We’ve been LOVING this Crispy BBQ Tofu Sandwich! Crispy tofu is slathered in BBQ sauce, topped with avocado & a cool cilantro cabbage slaw- a tasty vegan meal in under 30 minutes! Video. Plus 50+ Amazing Tofu Recipes!
Need a quick healthy meal? This is hands-down one of the tastiest Tofu sandwiches ( or tofu burgers) I’ve ever had! I keep thinking if we still had our restaurant this would for sure be on the menu this week! It’s a fast easy meal, and oh so satisfying!
I’m pretty sure even tofu skeptics will love this one too. If you are on a sandwich kick like we have been, you might also enjoy this Tempeh Reuben Sandwich ( which can be made vegan with vegan mozzarella) it is also yummy!
WHY this Tofu Buger Works!
- It’s super fast!
- Simple, affordable ingredients.
- Over the top in the flavor dept- tangy, subtle heat, smoky, delicious!
- Great texture- warm crispy tofu, cool crunchy slaw- a perfect marriage.
- The slaw adds nutrients! I’d suggest making a double batch.
- It’s vegan!
- Will make anyone love tofu. Guaranteed.
Crispy BBQ TOFU SANDWICH VIDEO
Ingredients in BBQ TOFU Sandwich
- Tofu – firm or extra firm, organic, if possible
- olive oil or coconut oil
- BBQ Sauce- find a brand with no high-fructose corn syrup (or make your own)
- Sriracha or Red Chili Paste (optional)
- Cabbage- green or purple ( use pre-cut cabbage if pressed for time)
- Onion- red is nice
- Cilantro- fresh
- Vegan Mayo- or use regular mayo
- AC vinegar- or white vinegar
- Fresh cilantro
- Salt and Pepper
- Soft, toasted buns- store-bought or make your own!
- Avocado- optional
How to make BBQ Tofu Sandwich
Step One:
Cut the tofu into two slabs, one-inch thick, perhaps trimming to fit the bun. Pat gently with paper towels.
Step Two
Season a skillet generously with oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper and heat it up.
Step Three
Sear the tofu on both sides, until deeply golden and crispy.
Step four
While the tofu is cooking, make the quick and easy slaw, using precut cabbage if pressed for time. Cilantro and onion add great flavor here.
Step five
Mix BBQ Sauce and red chili paste (or sriracha) in a bowl and brush it liberally on the tofu, getting the bottom too.
Let the sauce caramelize just slightly in the pan, before turning the heat off.
Step five
Toast the buns and assemble! Feel free to add avocado if you like- a bit messier, but oh so tasty!
And voila! You’ll have a delicious meal on the table in under 30 minutes! This recipe makes two hearty sandwiches.
MoRE DINNER WORTHY sandwiches!
- Banh Mi Sandwich Recipe ( vegan adaptable!)
- Caprese Sandwich
- Curry Chickpea Salad Wraps with Toasted Coconut
- Smashed Chickpea Avocado Sandwich
- Herby Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich
My husband Brian totally devoured this and proclaimed he would happily eat this anytime I wanted to make it.
So with a tofu skeptic, I would just plop it down right in front of them, and not even say anything. I’m pretty confident, that if they like BBQ Sauce, one bite is all it will take. 😉
Enjoy the summer weekend!
xoxo
Sylvia
More Recipes you may like:
- 50+ Amazing Tofu Recipes
- Grilled Tofu
- Easy Tofu Sofritas
- Tofu Paprikash
- Black Garlic Tofu
- Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe
- Quick Sourdough Buns
- How to make Vegan Mayo!
- BBQ Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Grilled Corn with Chipotle-Lime Butter
Crispy BBQ Tofu Sandwich
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2
- Category: sandwich, vegan
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Crispy BBQ Tofu Sandwich topped with cool, creamy cilantro cabbage slaw and avocado, that can be made in under 30 minutes. Vegan!
