Crispy Baked Sesame Tofu
For an easy weeknight dinner, look no further than this crispy baked sesame tofu! It’s so easy to make, requires only 10 minutes of prep time and is completely vegan and gluten free.
It’s no secret around here that I’m a big, ok huge, fan of sesame anything. Sesame noodles, chickpeas, cauliflower, sesame chickpea meatballs, now sesame tofu?! Sesame salmon is next on my list but I’m always open to suggestions!
Easy dinners are my favorite kind of dinners. Easy dinners that are so flavorful are the absolute best. This baked tofu recipe is exactly that and I cannot wait for you to try it!
I love to serve it up with some rice and broccoli to make a sort of buddha bowl, but you can also serve it in a stir fry or with my vegan fried rice.
Tofu does not contain sesame as it is just made with soy beans, but this recipe contains sesame oil for a delicious sesame flavor. If you love this recipe, try my crispy garlic tofu, gochujang korean tofu or tofu burrito bowl next!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Vegan & gluten free
- Packed with flavor
- Crispy
- Easy to make
Tips for crispy tofu
I’ll admit, I totally understand why some people are so turned off by tofu. It doesn’t look all that great straight out of the package, and without any sauce, it doesn’t have much of a flavor.
However, (and a big however!), if you know how to cook tofu properly, then you can make it taste seriously delicious. Crispy, flavorful, easy to make, high in protein… basically everything you could want.
The key to baking tofu is to bake it plain and with some sort of flour or starch. Baking it without any sauce ensures the tofu on its own is able to crisp up and without burning the sauce.
The flour/starch works to absorb any excess moisture to give us a super crispy exterior and soft interior. We’ll then coat it in the sauce after it bakes so it stays crispy!
How to make sesame tofu
Cut tofu. Cut a slit in the side of the tofu container and drain out all of the excess liquid. Remove the tofu from the package and wrap it in a towel just to get off as much liquid as possible without having to press the tofu. Once it seems dry, cut the tofu into 1 inch cubes.
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Prep tofu. Once the tofu is cubed, add it to a large bowl and toss with the soy sauce. Next, toss in the cornstarch then the breadcrumbs.
I like to just shake the bowl so the tofu doesn’t break (sometimes it breaks if you use a spoon) and toss until every piece is well coated.
Bake. Add to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and try to ensure none of the tofu pieces touch each other. I know that seems annoying, but the space between really helps it get crispy.
Make sauce. Add the tofu to the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. While the tofu is baking, we’ll prepare the sauce on the stove.
Serve. Once the sauce and tofu are done, toss both together until well coated and enjoy! I like to serve it with brown or white rice and some steamed broccoli. Try my chipotle sofritas tofu next!
Do you need to press tofu?
Yes and no. You can absolutely get away with not pressing the tofu for this recipe. I don’t list it in the instructions because this recipe turns out really well without any pressing. Plus, it saves a lot of time!
Tofu is basically a sponge that sits in water and absorbs all of it. Pressing out the excess water does help make it more crispy and ensures it cooks evenly through the center.
If you’re trying to get flavors into the tofu, you do want to press it. In the case of this sesame tofu, we’re trying to get a crispy outside so the sauce will stick on the outside, so pressing isn’t necessary.
Moral of the story, nothing bad will happen if you don’t press tofu, but if you want the crispiest and most flavorful tofu around, press away!
How to store and reheat
Once prepared, this sesame tofu will keep in the fridge for 3 days. It is best served fresh, but you can pop everything back in the oven at 200 for 10 minutes to crisp it back up.
The microwave also works, but tends to make things a bit soft/soggy, but the flavor will still be delicious.
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Garlic Sesame Tofu
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Tofu
- 1 tablespoon low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1 16 ounce block extra firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 3 tablespoons gluten free breadcrumbs can sub for regular
Sauce
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon oil I used avocado oil
- ⅓ cup low sodium tamari or soy sauce MUST be low sodium!
