The BEST Crispy Baked Tofu Recipe! It’s flavorful, uses minimal oil, customizable with your favorite seasonings, and is baked to perfection in the oven! It’s perfect for adding to stir-fry’s or just snacking on!
WHAT IS TOFU?
Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be silken, soft, firm, or extra firm.
It’s usually 100% gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. Although because it contains soybeans, it is not Paleo or Whole30-friendly.
TYPES OF TOFU IN MARKET:
There are two main categories of tofu — silken or regular. Silken tofu is super soft and creamy and silky, because it is undrained and has a high water content. Regular tofu comes in a variety of different levels of firmness — soft, medium, firm, extra-firm. For this recipe, you will need firm or extra-firm tofu.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF TOFU:
Tofu is a good source of protein and contains all nine essential amino acids. It is also a valuable plant source of iron and calcium and the minerals manganese and phosphorous. In addition to this, it also contains magnesium, copper, zinc and vitamin B1.
An excellent food from a nutritional and health perspective, tofu is thought to provide many of the same benefits as soya beans.
INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING BAKED TOFU:
To make this baked tofu recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Tofu: One block of tofu, either firm or extra-firm.
- Oil: Olive oil, or whatever your preferred cooking oil may be.
- Cornstarch: This is the magic ingredient that helps make tofu extra-crispy in the oven.
- Seasonings: I typically just use a mixture of garlic powder, salt and black pepper to season my tofu.
HOW TO BAKE TOFU IN OVEN?
To bake tofu in oven:
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper as it helps to prevent the tofu from sticking.
- Drain the tofu and cover it with paper towel. Then place a cutting board on top of the tofu, and keep some weights like bowl of water. Let the tofu drain for at least 30 minutes.
- Once the tofu has drained, remove the weights and paper towels. Using a sharp knife, cut the tofu into cubes or any desired shapes.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cubed tofu, drizzle with olive oil, and toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle evenly with cornstarch, salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Gently toss until the tofu is evenly coated.
- Arrange the tofu is in a single layer on the lined baking tray.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, tossing the tofu halfway, until the tofu is deeply golden on the edges.
TIPS FOR BAKING CRISPY TOFU:
- Firm or extra firm tofu are the best choices for this recipe, as silken or other soft tofu types wouldn’t work as good.
- Drain the tofu for at least 30 minutes.
- I prefer to add 2 tbsp of cornstarch because I like my tofu cubes super crispy, but you can use only 1 tbsp.
- Feel free to add any herbs and spices you want to.
- If you’re oil-free you can omit the oil, although the tofu will be crispier if you use it.
- Garlic powder is optional, but I like my baked tofu better with it. Onion powder will also work great.
HOW TO SERVE THIS BAKED TOFU?
Baked tofu is delicious just by itself, but you can serve it with any sauce you’d like or use it to make other tofu recipes. It’ll work amazingly good with dishes like sweet and our tofu or general Tso’s tofu, and it’s also great to enjoy with stews, soups, salads, and more!
HOW TO STORE THIS BAKED TOFU?
Although it’s best when served immediately so it can keep its amazing crispy texture, you can also keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
HOW TO REHEAT THE BAKED TOFU?
The best way of reheating baked tofu is by adding it to a pan with some sauce and cook over medium heat until it’s warm enough. It’s important to add the sauce so the tofu doesn’t get too dry. However, you can also reheat in the oven or in a skillet with a little bit of oil.
LOOKING FOR MORE TOFU RECIPES?
Are you making this recipe? Then don’t forget to like and leave your comments for this recipe! I LOVE to see your creations so snap a photo and tag BlendOfSpicesbySara on Instagram with the hashtag #blendofspicesbysara
Baked Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 block about 14 ounces extra-firm tofu
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper as it helps to prevent the tofu from sticking.
- Drain the tofu and cover it with paper towel.Then place a cutting board on top of the tofu, and keep some weights like bowl of water. Let the tofu drain for at least 30 minutes.
- Once the tofu has drained, remove the weights and paper towels. Using a sharp knife, cut the tofu into cubes or any desired shapes.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cubed tofu, drizzle with olive oil, and toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle evenly with cornstarch, salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Gently toss until the tofu is evenly coated.
- Arrange the tofu is in a single layer on the lined baking tray.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, tossing the tofu halfway, until the tofu is deeply golden on the edges.
Notes
- Firm or extra firm tofu are the best choices for this recipe, as silken or other soft tofu types wouldn’t work as good.
- Drain the tofu for at least 30 minutes.
- I prefer to add 2 tbsp of cornstarch because I like my tofu cubes super crispy, but you can use only 1 tbsp.
- Feel free to add any herbs and spices you want to.
- If you’re oil-free you can omit the oil, although the tofu will be crispier if you use it.
- Garlic powder is optional, but I like my baked tofu better with it. Onion powder will also work great.
Reach out to me at blendofspicesbysara@gmail.com and also you can follow me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM ,PINTEREST,TWITTER to see what’s latest in my kitchen!
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