This crispy baked tofu is so flavorful, versatile, and a simple way of making tofu taste amazing with just 5 easy-to-get ingredients.
Baked tofu is one of my favorite ways of cooking tofu. It's tasty, crispy, and packed with lots of good-quality protein. This recipe is also delicious, nutritious, and so healthy.
The marinade gives the tofu an amazing flavor. However, you can add, replace, or change the ingredients and customize this basic recipe with your favorite spices, herbs, sauces, or seasonings.
This is the recipe I would like to have on hand when I cooked tofu for the first time. It can be challenging at the beginning, so I've included it in my Veganuary collection for anyone that is not used to cooking it.
Although you can eat this baked tofu just by itself, it can be used to make other recipes, like my General Tso's tofu, sweet and sour tofu, or Kun Pao tofu, but also to incorporate extra protein in salads, soups, or even stews.
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🌟 You’ll love this recipe because it is
- Made with only 5 simple ingredients.
- Really affordable.
- Super crispy, full of flavor, nutritious, and healthy.
- Very versatile and totally customizable with your favorite seasonings.
- Perfect to eat by itself or to incorporate extra protein in salads, soups, or stews.
🧾 Ingredients
- Firm tofu: firm or extra firm tofu work best for this recipe. Soft or silken tofu is not a good choice as it will fall apart easily.
- Soy sauce.
- Extra virgin olive oil: this is my favorite oil for this recipe, but any other type of oil will do.
- Garlic powder: this ingredient is optional, but it will make your tofu taste even better.
- Cornstarch.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400ºF or 200ºC. In the meanwhile, add the tofu cubes, soy sauce, oil, and garlic powder to a large bowl, mix until well combined, and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.
Step 2: Drain the tofu and transfer ⅓ of the tofu cubes into a freezer or plastic bag with 1 or 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and toss to coat. Repeat this step with the remaining tofu and cornstarch.
Step 3: Transfer the tofu cubes to a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Step 4: Remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip each of the tofu cubes so they can cook evenly on the other side. Bake for 15 more minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.
📋 Substitutions & variations
- Make it gluten-free: use tamari instead of soy sauce.
- Soy sauce also can be replaced with coconut aminos, or just some salt to taste.
- Make it oil-free: just omit the oil, although this baked tofu will be crispier if you use it.
- Garlic powder can be replaced with onion powder, or you can use them both as well. Minced fresh garlic should also work, although I've never tried it myself.
- Feel free to use any other type of starch instead. You could also omit it, but your tofu will be crispier if you use it.
- I prefer to add 6 tablespoons of cornstarch because I like my tofu cubes super crispy, but you can use only 3 tablespoons or even 1 or 2 tablespoons.
- Feel free to add any herbs and spices you want, such as onion powder, black pepper, paprika, Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, or chili powder.
🍽 Equipment
To make this recipe you'll need:
- Measuring tablespoons and measuring cups (or a scale) to weigh your ingredients.
- A large bowl and a spoon for mixing the tofu with the soy sauce, oil, and garlic powder.
- A freezer or plastic bag to coat the tofu cubes with the cornstarch.
- If you don't want to use a freezer or plastic bag, just add the tofu cubes to a shallow dish, then the cornstarch, and toss to coat, but use the bag for the best results.
❄️ Storage
- Refrigerator: although it is best when served immediately, so it can keep its amazing texture, you can also store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
- Reheat: it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. Add a little oil, water, or vegetable stock if needed.
💭 Expert tips
- Cut the tofu into ¾-inch chunks (about 2 cm). This size makes the ideal bite.
- I hardly ever press my tofu, but I know many people think this is a must if you want your tofu to absorb even better the flavors from the marinade or sauce you're using.
- If you press it, you'll get extra crispy tofu. Just wrap the tofu in a clean towel and apply a steady weight to squeeze out the moisture. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- If you freeze the tofu and then defrost it, it will become more porous and it'll absorb flavors more easily. I don't do it very often to save some time and effort, but it's a great tip.
- The best way of reheating this baked tofu is by adding it to a frying pan with extra sauce (just make some more) and cooking over medium heat until it's warm enough.
- It's important to add extra sauce so the tofu doesn't get too dry, but you also can add oil, water, or vegetable stock as I explained above.
❓Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can! Just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. However, keep in mind it won't be as crispy as freshly made.
Extra-Firm tofu has the least amount of liquid and is a great choice for baking.
However, I find it too dry sometimes, so I prefer to use firm tofu because it has the proper amount of liquid without falling apart like silken or soft tofu, but it's not as dry as extra-firm tofu.
You can serve it in salads, soups, stews, or bowl meals. Also with rice or noodles and veggies, or with a stir fry.
In addition, you can use it to make delicious Asian-style recipes that call for tofu, or to replace animal-based protein.
I wouldn't suggest you freeze it since the tofu would probably get a soft texture, and this recipe is amazing because of its flavor but also because of its wonderfully crispy texture!
As I explained above in more detail, I hardly ever press my tofu and I'm so happy with the results.
But for extra crispy tofu and if you want the tofu to absorb even better all the flavors from the marinade or sauce you're using, you can press it.
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a rating and comment below!
Crispy Baked Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 block firm tofu, about 14 ounces or 400 g, patted dry and cubed
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder, optional
- 3-6 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF or 200ºC.
