Baked Peanut Tofu
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Published Sep 30, 2019, Updated Apr 05, 2023
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This baked peanut tofu is marinated in a delicious peanut sauce that gives the tofu an amazing flavor and crispy coating. Just pair it with rice and a veggie side for a full meal!
If you’ve been an Eating Bird Food reader for awhile, you know I’ve been on a food journey over the last few years. I used to be pescatarian and now I’ve expanded to a balanced, whole foods approach. I eat meat (organic and sourced sustainability) but I still love my plant based meals! This is a great recipe whether you’re a tofu lover or are just thinking about incorporating Meatless Monday into your week.
I’m always looking for new ways to make tofu and given my love for peanuts, this baked peanut tofu was bound to happen! We’re basically just coating tofu in a delicious peanut sauce and baking it until it’s golden brown and crisp.
Ingredients in the Peanut Sauce
- peanut butter – obviously, gotta have peanut butter if you’re making a peanut sauce
- tamari – I like to use low-sodium tamari. And if you’re not familiar, tamari is essentially just soy sauce without wheat so it’s gluten-free.
- rice vinegar
- miso paste
- red pepper flakes
This peanut sauce is so versatile. I’ve used it on a variety of proteins and veggies and it’s been delicious every time!
How to Make Baked Peanut Tofu
You’ll want to leave a little time to prep this meal so the flavors can marinate into the tofu! Mix it up in the morning and have a delicious dinner waiting for you at the end of the day. 🙂
Start by pressing your tofu. Drain out all of the liquid from the extra-firm tofu package and then use a tofu press OR wrap the tofu “bricks” in paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. Place on a flat surface and top with some heavy items to press the excess water out! I like to use a cast iron skillet, canned goods or heavy cookbooks.
While your tofu is being pressed, mix the sauce together until well blended. Cube your tofu, pour the sauce over and stir to cover all of the pieces. Cover your container of tofu and sauce and let the mixture marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. I like to marinate mine for about 5-6 hours or even overnight.
When you’re ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF and bake the tofu on a non-stick pan for 30-40 minutes or until tofu is nice and crispy and golden brown.
The tofu comes out of the oven looking like chicken nuggets from Chick-Fil-A (one of my favorite foods growing up) and has an amazing texture and peanuty taste. This might be my new go-to tofu recipe! It’s delicious served over brown rice, white rice or rice noodles with a veggie on the side. I like it with kale (this garlicky kale would be perfect) or roasted broccoli. Or you can try it in these asian noodle bowls!
Other Tofu Recipes you Might Enjoy:
Baked Peanut Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz package of extra-firm tofu, pressed to remove liquid
- to serve: rice of choice and veggies
Peanut Sauce
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/8 cup hot water
- 1 Tablespoon tamari, or soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon miso paste
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, add more for more spice
Instructions
- Once tofu has been pressed, chop into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Add peanut butter, water, tamari, rice vinegar, miso paste and red pepper flakes into a bowl and whisk until smooth. You can also use a blender for this.
- Pour the sauce over the tofu cubes and toss to cover all the pieces. Marinate the tofu in peanut sauce and place in a covered container in the fridge for at least an hour. I marinated mine for about 5-6 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place marinated tofu on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping once around the 15 minute mark. Remove from oven and serve tofu with sides of choice. I like to serve it with rice and some sort of veggie. I also like adding a little Sriracha on top for extra heat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What a great surprise! I am making some rhubarb & strawberry icecream for Mother’s day. 🙂
The spring rolls look so great! I am craving them now.
Have a fantastic weekend, Miss!
That service looks wonderful! Lucky you!
If you need an easy rhubarb recipe, I recently posted one. It’s a sauce like recipe but great for ice cream and i love it in m oatmeal with some strawberries… 🙂
FruitGuys looks so cool!
I love this time of year. Fully believe that the veggies and fruits from the market taste COMPLETELY different and better than the ones from the store. Makes me wonder a bit, but I am just so thankful it’s farmers market season.
