Sweet and Sour Tofu Recipe (Vegan)
This Sweet and Sour Tofu is one of my favourite comfort foods ever of my favourite takeout! The tofu is crisp with a perfect texture and the sweet and sour sauce is unbelievably delicious! It comes together quickly and tastes amazing as meal prep too!
I’ve been making this sweet and sour sauce since the beginning of ‘Jessiker Bakes’. The first version of JITK, and where I started experimenting with savoury dishes. 10 years later (the sauce was always vegan) I’ve modified it a bit, made the entire dish vegan, and I am finally re-sharing it! I can’t count how many times I’ve made this but it is our #1 go to COMFORT meal.
None of my local Asian restaurants make sweet and sour tofu. Which is a bummer, but also motivation to make my own. Let me tell you – it is INCREDIBLE! The first time I made it for a blog recipe, Gav and I finished it all that night. I say that with pride. It embodies all the flavours you would expect from a sweet and sour sauce – sweet, tangy, umami filled and so rich in colour and flavour. It comes with my favourite usual add-ins of bell peppers, onions and pineapples, and of course, crispy tofu.
How to Make Tofu Crispy
After years of making tofu, I’m proud to say we know how to make it perfectly crispy. The short answer is: cornstarch. I go into full detail in my How to Cook Tofu 101 blog post, and I highly recommend that you read it. Cornstarch crisps up the tofu while wicking out any excess liquid. It’s also gluten free so works well for that.
My second tip is to always, always press your tofu. I also say it in my how to cook tofu 101 blog post, it’s not tofu’s job to have flavour. It’s up to us to season it, in fact, I’m glad it barely has a flavour. It takes on anything you want it to. Removing the liquid from tofu allows it space to absorb all the flavour you want it to have. Those two, plus a nice hot pan to crisp it up in will create perfect tofu for this dish and beyond!
Can’t have tofu?
If you’re allergic to soy, this recipe works perfectly on cauliflower too! Just bread it and crisp it up like in my orange cauliflower dish, then finish it like I do in this recipe in the pan. You could also do this on mushrooms or tempeh.
Related Recipes
- General Tso Tofu
- Sweet and Sticky Orange Cauliflower Bites
- Orange Air Fryer Tofu
- Easy Baked Tofu
- Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry
Sweet and Sour Tofu Recipe (Vegan)
Ingredients
Crispy Tofu
- 1 16 ounce block of firm or extra firm tofu, pressed, and torn into 1 to 2 inch pieces*
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten free if needed, or liquid aminos or tamari
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup oil for frying
Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1/2 cup sugar, I use cane sugar, you can use brown or any granulated
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup vinegar, preferably rice or white
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, gluten free if needed, or liquid aminos or tamari
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped/cubed pineapple
- 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish
- chopped scallion, for garnish
Instructions
Crispy Tofu
- In a medium-sized bowl place the pressed and torn tofu pieces. Add the soy sauce and toss to coat. Add in the garlic powder, sea salt, ground black pepper and cornstarch and toss to thoroughly combine, ensuring all the tofu pieces are covered with the seasonings and the cornstarch.
- Heat a pan or wok over medium-high heat, and add the oil. When hot, add the tofu and toss to crisp up on all sides until the tofu is cooked and crisped on all sides, about 5 to 8 minutes. Feel free to do this in batches if desired. Remove tofu pieces and set aside.
Sweet and Sour Sauce + Putting it All Together
- In the same pan, lower the heat to over medium-high heat, and add in the onions, pineapples and bell peppers.
- Saute until the onions are translucent and the pineapples are slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, ketchup, vinegar, water, soy sauce, and garlic powder for the sweet and sour sauce and stir together until fully combined.
- Pour in the sauce over the veggies. Bring to a slight boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened up. Add back in the crisped up tofu, and stir to combine. Taste test and add more sugar or soy sauce if you desire. Remove from heat until needed.
- Remove from heat and top with sesame seeds and chopped scallions. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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.
This recipe is fantastic! It’s so easy to make and everyone in my family loved it! We will definitely be making this frequently!
We’re so happy that you and your wonderful family enjoyed this recipe Ceric! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
Made this last night and loved it! I did use half the sugar as someone else had suggested but otherwise followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect. Loved the crunchy tofu!
Awesome Wendy we’re so happy you like it! Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
Oh wow. I had wanted to make this for a while. I finally ordered all the ingredients.
Was easy to follow and my goodness the taste was amazing!! This is now going to be a weekly meal. Delish.
We’re so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Bambilina! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
My husband and I just made this and LOVED! Already in my husbands top 3 “tofu recipes”. Did half the sugar and even think it could be less due to natural pineapple sweetness. Will definitely be in our rotation! Super easy as well.
We’re so happy that you and your husband enjoyed this recipe Ellen! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
I am a novice tofu cook, and this sweet and sour tofu recipe (along with the Tofu 101 guide) made me want to try every tofu recipe on this site. It is SO easy, and really, so delicious. Ten out of ten, will recommend (and will eat again, for sure)!
We’re so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Shauna! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
OMG — this recipe blew me away! The crunchy/sticky glaze on the outside of the tofu was perfect–just like the sweet and sour chicken I remember eating before going vegan. The method of tearing tofu rather than slicing it into cubes was new to me, and it worked great–more surface area for extra crispiness. 🙂
We’re so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Mary! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
This is delicious! I don’t really love Tom ppl
But this looked so yummy and simple I had to give it a try. So easy and so tasty! I’m even feeling motivated to try some new tofu recipes. Thanks so much Jessica!
I just noticed a big typo in my comment. It should say I don’t love to cook 🙂
We’re so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Jenna! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
Ps. We Love Tom ppl lol
Really great recipe! I love the creativity in making this vegan dish so much like the original takeout version! The method for preparing the crispy tofu is incredibly genius. My only critique was how much sugar the recipe calls for, but I did reduce it by half and felt that the finished version was great as it was and, for my taste, didn’t need more sugar. It’s an indulgence, but I’ll make it again for sure!
Thank you so much Adriana! I’m happy you’ll make them again thanks for reading!
Oh WOW! Those were literally the first words out of my husbands mouth after his first bite. Then he said, “this tastes exactly like it came from a restaurant!” Seriously, it is amazing…and so easy! And the tofu!! Jessica you have changed my tofu life with that method. My only complaint is that there aren’t more leftovers! 😝 THANK YOU!
I was looking for a new tofu recipe and made this last night, and it was delicious! The tofu is so crispy and flavorful, and the sauce was a great consistency. I doubled the onion and bell pepper for added veggie, and would probably increase the sauce next time to compensate. I was surprised at how quickly it came together, and this will definitely be one of my new go-tos.