Spicy Crispy Breaded Tofu Strips. Marinated Tofu breaded and grilled or baked. Flavorful and easy. Vegan Breaded Tofu, Holiday Recipe. Can be made gluten-free with glutenfree bread crumbs. Easily doubled. Jump to Recipe
For the longest while I disliked Tofu. I think it was because of the way it was prepared. Too bland, too fried or what not. After transitioning to a vegan diet, I was faced with a challenge to figure out how to make tofu on my own so I could like it. In general, I don’t necessarily need to eat Tofu at home. There are enough beans, lentils, veggie dishes that make up our meals. But when I eat out is when the options get limited by my dislike of tofu (and broccoli). I mean think of something like a saucy Thai Cashew delight minus both, it would just be cashews and onions. ha!
So once I started cooking some at home, I warmed up to this silky gelly beany slab. We eat Tofu infrequently at home, but at least the warming up has helped me be open to trying more options at restaurants. My current favorite tofu dishes come from Wedgewood II Thai in Seattle (Capitol Hill).
Back to today’s recipe. This easy crisped up tofu needs just a few minutes of active time. Brush the marinade on the Tofu strips and let it sit for a while, then bread and grill. Serve as side or main with a side of salad or pilaf. Pictures below with a flavorful Butternut Squash Pilaf. The ketchup, spices, soy sauce make a great marinade, which also acts like a sticky coat to keep all those breadcrumbs on. Use other sauces like bbq, and spices and herbs of choice.
More Tofu dishes from the blog
- Celery Black Pepper Tofu.
- Spicy Orange Tofu
- Tofu in Spinach Curry
- Peanut Butter Tofu Bowl with mashed potatoes
- 5 minute Tofu “egg” Salad Sandwich
- Mango Curry Tofu
Reading for the day:
- First Vegan school opens
- “That one was definitely alive” An undercover video at one of the nation’s biggest pork processors
Step by step photos:
Brush the marinate on the tofu and let it chill. The marinade coating should not be too thick or too thin.
Prepare the breading mixture. Coat the tofu strips in the breading and grill.
Grill over medium heat for 6 to 9 minutes each side.
Slice and serve over salad, a roasted veggie and grain bowl with a creamy cooling dressing or over butternut pilaf.
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Crispy Breaded Tofu Strips
Ingredients
Tofu Marinade:
- 14 oz (396.89 g) extra firm or firm tofu pressed (I usually use Nasoya Organic non gmo)
- 1 tbsp low sodium tamari/soy sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp maple syrup or other sweetener
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) hot sauce optional
- 2 tsp oil
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) garam masala or ½ tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) garlic
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- ½ tsp cornstarch or tapioca starch (optional, helps the breadcrumbs stick better during grilling)
Breadcrumb coating:
- ¾ cup (81 g) breadcrumbs , use gluten-free crumbs to make gf
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- ¼ to ½ tsp (¼ to ½ tsp) cayenne
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
Instructions
- Slice the slab into 6 to 8 rectangles. Press the tofu for half an hour between kitchen towels and under a heavy weight to remove excess moisture. or use Tofu press (before or after slicing).
- Mix the marinade ingredients. (Add ½ tsp cornstarch to the marinade for extra binding). Dip the tofu in the marinade and coat all sides to make an even coating that is not too thick or too thin. Place the tofu strips in a container with a lid.
- Refrigerate for atleast half an hour or longer.
- Mix everything under breadcrumb coating. If the breadcrumbs are too large, pulse them a few times in a blender and use.
- Place each tofu strip in the breadcrumb mixture. Flip to coat all sides
- Heat a grill pan over medium high heat on the stove. Brush oil on the pan and place the breaded tofu on the pan. Cook 7 to 9 minutes each side or until brown strips appear.
- Serve with sauces of choice like vegan ranch or a dash of lemon, or slice and to salads, bowls, wraps, sandwiches, etc. Pictured with Butternut Squash Pilaf.
Notes
You can grill the baked tofu over high heat to get grill marks.
