This crispy teriyaki tofu is better than takeout and easy enough for a weeknight dinner! Crispy tofu nuggets are baked (not fried!) and smothered in sticky sweet and savory teriyaki sauce. Serve with rice and steamed veggies for a knock-your-socks-off vegan meal.
My husband and I always seem to find ourselves eating teriyaki tofu while we're on vacation. It's hard to find vegan food when you're away from home, and it can be really hard to to pick a restaurant. There's always this gamble and you might end up eating salad. I eat enough salad at home.
But Japanese restaurants are usually a safe bet. At the very least, you'll be able to get your hands on some vegan sushi. And if you're lucky, they'll have some delicious vegan tofu dishes.
We tend to get lucky in the tofu department when visiting Japanese restaurants away from home, and we often end up ordering teriyaki tofu.
Jump to:
On our last trip we were splitting a big plate of tofu teriyaki and I commented on how different all the versions we've tried are. Some are super sweet, some very spicy, most are pretty (deliciously) salty. When we got back home I promptly started working on what I consider to be the ultimate tofu teriyaki recipe.
So this is my recipe, and personally, I think it's better than every restaurant version I've tried.
One thing I'm usually not a fan of is silken tofu in savory dishes. I realize silken tofu gives you more of a traditional Japanese dish, and lots of restaurants use it, but I'm just not a fan. I like super crispy tofu with a coating that holds up to sauce!
I tried a different approach than my usual for making this crispy tofu: I baked it! Normally, I'd say frying is the way to go, but I know a lot of folks swear by baking tofu with cornstarch and just a little bit of oil. I gave it a try, and you know what? It was awesome! Also, it made the dish easier and quicker to throw together, since baking is pretty hands-off once you've got the tofu in the oven.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Extra-firm tofu. Extra-firm tofu has the best texture for this recipe, but it will need to be pressed to remove excess moisture. Feel free to substitute with super-firm tofu if you don't feel like pressing it.
- Soy sauce. Tamari or liquid aminos will also work. Use gluten-free tamari to keep the entire recipe gluten-free. You can also use low-sodium soy sauce if you'd like to reduce the sodium content of the dish.
- Vegetable oil. Pretty much any neutral, vegetable based high heat oil can be used.
- Cornstarch.
- White pepper. This adds a nice flavor, but feel free to use black pepper if it's not something you normally buy.
- Brown sugar. Use organic brown sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Rice vinegar.
- Mirin or dry sherry. These add flavor to the sauce, but can be omitted if you prefer to cook without alcohol.
- Toasted sesame oil.
- Fresh ginger.
- Garlic.
- Accompaniments. You'll want to top your teriyaki tofu with toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions (also known as green onions). I recommend serving it over rice with some steamed broccoli, but you could alternatively serve it over noodles or quinoa, or even cauliflower rice with other varieties of veggies such as cabbage, green beans, asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms and carrots, among others!
Tip: This recipe uses homemade teriyaki sauce (because it's the best), but you can certainly substitute with bottled teriyaki sauce to save time. Check the ingredients to ensure it's vegan. You'll need about ¾ cup of sauce.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
First, dice up your tofu and toss it with some soy sauce for flavor. Add some cornstarch, a little pepper for kick, and a bit of oil.
Arrange the tofu cubes on a baking sheet, then stick the baking sheet into the oven. Let it bake away for about 30 minutes. Flip the pieces about halfway through.
Simmer the teriyaki sauce ingredients on the stovetop while the tofu bakes: water, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sherry, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger.
Stir some cornstarch and cold water together. Add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce after it's been simmering for about 10 minute. Bring it back to a simmer and it will quickly thicken up. Remove it from heat.
Tip: The sauce can easily be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It may thicken up during storage. Whisk it vigorously while reheating and add a splash of water if needed to thin it.
Take your tofu out of the oven when the pieces are golden brown. You'll be amazed at how crispy it turns out!
Add the baked tofu to the teriyaki sauce. Stir it up well to coat the pieces in sauce!
Serve your teriyaki tofu with your choice of accompaniments. This dish is best served immediately, because the tofu will eventually lose its crispness as it sits.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover teriyaki tofu will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It won't stay crispy, but it will still taste good!
