Tofu is baked simply until lightly crisp, then tossed with an umami rich, sweet-and-sour peanut sauce, then baked again until the sauce caramelizes and the tofu becomes outrageously delicious. Pair the tofu with blanched broccolini and edamame alongside rice for a balanced and fresh yet indulgent meal the whole family will love!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Tofu gets a FUN makeover.
I’m a big believer that cooking tofu should be fun. If you’ve tried my Braised Tofu, Greek-Style Vegan Feta, Tofu Stir Fry, or Tofu Tikka Masala, you already know that 🙂 And this recipe makes tofu the fun star it can and should be. Serve it to your tofu-skeptical friends, partners, and kids, and I promise they’ll see tofu in a new light.
A serious flavor bomb
I’m not exaggerating when I say this peanut sauce is a flavor bomb! It’s inspired by peanut sauces you’ll find in certain Indonesian and Thai dishes, and I promise you’ll want to add this to your favorites collection. Peanut butter forms the creamy, nutty base, while a few pantry staples bring the big flavor: a generous amount of soy sauce adds a rich savory flavor, tamarind paste adds the most delightful tang, coconut sugar adds the requisite sweetness to balance, and sambal oelek adds a slightly spicy kick. Lime zest adds its characteristic citrusy freshness, while fresh garlic adds a, well, garlicky punch. One taste of this stuff and you’ll be hooked!
Indulgent but wholesome
This dish tastes almost decadent thanks to the rich peanut sauce, but the main ingredients are nutritious plant-based staples: tofu, peanut butter, edamame, brown rice, and broccolini. Bonus: this seriously tasty peanut sauce gets used in two ways. First, it coats the tofu before hitting the oven. The peanut sauce clings and almost caramelizes onto the tofu in the oven. And while that’s baking, you’ll thin out the rest of the peanut sauce with some water. Drizzle that over the entire meal to finish so you get that incredible sweet-savory-spicy flavor in every bite.
Ingredient Notes
Extra-Firm Tofu
Obvi! This recipe first bakes the tofu simply (with olive oil, salt, and potato starch). It’s basically the same method I use in my Simple Baked Tofu, but the tofu bakes for a shorter period of time before being tossed with the peanut sauce. Potato starch yields the best texture for baked tofu, but you can also easily use arrowroot powder.
Peanut Butter
Smooth, creamy peanut butter with no added sugars or oils is best here. If your peanut butter is salted, start with just 1 tablespoon of tamari/soy sauce and add more to taste. Substitutes: Peanut allergy? You can use almond butter with great results. If you’re allergic to all nuts, you can try sunflower seed butter, but most varieties have added sugar, start with just 2 teaspoons of sugar, then taste and adjust as needed.
Tamarind Paste
Tamarind is a tropical pod fruit that’s used in many cuisines, including South Asian (particularly South Indian cuisine), Southeast Asian, Latin American, and Caribbean cuisines. The whole fruit is a bit time consuming to turn the fruit in the pods into a paste, but tamarind paste or concentrate makes it easy to get that delicious flavor. Where to buy: Buy tamarind paste/concentrate at South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Latin grocery stores, as well as stores like Whole Foods or online. Substitute: Can’t get tamarind? Use freshly squeezed lime juice from the lime you zested instead. The sauce will still be delicious.
Soy Sauce
A generous amount of soy sauce brings an addictive depth of savoriness to this sauce. Tip: Gluten-free? Use tamari or gluten-free soy sauce (the rest of this recipe is gluten-free).
Sambal Oelek (Chili Sauce)
You may have seen a jar of sambal oelek without even realizing it. This Indonesian chili sauce is made with just chiles, salt, and vinegar, and the brand you’ll see most commonly in the states is Huy Fong (with the green lid). Huy Fong also sells a similar Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce (the main difference is that it has garlic). Either of these sauces works great, but if you are using a sweeter hot sauce like sriracha, go easy on the sugar.
Broccolini and Edamame
While the tofu bakes, you’ll blanch some broccolini and edamame to round out the meal. When they’re done boiling, simply dip them in an ice bath (a large bowl of ice water) to stop them from overcooking and to preserve their bright green color. To finish, toss with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and salt. They don’t need much flavor since they’ll be paired with the flavor-heavy peanut sauce. If you can’t find broccolini, feel free to use regular broccoli (about 14 ounces or 400g), cut into medium-sized florets.
Tips for making this recipe
Make a double batch of the peanut sauce.
Trust me when I say this peanut sauce is so good that you’ll want to double batch it. It’ll stay good in the fridge for about 1 week. You can use leftover peanut sauce to make another batch of baked peanut tofu, or to make this incredible Noodle Salad with Rainbow Veggies. You can also pair it with summer rolls or lettuce wraps, or use it as a dressing for a tempeh salad (thin the sauce out with water first).
Seek out tamarind paste if you can.
Tamarind paste helps set this peanut sauce apart and a step above the rest. Its exquisite tangy flavor can’t be replicated, and it’s such a fun ingredient to explore. Try using leftovers in an Indian chutney like this, try adding a bit to an Indian curry instead of lemon/lime juice (start slowly), use it in pad Thai, or add a spoon to BBQ sauce for a fun twist. For my favorite easy hack, drizzle tamarind paste over a vegan yogurt sauce (flavored with lemon juice, salt and garlic); schmear it on a plate and use as a topping for virtually any Indian-inspired meal for a cooling-tangy-sweet finish.
Multitask
To make this meal the most efficiently, you will need to multitask. Follow these instructions for the best use of your time. For instance, while the tofu is pressing, you can make your peanut sauce and trim the broccolini. Then, put on a large pot of water to boil and start cooking your rice using your preferred cooking method. While the tofu bakes during its first round (with just oil, salt, and potato starch), you can boil the broccolini and edamame, transfer them to the ice bath, dry off, and toss them with toasted sesame oil and salt. After 20 minutes in the oven, remove the tofu and toss it with the peanut sauce. Return to the oven for 10 minutes. During that time, thin out the remaining peanut sauce with a bit of water until drizzleable. And chop the garnishes: cilantro and roasted cashews. When the baked peanut tofu is done, everything is ready to assemble!
Serve however you like
Feel free to swap the broccolini for green beans or snap peas, or serve over noodles instead of rice. Or, keep things simple and serve the baked peanut tofu on top of leftover rice, grate or shred a carrot on top, and squeeze with lime juice.
Make it more weeknight friendly
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