Crispy, salty, sweet, and sour sticky Teriyaki Tofu with flavorful ingredients. This comforting Asian weeknight dinner is very tasty and much healthier than take-out! The recipe is vegan, gluten-free, low-fat, and easy to make.
After posting the recipe for my Kung Pao Cauliflower, I was asked to make a similar version with tofu and, of course, I did. However, I left out the red pepper flakes to make the sauce less spicy and added a little more maple syrup. This flavorful sweet and sour sauce with notes of ginger and garlic will make your taste buds happy.
Most people think that tofu is boring because it tastes bland. And yes, it does taste boring without a marinade or a flavorful sauce. That’s why you should give this teriyaki tofu a try.
The recipe is for all eaters, no matter if you are vegan, vegetarian, or meat-eater. Everyone is welcome to try this delicious dish, which contains simple ingredients that you probably already have at home:
- Firm tofu – I recommend pressing it for at least 15 minutes beforehand (see information below)
- Cornstarch – You can use arrowroot flour or potato starch instead
- Spices – I used onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt
- Maple syrup – Maple glazed tofu is my favorite, however, you can use a different sweetener of choice
- Fresh ginger – Don’t skip! This makes the sauce very flavorful. Plus it’s very healthy
- Fresh garlic – Also adds an incredible flavor and has many health benefits
- Soy sauce – I use gluten-free, but you can use tamari or coconut aminos
- Lemon juice – You can totally use rice vinegar instead
- Rice noodles – Feel free to serve the sticky tofu with cooked rice
You will also need cooking spray, fresh chives (or scallion), sesame seeds, and fried veggies of choice (I used pepper).
All ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
How To Make Sticky Teriyaki Tofu?
I baked the tofu in the oven to make it super crispy, however, you can fry it in a pan instead. You will probably need more oil (otherwise it won’t get as crispy) but it takes less time than the oven method. The preparation in the oven is more convenient, though. It’s your choice.
Check the step-by-step process shots below!
STEP 1: As mentioned before, I recommend pressing the tofu (see below “How to press tofu”). You can do it overnight or in the morning. 15 minutes is the minimum, though. Afterward, cut it into bite-sized pieces.
STEP 2: Combine the cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt in a bowl. Add the tofu and carefully stir to coat it from all sides.
STEP 3: Transfer the tofu to a lined baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for about 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Meanwhile, cook rice or rice noodles and fry veggies of choice, if using.
STEP 4: Making the sauce takes only a few minutes. Simply add maple syrup into a saucepan, stir in the ginger and garlic. Also add soy sauce, water, and lemon juice, stir and bring to a simmer.
STEP 5: Mix cornstarch with 2 tbsp water in a small bowl and add it to the saucepan. Let simmer for a few minutes until thickened.
STEP 6: Add the baked tofu and stir to cover the tofu with the sauce from all sides. Serve with cooked rice noodles or rice. Top with fried veggies, sesame seeds, and chives.
How To Press Tofu?
The easiest thing would be to use a tofu press, however, you can also use a different method if you don’t have a tofu press. Put the tofu on a plate with a layer of paper towels. Add another layer of paper towels on top of the tofu block and place another plate or a cutting board on top. Finally, put something heavy on top, for example, 1-2 books or an iron cast skillet. Press for at least 15 minutes, preferably longer.
Helpful Tips And Variations
Use veggies of choice: I used peppers because they pair well with this sweet and sour sticky tofu, however, you can use other veggies of choice, for example, broccoli.
Air fryer option: Fry the tofu in the air fryer instead of the oven. Or, as mentioned before, use a frying pan and fry it in oil until crispy from all sides.
Use cauliflower instead of tofu: If you can’t eat tofu because of a soy allergy, I would recommend using cauliflower instead. Simply substitute coconut aminos for soy sauce.
Freeze leftover sauce: You can double the sauce recipe and freeze leftovers! The teriyaki sauce not only tastes great over tofu, but also over roasted veggies!
This Sticky Tofu Is:
- Vegan
- Hearty
- Salty, sweet, and sour
- Comforting
- Flavorful
- Gluten-free
- Easy to make
- Perfect as weeknight dinner or side dish
Should you give this Japanese teriyaki tofu a try, please leave a comment and rating below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I would love to see it! 🙂
Do you love flavorful vegan dinner recipes? Then make sure to also check out my other delicious recipes:
Sticky Teriyaki Tofu
Ingredients
For The Tofu
- 1 block firm tofu (about 250 g drained)
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot flour
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
For The Sauce
- 3-4 tbsp maple syrup (see notes)
- 2 tsp fresh ginger minced
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh garlic minced
- 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if needed) or tamari or coconut aminos
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot flour + 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp mirin or dry sherry (optional)
Other Ingredients
- Cooked rice noodles or rice
- Fried veggies of choice optional
- Cooking spray
- Fresh chives chopped
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Press tofu for at least 15 minutes (read the blog post above to find out how to press it without a tofu press), then cut into 1-inch (2 1/2 cm) pieces.
- Put the cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to a bowl and stir. Add the tofu and carefully stir to coat the tofu from all sides.
- Transfer the tofu to the lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray, then bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Meanwhile, cook rice or rice noodles and fry veggies of choice, if using.
- To make the sauce, add the maple syrup into a saucepan, stir in the ginger and garlic. Also add soy sauce, water, and lemon juice. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
- Mix cornstarch with 2 tbsp water and add it to the saucepan. Let simmer for a few minutes until thickened.
- Add the baked tofu and stir to cover the tofu with the sauce from all sides.
- Serve with cooked rice noodles or rice. Top with fried veggies, sesame seeds, and chives. Enjoy!
