Have you ever wondered how to make baked tofu that comes out crispy and delicious every time? I commonly hear that people don't like tofu and want some guidance on how to make it taste better. When prepared properly tofu is delicious, yet I understand that there are so many ways to press, cut, marinate, and bake tofu that it can get overwhelming! That's why I've created a complete guide to baking tofu that will teach you how to achieve the taste and texture that you are looking for every time.
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✨Types of baked tofu
- Tofu Steaks
- Crispy Baked Tofu
- Marinated Tofu
- Tofu Jerky
- Tofu Bacon or Bacon Bits
- Breaded Tofu
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Tofu - extra firm tofu that comes in a plastic tub or the super firm high protein tofu that comes in a vacuum-sealed pouch works best for this recipe. You can also bake my homemade chickpea tofu for a soy-free option.
- Marinade - this is anything that you want to soak your tofu in to give it flavor. This can be as simple as a little soy sauce or you can choose one of my tofu marinades.
- Spices - if you choose to bake it plain and add the flavor to the outside with a sauce or a coating like in breaded tofu.
- Oil - if you are not using parchment paper.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A cookie sheet - to bake the tofu on. The low edges of a cookie sheet allow the air to flow around the tofu making it crispy.
- Parchment Paper - helps the tofu not stick to your cookie sheet. It's not necessary but makes clean up easier. Make sure you use parchment and not waxed paper!
⬜ Pressing tofu
You want to get as much liquid out of the tofu as possible before marinating it. Think of your tofu as a sponge. The more liquid you squeeze out of it, the more it will be able to absorb. (The high protein tofu is very dense and is not as porous, so you won't be able to get as much liquid out of it. For this type of tofu, just wrap a paper towel around it and give it a squeeze).
- Drain the tofu and press it in a tofu press or simply between two plates or cutting boards with something heavy on top.
- Allow the tofu to press for about 15 minutes and pour off any excess liquid that has drained out.
- Pat the block of tofu with a paper towel or very clean dish towel to remove any excess liquid.
🔪 Cutting the Tofu
Cut the tofu into the size and shape that you want like:
- small squares for adding to stir-fries or salads
- large squares for baked tofu steaks.
- strips for tofu jerky.
- crumble it for taco "meat" or tofu bacon bits.
❄️ Fresh or frozen tofu?
If you want spongier, firmer tofu, you can freeze the tofu and then let it thaw again before cooking it. This gives the tofu have a denser meatier texture and allows you to press more water out of it. Tofu that has been frozen is not necessarily better, just different. You may want to test it both ways to see which method you prefer.
To freeze tofu - simply place the block of tofu in the freezer in its original packaging. Leave it in there for at least 24 hours or up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge, then drain and press as you would fresh tofu. (I always keep a couple of packs of tofu in the freezer and then move them to the fridge a day or two before I'm planning on making something with them.)
Tip - Use a sharpie to mark the package so you know which ones have been frozen.
🧂 Flavoring tofu
You have 3 choices to flavor the tofu before baking it. You can marinate it, sprinkle dry spices on it, or coat it in a flavored breading.
- Marinate the tofu: Simple place the tofu in a shallow dish with your tofu marinade of choice for at least 15 minutes. (These are my family's 6 favorite tofu marinade recipes).
- Note: if soaking your tofu longer than 15 minutes before cooking, place it in the refrigerator to marinate).
- Dry spices: Sprinkle a dry spice mix on your tofu to flavor it before baking. You can sprinkle on things like taco or fajita seasoning, Jamaican jerk seasoning, or steak seasoning. Toss the tofu around a little to get it well coated on all sides and stick to the tofu.
- Note: since there is no marinade that contains oil, you may want to bake it on an oiled cookie sheet to crisp it up.
- Breaded Tofu: You can also add the flavoring to the outside of the tofu in the form breading. You can make a breading with bread crumbs, dry stuffing mix, crumbled crackers, or cornmeal mixed with some flour and spices. Make sure to check out my full instructions for breaded tofu.
🥄 Baking instructions
The temperature that you bake the tofu depends on the result that you want to achieve, and the time that you will need to bake it depends on the size of the pieces that you cut it in and the desired crispiness.
