The BBQ tofu we have all been dreaming of.
Every great summer deserves a great BBQ recipe! This is it. This vegan sweet and spicy BBQ tofu is my new favorite thing! The homemade sweet and spicy BBQ sauce is so freaking delicious. It checks off all the boxes of what I look for in a BBQ sauce. Nice and sweet from some brown sugar and maple syrup and nice and spicy from some sriracha.
First the tofu is dry rubbed and baked, then you slather on the BBQ sauce and either continue to bake, or throw the tofu on the grill. I like to just put it on a grill pan for a few minutes to give it some of that delicious BBQ char. This sweet and spicy BBQ tofu is the main dish for cookout season you will want to serve over and over again!
Even my meat eating family loves when this sweet and spicy tofu makes an appearance. The BBQ sauce is so easy to throw together and just the absolute best thing ever! I love adding this tofu to a salad and making like a BBQ cobb salad type of situation.
The combination of dry rubbing the tofu, then baking to make it firm and crispy. Then covering in sauce and grilling it is probably my favorite way to eat tofu at the moment. It is so freaking flavorful and the best texture ever! Serve this tofu with all your BBQ side dish and it is a total hit every time!
Perfect Sides For Your BBQ Tofu:
- Vegan Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
- Vegan Tzatziki Pasta Salad
- Vegan Caesar Pasta Salad
- Vegan Street Corn Nachos
- Vegan Chili Mac and Cheese Casserole
Vegan Sweet and Spicy BBQ Tofu
Ingredients
For the Tofu
- 1 Block(15oz.) Extra firm or super firm tofu, pressed
- 1 Tablespoon Liquid aminos or soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- 1 Teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1 Teaspoon Chili powder
Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce
- 1 Cup Canned tomato sauce (tomato puree not ketchup)
- 1/4 Cup Vegetable broth
- 1 Tablespoon Apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Molasses
- 1 Tablespoon Sriracha
- 1 Teaspoon Liquid aminos or soy sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- You want to press the block of tofu first, if you need instructions on how to press tofu, check out my TOFU COOKING GUIDE.
- When you are ready to make the tofu, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Now, cut the tofu into cubes or rectangles, however large you want them to be. Then put the tofu into a large mixing bowl.
- Drizzle the tofu with the liquid aminos or soy sauce, the maple syrup and the water. Toss to coat all of the tofu and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Drain any excess liquid there is out of the bowl of tofu. Then sprinkle with the smoked paprika and the chili powder. Toss to coat all of the tofu in the spices.
- Then put the tofu on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray or brushed with oil.
- Bake the tofu for 15 minutes, flip each piece and bake another 10-15 minutes or until brown and firm.
- While the tofu is baking, make the BBQ sauce. Add all the BBQ sauce ingredients as well as a pinch of salt and pepper to a small sauce pan. Whisk to combine.
- Heat the sauce pan on medium high. Bring to a bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Once the tofu is out of the oven, brush each side with the BBQ sauce, then either return to the oven for 5-7 minutes to finish it with the BBQ sauce.
- Or put the tofu on skewers, a few pieces on each skewer, then grill on a grill or grill pan brushed with olive oil for 2-3 minutes on each side, brushing with more BBQ sauce if needed.
- Serve with extra BBQ sauce!
Nutrition
I made this for my 4th of July party and it was a huge hit with both the carnivores and vegan/vegetarians!
If using a store bought bbq sauce, how much would you need? If cutting into smaller cubes, how should I adjust cooking time? What do you think would pair nicely with this? (Cous Cous, quinoa, ?) Thank you
Can you use pumfu instead? Trying increase my iron intake, and Pumfu has WAY more iron that tofu.
I have not worked with much with pumfu, but I think that would work!