For a stickier marinade, add 2 tsp flax seed meal and mix in. Let sit for 2 minutes, then coat tofu in the marinade. Nutritional information based on 1 serving
Nutrition
Linda
Fantastic tofu! I paired this tofu with some peanut butter noodles for a delicious dinner. I can tell that this tofu is versatile, and will be something I make often. Thank you, Richa!
Vegan Richa Support
Awesome!
Liz
Absolutely delicious! Made this and served it as part of a rice bowl.
Vegan Richa Support
yay!
KJ
Absolutely delicious !! One of our go-to favorites 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Vegan Richa Support
yay! thank you 🙂
Lyn Bart
This was such a quick and easy recipe with all on hand ingredients so I went from reading the recipe to eating it in 15 minutes (coincidentally I had pressed some tofu earlier). It was really tasty and I put a little tamarind sauce on it. YUM. Thanks once again for helping me lose my fear of cooking food like this.
Richa
Yaya
Martina
This is one of my favorite tofu recipes. Absolutely delicious! I’m wondering if this could be made in an air fryer?
Richa
Yes it should work. Add in 1-2 tsp cornstarch to the. Marinade so that it thickens and dried faster in the air fryer and the breadcrumb coating stays and doesn’t fallmoff
SusanL
Made this tonight… it was so good and will be part of my regular rotation.
Esther Phelps
This is a favorite!!! So delicious!!!
Vegan Richa Support
❤️❤️
Felicia
Made these tonight and put them in tacos with an avocado crema, so so so good!
Vegan Richa Support
sounds yummy,
GABRIELLE OTTAVIO
Omg so delicious and easy. Perfect for a weekday dinner. I marinated the tofu while I went to yoga class. When I returned, breaded them with gluten-free bread crumbs and popped them into a convection oven- thank you for another fabulous recipe
Atilla
!
Vegan Richa Support
woo-hoo
Christine Dougherty
This was really good! Will definitely make it again, 😊
Vegan Richa Support
Excellent !! thank you
Guggu
It was bitter. I used the same ratio. Any idea what would have gone wrong?
Richa
Maybe the coating got overcooked/burnt?
Lela
This is most perfect Tofu recipe.Very satisfied!!!
Thank you for shearing!
Richa
Awesome
Amanda
I want to try these but my partner and I aren’t ketchup eaters so we never have it in the house. Do you think it would work to sub sriracha?
Richa
That will be too spicy in that amount. Use 1 tsp sriracha and some bbq sauce
Amanda
Makes sense! Thank you!!
Terri H Hartsfield
I made this for lunch today to top a salad and it turned out great. Probably my favorite tofu recipe!
Vegan Richa Support
Oh I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by!
Alexandra
I’m already a big fan of tofu but I made this recipe last night and WOW. I think this is my new favorite way of making tofu. It was absolutely delicious.
Richa
awesome!!
Nadia
I don’t usually comment on recipes, but this one is deserving! This tofu turned out amazingly, and I will definitely be making it often. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Richa
awesome!
Cheryl Davis
Made this tonight – so good! My partner says it is the best thing he has eaten all week. Loved the texture (I baked rather than grilled) and loved the marinade. Will definitely be making this again (soon…)
Richa
yay!
Aisling Connolly
Made these on the George Foreman with sriracha instead of hot sauce…absolutely gorgeous. Will be making again
Richa
yay
Cecdkc
Rmarlabky tasty! I was a little concerned that this might be bland. I marinated sliced and pressed extra firm tofu overnight, and grilled over a gas grill this evening: it was delicious! Just had a leftover slice in a sandwich. Home run! I’ll be making this again!
Richa
awesome!
Proserpine
Hi, and sorry about the necro-comment!
Frenchie vegan here. Just wanted to tell you that I tested your recipe tonight and love it to bits!
Thank you very much for posting.
shilpa
Can I put the tofu pieces in a grill sandwich maker , close the lid and prepare?
Richa
Yes, that should work. Don’t press and lock the sandwich maker as that might squeeze the tofu too much, just rest the grill on the tofu slices.
