Easy marinated tofu, a super simple recipe that makes tofu tastes amazing. It’s low in fat, high in protein and only requires 8 ingredients and 20 minutes.
Tofu is probably the most popular meat substitute in vegan recipes, so when I went plant-based, I decided to try it for the first time. I was so excited, but I didn’t like it at all. Fortunately and after so many tries, I finally fell in love with tofu and it’s actually one of my favorite ingredients at the moment.
We’ve shared many tofu recipes on the blog, but this is really simple, so it’s great if you’re cooking tofu for the first time or if you’re just looking for something super tasty and easy to make. We usually serve it with some rice and veggies, it’s a super healthy and nutritious meal!
You just need to marinate the tofu for 15 minutes, but if you’re in a hurry, you could even sautée the diced tofu (using some oil or not, you choose) and then add the sauce. If you let it marinate longer, maybe 30 minutes or even overnight, it will taste even better, but the tofu will absorb more liquid, so if you want more sauce, just make some more in a minute.
LOOKING FOR MORE TOFU RECIPES?
- Buffalo tofu wings
- General Tso’s tofu
- Korean style spice tofu
- Tofu stir fry with rice and veggies
- Roasted veggies and baked tofu with quinoa
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment below, share it, rate it or tag a picture @simpleveganblog on Instagram and hashtag it #simpleveganblog. We’d love to see what you cook!
Easy Marinated Tofu
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Easy marinated tofu, a super simple recipe that makes tofu tastes amazing. It’s low in fat, high in protein and only requires 8 ingredients and 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 10 oz firm tofu (275 g), diced
- 1/4 cup water (65 ml)
- 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- Extra virgin olive oil (optional)
- Chopped chives (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the marinade ingredients in a baking dish or a mixing bowl (water, tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, syrup, garlic powder and cayenne powder) until well combined. Add the diced tofu and let it marinate, covered in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. If you let it marinate longer, it will have a more intense flavor.
- Strain the tofu, but don’t discard the liquid.
- Sautée the tofu in a frying pan until golden brown. You can add some oil or not, it’s up to you.
- Add the marinade liquid to a bowl with the cornstarch and mix until well combined. Pour the sauce into the frying pan and cook until it thickens.
- Serve and garnish with some chopped chives (optional).
- Keep leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
Notes
- Prep and cook time don’t include marinate time.
- Feel free to use any type of vinegar, sweetener or spice.
- Cornstarch can be replace by any other starch.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of the recipe (without the oil and chives)
- Calories: 145
- Sugar: 7.5 g
- Sodium: 1024 mg
- Fat: 5.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.4 g
- Fiber: 1.6 g
- Protein: 13.4 g
When I mix the marinade together, do I mix ALL of the ingredients, or just the ones listed(not including the optional ingredients)? Because for step 1, it says in parenthesis just 5 of the ingredients, and for step 4, it says too add in cornstarch, so im not quite sure what to mix in. Also, for step 1, do I add in the maple syrup along with the other ingredients?
Hi Melissa! In step 1 you need to mix: water, tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, syrup, garlic powder and cayenne powder. Then in step 4 you need to add the cornstarch. Hope it helps!
Can you use agave instead of maple syrup?
Hi Merissa! Yes, you can 🙂
I had been looking for a really good marinade for tofu and this is it! I then wok fried some chopped up onion, ginger and chilli and set aside with the cooked tofu – then went on to stir fry all my veg, adding the left over marinade and a home made vegetable stock. The result was THE best stir fry I have ever done – so thank you for this simple yet tasty marinade recipe.
Hi Janet! Sounds great 🙂 So glad you liked it so much!
Thanks but 1024mg of sodium in a 145 calories. The other 1755 calories for the day better have no salt!
I assume this is all From the soy, so maybe a low salt alternate.
Hi Duncan! It’s not the real amount of sodium, as we discard part of the marinade, but feel free to add less tamari or soy sauce or use low sodium if you want 🙂
This was my first time preparing tofu in many years. The recipe for the marinade was very good. I ended up placing my sauteed tofu on top of a bed of baby spinach, arugula and spiralized carrots. I also added some fresh ginger to the pan before serving. It was delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I look forward to trying more!
★★★★★
Hi Elaine! Sounds great 🙂 You’re so welcome!
Loving how easy this recipe is! I can see from a lot of your tofu recipes you use cornstarch, would tapioca flour (cassava root) be an okay alternative to the cornstarch?
Hi Isabelle! Yes, any other starch will do 🙂
I tried this today and it was delicious. Very easy to make too, thank you.
★★★★★
Hi Jay! Thanks a lot 🙂 SO glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the recipe, I’m using it twice a month 🙂 I also add ginger for more flavor – very recommended 🙂
Hi Bu! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! It is fantastic, I have made it so many times. I am a college student so being vegan is hard. Most of the recipes I find are expensive and time consuming. But your entire blog has been an absolute life changer! Thank you so much!!