Ingredients
- 1 block tofu- organic, extra firm, drained
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce (aim for one without high fructose corn syrup, or make your own)
- 1 teaspoon chili paste or sriracha
- 2 soft buns, (like brioche buns) toasted
- Avocado- optional, messy but good. 😉
Creamy Cilantro Slaw:
- 4 ounces shredded cabbage- about 3 cups packed
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 3–4 tablespoons vegan mayo (or regular mayo) or make your own
- 1 tablespoon vinegar- Apple Cider or white, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Drain the block of tofu, pat dry, and cut into one-inch-thick slabs. Trim if needed to fit the bun. You can get 2, maybe 3 out of one block. Pat dry again.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, and sprinkle the salt and pepper over the oil. Once the pepper is fragrant, carefully add the tofu. Sear until crispy and deeply golden- do not move it around in the pan, let it develop a crust, so it will release itself. Lower heat if splattering- this will take about 12 minutes.
- Mix the BBQ sauce and red chili paste in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place the shredded cabbage in a medium bowl, add onions and cilantro, mayo, vinegar, and salt, and toss to combine well. Taste. It should be creamy, tangy and flavorful. Feel free to add more vinegar, salt or mayo to attain this. All mayos are different!
- Toast the buns and slice the avocado.
- Once the tofu is nice and crispy, lower the heat to low, and add the bbq sauce mixture, coating the tofu well. I use all the sauce. Let it caramelize just slightly in the pan, and turn the heat off.
- Assemble the Sandwich. Spread more mayo on the bottom bun if you like, add the hot tofu, and top with cool slaw and a few slices of avocado.
- EAT immediately. 🙂
Nutrition
- Serving Size: one sandwich
- Calories: 527
- Sugar: 19 g
- Sodium: 1128.4 mg
- Fat: 30.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.2 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 21.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
We “Feast at Home” on a pretty regular basis since I retired last year. (Thank you!) This is a go to recipe when I want dinner fast and easy. My only change is adding the sauce off of heat to minimize the splatter. I put it back on the heat briefly to thicken it.
Great idea Lynn! Thanks and glad you are enjoying!
One of our favorites!! The contrast in textures and temperatures really makes this sandwich awesome!
So glad this worked for you!
Love this BBQ recipe! I’ve been making the coleslaw all the time since its so simple to make and tastes delicious. Instead of using slices of tofu for the BBQ, I break up the tofu while I’m sauté it – more of a sloppy joe texture but like it so much better that way. This recipe works great for feeding a crowd.
Thanks Amy- so glad you enjoyed it this way- I’ll have to try it!
The slaw and the tofu seemed to lack some flavor, requiring my partner to “doctor it up.” Next time, I will add more salt (and possibly more BBQ sauce) to the tofu and some yogurt, mustard, salt, and lime juice to the slaw. The avo was delicious and the consistency was really yummy on a toasted bun.
Yes, Salt is key here, as well as a flavorful BBQ sauce.
This was SO good! My husband loved it. I made the bbq sauce using your recipe. Loved it! I’m from Texas, so we take bbq sauce seriously. It was seriously good. I’m using it tonight to make the bbq stuffed sweet potatoes. Thank you for the recipes and tips!
Oh Wow! That truly is a compliment coming from you! Thanks so much Hazel!
This was delicious! Eating the leftovers for lunch today and I’m loving life.
So happy you enjoyed this Liz! ❤️
Made this for my family, we have tried tofu in so many of our dishes and we are still trying to like it.. this is hands down the best tofu dinner we’ve had and it is on the menu for next week, will also cook the tofu the same way and have it in wraps with the works! We have Loved every recipe I have made of yours and we use at least 5 of them a week.. Thankyou so much!!!
Thanks so much Lana! So happy you all enjoyed it!
This is always a home run! If I don’t have time to make the slaw, I just sub with micro greens. Avocado, a little red onion on a brioche bun and this is better than any burger, imo. SO grateful for this delicious site!
Perfect Tracey! I often do the same, so yummy!
Scrumptious and so doable for any cooking experience level.
Glad you enjoyed!
Excellent!
Thanks Shana!