Maya Harel
This is my new favorite tofu recipe. It comes out amazingly moist, which is hard to get in tofu. I even forgot to bread it, but it was still yummy. Next time I’ll try the breading.
Richa
Great!
Ayaka
Looks yummy! I am going to try this tomorrow!!
I don’t have a grill, but to make this crispy, is it better to pan fry with some oil instead of baking in the oven? Have you try pan frying??
Richa
yes you can pan fry as well. I use a grill pan on the stove. which is a pan with grill marks and pan fry on that. You can use a regular pan, just keep an eye on the breading so that it doesnt burn/char completely.
Lisa
Hi Richa, I made this tonight — very nice, especially considering that it used virtually no oil! They grilled up well, got the grill marks, but I found myself wishing I had pan fried them — the breading was a bit dry. I also think I actually over-pressed the tofu; it was also kind of dry. All of that said, I would make this again, doing a couple tweaks. I’m curious — did you use fresh bread crumbs, or panko, or what? Thanks!
Richa
I used panko and a thick coating of the sauce. It could be the over dry tofu or over cooking. You can soak the slices in a marinade of soy sauce + garlic powder and spices of choice for an hour or and then coat in the thick sauce, and bread and grill. I did use an oil spray on both sides, so maybe that also helped lock in the moisture.
Lisa
OK, that’s it — I’m going to finally invest in a spray bottle thingee for oil, because I think that is exactly what the tofu needed: just a bit more oil than I had brushed onto the grill pan. Also I’m going to get a better brand of tofu — brand I used for this tends to be dense and dry. I’d forgotten that I wasn’t going to buy it again. Thanks!
Richa
😀 yes, the type of tofu matters for sure. 🙂
simple chocolate martini recipe
Those look like some of the best crispy tofu strips I ve ever seen. Can t wait to try them.
Safira
I made this last night along with the Butternut Squash Pilaf… oh my! It was incredibly scrumptious. Thanks for all the delicious recipes you provide here. I was telling one of my friends how you’re such an amazing cook!
Richa
Awesome!! So glad you loved it!
Erin
YUM! I’m always looking for new ways to prepare tofu. This looks simply delicious!
Richa
Thanks! this one was a hit at our recent potluck!
masala girl
ive never tried breading tofu but this looks really good!!
Richa
try it!
Angela Davis
I will try this but not cure if you buy soft or firm tofu?
Richa
firm or extra firm. just make sure to remove excess moisture by pressing
Amy
Made this tonight and it’s delicious! My non-vegan husband really enjoyed it as well. Thanks so much!
Richa
Awesome!!!!
Sheena Yap Chan
damn those look really yummy! i will have to try these out =D
Ruchi
Great recipe! Will try it soon. I have been a long time reader of your blog and read your article in the Vegetarian Times this month. Congratulations and way to go!
Richa
Thanks Ruchi!
Sheila
Cook these be cook in a George Foreman grill ?
Richa
yes it should work.
Travis
Richa, did you grill to get the marks then baked the tofu? Or only one of the cooking methods?
Richa
no you either grill them, or bake them. you can bake and then grill over high for the marks.
Ranjana
Tried these today – very nice! I did the baked version but had to bake for almost 45-50 minutes to get them crispy. In the last 10 minutes, I sliced them in half to get them crisper sooner. Great recipe! Will make again- thanks Richa!
Richa
Awesome! maybe there was too much moisture in the tofu or the a thicker marinade layer? Yes, slice them thinner for quicker bake time.
Tendayi
I just made these for an early dinner, on a bed of rice, with a side of your easy green beans…. delicious!! Thank you for the recipe.
Richa
Great! thanks
Anna
where is the recipe for “easy green beans? ” ,.. i would love to make all of this =)
Hollie
Dinner – sorted!
Jenn
This looks AMAZING!! Home run, Richa!
Richa
Thanks Jenn!
Michelle
This looks very flavorful. I will be making it this week. What brand of hot sauce do you like? I am always looking for a good one.
Richa
Crystal or franks hot sauce