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!
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 ⅓ of the tofu cubes to a freezer bag with 2 tablespoon 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
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!
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Servings: 2
Ingredients
For the sweet and sour tofu:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 10 ounces firm tofu, cubed
- 6 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 carrot, chopped
- ½ green bell pepper, chopped
- ½ red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ onion, chopped
For the sweet and sour sauce:
- 4 tablespoon sugar, I used brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce or tamari
- 6 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoon 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 ⅓ of the tofu cubes to a freezer bag with 2 tablespoon 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 amount 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: 1serving | Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 63.8g | Protein: 14.6g | Fat: 20.1g | Saturated Fat: 3.2g | Sodium: 1114mg | Fiber: 4.7g | Sugar: 31.6g
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.
Douglas says
This was pretty good. My only complaint is that the vinegar in the marinade came thru way too strong. I'm gonna try water instead of ACV next time and see if it makes a different.
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Also, you can try to reduce the amount of vinegar 🙂 Add less than 1tbsp!
Clee says
Hi just wondering if you can use tempeh instead?
Iosune Robles says
Hi Clee! Feel free to use tempeh 🙂 Hope you like it!
christine poole says
First time using tofu , had the texture of chicken and nice and crunchie!sauce was great too , I served it with wholegrain rice, fantastic !!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Christine! So glad you liked it 🙂
Nicole says
I made this for my sensory-sensitive 8-year old, who gets pretty anxious about new foods. (I also just needed to get my own fill of comfort food.)
I left the sauce off of my child's portion, though I thought the sauce was fantastic - it's not nearly as sweet as restaurant-style sweet and sour dishes! I also subbed arrowroot starch for the cornstarch, which worked out great.
My child loved the crispy tofu plain and gobbled it up, which us amazing because new or unexpected foods at the table often lead to tears.
I'm relieved to have this recipe in my queue of options, as it means I can finally get another healthy source of protein into my child! (Since making friends with three front-yard chickens in our neighborhood, he figured out for himself what that meant for him and what he doesn't want to eat. Introducing more plant-based proteins has been a huge challenge, even for this very seasoned vegan!)
Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
Iosune Robles says
Hi Nicole! So glad your child enjoyed our recipe 🙂 Have a nice day!
Beatriz says
Excellent! Easy to make. A bit too sweet for me, will reduce sugar next time. But my apple vinegar was also sweetish, which might be the reason. Anyway, very good! Thanks for sharing !
Iosune Robles says
Hi Beatriz! That's a good idea! Try to use less sugar next time 🙂 Still, I'm glad you liked it!
Jenny Chendra says
One word only Yummyyyyyyy
Thank you for sharing the recipe ❤
Iosune Robles says
So glad you liked our sweet and sour tofu 🙂 Have a nice day!
Leeann says
My fiancé and I just made this dish last night. It wasn’t as complicated as we thought, as we split the work and the end result was soooo good!! Will definitely make it again, maybe even next week!
Iosune Robles says
Hi! So glad you and your fiacé liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Sandra says
Best tofu recipe I’ve tried. I add lots of pepper, snow peas and still taste delicious.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Sandra! Sounds so good! I'm glad you liked it 🙂
Susan says
Thanks for the delicious and easy recipe! I not usually crazy about tofu but it was great in this dish.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Susan! So glad you liked our tofu recipe 🙂
Freya says
Hi Losune,
I loved this recipe! I included it in my roundup of 10 Easy Vegan Dinner Recipes.
https://www.happierwithtea.com/easy-vegan-dinner-recipes/
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Freya
Iosune Robles says
Hi Freya! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Karen says
Hi! I made your recipe and it was sooo good that even my meat eater brother loved it! I subbed the tomate paste for ketchup and followed the recipe as is for everything else. Thank you so much for sharing!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Karen! Thanks for comment! I'm so glad you both liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Sandra says
Best tofu recipe
Iosune Robles says
Hi Sadra! Thank you so much 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Jess M says
Thank you so much for this recipe.
My family absolutely love it.
I like omitting some of the sugar for pineapple juice and pieces in the sauce also.
Iosune Robles says
Sounds so good! So glad you loved it 🙂
Elizabeth says
I followed the instructions mostly, and I absolutely adore it! Thank you so much!
Iosune Robles says
So glad you liked it Elizabeth 🙂
Jay says
Not sure where I went wrong, but this recipe did not work out for me at all! The tofu tasted entirely like cornstarch and my sauce was severely lacking in flavor. The only change I made was ketchup instead of tomato paste. Oh well :/
Iosune Robles says
Hi Jay! Have yo follow the recipe to a T?
Althea W says
Very good and tasty. I ate it alone as a meal.
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Thanks for your words 🙂 So glad you liked it!
David Green says
This is a brilliant recipe. Easy to prepare, easy to cook, looks and tastes great! Many thanks.
Jennifer says
Turned out perfect!
Iosune Robles says
Great to hear that Jennifer!!! 🙂
Meri says
Thank you for this tofu recipe! This was so delicious and I really liked the texture of the tofu. My carnivore boyfriend thought this was better than sweet and sour chicken at our local Chinese restaurant. 😋
Iosune Robles says
Hi Meri! So glad you and your boyfriend liked our tofu recipe 🙂 Have a nice day!
Jenny says
Very easy and tasty! Added some broccoli. Ran out of cornstarch and used tapioca starch instead. The coating still stuck but got a bit gooey when everything was combined. Maybe cause of my substitution? I’d make this again though!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Jenny! Probably cause tapioca tends to be thicker than cornstarch. Next time if you need to use tapioca again you can try with less. Thank you for writing!! Have a great day!
belinda mouzakitis says
Just about the best sweet and sour recipe ever
Iosune says
Hi Belinda! Thank you so much 🙂 Have a nice day!