Tired of bland and tasteless tofu? With our top tips on how to make marinated tofu and 26 tofu marinade recipes, you’ll become a marinating tofu expert in no time!
Tofu is often unfairly thought of as being bland and tasteless, but that’s certainly not the case when you get to grips with how to marinate tofu.
In this article
In this guide to marinading tofu, you will learn:
- How to prepare marinated tofu
- How long to marinate tofu
- How to make tofu marinades
- How to make tofu taste like meat
- Tips for marinating tofu
- Tofu marinade recipes
How to prepare marinated tofu
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to creating a good marinade for your tofu recipes, but there are some general guidelines that are helpful to follow.
It should be a liquid and a marinade is essentially made up of ingredients taken from 4 different categories.
- Before you marinade, press your tofu according to this guide on how to press tofu guideline. If you don’t own a tofu press: drain the tofu for at least 15 minutes, then wrap the tofu in a kitchen towel and place it on a hard, flat surface like a chopping board. Place another chopping board on top of the tofu, and balance something heavy, like a cast iron pan, on top to press the block of tofu. Leave for 15 minutes.
- When pressed, cut the block into cubes (good for stir-fries and salads) or strips, about ½ cm thick.
- Mix the ingredients for your marinade together in a sealable container and add tofu pieces, making sure they are fully covered by the liquid. Leave in the fridge and return to the marinating tofu at least once to shake the container.
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How long should your tofu marinate?
As a general rule, the longer the better when it comes to marinating tofu.
Ideally, you want to leave your marinated tofu anywhere from a few hours to overnight, but if you only have half an hour that’s still better than no time at all.
How to make tofu marinades
When it comes to marinating tofu, you can play around with the ingredients to find your perfect blend of flavours.
However, choosing at least one from each group below gives a perfect balance of flavours for your marinated tofu.
Adjust your choices to cater for your own taste preferences, or those of your guests, the region around the world your dish originates from, or at times (if you are anything like us) simply whatever you can find in the cupboard!
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How to make tofu taste like meat
Using the right combination of ingredients for your marinade, you can make tofu taste just like meat… but even more delicious!
Try these meaty tofu marinades today – you’ll never look at tofu the same way again!
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Tips on how to marinate tofu
You are now ready to start cooking, you can cook the marinated tofu any way you like; bake, grill, barbeque, shallow or deep fry or griddle.
If you are baking, think 180 deg C. for 35 minutes, turning halfway through. You can also add the tofu marinade to the dish you’re cooking to act as a sauce; the tofu will continue to absorb flavour as it cooks.
If you are barbecuing or grilling, brush your tofu with the extra marinade as it cooks to increase the flavour.
Avoid adding salt directly to your marinade, use tamari or soy sauce, capers, miso or olives, as an alternative way to provide the salty taste as regular salt can quickly overwhelm your marinade and extract moisture from the tofu rather than introduce flavour.
If you have any tofu marinade left, the good news is, as all the ingredients above are plant-based, you can re-use it for another few days so you are covered for tomorrow’s kebabs, and the next day’s roasted veg (just keep it in the fridge). Hooray.
Tofu marinade recipes
There are no exact quantities here, play around with them starting with 1 tbsp for liquids and 1 tsp for powders and increase from there. Add a little water if you need more liquid but not too much as this will dilute the intensity.
| Type | Ingredients |
|---|---|
| Asian | Mirin, brown rice vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, lemon juice, garlic granules, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, agave nectar |
| BBQ | Tamari, maple syrup, liquid smoke (a dash, it’s very strong), onion powder, garlic powder, sumac, smoked paprika, ground black pepper |
| Canadian | Chipotle smoked hot pepper sauce, a dash of Bourbon, maple syrup, smoked paprika |
| ‘Chicken’ | Red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, hot chilli powder, olive oil |
| Ethiopian | Olive oil, ground cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, chilli, cloves, all spice, fenugreek, cayenne pepper, ginger, dried apricot |
| ‘Fish’ | Soya milk, kelp flakes, lemon juice, crushed garlic, black pepper |
| French | White wine vinegar, olive oil, white wine, Dijon mustard, crushed garlic, black pepper, fresh or dried thyme |
| Greek | Natural soya yoghurt, chopped spring onion, minced garlic, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, fresh oregano |
| Indian | Warm water, ground coriander, turmeric, ground cumin, ginger, all spice, cinnamon, celery salt, chilli powder |
| Italian | Olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, oregano, fresh or dried Italian herbs, nutritional yeast, balsamic vinegar, pepper |
| Malagasy | Natural yoghurt, tomato ketchup, lemon juice, finely chopped green chillies, dried parsley, mild curry powder, ground cumin |
| Mediterranean | Balsamic vinegar, red wine, shallots, dried rosemary, dried thyme, olive oil, minced garlic, pepper |
| Mexican | Chipotle sauce, lime juice, tomato purée, garlic powder, onion powder, chilli powder, cayenne pepper |
| North African | Olive oil, lemon juice, cumin seeds, sweet paprika, fresh coriander, fresh parsley, cayenne pepper |
| Polish | Groundnut oil, juniper berries, black pepper, crushed garlic, onion powder, sweet paprika, brown sugar, oregano, thyme, marjoram, mint, mustard seeds |
| ‘Pork’ | White wine, lime juice, tamari, apple cider vinegar, crushed garlic, agave nectar |
| ‘Sausage’ | Rapeseed oil, onion powder, nutritional yeast, celery salt, ground coriander, ground black pepper |
| Scandinavian | Lemon juice, mustard seeds, dill, dried parsley, chives, agave nectar |
| Spanish | Hot chilli sauce, olive oil, tomato ketchup, crushed garlic, pinch of saffron, dried oregano, cayenne pepper |
| ‘Steak’ | Veg stock diluted in hot water, vegan Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, dried basil, dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, ground white pepper |
| Tandoori | Natural soya yoghurt, lemon juice, minced garlic, freshly grated ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, black pepper |
| Teriyaki | Soy sauce, molasses, or Hoisin plum sauce, lemon juice, crushed garlic, grated ginger, 5 spice powder |
| Thai | Coconut milk, tamari, kelp flakes, sugar, lime juice, crushed garlic, freshly grated ginger, crushed lemon grass |
| Tropical | Pineapple juice, rice vinegar, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, maple syrup |
| Turkish | Tomato paste, hot pepper sauce, water, chopped onions, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, crushed garlic |
| Zesty Orange | Orange juice, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, minced garlic, freshly grated ginger |
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Featured photo © Arx0nt via Getty Images
