Baked Crispy Peanut Tofu

One of my favorite recipes on this website! I have made this many times now, and will definitely keep making it! Great with some rice, broccoli, edamame beans, and roasted cashews.

Hi Dana,
I just made this recipe and it was wonderful. Thanks for sharing your recipes.

The only way I’ve ever really liked tofu. Thank you for this recipe! Even my BF who hates tofu loves this. He even requests it!

I would make this again, but either let the tofu crisp up in the oven longer, or use less sauce. I thought the tofu pieces were sufficiently crispy when I took them out of the oven, but once I put them in the sauce they got a lot softer and lost a lot of the crisp. Otherwise, the flavor was really great though!

Delicious! My husband and I say that it’s a keeper. My only issue is the high sodium content. I’m aware that the tamari and chili sauce are culprits. Any ideas on how to cut the sodium?

This did not turn out for me at all. The sauce was too thick and it coated it all in a slimy peanut butter.

Cannot stop making this– so gah dang good! I did not use tamari and baked the tofu slightly longer to really get a crispy shell. Otherwise, I followed the recipe as described. Make it tonight!

This is marvelous, a definite do-over. We had it on salad tonight, and i already can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!

This is delicious! And that sauce is amazing! I actually cut the tofu into strips and used them in rice paper rolls and used the sauces for dipping. It was just delicious! Better than buying them!

This was delicious! I made it last night and ate it on some whole wheat pita and lettuce. I used Skippy PB but I might want to try it with natural PB to see the difference. Definitely a keeper!

Absolutely love this recipe! I recently made it with jasmine rice and roasted broccoli, but also pairs well with the noodle free pad Thai. Also, it freezes well! Thank you :)

This is the literal best thing in the world. I want to eat it every day, thank you for this recipe, it’s so easy! Just takes time but is so worth it.

This was so good! I added some diced garlic, ginger, and bell pepper to the pan to be stir fried with the tofu at the end which was delicious. For some reason I can never actually get my tofu CRISPY no matter how much cornstarch I use or how long I bake it, but it still tasted great.

I absolutely adore this recipe! I’m a vegetarian teen and I’m always looking for new recipes to make (and new ways to cook tofu). I used soy sauce instead of tamari. The tofu gets wonderfully crispy and I love the flavor the sauce brings to the dish. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Loved this recipe! It’s great for a few days to take to work over rice and some stir fried vegetables! I add a side of kimchi as well to keep things spicy. Simple to make!

Absolutely delicious! My first time attempting tofu other than in a basic stir fry.
I love and enjoy making your recipes and this was very easy to make.

My brother was thrilled with the flavor. He asked for the recipe and that’s a First!

Definitely making this again and again.

Thank you so much for being my Go To for delicious recipes!

Ohhhhhh my god this recipe is the tastiest f***ing thing! Best way I’ve ever prepared tofu in my entire life, and easy to do, too. I’ll be making this many times again and sharing it with all my vege friends ? (already did share to a handful, and reposted the IG post to my story @jessthaiyoga)
The homemade peanut sauce is addictively good!!! I think I’ll try a similar recipe for coating other things and baking them!

(I followed recipe completely but did use coconut aminos where indicated)

I loved this and will make it again. I used Soy sauce as am not GF and it worked just as well, and some gochujang sauce instead of chilli garlic sauce as it was all I had and figured the ingredients were close enough. So mine probably didn’t taste exactly as you intended but was still good.
I also am going to re use the method of cooking the tofu with other marinades, as the baking with the starchy coating gave it the perfect texture and I can see it working in lots of ways.
Thank you for this recipe, am looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow!

Probably one of my absolute favorite recipes on this site. I’ve never been able to make tofu which such a good flavor, until I made these. They also truly go with everything, I’ve made salads with this is a topper and also have served it with a side a rice, and it always tastes amazing.

Great recipe, I’ve used it also for tempeh (did not bake it though), it was very nice! I made a lot and brought it to work the next day, still lovely!

I followed the recipe exactly except for using almond butter instead of peanut butter- but as soon as I added the sauce, it immediately clumped up and the tofu lost any crispyness. Still tasted okay, but not the holy grail of peanut tofu I was hoping for.

I made this for dinner last night and it is amazing. Super easy to make and my husband loved it, he even took the leftovers for lunch today. Will be making this again for sure!

So I’m giving this a 5 because the flavor was great! I made a mistake somewhere though and I think it was the substitution of using arrowroot Or not using parchment paper. Instead of being crispy, the tofu coating was sticky. Other than that, it tasted really good!