Hi Roara! You’re so welcome 🙂 I’m so happy to hear that. Have a nice day!
Great recipe. All guests asked for it.
Hi Deb! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂
This marinade is absolutely delicious, thankyou
★★★★★
Hi Marie! Thank you so much 🙂 So glad you liked it!
This was super easy and really, really good! I added 1/2 t. cumin for a little earthy flavor and was very pleased with how it turned out, Yum! Thanks!!!!
Hi Tammie! Sounds great 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipe for free.
Hi Kerry! You’re so welcome 🙂 Have a nice day!
Tastes delicious, I did it for my culinary project at school. Amazing job!
★★★★★
Hi Aiden! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
I was looking for an easy recipe and found this one. It was so good and low maintenance! I was glad that I had all the ingredients listed. I also added a little sriracha for some spice. I will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Hi Ivana! Sriracha goes well with pretty much everything 🙂 So glad you liked it!
I’m new to tofu and loved the taste of this marinade which is so easy and quick to make.
★★★★★
Hi Elsag! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Amazing way to eat tofu, my favorite so far actually !! Highly recommend !
★★★★★
Hi Ambre! So glad you liked it so much 🙂
I just made this tonight and it’s really good, especially concerning how simple and easy it is. Mine didn’t look nearly as nice. I got some uneven browning and the marinade evaporated immediately upon hitting the wok. I can add some clarification to help others. The water packaged with the tofu is thrown out. The marinade is reserved, and while the tofu is browning, starch is added to the reserve and then mixed in with the tofu at the end so that it can thicken and become the sauce. Hope that helps. Good dish either way.
Hi Edward! Thanks a lot for your valuable comment 🙂 So glad you liked it!
I really enjoyed the flavours, added stir fry vegetables & served it with wholemeal rice to make a nutritious and filling evening meal. May omit tofu and just use toasted cashews instead. Would really prefer my tofu firm which I have only found in UK. Note I used honey instead of maple syrup because it was in my cupboard and it is far cheaper than maple syrup.
Hi Debs! So glad you liked it 🙂
I am new to cooking with tofu—this recipe says to drain the liquid from the tofu but not to discard it. What do you do with the liquid from the tofu?
Karen
Hi Karen! You have to discard it 🙂
This was great. Low effort, minimal fuss for really good results. I freeze the tofu before I marinate.
★★★★★
Hi Margie! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Hi, me and my sister just made this recipe to go along with our stir-fry – and it was amazing! Makes tofu taste so good… Thank you, we now have a new favourite marinade 🙂
Hi Tanya! Thank YOU for making the recipe 🙂 SO glad you liked it!
Hi! I found your recipe today when looking for an easy, flavorful way to use up a couple of servings of tofu I had in the fridge. This was perfect! I had everything on hand; I used liquid aminos in place of the soy sauce and added a 1/4 tsp of ground ginger. I let the tofu marinate in the fridge all day, then when I came home from work, I sauteed it in a bit of coconut oil. As it started to brown nicely, I added some steamed broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and shelled edamame. Then I added some leftover rice and a splash more of liquid aminos. I thickened the marinade with the cornstarch in a separate small skillet and poured it over everything. It came together quickly and the flavors were wonderful. I will make this tofu again! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
Hi Danielle! Sounds amazing 🙂 So glad you liked our recipe!
I´m a sucker for tofu and this looks delicious, I love the added maple syrup to this recipe, this is a must try 🙂
Thanks a lot Albert 😀
Absolutely delicious. I baked the tofu, served it over couscous, and poured the yummy thickened sauce over all. Thanks!
★★★★
Hi Shellie! Sounds amazing 😀
Thanks for sharing! Do you press or otherwise remove excess liquid from your firm tofu?
Hi Peggy! No, I don’ t 🙂
Iosune,
It says above “Looking for more cake recipes?” instead of tofu recipes. You might want to change it. And yes, I’ll be trying this recipe.
Hi Bethery! It was a mistake, sorry! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
I really do not enjoy tofu so I hope this converts me:)
Hi Sue! Hope you like it 🙂 We also LOVE this recipe: https://danzadefogones.com/tofu-general-tso/
Thanks for reminding me of an approach I’ve used instead of marinating and sautéing the tofu: Put the tofu and marinade in the baking dish. Toss to coat the tofu. Broil or bake until the marinade is evaporated. Voilà!
Hi Gloria! You’re so welcome and thank YOU for your comment 🙂
Can the soy sauce be substituted with a low sodium ingredient?
Hi Maria! Maybe vegetable broth or some low sodium sauce, but I’ve never tried it myself. Hope it helps!
Try Liquid Aminos! A healthy soy sauce alternative!! xx
Hi Ally! Thanks for your comment. I need to try it 🙂
Coconut aminos are a good alternative
Hi Melinda! Yes, it is 🙂