Marinated Tofu Recipe (for the BEST Tofu Flavour!)
This Marinated Tofu recipe will make you fall in LOVE with tofu with LOTS of great tips! It’s great for baking, pan-frying, grilling, in the air fryer and so much more! Perfect for a multi-purpose simple marinade and makes your tofu so flavourful.
A common question I hear is, “my tofu is so bland by itself – how do I get it to taste tasty?”. I love hearing this because it means there are SO many possibilities and that I get the opportunity to blow someone’s mind with how good tofu can taste!
Just like you would pretty much ANY protein source, you HAVE to season tofu if you want it to have flavour. As I said in my Tofu 101 blog post (a must read), it’s not tofu’s job to taste good. It’s a complete source of protein, and a beautiful blank slate to season with whatever your heart desires. Season it well (in fact – season all your veggies) and your tastebuds will thank you. It’s that simple. This is the general tofu marinade recipe that I use for many of my tofu recipes at home. When we just want some tasty tofu, we make this!
Notes on the Ingredients
block of tofu – always ensure it’s not silken (just regular firm or extra firm) and pressed for at least 30 minutes!
soy sauce – I always use light soy sauce, you can also use liquid aminos or coconut aminos or tamari. Don’t skip this – this helps to really penetrate the tofu for that inside out flavour.
rice wine vinegar – I love the flavour, feel free to experiment with regular vinegar or apple cider vinegar too although it won’t taste the same.
sesame oil – you could also use your favourite flavoured oil here.
agave – you can also use maple syrup! Helps to balance out the other flavours, doesn’t make it sweet.
garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika (preferably smoked) – my preferred seasonings for this marinade!
cornstarch – this helps to thicken up the rest of the marinade to make the marinated tofu a bit saucy too after cooking! You could also use regular flour if you can’t use cornstarch, but it might not be the exact same texture.
How to Make Marinated Tofu (Step by Step Instructions)
In a medium-size bowl place the pressed and cubed tofu. Add the soy sauce and toss to coat. Add in all of the other marinade ingredients and toss to thoroughly combine. Ensure all the pieces are coated and let the tofu sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 days.
In a pan over medium high heat, add the oil. Once hot, scoop your tofu out of the leftover marinade (do not toss your marinade) and add into the pan. Crisp up your tofu on each side for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until all sides are crisped up and browned.
While your tofu is cooking, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to the marinade and whisk vigorously to combine.
Once tofu is finished cooking. Turn off the heat. Immediately add in your marinade and stir to combine. The residual heat will heat through the sauce and cook off the cornstarch. Stir to combine and let it all sit together for at least 2 minutes.
Remove from the stove, serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips & FAQ
- Allowing the marinade to sit on the tofu for at least 30 minutes really makes a massive difference to penetrating the tofu and giving it a deep flavour. Marinated tofu really is the best!
- Make sure you’re not buying silken tofu! That will yield the wrong texture and will break apart if you try and press it. Check out my Tofu 101 post for more, or watch my tofu 101 IG series.
- If you want to bake the tofu instead, I recommend following my Baked Tofu post instructions – 400°F for 20 minutes, flipping in between. I would still recommend doing the marinade with cornstarch step afterwards (just heat up the pan a bit and add the tofu right after it comes out of the oven).
- How to press tofu: I cover this in detail in my How to Cook Tofu 101 post! The prep time includes the time to press the tofu
- Often times tofu sticks in your pan if you’re trying to flip it too early, the heat is too low, or your non-stick coating is gone. If your tofu is sticking, consider one of these and adjust accordingly – it’s usually that you’re trying to flip it too quickly!
Related Recipes
Enjoy friends! If you make this Marinated Tofu Recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
How to Cook Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 lb block of tofu, pressed for at least 30 minutes and cut into 1-inch pieces
Marinade Recipe
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce, don't use regular soy sauce (you can always used liquid aminos, tamari or coconut aminos
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 4 teaspoons agave
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika, (preferably smoked)
- 2 tablespoons water
Rest of Recipe
- 2 teaspoons oil, (any oil)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- In a medium-size bowl place the pressed and cubed tofu. Add the soy sauce and toss to coat. Add in all of the other marinade ingredients (rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, agave, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, paprika and water) and toss to thoroughly combine. Ensure all the pieces are coated and let the tofu sit in the marinade for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 days.