That tofu looks awesome! 🙂
What an awesome idea for the green tea..i drink it in the morning too..and yes it just warms me up a little to much this time of year..I’m so trying that!!!!..if i brew quite a bit…will it keep for a few days???? I usually just drink 8 oz of tea in the morning…..
I have to have my coffee before the heat of the day kicks in, but I have been doing the iced thing too the past month! It is so refreshing! That box of goodies is great. What a great idea! That salad at lunch looks right up my alley. I am looking forward to Friday! I hope you have a great one!
Ok can I just say how envious I am of that fabulousssss delivery!?!? Especially that rhubarb, I have been dying to cook with it! Can’t wait to see what you cook up 🙂 Happy Friday!!
Yes, Tis the season for spring rolls! Those papers are tricky li’l stinkers, eh?! 😀
Rhubarb! I grew up on it and it’s so delish in desserts. I have a yummy rhubarb crisp recipe
http://heathers-perspective.blogspot.com/2009/05/rhubarb-crisp.html
have fun with the produce! 🙂
ha, I’m the same way with hot drinks sometimes! But I have to be REALLY hot to not eat oatmeal 🙂
Hi,
Can this recipe be frozen please? As only myself eating it and dont want to waste ingredients
Thank you😁
Hi Suzie! I haven’t tried freezing this dish and honestly I don’t know if the tofu would freeze well. You can definitely try it and see how it works for you! This dish will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container so you could make one batch and eat the leftovers throughout the week. 🙂 I would just store the sauce in a separate container so it doesn’t get too soggy.
I seriously think that fruit & veggie delivery service is SO cool. And I love tea! I need to start making my own rather than relying on Starbucks 🙂
Wow that is one awesome blog delivery! I love it. I really want to join a CSA this summer and this reminded me of that!
Wow, awesome box of produce goodies!
I must try that tofu recipe ASAP–looks delicious.
For some reason when it’s hot out I really like something hot + something cold. i.e. hot coffee + really thick smoothie, or hot oatmeal + iced coffee, etc. This tea looks so summery I think I need to make some right now!!
the fruit guys! hehe had to chuckle. that is awesome!!
have a fantastic weekend love! <3
I just wanted to let you know that I tried this tofu recipe and it was really good! I ate it with rice and green beans! Thank you so much!
I just made this recipe tonight and it was SO good! It’s one of the best tofu recipes I have tried…thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Megan!!
This was delicious! I’ll definitely be making it again.
Hey there! I have a tip for your iced green tea that will make it even easier for you to make. You can take any tea bags (they do not need to be cold brew) and use them as cold brew tea bags. Just fill your water with as much water and you have tea bags (5 cups water= 5 tea bags), place tea bags in with the tags hanging outside the pitcher and then you can let it steep for at least 8 hours in the fridge- I do this at night then in the morning just take the tea bags out and there you have it. Amazingly easy iced tea! You can do it with any variety of tea! I loooove tea so always make this! 🙂
It is pretty cool to be able to have fresh veggies delivered to your doorstep. I am very hesitant of having food mailed to me. I am glad you were satisfied with your package. It is also great that the package came with instructions.
How much is your typical tofu packet? I want to check I have the right one 🙂 Do you think I can leave it marinading overnight?
16 oz and yes, you can totally leave it marinating overnight.
Thank you! Going on tonight!
I loved it so much, making it again tonight.
hi there! i can’t have peanut butter – it’s so sad…but could i replace with cashew or almond butter?
Yes. Either of those options should work. Let me know if you try the recipe.
Ok, if you need to marinate for at least an hour, the total time is not 45 minutes. Kind of messed up my dinner tonight.
So sorry about that, Kate. Updated the recipe to reflect the marinating time.
We had this 2 times in the week since you posted. Just can’t get enough! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Ahh!! That’s so awesome, Terrance. So glad to hear you’ve been enjoying this recipe and I appreciate you coming back to leave a comment and star rating on the recipe. It’s super helpful and means the world to me.
I’ve never made instant peanut sauce before but this was great, with the additions of garlic powder, tablespoon hoisin sauce and two shots of sesame oil. I could just eat the raw tofu with sauce right now!