This is delicious! I made this as part of my lunch meal prep. I’m not gf so I used soy sauce and I only had crunchy peanut butter. But I followed the same instructions and methods. The recipe was simple to follow and filled with flavor. A keeper.

Forgot to rate this on my last comment. Loved this recipe and will definitely make again. My husband is not a huge fan of tofu, but had seconds!

Loved this recipe! My husband, who is not a huge fan of tofu loved it as much as I did. Will definitely be making this again.

Easy to make and delicious! Thank you :)

Well this has changed my life, it might be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I have to admit I am a lover of tofu and addicted to peanut butter so really it was bound to be the recipe of my dreams but it is unreal.

We LOVED this recipe. The texture and taste was perfect. We paired it with some veggies and noodles and ate it like candy.

This was delicious! Loved the flavors even if we weren’t able to get the cubes very crispy!

So, so good! Made this and paired so well with rice and roasted veggies! Perfect sweet-spicy ratio with the tofu and the texture after baking and pan-frying is great <3 definitely something to make again and again!

This is THE best tofu recipe I’ve ever made. The peanut sauce is to die for!! I topped a big salad with this tofu and it was great – can’t wait to try it in curries/noodle dishes!

This recipe is amazing!!! I was getting so so sick of tofu, and I could not stop eating this tofu once I made it! The cornstarch really make a huge difference as it makes it taste like it’s almost fried. I had to hide the leftovers from my meat eating partner afterwards as it was so delicious that he would have devoured it all!

AMAZING!!! I make tofu a lot and this was the crispiest, most delicious version yet. The sauce is incredibly tasty, and the tofu was perfect. I used arrowroot starch and it worked just fine. Thanks for such a delicious way to make tofu!! I send this to my friends who say they don’t like tofu – just wait, this recipe might change your mind :)

Wow, this was SO good! I’ve been vegan for over a year now and have always been intimidated by/not really enjoyed tofu, but this recipe was a different story. Even my non-vegan husband who has never eaten tofu in his life liked it. :) Plus it was so easy to throw together. Thanks for the recipe!

SO GOOD. This will be a staple recipe from now on. Made the tofu in the air fryer instead of the oven. Less than 10 minutes on about 350 with a couple of shakes during the “frying.” It was delicious served over Pad Thai noodles and broccoli. Ate the leftovers cold for lunch the next day. Like someone below mentioned, even though it’s not crispy anymore, still loved it.

I love a spicy peanut sauce, and I basically cried with happiness when I tried this. The right amount of heat, the perfect balance of peanut flavor, and the tofu was perfect. I added this to the noodle free pad thai for lunches this week. Obviously the tofu didn’t retain all of the crunch after sitting in the fridge, but this flavor is amazing!

I loved this recipe, so easy and tasty. I didn’t have any chilli garlic sauce so added 1 tsp chilli flakes instead and added 2-3 Tbsp of water to the peanut sauce so it didn’t become too dry. I noticed when heating the sauce, it quickly thickened. Next time I will reduce the cooking time in the oven so the tofu is still soft in the center.

Devine! Have made this twice and will be making it again soon!

De-LISH! Love this recipe. The sauce is genius. I had a yum yum salad with avocado lime dressing to go with it.

Thanks so much for the awesome recipe! I’ll be making this one again.

Aw. Was going to post a picture …

Just saw your recipe for golden milk. I’m totally doing that tomorrow morning. Thanks again!!

This was so good!! I added it to red curry, coconut cauliflower rice and it was delish!!!

Made this twice in 1 week, oops but it is so good!

This was a great way to make tofu. Loved the technique. It was so flavorful and crispy. The only thing I did not do was to use a hot skillet at the end (less things to clean), I just put the sauce on the tofu and baked for a few more minutes. Thank you for a keeper!

I just finished making this. It came out pretty good but I found it was quite salty. Also, the sauce in the hot pan just stuck to the bottom so it required constant turning so it wouldn’t burn. The spice level was perfect. I served it with roasted broccoli and brown rice. I will definitely make this again, perhaps tweaking a bit here and there.

This recipe is INCREDIBLE. I paired this with the mango salad recipe with the same dressing and added some warm, brown rice and it was literally the best thing we’ve tasted in a long, long time.

This recipe was so delicious! While it is amazing fresh out of the pan, the texture and flavor are equally good when it’s cold, right out of the fridge. So yum!

