Sweet and sour tofu, made in just 30 minutes. A plant-based version of this classic Chinese food that is much healthier than take-out!
Tofu is a staple in my kitchen. I use it a lot and, lately, I’ve been obsessed with this delicious sweet and sour tofu. It’s a great meat alternative, especially when you’re trying to recreate meat-based dishes because, if you cook it properly, you can get a similar texture.
This sweet and sour tofu recipe is super flavorful and ready in just 30 minutes. Besides, it is way better and healthier than take-out. It makes the perfect dinner!
Contents
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How to make sweet and sour tofu
- Mix the soy sauce and apple cider vinegar in a bowl until well combined.
- Incorporate the tofu cubes and let marinate for at least 5 minutes.
- Drain the tofu and transfer 1/3 of the tofu cubes to a freezer bag with 2 tbsp of cornstarch and toss to coat. Repeat this step with all the remaining tofu and cornstarch.
- Heat half of the oil in a skillet and when it’s hot, incorporate the tofu cubes. Cook over medium-high heat until all sides are golden brown. Remove the tofu from the skillet and set aside.
- Heat the other half of the oil in the skillet and add the veggies. Cook over medium-high heat until golden brown. Set aside.
- To make the sauce just mix all the ingredients until well combined.
- Pour the sauce into the skillet or pan and cook until it thickens.
- Mix the tofu, veggies, and sauce in the skillet, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Serve your sweet and sour tofu immediately.
Sweet and sour tofu ingredients and tips
- Soy sauce or tamari: I used soy sauce, but tamari is a good gluten-free alternative. If you don’t consume soy, coconut aminos is a great substitute. You could also add the same amount of water or vegetable stock and add more salt.
- Apple cider vinegar: you could also use white vinegar or lemon juice instead.
- Firm tofu: firm or extra firm tofu work best for this sweet and sour tofu recipe. Soft or silken tofu is not a good choice as it will fall apart easily.
- Cornstarch: I’ve only made this recipe using cornstarch, but any type of starch should work.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I’m Spanish, so I use extra virgin olive oil to cook most of my dishes. However, any type of oil will work. I always use extra virgin oils when possible because they’re healthier.
- Carrot.
- Green bell pepper.
- Red bell pepper.
- Onion.
- Sugar: I used brown sugar, but feel free to use the type of sugar you want, or even other sweeteners like maple or agave syrup.
- Tomato paste: it can be replaced by tomato puree, ketchup, or tomato sauce.
- Water.
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Sweet and Sour Tofu
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
- Total: 30 mins
- 2-4 1x
- Main Dish, Tofu
- Chinese
- Vegan
Servings 2-4 1x
Scale
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Sweet and sour tofu, made in just 30 minutes. A plant-based version of this classic Chinese food that is much healthier than take-out!
Ingredients
For the sweet and sour tofu:
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 10 ounces firm tofu (275 g), cubed
- 6 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 onion, chopped
For the sweet and sour sauce:
- 4 tbsp sugar, I used brown sugar
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- 6 tbsp water (90 ml)
- 2 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Mix the soy sauce or tamari and apple cider vinegar in a bowl until well combined.
- Incorporate the tofu cubes and let marinate for at least 5 minutes.
- Drain the tofu and transfer 1/3 of the tofu cubes to a freezer bag with 2 tbsp of cornstarch and toss to coat. Repeat this step with all the remaining tofu and cornstarch. Add more cornstarch if needed.
- Heat half of the oil in a skillet and when it’s hot, add the tofu cubes. Cook over medium-high heat until all sides are golden brown. Remove the tofu from the skillet and set it aside.
- Heat the other half of the oil in the skillet and when it’s hot, incorporate the veggies (carrot, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and onion). Cook over medium-high heat until golden brown. Set aside.
- To make the sauce just mix all the ingredients until well combined.
- Pour the sauce into the skillet and cook until it thickens, stirring frequently.
- Mix the tofu, veggies, and the sauce in the skillet, stir, and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Serve your sweet and sour tofu immediately with some sesame seeds on top (optional).
- Keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Some people add pineapple to this sweet and sour tofu recipe, but I don’t. If you want to enjoy this dish with pineapple, just sautée it with the veggies.
- Feel free to use any type of vinegar, starch, oil, veggies, or sweetener you have on hand.
- Tomato paste can be replaced by tomato puree, ketchup, or tomato sauce.
- The 1248 mg of sodium is not a real measurement because you’d need to marinate the tofu for hours for it to absorb all the soy sauce.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of the recipe
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 25.8 g
- Sodium: 1248 mg
- Fat: 10.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 58.6 g
- Fiber: 5.2 g
- Protein: 15.9 g
Update Notes: This post was originally published in May of 2018, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in April of 2022.
Go to recipe for some years now, when I have tofu and some mixed veg. I’ve always made a little extra sauce (x1.5 more roughly) because it’s so good! Tried it with noodles and rice and it was delicious! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
(also used the tofu part with other recipes!)
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Hi Siri! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂
I love a good tofu recipe and this one looks amazing!
Hi! Thank you so much 🙂
This as so delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
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Thanks for your kind comment Erika 🙂
Simple and delicious. Thank you!
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Hi! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Fab recipe. Added extra hot chilli powder to the cornflour as we like it hot. Worked really well. Added a bit more soy sauce and some sriracha to the sauce. Served with Pad Thai noodles with bean sprouts, water chestnuts, spring onions and soy sauce. Loved it, was very sophisticated, thank you.
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Sounds so good 🙂
This was delicious! I warmed the tofu back up on the oven rather than in the sauce so it stayed crispy. Thanks for the great recipe!! X
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Thanks for your comment 🙂 Have a nice day!
I had to improvise a little as I had no peppers, but added green beans instead and a couple of cloves of garlic.
I steamed the carrots (sliced lengthways) before frying them off with the onions and garlic.
The beans I added to the top of the rice, and not in the pan so they kept their shape a little more. The tofu i marinated for about 10-15 minutes before frying off, setting aside and then reading once the onion was tender with the carrots.
The sauce was fantastic – we did add pineapple (the kids loved the pineapple). And for my wife and myself I topped with some sliced chillies and sesame seeds.
Will definitely make this again.
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Thanks for your comment! Sounds amazing! Have a nice day 🙂
Great recipe, I made the sauce x1.5 and adjusted a bit more to taste and it was great with some rice.
I’ll be making this again, but I’ll try to put the tofu last in the sauce so it stays a bit crispier.
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Hi Daniela! So glad you liked it 🙂 That’s a good idea!