Baked Tofu

Favorite Tofu Recipes

Grilled Tofu

Tofu grills well. Slice about 1/2 inch thick and marinate in your favorite marinade for a few hours. Grill on a vegetable sheet (a non-stick sheet with small holes) to prevent sticking. Handle carefully in the beginning of cooking so it doesn't fall apart, but after 5 or 10 minutes of cooking on one side on medium-low heat, tofu pieces firm up, hold together well, and can be easily flipped with a spatula. For a more elaborate and detailed recipe for grilling tofu and vegetables, including my favorite marinade, see Grilled Tofu and Vegetables.

Baked Tofu

2 lbs tofu
Dark sesame oil
Soy sauce
Dried hot pepper flakes or dill

Cut 2 lbs. firm tofu into 1 inch squares. Drizzle with about 2-3 tablespoons dark sesame oil in a baking dish large enough to hold tofu in one layer. Bake at 400 or 425 degrees until squares are beginning to brown (1 – 1 1/2 hours). Stir with a spatula every 15-25 minutes to make browning even. In last 15 minutes add soy sauce to taste (1-3 Tablespoons, to taste) and hot pepper or dill. Soy sauce will brown the cubes nicely. You want the cubes lightly browned and chewy. Overbaking makes them tough, but still good. You’ll figure out how you like them.

I often serve these along with white or sweet potatoes or winter squash—all baked in the same oven. They are good plain or with a variety of sauces (tahini and soy sauce and garlic mixed is nice). We like leftover baked tofu cold in a lunch salad.

Stovetop Fried Tofu

tofu
Olive oil
Soy sauce

Put approximately 1 tsp. of olive oil in a cast iron skillet or other frying pan. Heat a minute with medium flame. Add raw tofu slices about 1/2 inch thick. As they cook, put soy sauce to taste (probably about 1 Tablesp. for 1 lb of tofu) on each slice, spreading it thinly with the back of a spoon. When one side is browned, flip and brown the other side.

We use this often in sandwiches with condiments to give some flavor—mustard or pesto, bean sprouts, tomato, lettuce, anything you like on sandwiches. These keep in the refrig for 3 days and can be heated in the toaster oven. Leftovers can also be chopped into bite sized pieces for cold vegetable or pasta salads.

Tofu Lasagna, Manicotti, or Stuffed Shells

This filling can be used for any of the above. I'm giving the recipe for lasagna. To make manicotti or stuffed shells, make the filling a little stiffer with more bread crumbs and follow package directions. All these dishes freeze and reheat well after being cooked.

1 lb tofu
olive oil
1 large chopped onion
3 cloves garlic—chopped fine
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs or more (or dry quick oat flakes work well)
parsley
1 egg (I usually do without, but the consistency is nice with an egg)
salt and pepper
1 box frozen chopped spinach (thawed) or other steamed and drained greens you like—or 2 bunches fresh spinach cooked (can use broccoli, arugula, chard, etc. instead of spinach)
1/2 lb lasagna noodles (whole wheat or white)
tomato sauce
romano or parmesan cheese (optional)

Saute onion and garlic (and parsley, if used) in a few tablespoons olive oil until lightly browned but not too limp.

Blend tofu in a food processor (or blender) until creamy and smooth. Blend in an egg at this point, if you want.

If using frozen chopped greens, squeeze out as much water as you can. (If using fresh greens, steam lightly, squeeze out water, and chop well. Squeeze out water again after chopping.)

Mix onion-garlic mix, blended tofu, greens, and bread crumbs. Thicken the mix by adding more bread crumbs or oat flakes. Add black pepper and salt to taste.

Cook lasagna noodles for 5-8 minutes, rinse with cold water, and lay them flat on a counter. (I do this while I’m making the filling.)

Assemble in an oiled baking pan by covering the bottom of the pan with half the noodles, carefully overlapping so they’ll hold the filling. Spread the filling on top of noodles. Add the other noodles on top of filling. Spread a modest amount of tomato sauce on top.

Bake covered at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, and another 10 minutes or more uncovered.

Cut into squares for serving. Add a small ladle of tomato sauce and (optional) some parmesan or romano cheese. I make twice this amount, cut it in large squares and freeze it for easy dinners later. To reheat, thaw, cover the bottom of a pan with a thin layer of tomato sauce and a dash of water. When the sauce is boiling, add the lasagna squares and turn the heat low. Simmer until heated through. Or, microwave, making sure noodles don’t get tough.

Tofu Balls and Burgers

olive oil
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1-2 T parsley

1 cup (approximately) whole wheat bread crumbs or dry quick oats
1/2 cup walnuts or sunflower seeds (optional)

3 lbs tofu
2 eggs (optional)
1 large grated carrot
1 t. oregano
1 t. salt
pepper (black or cayenne) to taste
paprika

Saute onion, garlic, and parsley in olive oil.

In food processor, grind walnuts (or seeds) and bread crumbs. Put in bowl large enough to mix all ingredients.

In food processor, process tofu and oregano until smooth and lump free.

Mix together creamed tofu, onion mix, bread crumbs, walnuts, and grated carrot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. If mixture is too wet to work, add more bread crumbs or oats.

Form into burgers and/or balls with your hands (sloppy work) and put on olive-oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle tops with paprika for nice browning. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes (until beginning to brown). Take out of oven and let sit 5 or 10 minutes so the tofu sets a little for easy flipping. Flip over with spatula and bake another 10 or 20 minutes, depending on how brown you want them. I make these in large quantity and freeze them. They heat well in a toaster oven, using either frozen or thawed burgers or balls.

I serve the balls with pasta and tomato sauce. I serve the burgers on whole wheat burger buns with lots of condiments—hot pepper relish, tomatoes, lettuce, raw onion slices, thin pickle slices, etc.