Easy Orange Tofu Recipe. Quick 30 Min Weeknight Meal. Baked Crisp Tofu with a Delicious Orange Sauce. Serve over rice/grains and with blanched broccoli or veggies. Vegan Glutenfree Nutfree Recipe Soyfree option Jump to Recipe
Weeknight meals dont have to be boring esp for valentine’s day. This Refreshing, zingy, easy 30 Minute meal is perfect to cheer up the evening. This Orange tofu comes together really quickly. Tofu is tossed in starch and baked to preferred crispyness. Meanwhile, the orange sauce ingredients all put in a saucepan to simmer. Combine the 2 and done! the Orange sauce is flavorful with ginger, garlic, orange juice and has no refined sugar. Adjust the flavors of the sauce with extra zest for more zing, extra heat or sweet, extra veg and what not. Serve with blanched broccoli or veggies, and a garnish of scallions and pepper.
For a well baked non chewy tofu, use a stoneware or thick ceramic baking dish. Keep the tofu and sauce separate until ready to serve. Toss with sauce for just a few seconds and serve immediately. Lets make this easy Orange Tofu.
More Quick Weeknight Meals from the blog
- 1 pot Peanut Butter Noodles and Veggies GF
- Sweet And Sour Chickpeas and Broccoli GF
- Kung Pao Lentils GF
- Lentils & Veggies in Thai Peanut Sauce GF Soy-free
- Tofu, Veggies, Brown Rice Noodles with from scratch hoisin sauce . GF
- Sticky Ginger Sesame Tofu and veggies
- Crispy Orange Cauliflower
- Chickpea Tofu Stir fry with sunbutter sauce.
Vegan Orange Tofu Recipe
Ingredients
- 14 oz firm tofu , pressed for 15 mins, then cubed
- 2 tbsp cornstarch, divided
- 1 tsp flour (rice flour for crispier or all purpose)
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) garlic powder
- a good dash of white or black pepper
Orange Sauce:
- 4 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 1 inch ginger , minced or 1 tbsp grated
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or use tamari to make gluten-free
- 2 tbsp white or rice vinegar
- 1 cup (248 ml) preferably fresh orange juice
- 3 tbsp maple syrup , or use sugar
- 1/4 cup (58.75 ml) water/broth
- 1.5 tbsp cornstarch , 2 tbsp for thicker sauce
- 1 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) salt
Instructions
- Line a stoneware baking dish with parchment or grease. Preheat the oven to 400 deg F(205 C).
- Add cubed tofu to a large bowl. Sprinkle 1 tbsp cornstarch, flour, salt, garlic, and pepper. Close the top of the bowl with a plate or lid and shake to coat. Add more cornstarch and shake again.
- Spread in the stoneware dish. Bake at 400 deg F for 25 to 35 mins. Give the tofu a shake at the 20-minute mark.
- Blanch the broccoli if using. (Tip: I put it in a deep baking dish with water in the oven for 15 -20 mins. Take it out when moving the tofu around).
- Combine all the ingredients for Orange Sauce, except water and cornstarch in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat to bring to a boil. Mix cornstarch in the water well and add into the simmering sauce. Mix and Cook for another 2 mins to thicken. Stir well for even thickening. Taste and adjust salt, sweet, flavor.
- Add the baked tofu to the sauce and toss to coat. Take off heat. Serve with the broccoli, garnished with scallions, pepper flakes, over rice or grains.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Megan says
February 15, 2019 at 6:19 amThinking about making this with cauliflower instead of tofu – would you still do the cornstarch on it? Thanks!!
Richa says
February 15, 2019 at 9:41 amyou’ll need a different batter with the cauliflower. try this https://www.veganricha.com/?s=orange+cauliflower with this sauce
Tori says
February 15, 2019 at 8:23 amWow, this looks fabulous. I can’t think of any cuisine I enjoy more than Asian so this recipe has my name all over it.
