Szechuan Tofu and Veggies! A flavorful vegan stir-fry with crispy tofu, szechuan sauce, and loaded up with healthy vegetables! Quick, easy and flavorful!!! Not vegan? Make this with shrimp or chicken! Video included. Looking for more? Check out our 50+ Amazing Tofu Recipes!
Remember the Szechuan Sauce from the Szechuan Chicken and Brussels Sprouts Recipe a while back? Well here it is again, but this time used as a stir-fry sauce in this recipe for Szechuan Tofu and Veggies!
The best part is, if you are not a fan of tofu- you absolutely will be, by the time you try this! Haha! 😉 But if you still don’t want to go down the tofu route – feel free to sub shrimp (amazingly good!) chicken or beef, prepared exactly the same way – so simple and easy! A fast and easy dinner.
Szechuan Tofu and Veggies! | 30-second video
This version of Szechuan Sauce has Szechuan Peppercorns in it (but if you don’t have them, don’t fret. Just use black pepper or peppercorns).
The szechuan peppercorns give the sauce a really authentic “zingy-ness” that is hard to replicate, but it also tastes great without.
Pan sear the tofu with oil, salt and pepper. Feel free to use a wok or skillet! Take your time here and get it golden and crispy!
Then saute a bunch of veggies! I like cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and peppers and something green like asparagus or green beans….up to you!
Add a few hot chilies if you like, then finally add the the Szechuan Sauce and cook for couple of minutes, then add the tofu!
Divide over rice, noodles, zucchini noodles or just on its own, then garnish and you are good to go!
Tasty healthy Szechuan Tofu and Veggies! So much flavor here!
xoxo
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Szechuan Tofu and Veggies
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: vegan, adaptable, tofu, stir-fry
- Method: stir-fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Szechuan Tofu and Veggies! A flavorful vegan stir-fry with crispy tofu, szechuan sauce and loaded up with healthy vegetables! Quick, easy and flavorful!!!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Szechuan Sauce ( store-bought or make your own- see notes below) and more to taste! (please multiply if doubling or tripling the recipe) See notes.
- 8–12 ounces tofu, patted dry and cubed (or sub shrimp or chicken cubes)
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil or high heat oil
- generous pinch salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
- 4 ounces sliced mushrooms (optional)
- 2 cups shredded cabbage (or shredded brussels, or shredded broccoli)
- 1 cup shredded carrots or matchstick
- 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup asparagus, snap peas, or green beans
- optional: 6-8 small dried red Chinese or Arbol chilies
- garnish: scallions, sesame seeds, chili flakes
Serve this on its own, over rice or over soba noodles or zucchini noodles.
Instructions
- Make the Szechuan sauce, set aside.
- Heat oil in a skillet. Season oil generously with salt and pepper. With tofu, I generally use ½ teaspoon kosher salt per ½ pound of tofu. Swirl the seasoned oil around until spread out uniformly. Add tofu and sear on at least two sides, until crispy and golden. Be patient here. Set aside.
- To the same pan, add a little more oil if needed, onion, and mushrooms and sauté over medium-high heat – stirring constantly, until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining veggies, add the dried red chilies if you like -and lower heat to medium, and sauté, tossing & stirring for 3-5 minutes until just tender or al dente. Tender, but vibrant and still slightly crisp!
- Add the Szechuan Sauce, starting with ¼ cup and adding more to taste. If you are cooking more than one batch, you’ll need to multiply the sauce accordingly. Cook the sauce 2 minutes, letting it thicken a bit. Toss in the crispy tofu ( or shrimp or chicken) right at the end, just to warm it up.
- Divide among bowls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Add chili flakes for more heat.
- Serve this just as it is, or over rice, or noodles… and remember, do not eat the dried chilis!
Notes
Prepare the shrimp and chicken the same way as the tofu ( using less salt for the shrimp), pan searing first, then set aside.
- ½ -1 teaspoon Szechuan Peppercorns (or sub black peppercorns)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ( of Gluten-Free Liquid Aminos) see notes.
- 3 tablespoons honey (or sub maple syrup, coconut sugar, brown sugar or sugar alternative)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or black vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing) or mirin (both optional)
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced (use a garlic press)
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely minced ( or use ginger paste)
- 1 tablespoon garlic chili paste (or sambal oelek) more for more spicy or sub 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
- optional- 2-3 teaspoons cornstarch, to thicken.
Szechuan sauce Instructions
- Toast szechuan peppercorns in a hot dry skillet over medium heat, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Crush.
- Place all ingredients in a medium bowl or small jar and whisk until well combined.
- Whisk in optional cornstarch.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: - With tofu - Add 2 servings of Szechuan Sauce ( ¼ cup)
- Calories: 307
- Sugar: 11.9 g
- Sodium: 368.4 mg
- Fat: 20.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.9 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 14.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Great balance of flavors. I used my air fryer to crisp the tofu. That reduced the amount of oil used and the amount of time I had to stand up in the kitchen.
Perfect Jean, love that it worked for you!