I made this last night and it was delicious! I used honey instead of maple syrup. Thank you very much :)

This is my new favorite way to make tofu. It was crispy, yet not dried out in the middle. Who knew baked tofu could be so good.

I followed the recipe as written with the exception of upping the chili garlic sauce.
Thank you!!

Made it with arrowroot as I had it. It turned out perfect.

This was great. I especially loved the marinade at the beginning. I’m not crazy about Peanut Butter in dishes like this so I might cut back if I make it again, but it’s certainly not overpowering – my boyfriend said he didn’t even notice there was peanut butter in it. :-) Also, I used Sweet Chili Sauce instead of Chili Garlic Sauce (only because I was confused about which ingredients I had at home).

This recipe is so good that even my tofu-hating boyfriend loves it. We made it three nights in a row until we ran out of tofu. The first time I made the recipe almost exactly as is — only subbed brown sugar for syrup because we were out, and used soy sauce instead of tamari. My favorite decision the second time was to use crunchy peanut butter. The crunchy peanut bits added a ton of texture and are a great addition to the dish. I also used a little extra peanut butter to make it extra creamy. One batch of this fed me and my boyfriend for one meal; if you had more veggies and rice with it (and didn’t love it so much you couldn’t stop eating!) it might last longer.

Oh, and you don’t need to get another pan dirty to mix the tofu and sauce! The second and third times I made this I just microwaved the peanut sauce for less than thirty seconds before mixing it in and I didn’t notice any difference.

I made the recipe as written and it turned out great! Baking the cornstarch-coated tofu then tossing it in a sauce worked out nicely.
I was trying to come up with something to make for dinner that didn’t require a trip to the grocery store, so I served the tofu with noodles (half a bag of linguine), carrots, frozen peas, and a peanut butter and coconut milk-based sauce. It wasn’t fancy, but it worked.

My whole family enjoyed this tofu. It was crisp, full of flavour and went so well with the Happy Pear curry that I also made. I only wish there had been some leftovers for my lunch the next day. Thank you

I used my air fryer at 400 degrees to bake the tossed tofu for 8 min. Also didn’t have Maple syrup so used pancake syrup and it was still delicious. Definitely will make this regularly!

My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe. Super duper flavorful. I didn’t have chili garlic “sauce” so I used chili garlic “paste” and cut the measurement in half because I was afraid it would be too spicy. I didn’t have a lime so used a lemon and I thought it was still really good. The sauce came out pretty thick, and I didn’t want to dirty another pan, so I skipped the last step and we just poured the sauce over our rice and tofu. Thank you for another delicious keeper!

This was soooo delicious, and super easy to make! I made zero changes or adjustments to the recipe and it came out perfect as written. Even my partner, who is not a fan of tofu, enjoyed it. This one will definitely be in regular rotation in my house.

Mine did not turn out crispy but it was so good! Perfect blend of sweet and spicy

Hi, everyone! I really enjoy being on Minimalist Baker’s email list. I tried a few of the recipes and really like them. This was absolutely delicious! I have never baked tofu before but hated the mess with frying. Plus, frying is not as healthy.
My experience was that I wished I had more Peanut Sauce!
The sauce (which is spicy and fabulous!) got really thick from the corn starch on the tofu so I added water which thinned it out and took some of the crispness away from the tofu. So, next time I will make double the peanut sauce.
I made everything earlier in the day except combining the Tofu and Peanut Sauce.
When my rice and Pad Thai Noodles were almost done, I reheated the tofu in a little oil and added the peanut sauce once it crisped up again.

We are in love with this recipe! I have never been able to get my tofu so crispy before. And the sauce is perfect! I usually stir fry some veggies and serve with some rice. Thank you for this awesome dish!

Sooo good and easy! My whole family (vegan and non) loved it! No changes to this great recipe!

This was incredible!!! Ive been looking for a peanut based recipe to have so I order out less and this is outstanding! Highly recommended!

I’ve never made one of your recipes before, but if they’re all as delicious as this one, I’ll make ’em all. I might’ve added more chili garlic sauce than recommended (I kind of lost control of the jar…), but that was fine by me. Thanks for a great vegan dinner!

Fantastic! This will definitely be a recipe I come back to again and again. Even my carnivore husband loved it. I put the tofu and peanut sauce on top of a veggie soba stir fry. Delicious.

Disappointed. My tofu tastes like corn starch. The sauce has an unpleasant after taste. A lot of time and ingredients to not want to eat it. I dont want to try to doctor it up and still not like so we will just say this one is not for me

This recipe didn’t work for me. I followed all the instructions and the tofu did not turn out crispy. It still tasted good, but I think I’ll stick to this recipe instead: https://minimalistbaker.com/crispy-peanut-tofu-cauliflower-rice-stir-fry.

