We're newly obsessed with baked tofu at our house! These little squares of chewy goodness are perfect for salads or even a quick snack when we're trying to eat light. Plus, heads up dorm-dwellers - you can do this one in a toaster oven...
Try This! Baked Tofu
What makes baked tofu so great - other than how easy it is to make - are all the different marinades you can use to flavor it. Basic soy sauce is a great standby, but you can also add ginger, mustard, chili-garlic sauce, or anything you might add to a regular marinade.
We've also been experimenting with vinegars for a more tangy flavor and honey for a sweeter treat. After all our citrus talk these past few weeks, we're also eager to try marinades with orange, lime, and lemon juice in them.
Here's a how we've been making our tofu:
Baked Tofu
1 (16-ounce) block extra firm tofu
1/2 cup soy sauce or other marinade
Drain and rinse the block of tofu. Set it on a clean dish towel (or paper towels) on a rimmed dinner plate. Place another plate on top and weight it down with something heavy, like a handy can of tomatoes or a heavy skillet, to press out some of the excess liquid. Let sit 15 - 30 minutes.
Cut the tofu into pieces. You can do cubes for croutons, sticks for dipping, flat squares to layer on sandwiches, or any other shape you feel like.
Put the cut tofu in a shallow dish, cover with marinade, and let sit for 15 - 30 minutes. Flip the tofu a few times so the marinade is absorbed evenly. The longer you let the tofu sit, the deeper the flavor will be.
Pre-heat your oven (or toaster oven!) to 350-degrees. Cover a baking sheet (or toaster oven insert) with aluminum foil and coat with non-stick spray. Cook the tofu cubes for 10 minutes and then flip them over. Continue cooking and flipping every 10 minutes until the tofu is as baked as you like it, 20 - 45 minutes total.
As you bake, the tofu will shrink, the texture will get chewier, and the flavor will get more concentrated. For salads, we like it baked so it's just toasted on the outside but still silken in the middle. For snacking or dipping, we like to bake it until it's pretty dense and has a good bite.
Anyone have a favorite marinade for baked tofu?
Related: Meat Substitutes: Love 'Em or Hate 'Em
(Images: Flickr members kipbot and Wendy Copley licensed under Creative Commons)
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Inspiration, Salad, Healthy, Vegetarian, Vegan, Ingredients - Pantry, Snacks, salads, tofu, marinade, eating light, baked tofuRelated Links
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Funny, this looks familiar. I like it with oil, salt and pepper, the way the old link suggested. (I think. It's a password-protected blog now.) To me, straight soy sauce is too much.
view squidlette's profile
I just use whatever salad dressing I have around. It was really good with Newman's Own Roasted Garlic and Parmesan dressing!
view suzyblue's profile
1/2 cup soy sauce sounds like a sodium nightmare. In any case, one thing I wish there were more detail on: Drain and rinse the block of tofu.
What's the best way to do this, and how long should the tofu spend draining?
I have a bottle of Goya Mojo Criollo at home. I wonder how that would taste with this...
view Plaid Ninja's profile
I love tofu squares - they're a staple. Thanks for yet another recipe. I usually cook mine at 400 or even a little more for maybe an hour.
view Pixie's profile
Yes, get us a working link to the tofu croutons! As squidlette said, that one doesn't.
view Pixie's profile
I usually use soy, sesame oil, rice vinegar, cilantro, ginger, garlic and green onion as the marinade. Then I have equal parts of panko and sesame seeds on a plate, coat the tofu slices and bake.
Also BBQ sauce makes a good marinade.
view Luxeport's profile
My favorite marinade is Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki.... yum!
view cptnruthless's profile
Not sure what the rules are here, but I think I found a site that copied the recipe (and the blog post), word for word. As I do not want to give the faker any traffic, the recipe that is probably from cookinpanda is below.
I remember trying extra virgin olive oil and regular vegetable oil, and variations of salt, garlic salt, pepper, white pepper, and a spicy pepper mix I have. All turned out delicious. (I put tasting notes in the comment of my first link.) I'm pretty sure I put foil on my pan to reduce the scrubbing I'd have to do later, and think that tossing the tofu in oil first would waste less oil.
Tofu Croutons with Black Pepper
Prep Time: 5 minutes / Bake Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
• 1 block of extra firm tofu, patted dry, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• fresh black pepper
• salt
Directions
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Spread the tofu cubes in one single layer on a baking sheet.
• Drizzle with the vegetable oil.
• Season with generous amounts of black pepper and a desired amount of salt.
• Bake for about 50 minutes or until golden.
Practical Considerations
All sorts of herbs can be used here. I thought about marinating the tofu first, but I'm not sure that'd be very effective, considering that the tofu cubes are pretty much entirely dried out by the baking.
view squidlette's profile
squidlette - thanks!
view Pixie's profile
I LOVE baked tofu.
I usually just mix a little soy sauce with melted earth balance, pour on top and bake. Delicious!
view Ana K.'s profile
By the way, Chicagoans, if you can try to get Mu-Tofu. It's made in Edgewater, right by Rogers Park. It is amazing tofu. Their herb tofu is perfect.
view Ana K.'s profile
In a pinch, we use Soyaki marinade from TJs
view jen_g's profile
I really like this recipe for baked Szechuan-style tofu, which seems to be all over the internet:
http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=Baked%20tofu%20szechuan%20style
I make the marinade in the morning and leave it in there all day. It's really easy to make and leftovers are good cold or at room temperature.
view Tiny Banquet's profile
So is this comparable to the baked tofu I buy in a package (I think it's White Wave)? If so, I am totally going to start doing this at home now.
view renata's profile
I am currently IN LOVE with salt and pepper tofu, but I will have to give this one a try since baked is always a better option than fried.
Thanks for sharing
view pinkbites's profile
Huh, will add the the "try this" list.
view Kalinda's profile
These all sound good. I need something new to top soba noodle soup...
view whytephoenix's profile
I've been dying for some tofu recipes! Thanks for posting this!
view Damfino's profile
luxeport, that sounds amaaaazing.
i'm a big fan of bbq baked tofu.
view youreacigarette's profile
After you marinate the tofu slices, try coating them in a mixture of corn meal and nutritional yeast (half and half) then bake them. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and lighter than deep-fried tofu. yum.
http://www.wellfednutrition.com
view wellfed1's profile
Thanks for this recipe.
I never knew this is so easy to make!
view dewi's profile
Make it your Valentine's Day lunch tradition to cut your tofu with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and marinate in sweet and sour sauce (or something else reddish, even BBQ). Eat it with a light side such as sauteed spinach.
view allthedoll's profile
i just made a huge batch to bring to work for lunch this week - so delicious! i tossed mine with sesame seeds before baking as well. i love SS and their tiny bit of crunch is awesome.
view rebecca_f's profile