Baked Crispy Tofu & Peanut Sauce Stir Fry. An easy, healthy dinner recipe that's gluten-free, dairy-free & vegan-friendly!
Who else loves Asian food?! {hand in the air}!
I could live on stir fry, lettuce wraps, fried rice and crispy tofu without even batting an eye. I never get tired of Asian-inspired dishes loaded with veggies cooked in bold sauces, like this Baked Crispy Tofu & Peanut Sauce Stir Fry! This recipe will make all of your dinner dreams come true!
Homemade Peanut Sauce
Oh and let's talk about peanut sauce. It's no surprise that one of my favorite Asian sauces has peanut butter in it right?! š Coconut milk makes this particular variety lusciously creamy, while hoisin sauce makes it irresistibly flavorful and slightly sweet!
This Baked Crispy Tofu recipe is easy to make, and even easier to eat! š It has just a few ingredients and packs a huge flavor punch. It's also good for you! You won't find any dairy, gluten or refined sugar in this Baked Crispy Tofu & Peanut Sauce Stir Fry, it's even vegan-friendly!
How to make Baked Crispy Tofu & Peanut Sauce Stir Fry
Why Make Stir Fry in the oven?
Well for two reasons,
- There will be no oil & sauce splashing from your wok all over your stove! {Or yourself}! i.e. less mess to clean up!
- Roasting the tofu and veggies in the oven creates a crispy texture that is SO delicious!
How do you make Crispy Tofu
I love eating tofu but it has to be crispy. When we go out I order it "well done." That's why, in this Baked Crispy Tofu & Peanut Sauce Stir Fry recipe, the tofu is roasted alone before the rest of the vegetables and sauce are added to the pan.
To keep everything extra-crispy {do you sense a theme in this recipe?! I wonder how many times I can use the word crispy in one post. Let's see}, wait to add the sauce until the veggies & tofu are golden-brown. By tossing it in during the last 10 minutes of baking, the peanut sauce has time to thicken up just enough to coat all the ingredients beautifully without making them soggy.
Baked Crispy Tofu & Peanut Sauce Stir Fry: Ingredients & Substitutions
All right folks, as always this dish is best as written! But here are a few potential substitutions!
- Veggies. I used our three favorite stir-fry veggies in this recipe! You can change it up to suit your tastes! Other recommendations: baby corn, snap peas, carrots, mushrooms, etc.
- Coconut milk. If you don't have coconut milk water can be used instead. However, the coconut milk gives the sauce a rich and creamy texture that is SO good! If you are wondering what to do with the extra coconut milk...try this recipe {or this one}!
- Sesame oil. Really, any oil can be used here. However, sesame oil has such an amazingly bold and rich taste that I don't recommend skipping it. If you have to, peanut oil would be my second choice!
- Honey. To keep this recipe vegan use pure maple syrup, or another liquid sweetener of your choice!
- I beg you not to omit the hoisin sauce! It is my all-time favorite Asian condiment. Please go buy some, use it in everything, and thank me later! {here's a link to my favorite brand}!
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Baked Crispy Tofu & Peanut Sauce Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz package extra firm tofu, cut into Ā½ā cubes
- Ā½ tsp garlic powder
- Ā¼ tsp onion powder
- Ā¼ tsp powdered ginger
- 1 green pepper cut in 1" strips
- 1 red pepper cut in 1" strips
- 2 cups broccoli chopped into small pieces
- 3 TBS olive oil divided
- Ā¼- Ā½ tsp garlic salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Peanut sauce:
- Ā¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 TBS soy sauce
- 2 TBS hoisin sauce
- Ā¼ cup coconut milk
- 1 TBS rice vinegar
- Ā½ TBS sesame oil
- 1 TBS honey use pure maple syrup for a vegan option
- Ā¼ tsp powdered ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet. Set aside.
Make peanut sauce:
- In a small bowl whisk together sauce ingredients until smooth. If your peanut butter is more solid, microwave for 30 seconds to melt it. Set aside.
Tofu and Veggies:
- Mix together garlic powder, garlic salt, black pepper onion powder and ginger, set aside.
- Put the tofu in a large bowl. Add 1 TBS olive oil and stir until all the pieces are coated.
- Add spice mixture and stir until evenly distributed.
- Spread tofu evenly on greased pan and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Stir and bake 10 minutes more.
- While tofu is baking, put the veggies in a large bowl and toss with remaining olive oil.
- After tofu has baked for a total of 20 minutes, add veggies to the pan and place it back in the oven for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, stir and add Ā¼ cup of the peanut sauce to the pan. Stir until the veggies/tofu are evenly coated.
- Bake for 10 more minutes, or until the peanut sauce coats the veggies/tofu, stirring halfway through.
- Remove from oven and serve warm with remaining peanut sauce.
- Suggestions: serve with rice or noodles!
Video
Nutrition
More Asian Recipes:
- Asian chicken lettuce wraps are an all-time favorite.
- We make this Asian quinoa salad ALL the time!
- My kids love these sweet and sour meatballs!
- This cashew chicken stir fry is my go-to dinner on busy weeknights.
- Thai slow cooker ground turkey is SO delicious!
- I love this slow cooker teriyaki chicken
Question: What's your favorite Asian-inspired dish!?
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Helen
Giving three stars because I really liked the sauce but the tofu was overbaked, following the times in the recipe. I don't cook tofu often enough to know when it's ready just by looking, I need more practice. Will make again with shorter bake times, probably putting the veggies in earlier. Or maybe use the wok, in spite of how you say this technique avoids it.
Laura
I'm so sorry that happened Helen! All ovens bake differently and the size of your tofu chunks also effect baking time!
Dani
Could I cook the tofu for 40 minutes (stir every 10min) then cook the vegetables for 20 and just toss in the sauce? I wouldn't be able to cook both at the same time without over crowding my pan.Or should I 30min for the tofu, 10 for the veg then add sauce and combine the two and cook at the same time on an overcrowded pan?
Would be interested in trying this recipe in the future as it looks delicious, but would have to work out this multi-step process before doing so.
JoanneB
Wonderful! Great change on regular sheet pan dinner!
Alex
Delicious!
Leni
This was delicious! The tofu was crispy, as promised, and the peanut sauce delicious! My only addition was some red pepper flakes to the peanut sauce, added early enough so they'd have time to release some spice into the oils before pouring over.