27 Tofu Recipes That Will Change The Way You Think About Vegan Food (2024)

FAQs

What are the different ways to cook tofu? ›

Its texture is firm enough to be cooked over high heat, such as pan-frying, air frying, baking, braising, and grilling. The outside becomes golden and crispy while the inside remains soft and tender. Grilled tofu is a delicious way to add plant-based protein to your summer meals.

Use a steak marinade, grill with onions and barbecue sauce, and serve on a toasted bun at your next BBQ. Cube it, coat with cornstarch, pan fry, and serve with honey mustard and sweet potato fries for super-easy "chicken" nuggets.

In a process similar to that of making cheese, tofu is made by curdling soy milk, which comes from soybeans. The milk is coagulated with the use of taric acid or other food acids, and then pressed into bricks. As this process contains no animal byproducts, neither does tofu, meaning tofu itself completely vegan.

Instead of using tofu for the stir-fry, just add another high-protein element such as seitan, lentils, beans, or a soy-free meat analogue.

Tofu is categorized as silken, regular, firm, extra-firm and super-firm. Silken, the softest type of tofu, can be compared to a young white cheese. Firm tofu, the most common, has the same consistency as feta, while the texture of super-firm can be compared to that of meat.

What to not serve with tofu? According to studies, a high volume consumption of tofu and spinach together can increase your risk of kidney stones. Tofu and spinach contain calcium and oxalic acid respectively and the combined can form kidney stones.

Tofu or soybean curd is traditionally used in many Asian cuisines, in stir-fries, noodle dishes, soups, curries and more. In western cooking, it has been adopted as an alternative source of protein to meat. It is a good source of protein, vitamin B1, iron, calcium, and magnesium. Tofu is made from soy milk.

Contains many nutrients

Tofu is high in protein and contains all the essential amino acids your body needs. It also provides fats, carbs, and a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. Each 3.5-ounce (oz), or 100-gram (g), serving of firm, calcium-set tofu offers ( 4 ): Calories: 144.

In the strictest definition of the word, honey is not vegan. As the product of a living being –honeybees, though there are other some 20,000 bee species to be found around the world – honey falls into the same category of non-vegan food products as milk and eggs.

As a general rule of thumb, though, it's okay to eat tofu every day. "The Food and Drug Administration has recognized that 25 grams of soy protein per day may help reduce cholesterol levels," says Manaker. "Some experts recommend eating four soy servings a day for heart health, which can include tofu.

Is tofu 100% vegan? ›

Tofu is dairy-free, gluten-free, cholesterol-free, and vegan, so it is popular with people who have specialized diets. Often used as a meat substitute, tofu is high in protein but low in fat, sodium, and carbohydrates. Tofu is extremely versatile.

Grains, Beans, and Nuts

Beans are always a good choice when looking for a protein-rich ingredient, as many contain nearly 20 percent of the daily requirement of protein. 2 Lentils, cannellini, red kidney, and pinto are just a few of the types of beans that will give you a good dose of protein in your diet.

Yes, tofu can be used as a substitute for eggs in recipes like deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches. To do this, you should start by pressing the tofu to remove the excess liquid. Then, crumble the tofu and mix it with seasonings, such as nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, and salt and pepper.

Fact: Tofu is sometimes called soy cheese because, like dairy cheeses, it's made with the use of a coagulant, or curdling agent, soybeans and water, but it's not a dairy-based cheese. The soybeans are soaked, ground, boiled, strained, pressed and dried.

Baked, Not Fried.

My method for baking tofu produces tofu that's chewy, but it's cooked in the oven, making it much healthier.

While you can use various techniques to make tofu crispy (for example, I use freezing and boiling in this Crispy Tofu cooking guide and pressing dry plus pan-frying in this reader favorite Tofu Stir Fry, and in the oven with Baked Tofu), the best method that I've found is using the air fryer.

Press tofu and cube it. Coat it in garlic, black pepper, salt (plus more of your favourite seasonings), liquid aminos and some olive oil. Then mix it into some cornstarch and toss it all together, then bake for about 20 minutes. Cornstarch also helps to draw out excess moisture so it really gets the tofu crispy.