Sooo delicious!!! One of our favorite recipes on rotation. Sylvia- your blog is basically the only one I go to now for recipes they are all amazing!!!
Glad you enjoy this one Claire!
This is more like 10/5 stars. It’s THAT good. Used the linked recipes to make the bbq sauce and vegan mayo. I made my own burger buns & used nappa from a local farm for the slaw. Air fried tofu slabs (390, maybe 40 min, I started from 20 and added time/turned them as needed to get them crispy. Last 10 min with sauce on). Avocado is not optional. This was such a treat. Thank you so much 🤗
Wow! You went ALL OUT. Love it Bowie- glad you gave this a go!
100% A+. Have been tired of my usual lunch sandwiches. This was a huge step up, and the look on my girlfriend’s face when I brought the plate out was worth the time in the kitchen. I agree with commenter Jill, the mix of textures (and colors, especially if you choose purple cabbage) really elevates this. Will definitely be making it again.
Amazing Andrew! So happy you both enjoyed.
Crazy good, you MUST try this one. Even hardcore carnivores might love it, and it is a treat for vegetarians. Like many of Sylvia’s recipes, the mix of textures (soft bun, crunchy slaw, firm tofu) and flavors (BBQ, cilantro, avocado) creates a restaurant-worthy meal.
Haha- love it, thanks Jill!
This recipe is amazing! Super easy to begin with, but even easier once you’ve made the sauce and stored it for future uses. I’ve made this multiple times for my husband and he loves it! My picky 2 year old is also excited to eat a couple pieces of crispy tofu. Highly recommend! Adding it to the list of recipes to make for when my in laws come in to town.
Thanks Tammy! Glad you all enjoyed this!
This burger is incredible! The tastes of the Tofu with Bbq sauce and the coriander coleslaw are out of this world. We actually make twice as much of the coleslaw as it is so good.
Your website is our main source for recipes. Thank you for sharing your amazing talent with the world.
Glad you enjoyed this!
This was a really fun and tasty tofu sandwich! We loved the flavor combos.
Thank you!
Thanks April, I really like this one too!
Made this last night and it just became one of my new vegetarian staples! Even if you’re not partial to tofu, THIS is an exception! Delicious and easy!
So happy you liked it! We love it too!
This has already been on repeat this summer! Such a tasty quick weeknight dinner. The perfect main to go with some summer veggie sides.
Yay! So glad you are enjoying.
I love the idea of this, but the “slaw” portion was a miss for me. The dressing seemed to have no taste to us. I doubled the dressing recipe, tried adding more salt, but nothing did the trick. I think next time I’d add lime juice in addition to (or instead of) the vinegar. Your other recipes have always been a hit for me.
Hey Tracy,sorry about that, I noticed a typo with the salt,so I fixed that and added notes. Just curious- what mayo did you use? They all vary in flavor- so just curious. 😉
I used Hellman’s vegan mayo.
Thanks Tracy- I added some additional notes- mayo varies in flavor depending on the brand, and haven’t tried this one.
Made this last night and my husband and two year old toddler loved it! This is the first time my toddler has been introduced to tofu and she ate two pieces. Highly recommend. Now that I’ve made the BBQ sauce and have it in a bottle, this will be a super easy weekday dinner.
Awesome- so happy you liked the homemade BBQ Sauce too!
Our family loved this sandwich. I added a Portobello mushroom to mine double stack. I’ve been experimenting with baking the tofu as it seems.to give it a nice crust. Worked really well. Thank you as always for the great ideas.
Great to hear David! Thanks so much!
This was delicious! Didn’t change a thing. We ended up making it for dinner 3 nights in a row. We gave our 1 year old a “deconstructed” version aka plain tofu, avocado and hamburger bun pieces and she was also a big fan 🙂
Awesome! We had it two nights in a row! 🙂
I made this tonight using Korean Bulgogi for the sauce. I enjoyed it a lot. My husband said, “it’s still tofu.” Can’t win them all!
Yum!
Absolutely a winner. Even my picky son loves it!
Awesome Vanda!