This is NOT your average BLT! This vegan BLT recipe is far superior. Crispy baked tofu, roasted tomato aioli, lettuce and vegan bacon. I like to use ciabatta bread, that I warm up in the pan that I cooked the “bacon” in. Then I slather the warm bread with the aioli on both sides. Put a good amount of vegan bacon on top of that. The crispy tofu on that with more aioli, then lettuce. This sandwich makes a great savory summer sandwich or really just an all year round sandwich! Vegans, vegetarians and meat- eaters will delight in the delicious flavor of this vegan BLT sandwich recipe!
What You Need For This BLT:
- Grape Tomatoes, Red Onions and Garlic: These are roasted with olive oil and salt and pepper to start the roasted tomato aioli.
- Vegan Mayo: I like to use Hellman’s Vegan Mayo.
- Red Wine Vinegar: This goes in the aioli and the batter for the tofu.
- Extra-Firm Tofu: You definitely extra firm tofu.
- Flour, Cornstarch, Salt and Red Pepper: These are the dry ingredients for the tofu batter.
- Non-dairy Milk: To add to the batter.
- Vegan Bread, Vegan Bacon and Lettuce: I used ciabatta, Benevolent Bacon and spring mix lettuce.
So, many of you probably know, I actually really dislike raw tomatoes. So, I kinda made a vegan BLT built for me, that hopefully you all will love. The ‘T’ in this BLT is roasted tomato aioli. You roast grape tomatoes with red onion and garlic. Then puree that in a food processor with vegan mayo and red wine vinegar. It is ridiculously good. What makes this sandwich even more special is that crispy tofu. It is seriously yummy with the vegan bacon, the aioli and lettuce. I just love these so so so much!
Why Should You Make These Sandwiches?
- The roasted tomato aioli is super easy and so incredibly delicious.
- Crispy tofu on a BLT is probably the best idea ever.
- The combination of flavors in this BLT is perfection.
- This is a very easy meal to throw together.
- This unique BLT may ruin you for all other BLTs.
Crispy Tofu Vegan BLT
Ingredients
Roasted Tomato Aioli
- 8 Ounces Grape tomatoes
- 1/2 a Red onion, chopped
- 6 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Cup Vegan mayo, I used Hellman's
- 2 teaspoons Red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Crispy Tofu
- 1 Block(15oz) Extra firm tofu, drained and pressed*
- 1 Cup Non-dairy milk, unsweetened I used almond milk
- 1 teaspoon Red wine vinegar
- 3/4 Cup All purpose flour
- 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- A Pinch Red pepper flakes
- 2 Cup Panko bread crumbs, vegan
For The Sandwiches
- 4 Rolls of Bread of choice, I used ciabatta
- 8 Slices Vegan bacon, I used Sweet Earth
- Lettuce, I used spring mix
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees(F).
- Start the aioli first. Put the grape tomatoes, onions and garlic on a sheet pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Spread out the veggies evenly. Then roast for 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes burst and are starting to brown. Remove from the oven when they are done, but leave the oven on for the tofu.
- While the veggies roast, make the tofu. Slice the block of tofu into 4 even slices. Set aside.
- Then whisk together the non-dairy milk and red wine vinegar. Set aside while you mix the rest of the batter ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt and red pepper flakes. Then pour in the non-dairy milk and vinegar mixture and whisk until your wet batter is smooth.
- In a separate medium sized mixing bowl, add the panko and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Take a slice of tofu, dip into the wet batter coating completely. Then put into the panko and coat all the sides completely.
- Place the tofu on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat with all the tofu and place on the sheet pan. I like to spray the tofu with non-stick spray or drizzle with a little olive oil to help brown the tofu.
- Once the veggies are roasted and removed from the oven. Put the tofu into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the tofu and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the tofu is brown and crispy.
- While the tofu bakes, let the veggies cool for a few minutes. Once they are room temperature, add the roasted veggies to a food processor with the remaining aioli ingredients and blend in the food processor until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. Chill in the fridge until ready to make the sandwiches.
- Now, you can prep the rest, warm your bread if you want and sauté the vegan bacon until crispy.
- Once the tofu is done, make the sandwiches. Spread the aioli on the top and bottom of the bread, then lay two slices of vegan bacon on the bottom, then a slice of tofu, more aioli, then lettuce. This recipe will make 4 sandwiches.
- Serve immediately.
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Nutrition
Made these last night and they were AWESOME. I used ciabatta bread, smartlife bacon and added a bit of red onion as well. My only complaint was that I had WAYY too much batter and aioli Ieftover. I would recommend using at least half the amount of breadcrumbs, cornstarch and flour mixture, and about half as much for the aioli.
I’ve made these twice now and they’re on the menu again this week! The aioli is soooo good. My husband loves BLTs but I don’t like sliced tomato so this is the perfect compromise. The first time we made it, we followed the recipe as outlined. Now we skip breading the tofu and just pan fry it to save time and cleanup.
Delicious! I doubled the onion, tomatoes and garlic for the aioli leaving the rest of the proportions the same and it turned out great. We added slices of avocado just to gild the lily – yum! Thank you for the inspired recipe!
Fantastic sandwich! My 90 year old, meat-eating, BLT loving in-laws LOVE it!
One suggestion Lauren, you gotta make a separate post for the aioli!!! I now keep a jar of it in the fridge and use it on everything; sandwich spread, dip for fries/onion rings, drizzled on to pizza/soups!