Catherine says
February 15, 2019 at 11:38 amDo you think it would be great with chickpea tofu? We have an allergy to soy at home. Thank you for all your amazing recipe!!
Richa says
February 15, 2019 at 12:08 pmyes it should work fine. Toss the chickpea tofu in cornstarch and panfry instead of bake and then add to the sauce.
Emily says
February 15, 2019 at 6:48 pmThis was so delicious! Clean plates everywhere
Cassie Autumn Tran says
February 15, 2019 at 10:05 pmThis looks SO freaking delicious! I would rather create this dish than order takeout any day. Creating a whole batch of this tofu for meal prep and even for banquets would be perfect for me!
Lisa B. says
February 17, 2019 at 5:18 pmI’m picky and savvy and this is one of the best Chinese style sauces I have come across; and the tofu component compliments it perfectly. It doesn’t matter what else you use for veggies. I made short grain starchy white rice to go with it for a rare treat, but brown or black ( my go to) would be fine. Thanks for an excellent recipe! If you don’t like it med to spicy, use half the siracha. This will wow any traditional eaters.
Richa says
February 17, 2019 at 11:06 pmawesome!
Ritu Mehta says
February 17, 2019 at 8:33 pmLovely dish. I made it with and served with vermicelli noodles. I added stir fry vegetables to the tofu sauce too. Very yummy. I added 2 tbsp cornstarch for thickening the sauce. Next time I will go with 1.5 tbsp.
Richa says
February 17, 2019 at 11:07 pmawesome!
Jennifer says
February 24, 2019 at 10:26 amTrying to see how you calculated your calories.. when I added everything into my fitness pal I got 355 calories per serving.. I like yours better. Haha!
Richa says
February 24, 2019 at 11:18 amits the widget 🙂 probably some default values of ingredients are different or serving size 🙂
Jenn says
February 25, 2019 at 2:14 pmYou are correct! Scanned every item today and calculated 188/serving… wahoo!! Making tonight, will let you know how delicious it is!
Richa says
February 25, 2019 at 5:29 pm😀 glad it matched up!
Sejal says
February 27, 2019 at 10:07 amHi, can I use paneer instead of tofu ?
Receitas says
March 7, 2019 at 4:21 pmThis is so yummy! Thanks for sharing
Rebecca says
March 15, 2019 at 5:19 pmThis was super yummy! Great recipe!
Elizabeth says
April 1, 2019 at 1:21 pmI am making this tonight, can you explain why you use a stoneware dish for the tofu? I have baked tofu with constarch on a parchment lined baking sheet before, just wondering what the difference would be. Thanks! It looks so good!
Richa says
April 1, 2019 at 3:06 pmi like the texture on the stoneware dish.it becomes less chewy and more evenly baked. Try half on both to compare and see which you prefer and you can use that method 🙂
Claudia says
April 17, 2019 at 6:01 amMade the recipe this week, very yummy!! i used brown rice pad thai noodles, mostly because i had an open package already. Very tasty! i would make more sauce next time, the recipe has the perfect amount if all servings are eaten immediately but i batch cook for the week and the sauce is naturally getting thick. all around, success! 🙂
Richa says
April 17, 2019 at 10:55 amAwesome! yes the sauce thicken a lot. I think you can store it without cornstarch and add the cornstarch slurry when you use it. that way you can adjust the consistency when using depending on what you are using the sauce with or serving with.
Tamar says
July 8, 2019 at 5:22 pmSo glad I found this, can’t wait to make it as all your recipes are fabulous. And many thanks for giving an alternative for prepping the tofu cubes in the flour/cornstarch that doesn’t involve a wretched single use plastic bag!!!!! Hopefully you’ve kept some plastic bags out the landfill!
