Baked Tofu Dinner with Peanut Sauce and Pickled Cabbage

One of my favorite plant-based vegan dinners, is baked tofu with peanut sauce. I have made it countless times, and it never disappoints. I used to hate tofu. That was before I ever had it marinated and baked, and I learned that tofu doesn’t need to taste like, well… tofu! Baked tofu with peanut sauce, uses a simple marinade to make delicious tofu. This recipe makes four servings of dinner, featuring baked tofu with rice, greens, peanut sauce and quick pickled cabbage. The pickled cabbage adds a little bit of crunch and a bit of acidity to balance perfectly with the peanut sauce and the marinated tofu.

This recipe makes the complete dinner and serves four people. If you are looking for individual recipes for each component of this meal, try these recipes:

Easy Peanut Sauce

Baked Tofu

Quick Pickled Cabbage

Peanut Sauce Baked Tofu on Rice with Greens and pickled cabbage

How to Press Tofu:

The key to making tofu absorb the flavors in your marinade, is pressing your tofu. You can buy a tofu press, or you can do what I do, and place your tofu on a tea towel or paper towel, cover it with another towel, then top it off with a cook book and a cast iron pan (or anything flat and heavy). Let it sit for 10 minutes or so, and that will press out a good amount of the water.

Making Baked Tofu Dinner with Peanut Sauce

To assemble this delicious plant-based vegan dinner, start with a serving of rice, topped with a handful of fresh greens like baby spinach or arugula, then add the baked tofu. Drizzle with peanut sauce and a helping of cilantro and pickled cabbage. This is a great meal to make when you have lots of time to prep a head of time but not so much last minute. The peanut sauce and cabbage can both be made while the tofu marinates. Then when it comes time for dinner, just pop the tofu in the oven and cook the rice; and in 20 minutes, dinner will be ready!

Peanut Sauce Baked Tofu on Rice with Greens and pickled cabbage

Ingredients:

Greens:

  • 2 Cups Baby Arugula
  • 1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro

Tofu:

  • 1 Block Tofu, Extra Firm
  • 1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
  • 1/4 Cup Vinegar
  • 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
  • 1/2 tsp Grated Ginger
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced

Rice:

  • 1 Cup Brown Rice
  • 2 Cups Water

Peanut Sauce:

  • 1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
  • 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Lime Juice
  • 1 tsp Maple Syrup
  • 1/4 Cup Water

Quick Pickled Cabbage:

  • 1 Cup Vinegar
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 2 Cups Purple Cabbage, thinly sliced
Peanut Sauce Baked Tofu on Rice with Greens and pickled cabbage
Yield: 4 Servings

Baked Tofu Peanut Sauce Dinner

Baked Tofu Peanut Sauce Dinner

This delicious, plant-based vegan dinner recipe includes baked tofu with peanut sauce, pickled cabbage, fresh greens and brown rice.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

Fresh Greens

  • 2 Cups Baby Arugula
  • 1/2 Cup Cilantro

Tofu

  • 1 Block Tofu, Extra Firm
  • 1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
  • 1/4 Cup Vinegar
  • 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
  • 1/2 tsp Grated Ginger
  • 2 Garlic Cloves, minced

Rice

  • 1 Cup Brown Rice
  • 2 Cups Water

Peanut Sauce

  • 1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
  • 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
  • 1 tsp Maple Syrup
  • 1/4 Cup Water

Quick Pickled Cabbage

  • 1 Cup Vinegar
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 2 Cups Purple Cabbage, thinly sliced

Instructions

Prepare the tofu:

  1. Press the tofu and cut it into cubes.
  2. In a marinating dish, mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, maple syrup, grated ginger, and minced garlic.
  3. Place the tofu cubes in the marinade, and let sit for 1 - 2 hours, flipping the cubes over half way through.


Prepare the Pickled Cabbage:

  1. In a mason jar, mix together the vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir until most of the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Thinly slice the cabbage, and pack it into the jar to cover all of the cabbage in brine.
  3. Cover the jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.


Prepare the Peanut Sauce:

  1. Place peanut butter in a small bowl, then a little bit at a time, add the soy sauce, lime juice, maple syrup, and water, while mixing constantly to keep the consistency smooth. Set Aside.


Prepare the rice:

  1. In a medium sauce pan, rinse and drain the rice, then add 2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir just to make sure no rice is sticking to the bottom of the pot, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Set a timer to cook the rice for 45 minutes.

Bake the tofu:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350'F.
  2. Remove the tofu from the marinade and place them evenly spaced on a parchment or foil lined baking pan.
  3. With 20 minutes left on the timer for the rice, put the tofu in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through baking.


When the timer goes, remove the rice from the heat, and remove the tofu from the oven. Serve:

  1. Divide the rice between 4 bowls or plates.
  2. Add a handful of baby arugula to each plate, then top with the baked tofu.
  3. Drizzle each serving with peanut sauce, and top with the pickled cabbage and a pinch of cilantro.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 453Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2363mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 5gSugar: 43gProtein: 20g

The nutritional values are only estimates, and include all of the ingredients in the tofu marinade.