↑

Delicious Little Bites

Loving Life One Bite at a Time

  • About
    • Disclosure Statement
    • Work With Me
    • Contact Me
  • Recipe Index
  • Low Carb
  • Gluten Free
  • Vegetarian
  • Desserts
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Recipes / Appetizers / Vegetable Tempura

Vegetable Tempura

Published February 22, 2022 by Lauren Vavala

Thanks for sharing!

Vegetable tempura with text overlay.
Vegetable tempura with text overlay.
Two images of vegetable tempura with text overlay between them.
Vegetable tempura with text overlay.

This easy recipe makes deliciously crispy, yet succulent, lightly fried vegetables. It’s a quick process and only requires a few staple ingredients. Vegetable Tempura is a wonderful side dish, snack, or appetizer to serve.

A white plate partially showing with a variety of vegetable tempura and a white bowl of dipping sauce on it.

 This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure Statement for more information.

Tempura is actually a very simple concept. You just dip pretty much anything you can think of in a simple batter and then fry it. From my experience, the batter is typically very basic, usually just a flour and water mixture.

When fried the batter creates a very light, crunchy coating over the vegetables. Some tempura uses egg, however this recipe does not.

The process is quick, easy, and simple for preparing this recipe. Once completed, you will have succulent, crispy, crunchy vegetables to enjoy.

Veggie tempura makes the perfect side dish, snack, or may even be served as an appetizer too. Tempura is best when served immediately and still warm from frying.

I like to serve Vegetable Tempura as an appetizer when we are having sushi for dinner.  I also like to serve it alongside dishes like Mongolian Beef, Asian Pork Tacos, and Sesame Cauliflower.

Why This Recipe Works

Vegetable Tempura is quick and easy. It’s one of the simplest batters to make.

You will only need a handful of ingredients to make tempura fried veggies.

Serving vegetable tempura is great for an appetizer or snack.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Ingredients

Ingredients needed to make vegetable tempura with text overlay.

  • 2 Cups Assorted Vegetables: you can chose from broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, onion, mushrooms, zucchini and much more.
  • 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 Cup Water (ice cold)
  • Oil For Frying: choose a neutral oil like sunflower, canola or peanut oil.

The entire recipe and instructions can also be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. You can also print the recipe from the card, if needed.

Prep!

If you are using a deep fryer, set it to 375°F to preheat. If you are going to be frying your tempura in a pan, fill a large, deep skillet with oil about 1/2-inch deep.

Chop the vegetables into bite size pieces.

Create!

Heat the oil in your skillet on medium to medium-high heat. You want the oil to get very hot, but not smoke.

Tempura batter in a smaller metal bowl inside of a large metal bowl of ice.

Stir together the flour and water for the batter in a medium bowl until it just comes together. It’s okay if there are some lumps. The batter will be fairly thick.

Chef’s Tip: it’s important that the batter and vegetables stay as cold as possible to ensure that the batter sticks to the vegetables during frying without absorbing excess oil. For this recipe, metal bowls work great, as well as placing the bowl with the batter into a second bowl of ice.

A pice of broccoli in tempura batter with a fork inside of a metal bowl with asecond metal bowl of ice under it.

Dip each piece of vegetable into the batter until completely covered and immediately add to your fryer basket or hot skillet.  

Cook about 2-3 minutes, turning as needed, until just crispy, then carefully remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. You will likely have to work in batches.

Present!

A piece of vegetable tempura being held up with chopsticks over a bowl of sauce.

Serve immediately with dipping sauce. Some sauces that pair well with this recipe are:

  • Tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce)
  • Soy Sauce (with or without wasabi mixed into it)
  • Ponzu Sauce
  • Spicy Mayonnaise (1/4 cup mayonnaise mixed with sriracha or Sambal Oelek to taste)

Tips and Techniques

  • You can use any variety of vegetables that you like. This recipe works great with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, sweet potato, green beans, onion, zucchini and mushrooms.
  • Use metal bowls to keep the batter as cold as possible. You can even place the batter bowl into a second bowl of ice to keep it chilled as you work.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Consume within 2 days for best results. Reheat in an oven preheated to 425°F for 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway.