Rest of the Recipe
- In a pan over medium high heat, add the oil. Once hot, scoop your tofu out of the leftover marinade (do not toss your marinade) and add into the pan. Crisp up your tofu on each side for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until all sides are crisped up and browned.
- While your tofu is cooking, add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch to the marinade and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Once tofu is finished cooking. Turn off the heat. Immediately add in your marinade and stir to combine. The residual heat will heat through the sauce and cook off the cornstarch. Stir to combine and let it all sit together for at least 2 minutes. Remove from the stove, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Allowing the marinade to sit on the tofu for at least 30 minutes really makes a massive difference to penetrating the tofu and giving it a deep flavour. Marinated tofu really is the best!
- Make sure you’re not buying silken tofu! That will yield the wrong texture and will break apart if you try and press it. Check out my Tofu 101 post for more, or watch my tofu 101 IG series.
- If you want to bake the tofu instead, I recommend following my Baked Tofu post instructions – 400°F for 20 minutes, flipping in between. I would still recommend doing the marinade with cornstarch step afterwards (just heat up the pan a bit and add the tofu right after it comes out of the oven).
- How to press tofu: I cover this in detail in my How to Cook Tofu 101 post! The prep time includes the time to press the tofu
- Often times tofu sticks in your pan if you’re trying to flip it too early, the heat is too low, or your non-stick coating is gone. If your tofu is sticking, consider one of these and adjust accordingly – it’s usually that you’re trying to flip it too quickly!
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Do you have a recommended corn starch alternative? Corn allergy here.
Hi Kate,
You can definitely sub out Arrowroot Powder or Potato Starch here. Your tofu will still get nice and crispy!
Enjoy.
Quick question– am cooking for 50 people and want to make ahead. Can I cook the day before and warm up in the sauce in the oven on the day of? What would you suggest so that I am not cooking while the party is going on…..
Thanks!
Hi Gayle,
I would recommend cooking this the day before. In fact, you’ll want to truly marinate it first then cook it, and you can definitely warm it up in the sauce in the oven the day of. Just be wary not to dry it out in the oven! Hope this helps – hope your party goes so well!
I made this with my partner and we both LOVED it!!! He had never tried tofu before but we’ve been making more and more tofu dishes together and he even went out and bought some for himself and asked me to send him the recipe!! This is a great basic recipe when I want to meal prep some tofu to keep in the fridge to add to a variety meals. I had this with some rice and veggies and the next day in a wrap. Love!!!
Aww I’m so incredibly happy to hear this, Emily!! This made my dayy!! I love that you and your partner made it together — and that he went out and bought tofu himself?! That’s amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I love the idea of using it in a wrap too — I’ve got to try that next time!
Tofu needs all the help I can get in this recipe really does the job! So tasty! And easy, which I love. Thank you.!
Hi Denisr,
So happy you loved this tofu recipe. It definitely bring the flavor! Appreciate you sharing this.
Oh yea! Lip smacking good! Thank you Jessica! 😋😋😋😋😋
Hi Stevie,
So so happy to hear that you loved this tofu recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I don’t have agave. Can I use maple syrup instead?
Hi Deb,
Absolutely you can! Just keep in. Mind that maple syrup does have a stronger flavour profile than agave, you will notice a bit more of a maple-y taste to the dish this way. If you’re good with that, then I say go for it! It will substitute in very well.
I see sea salt listed in the pictured ingredients but not in the recipe. ?
Hi Anne!
The sea salt on the ingredient photo is a typo! For transparency, our team usually works on them back to back but every now and then a slight typo can occur. Thanks for highlighting this!
Due to Google’s rules about updating blog posts I won’t be able to remove the photo and update it, but I will leave a note in the recipe card that it’s a typo on the photo, solely.
I hope you get to make this and that you enjoy!
You mentioned air frying early in your post, but maybe I missed directions? Can you please tell me how long and what temp, please?
Hi Kathy,
You can air fry this at 400°F/200°C for about 15 minutes! For the extra marinade left over, I would recommend just spooning it over the finished result once it’s in a bowl OR finishing it off in the sauce pan like the recipe directs. I hope this helps, and enjoy!