Basic Baked Tofu: Bake the tofu at 400°F for about 40-45 minutes flipping the pieces every 10 minutes.
Tofu Jerky: For a chewier tofu jerky, bake the tofu at 300°F for about 90 minutes to get a jerky-like texture. Cooking it slower dehydrates the tofu and makes it chewy. This tofu jerky is great for portable snacks and will stay good out of refrigeration for about a day, so it's great for packed lunches and car trips! Make sure to also check out my post on how to make vegan jerky with soy curls.
📖 Flavor variations
Tofu Steaks
- Cut your tofu into rectangular blocks.
- Marinate your tofu in soy sauce, tamari, or Bragg's Liquid Aminos.
- Drain off the soy sauce and sprinkle with steak seasoning. (about 2 tsp.)
- Bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 400°F for 40-45 minutes.
Extra crispy baked tofu
- Soak your tofu in a tofu marinade of choice.
- Drain the marinade and coat your tofu in 1/3 cup of corn starch, 3/4 tsp salt, and a dash of pepper.
- Bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 400°F for 40-45 minutes.
- Check out my post on How to Make Perfect Crispy Tofu for more options for making crispy tofu.
Balsamic, Teriyaki, or Sweet Thai Tofu
- Marinate in the flavored marinated of choice for at least 15 minutes.
- Bake at 400°F for 40-45 minutes flipping every 10-15 minutes.
Buffalo and Barbecue Tofu
( Use this method if you want to use any thick glaze-like sauce.)
- Marinate your tofu in soy sauce, tamari, or Bragg's Liquid Aminos.
- Bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 400°F for 30 minutes flipping cubes every 10 minutes.
- Toss the partially cooked tofu bites in a bowl with 1 cup of the sauce of your choice; like vegan buffalo sauce, orange sauce, sweet and sour sauce, or homemade vegan BBQ sauce.
- Arrange back on the parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Tofu Jerky
- Press the tofu and cut it into long thin slices.
- Mix together 1 tbsp of Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce), 1 tbsp liquid smoke, 1 tbsp molasses, 1 tbsp canola oil 1/4 tsp salt, and a dash of onion and garlic powder along with 1/4 cup hot water.
- Marinate the tofu strips for at least 15 minutes.
- Bake the tofu at 300°F for about 90 minutes to get a jerky-like texture flipping every 20- minutes.
Tofu Bacon (or Tofu Bacon Bits)
- Press the tofu and cut it into long thin slices.
- Mix together 2 tbsp of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, 1 tbsp liquid smoke, 1 tbsp melted refined coconut oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 2tbsp hot water.
- Bake at 400°F for 30-40 minutes flipping every 10-15 minutes.. (Bake time will vary depending on how thin you sliced the tofu).
- You can also crumble the tofu into small pieces and bake for about 25 minutes to make tofu bacon bits. (Or check out my recipe for homemade vegan bacon bits made with TVP).
Tofu Taco Crumbles
- Press as much liquid as possible out of a block of tofu.
- Use your hands to break it apart into small crumbly pieces.
- Drizzle 2 tbsp of canola or light olive oil over the top of it and mix the oil around.
- Sprinkle with 2 tsp of taco seasoning, mix and spread out on a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 400°F for about 25 minutes stirring the tofu crumbles every 10 minutes.
Breaded Tofu
- Drain and press a block of tofu getting out as much liquid as possible.
- Mix together 1/2 cup breadcrumbs or crumbled crackers, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tsp spices of choice, 1/4 tsp salt to make a breading.
- Sprinkle tofu with some Bragg's Liquid Aminos, soy sauce, or equivalent.
- Place the tofu in the breading and press down a little to make the coating stick to the tofu.
- Flip over and coat the other side.
- Bake at 400°F for 40-45 minutes flipping after 20 minutes.
📜 Should I use parchment paper?
Lining your cookie sheet with parchment paper will help the tofu not to stick to the pan and allows you to bake it with less oil. If you want a crispier more fried tofu effect, then you will want to put about 2 tbsp of oil on your cookie sheet and bake it directly on the cookie sheet to make it more crispy. (You can also use parchment and spray a light coating of oil on the tofu before baking to help crisp it up a little more).
