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–+ servings
6 gallon baggies filled with tofu cubes and varies flavors and colors of tofu marinade
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4.92 from 12 votes

Tofu Marinade (6 ways!)

See how easy it is to make TRULY delicious tofu by marinating it using one of my 6 delicious tofu marinades!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Tofu
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Brita Britnell

Ingredients

Cilantro Lime marinade:

  • 14-16 ounce block of tofu
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup/ honey
  • ½ cup cilantro leaves chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

BBQ marinade:

  • 14-16 ounce block of tofu
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • ¼ cup favorite BBQ sauce
  • 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Dash of liquid smoke optional

Teriyaki marinade:

  • 14-16 ounce block of tofu
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • ¼ cup of soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Balsamic marinade:

  • 14-16 ounce block of tofu
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of water
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt

Fajita marinade:

  • 14-16 ounce block of tofu
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons of water
  • 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1-2 tablespoons chili powder
  • Optional: dash of liquid smoke

Thia Peanut marinade:

  • 14-16 ounce block of tofu
  • ¼ cup of peanut butter
  • 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of maple syrup
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger

Instructions

  • Prep your tofu: Follow my instructions HERE for pressing tofu and cut it into your desired shapes. I like to cube mine into bite sized pieces but really anything works! Set side.
  • Make the marinade: I like to whisk together my marinade directly in the dish/ bag that I plan to marinate the tofu in. A plastic baggie, stasher bag, or really any kind of shallow resealable container works well. Add all of the ingredients (minus the tofu) and whisk until fully combined.
  • Add the tofu: add in your tofu pieces and let marinate for 30 minutes or even overnight. See notes above for freezing. Ideally this will marinate for a good few hours but even just 30 minutes makes a big difference.
  • Cook as desired and ENJOY! As desired, you can use the leftover marinade to make a sauce for your tofu (this works with all of the marinades EXCEPT the peanut marinade). Add it into a saucepan with a cornstarch slurry (2 tablespoons of water + 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch) and cook over medium heat until thickened (about 3-5 minutes). It makes for a great sauce to put on top of the tofu!

Video

Notes

Nutritional info is just for the cilantro lime marinade as it will only let you display one.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 151mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 139IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 136mg | Iron: 1mg
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