Tofu stir fry, a quick recipe made in 20 minutes. It’s so flavorful, high in protein, and perfectly served with rice. The best dinner!
Tofu stir fry, a super healthy and incredibly delicious Chinese recipe. It’s so good, tasty, and savory, as well as very nutritious, and ready in 20 minutes. I love how all the flavors perfectly mix!
This takeout recipe is so healthy and easily customizable, yet one of the easiest and simplest ones to make. Conveniently made with a wok (it really is the best tool for this recipe), I assure you it’ll become a staple on your table. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredient notes
- 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.
- Veggies: use any veggies you like or have on hand.
- Brown sugar: any type of sugar will do, even maple syrup or agave syrup.
- Cornstarch: feel free to use any other type of starch instead. You could also omit it, but your sauce will be more watery.
- Cayenne flakes: omit this ingredient if you’re not into spicy food.
Dietary variations
- Make it gluten-free: use tamari instead of soy sauce.
- Make it soy-free: you could use seitan, chickpea tempeh, or even cooked or canned beans. Also, omit the soy sauce, add more vegetable stock or water instead, and salt to taste.
- Make it oil-free: omit the oil and use some vegetable stock or water instead.
- Make it sugar-free: omit the sugar if you want.
Pro tips
- If you want to reduce the amount of sodium in the recipe, add less tamari or soy sauce and use water instead of vegetable stock. You could also make your own vegetable stock with no salt or buy a low-sodium one.
- Use a wok frying pan if you have one, it’s the best tool to make a stir fry. I don’t have one, so I used a cast-iron skillet instead (any type of large skillet or frying pan will do though).
- Feel free to use the veggies you have on hand, such as green onions, more red peppers, green beans, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms…
- You can use any kind of sweetener or starch, as well as any type of oil.
- If you don’t like spicy food, omit the cayenne.
How to cook tofu stir fry
- Cook the tofu cubes in a wok or skillet with a little bit of oil over medium-high heat until all the sides are golden brown. Remove the tofu from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the veggies and sautée them over high heat with a little bit of oil for 2-3 minutes.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl until well combined and set aside.
- Add the tofu and the sauce to the skillet, stir, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Serve your tofu stir fry immediately.
How to store
- Fridge: keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
- Freezer: you could also freeze it for up to 3 months, although the veggies might get a little soft when thaw. However, if you want to freeze it, I’d recommend you wait until it’s cool and then freeze it in individual portions so it’s easier to thaw. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- 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.
How to serve tofu stir fry
Serve your tofu stir fry with white rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, or even with some noodles for an extremely flavorful and nourishing easy dinner.
Looking for more vegan tofu recipes?
Did you make this tofu stir fry recipe?
Please leave a comment and rate it below. We’d love to hear from you!
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Tofu Stir Fry
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Total: 20 mins
- 2-4 1x
- Main Dish
- Chinese
- Vegan
Servings 2-4 1x
Tofu stir fry, a quick recipe made in 20 minutes. It’s so flavorful, high in protein, and perfectly served with rice. The best dinner!
Ingredients
For the tofu stir fry:
- 14 oz firm tofu (400 g), drained and cubed
- 1 cup of broccoli (100 g), chopped
- 1 medium carrot, julienned
- 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1/2 red onion, julienned
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-inch piece of ginger root (about 2.5 cm)
For the sauce:
- 3/4 cup vegetable stock or water (190 ml)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari (4 tbsp)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp cayenne flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the tofu cubes in a wok or skillet with a little bit of oil, over medium-high heat until all the sides are golden brown. Remove the tofu from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the veggies and sautée them over high heat with a little bit of oil (optional) for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. If you don’t eat oil, just use a little bit of vegetable stock or water.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl until well combined, and set aside.
- Add the tofu and the sauce to the skillet, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
- Try the stir fry and add some salt if needed.
- Serve your tofu stir fry immediately over noodles, white or brown rice, or even cauliflower rice for a low-carb recipe.
- Keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight. 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.
Notes
- If you want to reduce the amount of sodium in the recipe, add less tamari or soy sauce and use water instead of vegetable stock. You could also make your own vegetable stock with no salt or buy a low-sodium one.
- Use a wok frying pan if you have one, it’s the best tool to make a stir fry. I don’t have one, so I use a cast-iron skillet instead (any type of skillet or frying pan will do though).
