4 different marinades tossed with crispy baked tofu: Sweet & Sour, Teriyaki Miso, Hot & Nutty and Maple Mustard. If you’re looking to up your tofu game, you’re in the right place. In this post, I’ll walk you through four easy marinades you can make for your baked tofu and a couple of serving suggestions to get you started!
How to bake tofu
This is arguable one of the easiest ways to prepare tofu. You only need 3 ingredients (tofu included) and you don’t even need the press the tofu. I find that keeping some moisture in the tofu helps prevent the tofu from being hard and dry after being baked.
You’ll need:
- Firm tofu
- Corn starch
- Vegetable oil
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF
- Cut the tofu into cubes or whatever shape you like. Make sure they’re all uniform.
- Coat the tofu with vegetable oil then toss with the corn starch.
- Place the tofu cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Flip the tofu pieces and bake for another 7-8mins.
Once the tofu is baked, you can mix them with a marinade of your choice!
1. Sweet & Sour marinade
This marinade is one of my favourites, because of the combination of sweetness from the brown sugar and the sourness from the black vinegar. With the addition of tomato paste, the sauce flawlessly coats on top of the tofu. You can top the coated tofu with sesame seeds for extra flavour and texture.
Ingredients for sweet and sour marinade
Serving suggestions
- Buddha bowl with sweet and sour tofu
- Stir-fried with vegetables
- As a side dish
2. Teriyaki Miso marinade
An asian-flavour inspired marinade made with light soy sauce and brown sugar to create the subtly sweet teriyaki flavour, miso paste, garlic powder and a little bit of water.
Ingredients for teriyaki miso marinade
Serving suggestions:
- Stir-fry with vegetables and served with rice for an easy tofu and vegetable teriyaki dish.
- Stir-fry udon noodles with teriyaki miso tofu and vegetables
3. Maple Mustard
Exactly what the name of the marinade is, this sauce is a unique combination of maple syrup, dijon mustard, corn starch and a pinch of salt. I was inspired by the popular sauce “honey mustard”. I substituted the honey for maple syrup for a vegan version and the flavours remained delicious.
Ingredients for maple mustard marinade
Serving suggestions
- Slice the tofu into triangles and add a piece into your favourite sandwich
- Toss with a light salad to add flavour and protein
4. Hot & Nutty
I had a fun time coming up with a name for this marinade! We’re combining your choice of hot sauce with your choice of a nut butter and a little bit of water to thin out the sauce. I recommend Siracha+peanut butter, but I’m sure other combinations work just as well. You can top the coated tofu with crushed peanuts or any type of nut if you’d like.
Ingredients for hot & nutty marinade
Serving suggestions
- Make a mix-n-match lunch bowl with hot & nutty tofu, your choice of grains (rice, quinoa, etc.) and raw greens (such as kale or romaine lettuce)
- Serve as a side dish
- Eat on its own if you’re brave (depending on which hot sauce you use, it can be pretty spicy!)
FAQ
My go-to firm tofu brand is Sunrise (not sponsored)! They sell firm tofu in packs of 350g, which is exactly the amount of tofu needed for this recipe.
On the recipe card I’ve listed the ingredients for all 4 marinades. The amount of ingredients for each marinade is good for 350g of baked tofu. If you’re planning on making all four all at once, you’ll need to either quadruple the amount of tofu, or divide the amount of marinade ingredients by 4 to make a small sample of each marinade+tofu.
Yes! I don’t normally fry my tofu because baking is a healthier choice, but either way the flavours of the marinades will coat nicely on the tofu.
Absolutely. I would often double the marinade ingredients to add extra flavour to dishes, even without the tofu!
Got a question regarding the recipe? Leave a comment on this post and I’ll answer your question right away!
You might also like:
- Tofu Tomato Noodle Soup
- Creamy Potato Salad Sandwich
- BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Tacos with mango salsa and creamy purple slaw
- Skewered Veggies with buttery lemon rice
Baked Tofu 4 Ways
Ingredients
Baked tofu (per marinade)
- 350 g firm tofu, cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- ½ tbsp olive oil
Sweet & Sour
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp black vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
Miso Teriyaki
- 2 tbsp miso paste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 4 tbsp water
Hot & Nutty
- 2 tbsp nut butter (peanut,almond,sunflower seed, etc)
- 2 tbsp hot sauce , such as Siracha
- 2 tbsp water
Maple Mustard
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp corn starch
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Bake the tofu
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and set oven racks to the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, toss the cubed tofu and olive oil together. Add the corn starch and mix until combined. Be sure not to break the tofu pieces.½ tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp corn starch
- Bake the tofu for 7 minutes. Flip the tofu using a spatula and bake for another 7-9mins. Remove from the oven.
Make your choice of marinade
- Combine all the ingredients for the marinade of your choice. Microwave on high for 15-20s and whisk together the ingredients until smooth.
- Toss the prepared sauce and baked tofu in a bowl. Serve as a side dish or in your favourite recipes!
Notes
- To reiterate, each marinade recipe is for every 350g of tofu.
- There is no need to press the tofu before baking.
- Store leftover tofu in a covered bowl or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat the tofu by microwaving on high for 45-60seconds.