- Add the tofu cubes, soy sauce, oil, and garlic powder to a large bowl, mix until well combined, and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.
- Drain the tofu and transfer ⅓ of the tofu cubes into a freezer or plastic bag with 1 or 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and toss to coat.
- Repeat this step with the remaining tofu and cornstarch.
- If you don't want to use a freezer or plastic bag, just add the tofu cubes to a shallow dish, then the cornstarch, and toss to coat, but use the bag for the best results.
- Transfer the tofu cubes to a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip each of the tofu cubes so they can cook evenly on the other side. Bake for 15 more minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Make it gluten-free: use tamari instead of soy sauce.
- Soy sauce also can be replaced with coconut aminos, or just some salt to taste.
- Make it oil-free: just omit the oil, although this baked tofu will be crispier if you use it.
- Garlic powder can be replaced with onion powder, or you can use them both as well. Minced fresh garlic should also work, although I've never tried it myself.
- Feel free to use any other type of starch instead. You could also omit it, but your tofu will be crispier if you use it.
- I prefer to add 6 tablespoons of cornstarch because I like my tofu cubes super crispy, but you can use only 3 tablespoons or even 1 or 2 tablespoons.
- Refrigerator: although it is best when served immediately, you can also store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
- Reheat: it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat until warmed through. Add a little oil, water, or vegetable stock if needed.
Mulikat says
Pls how do I cook the soy milk to form a cube
Iosune says
Hi Mulikat! I used store-bought tofu, so I can't help you, sorry!
Jen says
I used flour, because it was all I had, still turned out really good
Iosune says
Hi Jen! So glad it worked for you 🙂
Cayley says
Turned out so well, golden crispy outside and soft inside. Tasted so good with plum sauce ❤️
Iosune Robles says
So glad you liked it Cayley 🙂 Have a nice day!
Brenda says
I love baked tofu. This recipe helped me transition from carnivore to (mostly) vegetarian. Still working on it. I added nutritional yeast and panko bread crumbs before baking instead of the cornstarch but kept the olive oil, soy sauce and garlic powder. Sometimes I add a little heat with Cajun spices. So many ways to change it up and make it interesting.
Iosune says
Hi Brenda! So glad to read that 🙂 Sounds so good!
John M says
This is a simple and useful recipe. I take exception with a couple of your guidelines, though. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil is first-pressed, and has lots of "contaminants", which are the things that taste good. However, when heated to 400F, they burn faster than other oils. Oils like Grapeseed, Canola, even Corn or Peanut, are purified to leave out the sediments that burn easily.
Also, you suggest that regular wheat flour would not be a good starch, but there is nothing wrong with it. You can use wheat, cornstarch, potato flour, rice flour, and many others with equal success. It has mostly to do with how fine the flour is, not its origin.
Iosune says
Hi John! We've been using olive oil for centuries in the Mediterranean countries for cooking and baking and we're pretty healthy people 🙂 Starches work best for this recipe, but flour is also okay. Have a nice day!
laurie says
Thanks for this recipe. I haven't made it yet but would like to suggest one minor change in the interests of reducing plastic waste: how about using a plastic tub with a tight-fitting lid for the starch-coating step? Easy to wash and save for another use. I've washed plastic bags to save for reuse but they have to be handwashed, they're not real easy to get clean and never as nice as when they're new, whereas a plastic tub with a snap-on or screw-on lid (I save good ones from frozen food purchases) can often be popped in the dishwasher, top rack, and can be reused indefinitely. Reducing plastic production and waste is crucial, and our individual efforts add up in a big way. Thanks again.
Iosune says
Hi Laurie! Thanks a lot for your comment 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Carol says
This is an excellent, easy, low maintenance baked tofu!! Thanks so much for posting it! Looking forward to making it this week...
Iosune says
Hi Carol! You're so welcome 🙂 I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Julie K. says
This is a great alternative to pan-frying and requires so much less oil. I altered the recipe to use potato starch because that is what I had on hand, and I ended up baking the tofu for 45 minutes to get it fully crisped on the outside. But all in all, I will definitely be using this recipe all the time!
Iosune says
Hi Julie! So glad it worked for you 🙂
Amanda says
This recipe is super easy and equally delicious. You can add any sauce or seasoning to change it up for a variety of dishes, though it's fantastic as is. It's a go to tofu. Yum!❤️
Iosune says
Hi Amanda! Thanks a lot 🙂 I'm glad you liked it!
hayley says
I just made these and the tofu tastes amazing! I have a lot leftover and I´m going to put it in the fridge, how do you recommend reheating? Or do you think better to eat cold once it´s cooled down?
Iosune says
Hi Hayley! I like it cold and I've also reheated in the oven and in a skillet with a little with of oil (I think it should also work without oil). However, I think the best way to reheat it is adding a sauce to the pan because when you reheat the baked tofu it dries a little bit. Hope it helps!
M says
This looks delicious! I noticed in the copy of your post that you left out the step with the cornstarch (though it is in the recipe itself). Just thought you'd want to know. 🙂
Iosune says
Hi M! Thank you SO much 🙂 Have a beautiful day!!
Lori says
Can you use arrowroot instead of corn starch?
Iosune says
Hi Lori! Yes, any starch will do 🙂