Hey guys! I’m super excited about today’s post! It’s a recipe that you will be able to easily master, add it to your life, and use over and over again in many, many different ways! I’m talking about my Super Easy Weeknight Tofu! I call it weeknight tofu, because we eat this tofu a lot around here! That’s mostly because it’s yummy, because I usually have leftovers (always a bonus!), and because it’s easy to prepare a nice dinner in a little bit of time. Just to give you a little backstory on the inspiration for this recipe… If you read my blog, you may or may not know that I live in California, but I grew up in Virginia, and my whole family still lives there. Growing up in Virginia, in a Southern Baptist family, means that I went to church, A LOT! Seems like we were always there for one reason or another, and when we were there, a lot of times it involved food. In case you don’t hail from that part of the country, a typical potluck (at least when I was growing up…. it’s been a long time since I went to one there), consisted of LOTS of fried chicken, a few big pots of greens (scary pots of wilted greens, usually boiled to tears with hamhocks), biscuits, and every color of Cool Whip (“Ambrosia” ) Salad under the sun… you know the stuff? Fluffy, colorful bowls filled with mystery fruit and mixed with Cool Whip… There would be a few odds and ends, mac and cheese, yummy desserts, etc., but these were the staples. Giving up most of that kind of stuff to become a vegetarian after I moved to California wasn’t very hard. Fried chicken on the other hand… a little more difficult. Over the years there have been some pretty good substitutes that I have enjoyed, like Gardien’s chicken nuggets – YUM! But when I had to go gluten free – WAHHHHHH!!! No more of those! So I needed something else, something that filled that fried chicken void, and that’s when I came up with this recipe. Now, you can find a lot of fried tofu recipes on the internet, and there are some REALLY tasty ones, but one thing about making something with breading is that you usually have to dip it in something sticky, and then a flour mixture, and then use a lot of oil, which to be honest, is just WAY too much work for me on most occasions. After playing around with some of those recipes, I just decided to make something that would get the job done in half the time, and with just as much flavor, and a lot less fat! After all, who wants to kill themselves working out, then working all day, and then spend a lot of time in the kitchen making something that just undoes your workout efforts! Not this girl! I need to make every one of those horrific burpees count! (Comment if you know what I mean!!) I serve this tofu a lot as you see , here, with Braised Kale, and mashed sweet potatoes or white potatoes, and it’s a really simple but delicious dinner that doesn’t take long to prepare. Give this recipe a try, I think you’ll find it delicious, easy, and that it gives you all of those good comfort food feelings! Oh, and I’m going to show you (in an upcoming post) how to rock this same tofu in other recipes too, so you’ll definitely want to give this a try! (Hint: Caesar salads wraps! Follow me on FB and/or subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out!) So let’s get this party started!
These are the spices you will need for this recipe….
You’ll want to select a really firm, dry tofu for this. I am a huge fan of Wildwood Sprouted Tofu, but you can use whatever brand you can find that is vacuum sealed, as they tend to be more firm and dry, and less crumbly. You’ll need to slice the tofu into 1/2″ slices. When that’s all done, you’ll add your butter (I call vegan margarine “butter”) to the pan and let it melt over a low heat.
When the butter is all melted, add the tofu, one slice at a time to the pan. Dip it in the butter, and then turn it over and do the same thing, so that both sides are coated with a little butter. This is important for making the spices stick to the tofu. After the tofu is coated with the margarine, turn the heat up to medium, and then shake a small amount of each spice (according to the directions in the recipe) onto tofu. When all of the slices have spice on them, flip them over, and then repeat.
Spiced and ready to get flipped
I have made this recipes hundreds on times, and experiemented with different techniques along the way. A few things that make this recipe really shine are, making sure you use enough butter, sprinkling the spices on in the right order and individually, and cooking in cast iron. The butter helps the spices stick and adds to the flavor. I’ve tried combining the spices and then adding them together, and it just doesn’t come out the same, or nearly as well. You can definitely cook this recipe in any non-stick pan. However, cooking in a well seasoned cast iron (so that it is non-stick), helps this recipe to get extra crispy. The cast iron skillet that I cook this (and EVERYTHING else in), is this Lodge Cast iron skillet. I prefer that particular one, because it came with a glass lid, but you can get that separately if you want. I’m really in love with it! Meanwhile, the tofu… it will make your whole house smell like you are cooking fried chicken, and have your neighbors scratching their heads, thinking… ‘I thought they were vegan! Hmmm….’ *If you are REALLY into the whole authentic tasting fried chicken thing… you could marinate the tofu in a vegan chicken type broth for a few hours or overnight which makes the whole thing even more amazing. However, this is soooo optional. I’ve done it like that once or twice, but that’s it. 99.9% of the time I don’t marinade it, I just thought I’d mention it. The whole point is super quick and easy weeknight tofu, and marinating it takes away that spontaneity. So do it if you want, or just forget I even brought that up!*
Super Easy Weeknight Tofu getting crispy!
You’ll have some spices/nutritional yeast that fall into the pan and start to blacken, and that’s ok. If your pan starts to smoke a little, turn the heat down. You’ll want to keep it hot enough that the coating sticks to the tofu, but not so hot that the coating/tofu sticks to the pan! It’s a delicate dance! Once you do it once, or a couple of times, you’ll have it down and it will be really easy, I promise. Just flip the tofu occasionally, so that both sides get browned and crispy.