- I used extra virgin olive oil to make my tofu stir fry, but you don’t need to. Cook the tofu with no oil and add some vegetable stock or water to cook the veggies if needed.
- Feel free to use the veggies you have on hand.
- You can use any kind of sweetener or starch, as well as any type of oil.
- If you don’t like spicy food, omit the cayenne.
- Firm tofu works best for this recipe. If you don’t eat soy, you could replace the tempeh with seitan or any other legume instead, and the tamari or soy sauce with coconut aminos.
- Nutritional info has been calculated by using 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe
- Calories: 133
- Sugar: 8.2 g
- Sodium: 1144 mg
- Fat: 4.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 2.8 g
- Protein: 11.3 g
Update Notes: This post was originally published in January of 2019, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in July of 2022.
Very good easy and fast to make
★★★★★
Hi Trish! That’s amazing 🙂
First time playing with tofu. Couldn’t find firm, so I got medium firm…did the oil thing and the only thing it browned was the bottoms of my pan. I did everything else according to the directions, but I would like to think that the consistency of the tofu made the tofu part of the dish a flop.
★★★★
Hi Jenifer! You’re right, firm tofu works best for this recipe 🙂
any substitutes for cornstarch??
My thickener of choice is arrowroot. You can buy it in a jar in a regular grocery store or in bulk in a health food store. The amounts would be the same.
Thank you for the tip!!
Hi! Feel free to use any kind of starch 🙂
This was great! I made it for my mom and I tonight and it was really delicious. I’m Chinese and as I’m living overseas it definitely scratched the itch of grandma’s ‘Anything goes’ stir fry 😂. Only thing is that it was a little too salty for me, so I’ll probably use half the soy sauce next time, but eating this with a portion of plain rice definitely helps a lot too. I used zucchini instead of red onions because we didn’t have them, but it didn’t really affect anything and was still delicious. Would make this again! 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Meg! I’m so glad you both liked it 🙂
Made this tonight and while I liked it ok, my husband thought it very good. Therefore less than 5 star. My problem was a kind of blah sauce. But that is easily fixed. Next time I will add more chili pepper flakes, some sesame oil and maybe a dash of hoisin sauce. And maybe another garlic clove and more ginger. By the way, I assumed the ginger was julienned, right? Thank you for a nice base recipe to play with.
★★★★
Hi Jeanne! Thanks for your comment 🙂 You’re right, the ginger is julienned!
I made this last night and it was quick, easy, and delicious! Thank you!
Hi Carolien! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Just made this, oh my it is lush!!! So rich and tasty. Will definitely be saving this recipe and making it again.
★★★★★
Hi Caroline! So glad you liked this recipe 🙂 Have a nice day!
I am picky about my stir fry recipes and this one is my new fave! Easy, scores high in nutrition and it is so delicious! Thank you so much!! It you’re the best!
Hi Mary!!! Thank you so much!!! we are glad you like it!!!:)
I forgot to mention that soy sauce, tamari or other any commercial sauces, Asian or
otherwise, are too loaded with salt for me to use.
Hi Heidi! I guess coconut aminos is the same… You could also make your own vegetable stock with no sodium… Hope it helps!
I am on a strict no salt diet for health reasons. I love stir fry but I need some suggestions to give it a flavor punch that salt usually provides. Do you have
any ideas? Thanks!
Hi Heidi! Use dried veggies like celery, onion or garlic powder or spices 🙂 You’re so welcome!
So simple and incredibly delicious.
★★★★★
Hi Renee! Thanks a lot 🙂
i am so glad i found this recipe! My wife decided she wanted tofu tonight, and i had no clue how to do it right but I’m always willing to try something new. We want to try the General Tso tofu next.
Hi Norris! I’m so happy you found us as well 🙂 Hope you enjoy the General Tso’s tofu!
I love stir fry. This looks delicious. Should you press the tofu first?
Hi Gail! Yes, I usually press the tofu first 🙂 Hope you like it!
That tofu looks yummy! I should give it a try !
Happy New Year!
★★★★★
Hi Felicia! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 Happy 2019!!!
If using ginger powder, instead of root how much would you use?
Thank you once again for all your fantastic recipes.
Hi Cazzie! I’ve never tried it myself, so I’m not sure, but I would add about 1/8-1/4 tsp 🙂