Yay!! I’m so glad you loved this sauce. It’s seriously one of my faves!! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating, Lisa. I so appreciate it. <3
Loved this recipe! Added a little coconut cream and lime. Enjoyed with rice and kale one evening then a salad of bean sprouts, cucumber and scallions with toasted cashews and sesame seeds the next eve. Delicious, will definitely be making again!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kathryn. Thanks for giving it a try and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. I so appreciate it. 🙂
I will definitely make this again! I cooked the tofu in my air fryer- my new favorite way to cook it. I served it with roasted broccoli & cauli rice. I made extra of the marinade to toss in with the cauli rice. So, so good.
So glad you enjoyed this peanut tofu, Natalie!! Thanks for trying my recipe and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I appreciate it!
I just love this tofu! It’s now my favorite tofu recipe and so easy.
Thank you!
Love this kind of recipe.A new way to make tofu taste good.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for making it, I so appreciate it. 🙂
This was really good! My sauce was thick and a little difficult to coat the tofu with, but I made it work by smearing on the extra sauce after marinating/before baking the tofu. I love how the exterior gets crisp, plus the red pepper flakes add a nice kick! I served my tofu over a bed of mixed greens with grated carrots, diced red bell pepper, smashed avocado, roasted sweet potatoes and toasted sesame seeds. A ginger sesame tahini drizzle made it a very flavorful, well-rounded salad! Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
You’re so welcome, Elizabeth. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
So easy and delicious!!
So glad you loved this recipe, Rachel. Thanks for the review!
I love this tofu recipe so much! It is in regular rotation at our house. Sometimes I set the tofu up to marinate the night before so I know all I have to do for dinner is make some rice and roast some veggies. This peanut butter coating is delicious. Thanks for making tofu taste better 🙂
So glad this recipe has been a hit! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it, Brandi.
I wonder when I can get myself together to try new recipes like this and spice up my food life.
Let me know if you try it 🙂
This recipe rules, and so do you Brittany! Thanks for making my life better with this recipe! I use your tofu as the protein in a baby spinach salad I make, to which I also add some chopped mini bell peppers and diced avocado and then I dress it with a little bit of Island Soyaki sauce I get from Trader Joe’s! The way the peanut sauce mixes with the avocado and that soyaki is divine. I’ve been making it once a week for over a month now, and I can’t imagine I’ll stop making it anytime soon!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Tyler! Thanks for the review, I so appreciate it!
I added these to a lentil/cauliflower/parsnip pasta. DELICIOUS!
Woo!! I’m so glad this tofu was a hit. Thanks so much for the review!!
Was surprised at how good the tasted. Only marinated an hour but super yummy and rave reviews from non vegetarian friends.
Oh yay! I’m so happy to hear this baked peanut tofu was a hit, Lucinda! Thanks for the review and star rating. It means so much to me!
Made this today and it was awful. Super bummed. The tofu had no flavor despite draining water properly for 30 minutes and marinating in fridge for 5 hours. Sauce was too thick to let the marinade absorb so it had no flavor (I even threw in a bit of extra water to thin it down because it was so thick), and wasn’t crispy out of the oven.
Hi Tanya – I am so sorry that this recipe did not turn out how expected. Did you also press the tofu? I like to use a tofu press OR wrap the tofu “bricks” in paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. I will often place on a flat surface and top with some heavy items to press out any excess water. The additional water in the tofu will cause it to come out soggy. Also, was the water hot? This will help to liquify the peanut butter and miso paste to help make the sauce more runny. If you happen to try this recipe again with these tips, I would love to hear how it works out for you!
Has anyone tried this with almond butter instead of PB? I can’t eat PB, but was thinking it might work with AB.
I haven’t tried it, but Almond Butter should work great, Janet. Let me know if you give this recipe a try. Enjoy!
Would this work for chicken?
Sure! The marinade will work great for chicken. You will most likely have to adjust the cooking time depending on the size of the chicken. Let me know how it turns out, enjoy!