When your tofu is nicely browned on both sides, remove it from the heat. You can definitely eat this right out of the pan, with nothing on it, OR you can serve it with a little BBQ sauce drizzled on it, GRAVY (oh so good!!), tartar sauce, ranch dressing, mustard, Frank’s Red hot sauce… anything really. It’s so yummy! You can see here, that I have served mine with a little BBQ sauce (I like Organicville’s Tangy BBQ sauce), with a side of Braised Kale, and a mashed sweet potato. The drink you see in this picture is my favorite drink ever… Pomegranate KeVita, because I’m a little southern, and a little Southern California y’all! I am addicted to it! And just in case you were really curious – I always listen to music while I’m cooking, and definitely when I’m shooting pictures! On this particular night I was totally rockin’ out to Jason Aldean while I was shooting this recipe, and thinking of all of those lucky peeps at the Country Music Festival in Nashville last weekend! That looks so fun, and I am definitely adding that to my travel bucket list!! Don’t even get me started about how much I LOVE Nashville! One of the reasons I love it so much is, there is always great music coming out of every shop and restaurant on Broadway, and it makes it so much fun to walk around downtown, and especially to take pictures… Music + Food + Photography…. does it get any better than that?! (You can read a little bit more about how much I love Nashville on this post, if you are so inclined…)
Super Easy Weeknight Tofu with Braised Kale, Sweet Potato and a Pomegranate KeVita! Love it!!
This whole dinner can be made it about 45 minutes (or less), for 4 people. The Braised Garlic Kale is a fantastic side dish to serve with this, however, if you want dinner done even faster, you could do any green veggies, roasted summer veggies, corn on the cob, a salad (like those super easy pre-washed salad greens that make your life so much easier!), whatever! Just throwing out a few ideas for you! And since everyone loves a little inspiration, or a great life hack… post what you served with this, or plan to serve this with in the comments below! Thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of the interwebs! I hope you enjoyed my post, and I hope you will come back for more Vegan/Gluten Free recipes, and to read about some of my travel adventures! (I’m expanding the blog to include travel posts! Yay! We are just having too much fun here!!) See you soon!
A fast and easy way to make tofu taste like fried chicken! This tofu goes with everything and can be a staple on your dinner table!- 20 oz. block of extra firm, vacuum sealed tofu
- Spices (amount below is for both sides combined, so do half on each side, and enough for one pan of tofu. If it all doesn't fit in the pan at one time, you'll need a little more. Also, amounts are a guideline until you get used to the recipe, then you can do the whole thing by sight).
- 1½ t Himalayan Pink Salt(or Sea salt)
- ¼ t Black pepper
- (optional: pinch of cayenne)
- ½ t Granulated Garlic Powder
- ½ t Granulated Onion Powder
- 1 heaping T (+) Nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 T Vegan Margarine (Such As Earth Balance)
- ** IF you have time, and want to make this taste even more authentic (Like fried chicken), you can marinade the tofu for a few hours or overnight in a vegan chicken flavored broth - like the one by Imagine Foods, or make your own with water and Chicken flavored bouillon cubes) This step is totally optional. This recipe is delicious as is, and I make it without marinading it about 99% of the time. **
- Slice tofu into ½" slices. (IF you are going to marinate the tofu first then place it in marinade now, and leave for several hours or overnight, see note above). When tofu is ready, add margarine to a large skillet, and melt it over a low heat. When margarine is melted, make sure it covers the bottom of the skillet, and then place the tofu slices in the margarine, and turn each piece over until they are all coated in margarine. (I can usually fit almost the whole block of tofu in the pan at one time, but depending on how many slices you have, you might have a few pieces leftover.)
- Once the tofu is coated in margarine, turn the heat up a little bit (to medium), and begin sprinkling the spices onto the tofu. Go in this order: Salt, pepper, garlic, onion and then a generous amount of nutritional yeast. When all of the tofu is sufficiently covered with the spices (See photo in post), gently flip it over (I use a fork for this). Repeat that step with the other side, and flip when completed. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side, turning occasionally to prevent sticking. If tofu does start to stick, just turn the heat down a little bit. Tofu is done when it is brown and crispy. Remove from heat and serve. If you have a few extra pieces of tofu left over, cool the skillet down, and wipe out crumbs. Add another tablespoon of margarine and repeat process. (OR use two skillets if you can't fit it all in one... or a smaller block of tofu.)
- Store any leftovers in fridge for up to 4 days, and use for topping salads, in wraps, etc.
* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click through, and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission from Amazon. It doesn’t add anything to the price of your products, and it helps me keep the blog running, so if you do purchase after reading my post, that’s awesome, thanks! Most importantly, I just want to inspire you, and be inspired by you. I never write about products that I don’t use, or don’t believe in. When I do find something that I’m passionate about, I like to share it with my readers.
Angel McNall is the author and photographer of High Vibe Lifestyle. For over 20 years, Angel has been teaching people how to live more vibrantly by eating a plant based diet, and using plant based medicine. 
Oh my goodness. Just made this tofu for dinner and husband and I were fighting over it! It’s sooooo good! I’ve been looking for a fast tofu recipe to throw together when I need some protein and don’t want beans, lol. Thank you! xoxo
Hi Marlene! Thanks so much for letting me know! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s so versatile, I make it all the time and use it in different ways! Stay in touch, as I’ll be listing another recipe using it, very soon! 😉 Thanks, Angel
My only issue with this is the number of servings should say “4-6 servings or 1 hungry teenager.” When I told my daughter about some of the suggestions for leftovers she said, “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. I’m pretty sure I’m going to eat all of that.” Great recipe and so simple. Thank you!