This is amazing! All previous recipe I tried, the tofu was either to smushy, not tasty or not crispy. This is what I was looking for all along. The tofu is super crispy and the peanut sauce is delicious. You can change the ratio of ingredients in the sauce to change the taste a little bit, if you want more a thick peanut butter sauce or taste the lime more.
And pressing the tofu changes everything. Do not skip that part.

The best crispy tofu recipe without frying! This is definetly a staple in our household and it never disappoints.
Thank you xox

I substituted peanut butter (someone left a near empty jar in the pantry) for almond butter and it tasted amazing!

Dana, as usual, you hit it out of the park. Made it for lunch and added it to left over rice from another recipe #youdabomb Thank you!

This is so good! I made it for dinner along with the Tom Yum soup. I had leftovers (cold) for breakfast the next day, and it was just as good. (Sounds strange, but I woke up craving it, and it was a perfect breakfast food for me.) I’m already craving it again.

Delicious,- as good as Thai restaurant food and so much healthier!!
Easy and relatively quick to make-
I read the recipe on my phone earoute home from work Friday, stopped in my local Whole foods for the garlic chili sauce and made the tofu, for supper.
Did not have rice syrup so I substituted a blend of agave and date syrup.
Used Ramen noodle.
I used a brand of tofu which comes already pressed.
Recipe works beautifully.. This is a keeper; I have printed and stuck into my copy of the Minimalist Baker cook book .

made this for dinner tonight. mixed with brown rice, broccoli and shredded kale. I didn’t realize I was out of garlic chili sauce, so I replaced with vegan red curry paste.
OMG sooooo good!! I’m so happy I made this, the tofu is browned and crispy and the sauce is delish.
Thanks for the great recipe!

Such an easy and delicious recipe! Made it this morning with some left over tofu. I used sriracha instead of chili garlic sauce and added a bit of garlic powder. The tofu didn’t turn out crispy but the flavour was perfect!

Had everything thing in the house (but the lime, sadly) and has this for dinner two nights in a row!! Both nights I used the left over marinade as a stir fry sauce for broccoli on the side. Second night I halved the maple syrup in the sauce – l liked it less sweet. Anyway, VERY EASY and YUMMY. I will definitely be making just the marinated crispy tofu (OMG!!) again lots for other recipes :)

So freaking good! Made this last night and used the sauce to season some stir fry veggies and then tossed the crispy tofu in. The sauce makes a good amount, and when you heat it up and it is really generous. Absolutely delicious. I didn’t make any recipe adjustments except that I didn’t have lime juice, which may have brightened the flavor a bit, but it was scrumptious without it. Didn’t even miss it. There are zero leftovers. Thanks, Dana!

This was easy, full of flavour and quite quick to whip up. I like more chilli so I’ll add fresh chilli when I add it to my dish. I used organice brown rice syrup which was plenty sweet enough. Thanks for the recipe!

So tasty and easy to make!
Changes I made: I didn’t use a plastic bag, but instead a bowl and tossed half the tofu at a time with the cornstarch. It did not take much cornstarch at all. I also used a silpat instead of Parchment.
It turned out perfectly!

Delicious! Made it for dinner, we loved it. Used arrowroot instead of cornstarch because that’s what I had and it was good- maybe a little chewier than if it had been cornstarch but still very delicious! Also subbed sriracha for the chili garlic sauce.

Great recipe!! So easy and tasty. Will be sharing this one with family looking for how to make an easy tofu dish.

This was amazing! Perfect combination of sweet and savory. My partner and I both independently decided that this was what we’d make for dinner yesterday and what a great decision. This will definitely be in the regular rotation.

I just want to say that I really appreciate your comment/rating guidance. So often, I see a recipe with great ratings where there isn’t a single comment from someone who actually made it.

Love your stuff!

This was so delicious! I didn’t have enough maple syrup for the sauce, only 1 tablespoon so I used about 2 tbsp coconut sugar. I used liquid aminos instead of soy sauce and almond butter. My husband and I love this dish! I served with Jasmine rice and broccoli.

Delicious! Mine wasn’t very crispy, but it was very tasty. I reduced the chili garlic by ⅓ because your recipes are kinda spicy for me generally. Made it with stir fried bell peppers and carrots over brown rice, I also made my tofu in the air fryer instead of the oven,