks and coat all sides in dressing. Spread out in an even layer. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Flip tempeh and scatter corn on top. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes until edges are caramelized.
In the meantime, make guacamole and creamy sauce. For guacamole, add avocado, lemon, garlic powder and salt to a small bowl. Mash with a fork and set aside. In another small bowl mix ingredients for creamy sauce, adding plant milk to thin as desired.
Assembly: Spread some guacamole on a warm tortilla. Top with a few tempeh strips, corn, shredded cabbage and radishes. Drizzle generously with creamy garlic sauce and Tabasco, if using.

Chipotle Lime Marinade
Notes: If you have it, 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder can be used in place of smoked paprika and cayenne.

2 Tbsp. avocado oil (or ghee/coconut oil, melted)
Juice from 1 juicy lime (2 Tbsp.)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. tamari (gluten-free soy)
2 tsp. maple syrup
Heaping 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Creamy Garlic Sauce

1/3 cup (80 ml) mayonnaise (vegan or normal - I like Sir Kensington's Avocado Oil Mayo)
2 Tbsp. plant milk (or more for thinner consistency)
1 1/2 tsp. apple-cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. salt

More Taco Recipes