- 2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2-3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup depending on preference
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 4 tablespoons water divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit.
- Drain the excess liquid from the tofu and dry it off with a towel*.
- Cut into 1 inch cubes and add to a large bowl. Toss with the soy sauce.
- Toss with the cornstarch and the breadcrumbs until all pieces are evenly coated.
- Add to the baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
- During the final 10 minutes, prep the sauce.
- Mince the garlic and saute with 1 tbsp oil in a small saute pan for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Add in the soy sauce, honey or maple syrup, rice vinegar, 2 tbsp of water and sesame oil.
- Whisk together the cornstarch and other 2 tbsp of water in a bowl and add to the pan.
- Heat over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and thickens.
- When the tofu is done, toss with the sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired and serve over rice with steamed broccoli or enjoy as is!
Notes
Comments
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This recipe is amazing. It comes out perfect every time. We are not vegetarian but love a good tofu recipe. Probably top 10 recipe that I have made on Pinterest.
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Amazing, thanks so much MIchelle!
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I ate this delicious tofu over green leaf lettuce, olives and dried cherries. Delicious 😋
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This recipe was delicious. Even my meat loving husband said it was really good, saying it tasted like ahi – I use a similar sauce. It was easy to make (I had GF Panko). I didn’t have garlic so I used Lee Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce. I will certainly make this again. Thank you.
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So happy it was a hit!
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Very delicious
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This recipe turned out soooo good! I made a few alterations, adding a little garlic powder, black pepper, and salt with the soy sauce before crisping up the tofu. Also, I didn’t have any bread crumbs, so left that out, but still got a great texture from the corn starch. If you like spice, mix in some sriracha and chili flakes to the sauce! Served with sauteed veggies and rice. Thanks for the recipe!!
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Yum! Thanks, Angela!
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Definitely a keeper. Prep was easy and it was very tasty. We’ll be making this again.
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Thank you, so glad you loved it!
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Trying vegan recipes first time trying Tofu I AF it other than oven baked it. Turned out amazing with my Ratatouille
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Wonderful way to prepare tofu. Love that it is baked. The sauce is really tasty and not too salty or too heavy with soy flavor. Super versatile. I served it with brown rice, and roasted mushrooms, asparagus and cabbage.
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Absolutely LOVE this! Made with coconut rice & bok choy on the side, did 8 cloves of garlic instead of 5 & added sweet chili sauce ! Yum yum! Going on our permanent recipes list. Thanks for creating & sharing this recipe!
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Yum! Love this with coconut rice.
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Pretty good! I really like the crunch the bread crumbs give the tofu. I didn’t read the note about low-sodium tamari until I was done (doh), so it turned out more salty than I would like. I’ll definitely adjust next time. I also added a few healthy squirts of sriracha to the sauce for an extra kick. Will use this recipe again!
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Cut the cornstarch in half for the tofu because of other comments and added more soy sauce and they were still powdery and dry. I doubled the sauce (less soy sauce though), and it was enough for 3 bowls with a lot of stuff, and absolutely the best sauce I’ve ever made! 5 star for the sauce.
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This is the best tofu recipe I have ever made! So easy, so crispy, and delicious!
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Thank you, Zoe! So glad you loved it.
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Can you make this without breadcrumbs? Having a really hard time finding gluten free and my partner is Celiac.
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All recipe on this blog are GF, I usually buy my GF breadcrumbs on amazon or whole foods, but you can make without if you prefer.
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This recipe is amazing! Full of flavor and perfectly crispy! Definitely making it again and again!
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Thank you Zoe!
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It says one tablespoon of cornstarch – which you use to coat the tofu – but then it says to mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water for the sauce – how much cornstarch for this??
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It’s in the ingredients under the ‘sauce’ section- 1 tablespoon!
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I made this recipe and….
Oh my! I have never worked with firm tofu before. The simplicity in conjunction with the depth of flavor that is produced is sublime. I did add a chopped scallion after the saute of the garlic. My family was so pleased.
Thank you very much 😊
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