How to make Baked Tofu – with three bold and flavorful marinades! Never have bland tofu again, with these three variations – Sesame Ginger Miso, Spicy Mexican Tofu, and BBQ Tofu. Simple, vegan and easy recipes! Great for meal prep!
Many of you have been messaging and emailing me, asking me how to cook tofu in a way that actually tastes good. My favorite way to cook tofu is to bake it in a flavorful marinade.
Here are three bold and flavorful marinades that will boost tofu’s flavor and give it the texture you will love. Aside from pan-searing with a little olive, salt and pepper, baked tofu is really as easy as it gets.
Much like a sponge, baked tofu will soak up whatever flavor is on it so making it flavorful is dependent entirely upon you. Baking tofu seems to encourage this process even more while giving it a pleasant crispness.
Even the pickiest of eaters seem to enjoy these! Truly! And these three flavorful tofu marinades are simple enough to incorporate into your weekly meals. Pick one, then prep a batch on Sunday adding it to meals you are already making – Buddha Bowls, tacos, stir-fries, Asian noodles or simply serve with a hearty side of veggies.
Three flavorful baked tofu marinades!
1. Baked Sesame Ginger Tofu – especially good with Asian style dishes like the Thai Noodle Salad from last week -also really tasty in spring rolls, or Asian style buddha bowls or serve as a simple vegan main with a side of seasonal veggies.
2. Baked Spicy BBQ Tofu– a mix of your favorite barbecue sauce w/ a little sriracha sauce ( or chili flakes) spooned over salted tofu before baking. Great alongside summer BBQ style meals with grilled corn, avocado and slaw, or in vegan sliders or sandwiches or over a bowlful of grilled summer veggies.
3. Smoky Spicy Mexican Style Baked Tofu – seasoned with cumin, chili powder, chipotle, this flavorful tofu is perfect in tacos, burrito bowls or in taco salads.
What I like about these baked tofu recipes is that you can prep and bake a batch of this ahead on Sunday, then use the baked tofu for various mid-week meals when time is short. They also come in very handy for the Energy Bowls you received when you signed up for the blog. Also note, the marinades will also work with great with chicken, shrimp or fish.
The tofu marinades take about 5 minutes of hands-on time before going into the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes.
Some of you have been telling me you are “off” soy and I understand. For me personally, when purchasing tofu, I opt for organic, non-GMO firm tofu and enjoy it in moderation – once a week or so- as a good source of plant-based protein. Plus I just like really it and so does my meat-loving husband, always a bonus! So to mix it up, it’s part of our repertoire. Too much of anything is never a good idea.
Above, the smoky spicy Mexican Baked Tofu is perfect for midweek tacos.
Below, the Sesame Ginger Baked Tofu is delicious over Thai peanut noodles.
Sometimes I’ll cut the tofu in different shapes and sizes for various uses. For example, I cut them into long narrow strips for spring rolls and tacos. Bigger “filets” are used as a “main” and smaller cubes are great for Buddha Bowls or tossed in salads. For baking make sure the tofu is about ¾ an inch thick.
Blend or stir the marinade ingredients together and simply pour over or brush on.
Bake at 400 F for 25-30 minutes. And that is it!
The baked tofu comes out crispy and full of flavor.
Baked tofu will keep up to 4-5 days in the fridge. It’s actually quite good cold.
Here is the sesame ginger baked tofu, with my favorite salad…..Thai Noodle Salad!
Tofu recipes need not ever be boring or bland again! Try one of these Baked Tofu recipes this week!
Baked Tofu! (3 Flavorful Marinades!)
Baked Tofu! With three FLAVORFUL marinades! Never have bland tofu again, with these three variations – Sesame Ginger Miso, Spicy Mexican Tofu and BBQ Tofu. Simple, vegan and easy recipes! Great for meal prep!