Notes
- Sweetener: You can use maple syrup or any other liquid sweetener of choice.
- Add veggies of choice: I used peppers because they pair well with this sweet and sour sticky tofu, however, you can use other veggies of choice (e.g. broccoli).
- Air fryer option: Bake the tofu in the air fryer instead of the oven. Or, as mentioned in the blog post, use a frying pan and fry it in oil until crispy from all sides.
- Use cauliflower instead of tofu: If you can't eat tofu because of a soy allergy, I would recommend using cauliflower instead. Simply substitute coconut aminos for soy sauce.
- Freeze leftover sauce: You can double the sauce recipe and freeze leftovers! The teriyaki sauce not only tastes great over tofu but also over roasted veggies!
- Recipe serves two. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Equipment
If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Hi Ela
I tried the recipe today n it was delishhhhhh,,,
I shared it with my daughter n she almost ate the entire
meal. This is now in my recipe collection
That’s awesome, Michey! Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
This was my first time eating or preparing tofu and I’m very happy I used your recipe! It was very easy to follow and it tasted great! I’m a student and quite new to cooking for myself and I’m super happy to have made something so delicious. I will be eating this more often. I think I’ll tried it with fried tofu next time since the baked version wasn’t very crunchy. The texture was quite similar to chicken which I also enjoyed! Thank you for sharing!!
You are very welcome, Quinn! I hope you will try out more recipes from my page. Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
All the best,
Ela
Was hoping for a better taste 😕both me and my husband didn’t like it 😔
Sorry, you didn’t like it, Diana. I hope you’ll find a different recipe you like. 🙂
Delish! First time cooking with and eating tofu. Your recipe was so simple and gratifying. Thanks!
That’s good to hear, Mary! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Came out horrible, the tofu was hard and the sauce didn’t taste anything like teriyaki.. inedible
I am sorry you didn’t like the recipe, Chi. It has got only great reviews so far. I hope you will find a different recipe that you like more. 🙂
Thank you very much for this recipe. Kids love it.
You are very welcome, Alica. I am glad your kids love it. 🙂
I didn’t have fresh ginger so I used Ground ginger- big mistake It was too spicy to eat. The initial flavor was delicious but then burned! Need to cut ground ginger portion in half or 1/3 to enjoy
Hi Cookie! I do not recommend using dry ginger. Also, it’s nowhere mentioned in the recipe or blog post that you can use dry ginger instead of fresh.
How much rice vinegar do you suggest using instead of the lemon juice?
Thanks so much!
I would suggest about 2 tablespoons. Start with 1 1/2 tbsp and use more to taste. 🙂
Hi Ela
It came out so delicious. Great taste and easy to follow!, we loved it😊
I am glad it turned out yummy. 🙂
Dear ela, I was wondering how do you calculate the nutritional facts for your recipes..for example here I’m not sure if you included rice noodle or not?..also in my thoughts 125 gr tofu for each serving consists 10 gr protein and I just don’t see where that 20 gr protein comes from?..
Thank you for your great recipes💚
Hi Zara, I use a plugin to calculate the nutrition facts and it says 1 block of tofu contains about 34-35 grams of protein. Plus soy sauce and the other ingredients also contain a few grams of protein. The nutrition facts are always just rough estimates and not exact because it also depends on the brand. Hope this helps. 🙂
I make this teriyaki all the time it’s my fav
Happy to hear you like it, Claire. 🙂
how much should we eat for a serving?
The recipe serves two as mentioned in the recipe notes. 🙂
I made it with cauliflower and it was sooooo delicious.
Thank you
So glad you liked the recipe, Seeta. 🙂
I made this for dinner and served over thin pasta. It was a delicious and quick dinner.
Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
So glad you liked the recipe! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
This looks amazing. Will definitely give it a try. What kind of peppers are those that you paired it with?
Hi Tanya, I used sweet orange peppers (Capsicum). Hope this helps. 🙂
I made this today and I am usually awful at following recipes, but this was easy to make and so delicious. My family loved it and more importantly- I got the baseline knowledge of how to make delicious and crispy tofu. Thank you so much!!
My pleasure, Kasia! I am glad you enjoyed the meal. 🙂
I just did it and it is really delicious!!! Thank you for recipes!
So happy you liked the recipe! 🙂
What a delicious recipe! I will definitely make that again!
I am glad you liked it, Barbara! 🙂
This was delicious, but the tofu turned out rubbery. Dont know if I cooked it too long, cut it too small, or maybe pressed it too long? I used extra firm and baked it. But I do think I baked it for more than 20 minutes total, cuz I was expecting it to brown. Any suggestions? I want to try it again because it was so tasty and easy
Hi Kathy, I think extra firm tofu often turns out rubbery. Maybe you could try using firm tofu next time? I am glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
This looks so delicious! Now I‘m hungry for Asian Thai food! 😍😃
I am glad you like it, Bianca. 🙂
The Sticky Tofu in Teriyaki Sauce. May be one of my favorite recipes! I plan on utilizing this tasty dish for years to come. If you haven’t tried it yet, you definitely should!!
Wow, that’s awesome! Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback, Dominique! 🙂
it was very tasty!. we ate with pleasure. cooking is easy and simple. thanks for the recipe!!!
I am so glad it turned out tasty! Thanks for your feedback, Olga! 🙂
Great recipe Ela, tofu never looked so good! 😉
Thank you, Anna! I am glad you like it. 🙂
Hi would you recommend using eggplant cubes instead of tofu??
You can certainly give it a try. Another option would be cauliflower. Both versions will have less protein though. Let me know how it tastes if you try the eggplant cubes. 🙂