More Vegan Japanese-Inspired Recipes
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Crispy Baked Teriyaki Tofu
Ingredients
For the Crispy Baked Tofu
- 1 (14 ounce) package extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or high heat oil of choice)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper (or black pepper, if that's what you've got)
For the Teriyaki Sauce
- ¼ cup water
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons mirin or dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons chilled water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For Serving
- Cooked rice
- Steamed veggies
- Chopped scallions
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- To make the crispy baked tofu, preheat the oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the tofu into a medium bowl and add the soy sauce, oil, cornstarch, and pepper. Toss to coat the tofu.
- Arrange the tofu pieces in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, turning halfway through, until browned and crispy.
- While the tofu bakes, prepare the sauce. Stir ¼ cup of water, brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sherry, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger together in small saucepan.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Lower the heat and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes, until reduced by about ⅓.
- Stir the chilled water and cornstarch together in a small bowl or cup. Stir the mixture into the sauce and allow it to simmer for about 1 minute more, until it thickens up a bit.
- Remove the pot from the heat.
- When the tofu is finished cooking, add it to the pot and stir to coat the tofu with sauce.
- Divide onto plates with rice and steamed veggies. Top with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve.
Notes
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This recipe is that golden combination of both very simple to make and very yummy to eat! It's really easy to get the sauce made, veggies steamed, and rice cooked while the tofu is baking so you never feel rushed and the cooking experience is relaxing and enjoyable. We like to serve it with broccoli and thinly sliced carrot rounds and dump the veggies in the sauce right along with the tofu. I can't speak to how it holds up as leftovers because we never have any! Lol. Definitely a new staple recipe in our household :)
The best teriyaki sauce! I omitted the sherry as suggested. Delicious!
This was delicious. My family loved this style of tofu as part of a rice bowl with various other toppings. I also made a spicier sichuan sauce on the size, which paired well.
This looks wonderful!
Do you think an air fryer could be used here, rather than baking the tofu? And at what temp and cook time?
And thank you for the delightful sauce recipe!
Thank you! And it can absolutely be air fried!. 425°F for 15 minutes should be perfect. Enjoy!!
I've been making this recipe since the start of the pandemic and it has become an easy weeknight staple. The flavors are all there and once you invest in the key ingredients it becomes so easy to make this dish all the time for only the price of tofu and some scallions which was much appreciated when the world was shut down. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Delicious! Found this recipe tonight as hubby & I were mulling over what to cook. We had all of the ingredients & am glad we did! Only swaps were using less oil (we try to eat oil free but I didn’t know if leaving the oil put would ruin the baked tofu). I also used subbed coconut aminos for soy sauce. Served with broccoli (mixed the broccoli & tofu with the sauce) over brown rice. My family enjoyed it. Even my picky kiddo liked it enough that he ate all his tofu and broccoli. Only food he left over was rice. To me that is a win! Thanks for the great recipe. If you have suggestions on how to make it oil free, I am all ears. Will definitely be making this again!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! The easiest way to make this oil free would be to skip the cornstarch coating and simply brown the tofu cubes in a nonstick skillet. Alternatively, if you really want a crispy coating you could try something like this: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/tofu-nuggets/ without the oil mist. I'd make a little extra sauce if you go this route, because the coating ends up being so thick that your tofu pieces will have more surface area to cover!
So good! I made this recipe exactly as written and served over white rice and broccoli as pictured, and it was perfect. I also added a bit of chili crisp to each serving at the end for a little bit of spice. This is going into my regular meal rotation for sure!
I served it with 1.5 cups (dry) brown rice, and microwave-steamed frozen broccoli! It says 4 servings but it was so good that my boyfriend and I ate all of it just the two of us for dinner! :)
Is the simmering down of the sauce necessary? Could I just add less water?
You do need to at least simmer it briefly with the cornstarch in order to thicken it. Aside from that the simmering does build flavor, but it's not strictly necessary.
The whole recipe is amazing, but the stand out is the way the tofu bakes. I have been vegan for almost 2 decades, absolutely adore tofu and I am a great cook, but this was the first time I had baked tofu come out perfectly (this recipe combines the right amount of coating/right temperature/time in oven #trifecta). It was insanely crispy, the texture was spot on and it held the sauce perfectly. This is going to be the recipe I send tofu hating friends and family, because not only is it easy and delicious but it shows how amazing tofu can be.