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: vegan, tofu recipe, main
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: american
Ingredients
Baked Ginger Sesame Tofu
- 16 ounces tofu- organic, firm or extra firm, non-GMO
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce- or gluten-free Braggs Liquid amino acids ( tamari will be too salty)
- 1 tablespoon miso (or sub 1 more tablespoon soy sauce)
- 3–4 slices thin slices ginger- peels ok
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (optional)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1–3 teaspoons chili paste (all optional)
Baked BBQ Tofu
- 16 ounces tofu- organic, firm or extra firm, non-GMO
- generous pinch salt and pepper
- ½ cup – ¾ cup bbq sauce ( add sriracha or chili flakes for a little kick)
Smokey Spicy Mexican Style Tofu
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar ( or white)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic ( or finely minced garlic clove)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ –½ teaspoon chipotle powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon mexican oregano ( optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400F
Blot tofu well with paper towels. Cut into desired shapes (strips, cubes, squares).
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Pick a marinade.
For Ginger Sesame Marinade: blend ingredients together in a blender until smooth, pour over tofu, coating all sides well.
For BBQ tofu: Sprinkle tofu with salt and pepper. Mix bbq sauce and 1-2 teaspoons sriacha together in a small bowl. Taste, adjust heat. If you like crispy tofu, stir in a couple teaspoons of olive oil. Liberally coat the top and sides of the tofu with the bbq sauce.
For the Mexican Tofu: Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl then brush the marinade on the tofu.
Place the coated tofu in the 400F oven and check after 25 minutes.
For extra crispy, bake an additional 5 minutes or so.
Notes
If using Coconut Amino Acid instead of Braggs or soy sauce, add more salt to help the flavor. It’s less salty that Braggs and Soy sauce.
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Just found this recipe and SO excited to try it. I see sesame seeds on the tofu in the pictures but the recipe calls for roasted sesame oil – could you please clarify?
Many thanks!
I use both- sorry I fixed the recipe. Thanks for pointing it out!
Thank you very much for responding AND this amazing recipe! I can’t wait to make it tomorrow. May I suggest saying toasted sesame seeds and just sesame oil! :-))
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Love all three marinades- have been meal prepping with these and each turned out delicious!
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I made this with the Thai salad for a group. Lovely! But it did not get crisp even after adding ten minutes to the baking time. The flavors were wonderful and I didn’t mind that it was not crisp. I sort of liked the creaminess of the tofu with the crunch of the salad. I am loving your bold fresh flavor combinations. Thanks for these recipes!
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Awww thanks Mert! Glad you liked this!
I have made the sesame ginger tofu about 5 times, it’s delicious! My only suggestion would to make more if you like leftovers!
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Hahaha love it!
I love these recipes!! They’re so easy and incredibly delicious. I’m curious what veggies you pair with each if you were making dinner?
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Honestly, most of the time I pair what I have in the fridge and roast along side. For the Mexican Tofu- bell peppers/onion/zucchini for the asian style, wedges of cabbage or bok choy. 😉
I made the Smokey Spicy Mexican-Style Tofu– simple to make and so good! Used it in place of fish in your fish tacos recipe. It was light, satisfying, and refreshing. Thank you!
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Such a great use for these…in the taco’s! Yay!!!
I just used your recipe to prepare tofu to be added at the last minute to a stir fry of onions, garlic, ginger and several large sweet peppers in a sauce of combined soy sauce and oyster sauce. The crispness of the tofu cubes was retained and they had absorbed some of the flavors of the sauce. I served it on fried noodles. Excellent! Hanifia
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I tried the sesame ginger tofu, to serve with Sylvia’ Thai Noodle Salad. It was easy and delicious! I had made the Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce many times for potlucks, but the addition of the tofu elevated it to the next level! Looking forward to trying the other two variations.
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Glad you tried it and liked it!
We make bbq tofu all the time, but I was looking for something a little different and found this post. We made the Mexican style tofu last week and the sesame ginger tonight. Both were SO easy and delicious! Can’t wait to make more of the Mexican style to try chilled on a salad. These are definite keepers in our meal rotation!
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Yay!!! This makes me sooooo happy. I love tofu….I wish more people did!!! It’s so versatile! And can be very flavorful. xoxo
Delicious!!! I made the ginger seasame marinade. Easy!