I made this tonight and it was very delicious! I made the sauce as well and couldn’t be happier with this beautiful meal. It is going in our household’s monthly rotation. I added some baby Bok Choy to the recipe but other than that I followed the directions. Thank you for this wonderful and healthy creation.
Happy you enjoyed this Karla!
This is my go-to Chinese dish!
Awesome 👏
I made this dish with shredded brussels, king mushrooms and green beans accompanied by organic short grain brown rice. The Szechuan sauce has great flavour and I’m thinking to combine coconut aminos with the tamari for even less sodium next time, but I’ll have to reduce the amount of honey, as the coconut aminos can be a bit sweet. I sautéed the veggies in a smaller quantity of oil and a bit of water as the Szechuan sauce already has enough oil. I also like the tofu slightly dreaded in arrowroot powder before sautéing in a bit of sesame oil, which makes it deliciously crisp. This is another great recipe that I will return to more than once. Hubby really enjoyed it too. Thank you Sylvia & Team 😃
Thaks Meg- be careful with the tamari it can actually be quite salty.
Thanks Sylvia. Yes, I did dilute the Tamari as per your tip at the bottom of the Szechwan sauce recipe. You think of everything 😊 Thank you!
This is so good & so adaptable! I am picky about tofu recipes & this was perfect. Spice is easily adjustable, substitutions are simple & you can load it with whatever veggies you want. Thank you for this!!
Glad you liked this Melissa!
This is delicious! The Szechuan sauce is so complex and wonderful. It makes simple veggies and tofu rise to a whole new level!
thanks so much Marti! Appreciate you!
Awesome recipes, luv the Szechuan sauce.
So good. There are so many different explosions of flavor! This is my third recipe that I’ve tried from Sylvia and she keeps on wowing me with these amazing vegetarian recipes! Thank you so much for sharing this, Sylvia! I recommend this to everyone, it’s so easy and delicious!
thanks Nelly!
It was really good! I used white cabbage, carrots, bell pepper and some sliced dried shitake. I added some fresh ginger and slices of Asian market bought deep-fried tofu to make it even more easy. Worked well!
Great to hear!
Do you press the tofu?
Just press very lightly with paper towels – to mop up some of the liquid before cutting.
Made this for dinner! Absolutely delicious 😋
I loved this dish with its seared tofu and spicy, sweet sauce! I made it in a cast iron skillet- got a great sear! I don’t do a lot of spicy so I left out the chilies and just used gojujang. I also used Lakanto brown sugar alternative and it worked great! Will definitely make again, great use of all my veggies in the fridge!
Absolutely delicious, even without the Szechuan peppercorns. Thank you so much for sharing this and your other delicious recipes, Sylvia!
We just had this for lunch. Amazing! Easy to put together & so tasty! Will definately be making this again.
What type of tofu do you recommend?
Medium, firm, extra firm?
Thanks!
I like firm or extra firm for this.
This is delicious! I used cauliflower, kale, celery, onion, and snap peas because those were the veg I had on hand. Love the method of seasoning/cooking the tofu too. I’ll definitely be eating tofu more often now. Thanks so much for sharing!
Really disappointed in this recipe. So bland, the sauce was way too sweet, and there was no heat except for from the szechuan and some Cambodian long kampot peppers I added. Too little tofu compared to the veggies. A waste of some great ingredients
Hummmm. I’m sorry Carrie. Did you by chance use the recipe multiplier? It doesn’t look like it multiplied the sauce which would defiantly make this bland.
This is delicious! My husband made it for dinner tonight and I practically licked the bowl!
I made this for our meatless Monday dinner and it was so delicious! I made a large batch of the Szechuan sauce to have on hand for more meals to come. Thank you so much!
You have been cooking up a storm! Love this Diane- thanks for much for sharing.
I made this recipe last night and substituted some of the veggies. It was super good and the sauce was delicious! Will make again.
I really wanted to love this recipe but I found it to be a bit salty with the base of tamari. I had to put about 1/4 cup of water to make it more tolerable. Any suggestions?
Hi Ali, tamari is much saltier than regular soy sauce. I think that’s the issue. I will note the recipe!
Turned out really nice. Served with rice. Used packaged szechuan sauce instead of making my own
Delicious. Freezes well, too. Next time I make it, I think I’ll skip the tofu and sub cashew nuts (saves time and I’m not a huge tofu fan).
Good to hear! Yes, cashews would be tasty here!
I doubled the sauce and made it a day ahead to make dinner quicker.
(I used regular peppercorns, and did not have chilis.)
I also put some of the extra sauce on the tofu and baked it.
New and interesting flavors to put into the rotation.
THanks
Thanks Christine! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was fantastic! I’ve made it twice, once with tofu and once with shrimp, and used the corn starch version of the sauce for stir fry. The sauce kept great in the fridge for a couple of days, between the two versions. Both were terrific but I loved the tofu especially. I used regular peppercorns and served it over quinoa. Way better than restaurant takeout.
Awesome!Great to hear…thanks!