I made this with white rice and mixed steamed veggies (carrots, green pepper, baby bok choy). It was very delicious. There's a lot going on at once, but it all came together in a very tasty meal. I will definitely be making this again. I may even use the sauce with other things.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe and for introducing me to baked tofu. My only concern was how salty the sauce was, even though I used low sodium Tamari. I will be trying some of the ideas mentioned to make it a little less salty and hope they don't take away from the wonderful taste too much. Still, the dish was delicious.
I’m half way through Veganuary and was getting bored, so bought some teriyaki tofu. Delicious with jasmine rice and broccoli, thank you
Delicious!
Hello. My girlfriend is Spanish and I’m a vegetarian, difficult mix, she’d never had Tofu before and absolutely loved this!!! Thank you so much! It’s so amazing she gave it a 10/10
sooo good. Made it with a miso Kale salad and Yam and avocado sushi roll. Will make again!
YUM!! Teriyaki Tofu has always been my true love, but I had never attempted it until tonight. This recipe is amazing!
The most perfect lil tofus, I love the crispy outside. I tossed with sunflower oil and it worked great.
I paired it with some quinoa and pan roasted teriyaki zucchinis!
Thank you for this amazing recipe, it's my new go-to!
never cooking tofu any other way again! this recipe was wonderful. even my 4 and 5 year old kids couldn't get enough tofu and sauce! thanks so much!
This is my first review ever for an recipe, but it was sooo delicious and easy to make that I must write one.
My husband and I are vegan and I've tried many recipes over the last months. We both love the asian kitchen and so I've found your recipe two days ago. I've made it yesterday and today again because this is one of the best recipes ever. I love the baked tofu and will definitely bake it from now on. Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!
It was perfect even though I didn’t have dry sherry or mirin. I also had to sub cornstarch for potato starch. Still delicious and perfect consistency and flavor.
I love this recipe! I've made it twice, once I fried the tofu instead of baking, it was delicious but even better when I had extra time to put it in the oven. I use it in sushi bowls with cucumber, avocado, seaweed, imitation crab and sircacha mayo.
I make this on the regular. Usually for our weekday lunches. Such a great flavor and super easy to make!
With the covid virus,I’ve not been able to get any dry sherry to make this recipe. I have all the other ingredients. What would you advise as a substitute? Thanks for any help you can provide. I’m hungry!!!
You could try using dry white wine if that's available. If not, I'd just skip it! It adds flavor, but the sauce should still be delicious without it!
We are a vegan family , My son is a very picky eater and likes variety in his food , that is why experimenting with other cuisines . It was super easy and absolutely delicious. Tofu was very well done and the end product was better than restaurant style , Will try other recipes as well from your site .
Thanks again for making my day !
Excellent recipe— thanks! I fried the tofu in sesame oil and added lots of stir fried vegetables (onion, sweet peppers, and snow peas in addition to the broccoli). It was a big hit! I am excited to try your other recipes.
I made this for my family last night after stumbling onto your site. My New Year’s resolution this year was to incorporate at least one vegetarian meal per week. This was a hit! My husband and mother-in-law both said it was really good, and both were reluctant when I told them we were having tofu for dinner. The texture was good and the sauce was amazing! I served it with jasmine rice and snow peas. Thank you for a great recipe that was quick and easy to prepare
I used half the soy sauce and replaced the rest with water and it was still profoundly salty, but the end result was a beautiful looking teriyaki sauce. The flavor would have been better if it was so ridiculously salty. I plan to make this again with 2 tbsp soy sauce and ¾ cup water and not toss the tofu in soy sauce.
The recipe sounds delicious! My only concern is the use of canola oil, probably the worst oil there is for human consumption. As a holistic health coach I would never recommend it. Avocado or grape seed are better alternatives
Agreed
I will definitely be baking my tofu from now on. We all loved it. The sauce, however, was very salty (and I’m a salt fiend) but I possible simmered it for too long. I’ll add more sugar and water next time. Having said that, serving it with rice, broccoli and sugar snaps was perfect. Will be making this again.
We LOVED this recipe! I've made it twice now. The second time I must've used too much cornstarch in the sauce and it was slimy... so watch out for that! Otherwise, this was easy, quick, cheap and DELICIOUS!!!
It's not that easy to find such repices in German language. Most of Japanese food isn't vegan in my country so I enjoyed this recipe so much. I am so in love with that sauce, I added more garlic and it's so perfect.