Richa says
July 8, 2019 at 5:29 pmyou can usually do the plastic bag medthod in a deep bowl with lid as well. works just fine
Julie says
July 10, 2019 at 4:16 pmYum! Made this just as it was written, and it was delicious! Glad we have some leftovers for tomorrow. 🙂
Richa says
July 10, 2019 at 4:35 pmyay
Sylvia says
July 15, 2019 at 2:07 pmOh wow. Oh yum! Thank you so much!
Nancy Perine says
July 16, 2019 at 2:04 amHello! I had such fun cruising around your website/blog. Your recipe for Vegan Orange Tofu caught my eye. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, so it was calling me to make the orange sauce. It turned out ohhhhh, so yummy!! We had company over for dinner and of course they asked for the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!!
AM says
July 23, 2019 at 3:46 pmCan I make sauce and tofu in advance for an event and then heat and toss it together on the day?
Richa says
July 23, 2019 at 4:53 pmyes. dont add the cornstarch to the sauce as it will thicken too much on chilling. You can add the cornstarch slurry when reheating the sauce with the tofu.
Kathrine says
October 10, 2019 at 3:48 pmVery delicious!!! I used chili garlic sauce for spice and actually did 2 tsp because I like a little kick. It was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy! Will be making again and again!
Richa says
October 10, 2019 at 11:44 pmThanks!
Kristy Stills says
December 21, 2019 at 6:38 pmthis is the best tofu prep/result i’ve ever had! i froze it first, then thawed, then pressed, then treatment as stated above. i will use this method going forward! our only complaint: too orange for our tastes. next time, i think i’ll 1/2 the orange juice and then use vegetable stock to replace. plenty of room in this recipe to make it your own!
Nicole says
December 24, 2019 at 4:26 pmIt wasn’t bad, but I also didn’t love it. The sauce was far too sweet for me and it just didn’t scratch the itch for the orange tofu my local Chinese place makes. I wouldn’t make it again without making serious changes to the sauce.
Richa says
December 26, 2019 at 11:48 amYou can adjust thee sweet to sour ratio to preference. Maybe the orange juice was sweeetened? The chinese restaurant probably adds othere ingredients as well.
Ayla says
February 16, 2020 at 11:49 amCan I use oat or cassava flour instead?
Richa says
February 16, 2020 at 11:51 amcassava flour will work
Jenny Knight says
March 2, 2020 at 10:25 amDo you think this recipe would work with soy curls? My son loves orange chicken which I don’t make because I’m veg. I’m new to soy curls, but I want to try them in a few recipes to see if they help convert my son.
Richa says
March 2, 2020 at 6:51 pmYes, should be ok.
Mary-Ellen Landry says
May 9, 2020 at 7:50 amRicha, love what you are doing and use many of your recipes and have some on repeat to be sure. We are whole-food plant-based health coaches in Canada and most of your recipes are solid in their nutritional value (we avoid the oil) and always so delicious. This one hit the mark for a quick and yummy supper. Love the orange sauce. I likely put more ginger but you can not have too much ginger, imo. We had this with black rice, steamed kale and broccoli, and topped it with toasted almond slivers. So good!
Richa says
May 9, 2020 at 1:00 pmAwesome
Kathie says
June 2, 2020 at 6:03 pmCan you make this in the air fryer? And if so, what time and temp?
Vegan Richa Support says
June 3, 2020 at 12:54 pmThat would work well, actually – extra crispy! 25* lower than the recipe says – So 375* for about half an hour.
Jennifer Carrell says
August 10, 2020 at 7:24 pmAwesome recipe! Truly better than takeout. I liked the addition of red pepper flakes for more spice. I didn’t see the note about adding orange zest until after I made the recipe, but I definitely want to try that next time for more intense orange flavor.
Jennifer Carrell says
August 10, 2020 at 7:32 pm(I used fresh orange juice which I suspect is less sweet and syrupy than the prepared kind. I saw the other reviewer who thought the sauce was too orangey, and I disagree.)
Nancy says
October 2, 2020 at 1:10 amSo easy and so delicious. I try it out my sister loved it