🌟 Other methods for cooking tofu
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
A complete guide to baking tofu in every way.
- 1 block tofu drained and pressed
- 1 cup tofu marinade of choice or 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp corn starch (optional for extra crispy)
- 1 cup tofu breading
- 2 tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos
- 2 tsp taco seasoning
- 2 tsp steak seasoning
- 2 tbsp oil
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Cut your tofu into rectangular blocks.
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Marinate your tofu in soy sauce, tamari, or Bragg's Liquid Aminos.
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Drain off the soy sauce and sprinkle with steak seasoning. (about 2 tsp.)
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Bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 40-45 minutes.
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soak your tofu in a tofu marinade of choice.
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Drain the marinade and coat your tofu in 1/3 cup of corn starch, 3/4 tsp salt and a dash of pepper.
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Bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 40-45 minutes.
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Marinate in the flavored tofu marinade of choice for at least 15 minutes.
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Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 40-45 minutes flipping every 10-15 minutes.
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Marinate your tofu in soy sauce, tamari, or Bragg's Liquid Aminos if desired.
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Bake on an oiled cookie sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes flipping cubes every 10 minutes.
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Toss the partially cooked tofu bites in a bowl with 1 cup of sauce of choice.
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Arrange back on the parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
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Press the tofu and cut it into long thin slices.
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Mix together 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tbsp liquid smoke, 1 tbsp molasses, 1 tbsp canola oil 1/4 tsp salt, and a dash of onion and garlic powder along with 1/4 cup hot water.
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Marinate the tofu strips for at least 15 minutes.
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Bake the tofu at 300°F (150°C) for about 90 minutes to get a jerky-like texture. Flip every 20 minutes.
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Press the tofu and cut it into long thin slices.
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Mix together 2 tbsp of Bragg's Liquid Aminos, 1 tbsp liquid smoke, 1 tbsp melted refined coconut oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 tbsp hot water.
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Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30-40 minutes flipping every 10-15 minutes.. (Bake time will vary depending on how thin you sliced the tofu). (You can also crumble the tofu and bake for about 25 minutes for tofu bacon bits).
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Press as much liquid as possible out of a block of tofu.
-
Use your hands to break it apart into small crumbly pieces.
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Drizzle 2 tbsp of canola or light olive oil over the top of it and mix the oil around.
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Sprinkle with 2 tsp of taco seasoning, mix and spread out on a cookies sheet.
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Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30-40 minutes stirring the tofu crumbles every 10 minutes.
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Drain and press a block of tofu getting out as much liquid as possible.
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Mix together 1/2 cup breadcrumbs or crumbled crackers, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tsp spices of choice, 1/4 tsp salt to make a breading.
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Sprinkle tofu with some soy sauce or equivalent.
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Place the tofu in the breading and press down a little to make the coating stick to the tofu.
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Flip over and coat the other side.
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Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 40-45 minutes flipping after 20 minutes.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a comment and stared review! I would love to hear from you!
I've been vegan for a number of years but struggle to figure out how to use tofu besides in a scramble. So, what do you use the steaks or cubes for besides stir fry? Do you have mashed potatoes & tofu? Put in in pasta? Suggestions on how to use the finished product would be great. I really like the scrambles and these recipes look great!
Hi DeAnne, My family loves to eat baked tofu (especially the breaded tofu) as the main course along with some veggies and starch like potatoes or rice. I also put the cubes or crumbles over salad. The crumbles are also great in tacos or as a meat replacement in pasta sauce. I also use the thinly sliced tofu bacon style tofu in sandwiches to make a vegan BLT. Hope that gives you some ideas. 🙂
Thank you for that wonderful guide to Tofu! You are a true treasure!
Aww, thanks so much Lee! Hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
I officially went vegetarian Jan 1st of this year, often eating vegan also. I can make a respectable bbq tofu that I love, however I've struggled to find other ways to flavor it. This guide is just what I need and I am looking forward to trying as many of these variations as I can. I cannot thank you and the many other vegan bloggers enough for the tips and inspiration to help me in transitioning to a non meat eater.
I'm so happy to hear that you have made the transition and that my recipes are helping you Diane! Let me know which version is your favorite! 🙂