I am going to cook it more often.
Thank you so much!
Yay! Very welcome! I'm so glad you like it!
Thank you so much for sharing this incredible recipe. I added some red pepper flakes and the meal was delicious. Thank you thank you!
Sounds delicious! Glad you like it!
I just made this for a lazy sunday lunch/dinner. Super easy and delicious!!
I'm so glad you like it!
I’m not kidding when I say I make this every week for meal prep. It’s about the only meal I can find to eat 5 days in a row. It is DELICIOUS. When I want it spicy I add a tablespoon of Korean-style red pepper. Also add in a few splashes of vegan fish sauce. Absolutely love this recipe. Definitely makes tofu delicious!!
I'm so glad you like it! I'm intrigued by vegan fish sauce - do you buy it or make your own? Now I want to get my hands on some and try it out!
I'm not sure about vegan fish sauce. But kelp powder is usually used for vegan fish flavour in vegan dishes. That I know of anyway. A tiny amount goes a long way and so it lasts for ages. Adds a lot of depth of flavour and is great for anything ""fishy"" you want to make. Or just to add some flavour.
I decided on the spot to make this, so I didn’t have every single ingredient. I either improvised or left a couple of things out (and added mushrooms and skinny sliced red peppers) and it still turned out quite wonderful. Was proud of that homemade Teriyaki sauce! And the baked tofu is the way to go! Thanks for creating this delicious recipe!
I'm glad it worked out and you enjoyed it! Thanks so much Evey!
So yum!
I'm glad you think so!
I marinated the tofu in soy sauce before dipping it in the mixture and backing it. Mistake. The tofu browned up very nicely, but didn't get crispy. I think there was just too much moisture in the tofu. Still, it was a absolutely delicious and, while I thought I had increased the recipe too much, there were leftovers. I will make this again and again.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Thom!
This was the second time I have made this dish. My husband just loves it. Thanks for showing me how to make crispy tofu in the oven.
I'm so glad you like it! Thanks so much Cindy!
I made this tonight. It was very easy. I had never baked tofu before (I've always fried it) and got rave reviews from the family.
One of my daughters didn't like it, but everyone else loved it, including me.This will be in our dinner rotation.
It was a really great change from fried tofu.
Since you add the sauce last, you can have some tofu for pickier eaters and the sauce for everyone else.
The sesame seeds REALLY add to the flavor.
I'm so glad it was a hit! Thanks Jeff!!
Should we / Did you use raw sesame seeds or did you toast them?
I prefer toasted (I buy them that way) but raw sesame seeds can work to. Whichever you prefer!
It was my turn to cook dinner, and I found this recipe. We had most of the ingredients, so away I went. I fried the tofu in a frying pan instead of baking it in the oven. It was easier, and faster for me to do it that way. Otherwise, I followed the recipe word for word. We were very happy with the results! Now it's another option for the age old question, "What's for dinner?"
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much John!
Hi! I’m an amateur cook so this was a bit challenging for me. I found that in the end result the sauce have this weird salty sourly taste and I was wondering what would you recommend to make it more sweeter and less powering.
Hi Dawn! Try adding a bit of extra brown sugar to balance out the salty and tart flavors. Just add 1 tablespoon at a time when the sauce is just about done, until you're happy with the flavor.
I really enjoyed this recipe, both the taste and how easy it was to make. Served with roasted broccoli and jasmine rice and veggie spring rolls. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sounds like a delicious meal! Glad you enjoyed it!
This is the best teriyaki sauce I've come across! Will hold onto this recipe. Thank you!
I made this the other night and it was really good. Thanks!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Connie!
We made it tonight and I was astonished at how delicate and delicious this was. The tofu was perfect. I cut mine into thin slices and basted each slice with the teriyaki sauce. Then adds more according to the recipe when serving. I served with sautéed Bok choy. Excellent. Loved it. The sauce is amazing.
As soon as I saw this recipe I knew it was dinner. I made the sauce ahead of time and reheated once the tofu came out. I cheated and used ginger paste and garlic powder in the same equivalent (because, Monday...) but I can only imagine it'd be that much better with the fresh versions. Served it over organic brown rice and steamed broccoli and it was excellent! I'm not even that big of a teriyaki fan but this is definitely a keeper. Thank you, your recipes never fail me.
This teriyaki sauce was THE BOMB. Thank you!!