FAQ’s

Why Does Tempura Batter Need To Be Cold?

Keeping tempura batter very cold will help it adhere to the vegetables as they fry without absorbing too much oil.

Does Tempura Batter Have Eggs?

Some tempura batters are made with egg, while others are not. This particular tempura recipe is made without eggs.

More Asian Inspired Appetizer Recipes

Chicken Potstickers
Chicken Potstickers are made with ground chicken, vegetables and Asian seasonings folded inside of gyoza or wonton wrappers. These tasty little bites are delicious as an appetizer to all of your Asian-inspired meals.
Get The Recipe
A potsticker being lifted up over a bowl of dipping sauce with chopsticks.
Sesame Cauliflower
Sesame Cauliflower is a delicious, incredibly flavorful way to put an Asian-inspired vegetarian meal on the table any night of the week. It’s a super simple recipe that takes just 20 minutes to make.
Get The Recipe
close up of sesame cauliflower being lifted up with a wood turner in a black skillet with part of a blue and white towel showing
Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps
These Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps are easy to make and deliciously addicting!
Get The Recipe
3 Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps on a white plate over a white background with extra lettuce on a white plate and a white cup in the background

Love this Vegetable Tempura recipe? Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for more!

If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating. I would really appreciate it!

Close up of a piece of vegetable tempura being held up with chopsticks over a bowl of sauce.
Print

Vegetable Tempura

This easy recipe makes deliciously crispy, yet succulent, lightly fried vegetables. It’s a quick process and only requires a few staple ingredients. Vegetable Tempura is a wonderful side dish, snack, or appetizer to serve.
Course Appetizers, Main Dish
Cuisine Japanese, Vegetarian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 189kcal
Author Lauren Harris

Ingredients

  • oil for frying (see notes)
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup ice water
  • 2 cups vegetables (see notes)

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in your skillet on medium to medium-high heat (or your deep fryer to 375°F). You want the oil to get very hot, but not smoke.
    oil for frying
  • Stir together the flour and water for the batter in a medium bowl until it just comes together. It’s okay if there are some lumps. The batter will be fairly thick.
    1 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup ice water
  • Dip each piece of vegetable into the batter until completely covered and immediately add the hot skillet or fryer basket.  
    2 cups vegetables
  • Cook about 2-3 minutes, turning as needed, until just crispy, then carefully remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. You will likely have to work in batches.
  • Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Notes

Tips and Techniques

  • You can use any variety of vegetables that you like. This recipe works great with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, sweet potato, green beans, onion, zucchini and mushrooms.
  • Use metal bowls to keep the batter as cold as possible. You can even place the batter bowl into a second bowl of ice to keep it chilled as you work.
  • Sunflower, canola or peanut oil work best for frying.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Consume within 2 days for best results. Reheat in an oven preheated to 425°F for 5-6 minutes, flipping halfway.
 
 
** Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary depending on which vegetables you choose to use. It does not take into account any oil absorbed when frying.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 189kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 59mg | Potassium: 284mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 6007IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 3mg

This recipe was originally published on April 3, 2017. It was updated with new images, step-by-step instructions, tip, techniques and FAQ’s in February 2022.

Related Posts

Vegetable samosas on a plate with one cut open to show the filling inside.
Vegetable Samosas
Cucumber tea sandwiches stacked on a white plate.
Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Keto Greek Salad with Greek Salad Dressing
Overhead of butternut squash flatbread cut into 5 triangles on a wood board
Butternut Squash Flatbread
A buffalo cauliflower bite being lifted up on a fork with a cheese pull over a white background
Cheesy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

Filed Under: Appetizers, Recipes, Vegetarian

Comments

  1. Craig says

    October 10, 2018 at 12:01 pm

    I was afraid to try wasabi, hearing it was super spicy. To the contrary, this tasted great.

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      October 12, 2018 at 7:35 pm

      Thanks Craig!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Welcome, I'm Lauren!

Delicious Little Bites is where I share all types of recipes from appetizers to desserts. You will also find plenty of keto, gluten free, and vegetarian recipes here to help you put a delicious meal on the table every night that the whole family will love! Read More...

as seen on


Copyright ©2023, Delicious Little Bites. All Rights Reserved.