For a long time, it was hard for me to get excited about tofu. To be honest, it doesn’t look very appealing when you take it out of the package and it doesn’t really taste like anything. Tofu may be a great vegetarian meal, but making tofu delicous requires a little bit of prep work. I’ve shared my homemade BBQ sauce here on the blog before, but never in a vegetarian meal. I’m so happy to bring you these BBQ tofu and veggie bowls because they will convert even the toughest tofu critic.
The two steps that I always take to prepare tofu are pressing the extra moisture out of it, and baking it in the oven before tossing it in a stir fry. To press the extra moisture out, I simply wrap a block of extra firm tofu in a dish towel and put something heavy on top, like my cast-iron skillet. I like to leave the tofu like this for at least 10 minutes, but even up to 20 minutes for better results. Next I spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and bake the tofu at 350 for 20-25 minutes. This helps dry the tofu out to give you a better texture. Now your tofu is ready to be a vehicle for whatever sauce you want, like my homemade BBQ sauce.
You can use whatever vegetables you want to pair with the BBQ tofu, but I like broccoli, carrots, and snap peas. Top the whole dish with some sliced green onions and sesame seeds and you’ll have a super filling meal that’s completely vegetarian. If you want to make this dish completely vegan, you need to be careful selecting what brand of Worcestershire sauce that you use as some are vegan and some are not. I hope that you enjoy this delicious vegetarian recipe!
- 14 oz. block extra-firm tofu
- 1 tbsp. oil
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 cup ketchup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce*
- 2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 2 tbsp. yellow mustard
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- A few dashes hot sauce
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 broccoli crowns, cut into florets
- 6 oz. snap peas or snow peas, cut in half
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Remove tofu from packaging and wrap in a dish towel. Top with something heavy, such as a skillet or baking dish, and let sit for 10-20 minutes to remove the moisture.
- Cut the tofu into cubes and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking time.
- While the tofu is cooking, heat the olive oil in a small pot. Add onions and garlic and cook until tender. Add molasses, ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, chili powder, yellow mustard, pepper, and hot sauce. Bring to a simmer.
- To cook the vegetables, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add carrots, broccoli, and peas. Season with salt and pepper and cook until crisp tender, stirring occasionally.
- Add tofu to the skillet and pour about half the BBQ sauce over it. Stir to combine and add more of the BBQ sauce if desired. Any unused BBQ sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
- Serve immediately, enjoy!
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[…] you like tofu? I think a lot of people don’t because it kind of tastes like…nothing. That can be a […]