Baked Barbecue Panko Tofu

Forbidden Rice Blog | Baked Barbecue Panko Tofu

I grew up with tofu around. Little cubes of white bean curd, topped with soy sauce, ginger, and green onion. Pockets of deep fried tofu (aburaage) filled with sweet sushi rice. Stir-fried pork tofu – a dish my mom would make that I don’t remember much about except salty pork laden with soy sauce and the same fried tofu as inari sushi (which I’d hunt out at dinner time – less pork, more sweet fried tofu!).

Tofu is low in calories, relatively high in protein, low in fat and high in iron. Quintessentially, it’s a dang good option for my family. I try to balance the soy with other vegetarian options week-by-week, including whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruit, or wheat based plant protein. Honestly though, tofu is one of my favorite options for versatility in non-meat dishes.

The following recipe started off with a plan to make baked tofu chicken nuggets, which I love to dip into barbecue sauce when eating. Then my husband stated he was craving barbecue tofu (no breading), which I am not crazy about. I wondered how I could combine both, a crispy baked tofu and the barbecue flavor saturated into the tofu rather than just as a dipping sauce. That’s where this experiment came from and the result was quite gratifying. I love crispy tofu and often resort to frying it to get a golden color and super crunchy texture. This baked tofu had a lovely color to it, though, and got wonderfully crunchy and flavorful.

I served this tofu alongside mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. It made a great sandwich for lunch the following day as well!

Baked Barbecue Panko Tofu

Yields enough tofu for 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:
1 cup ketchup
½ cup water
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp. light brown sugar
¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. granulated garlic
½ tsp. fresh lemon juice
1½ tsp. yellow mustard
1½ tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. red chili pepper flakes

20 oz. super firm high protein tofu
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. granulated garlic
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. ground white pepper
½ tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried thyme
canola or sunflower oil

Directions:

Slice the tofu horizontally, into rectangular pieces about ¼-inch thick. Arrange the slices of tofu in a single layer on a clean dishtowel or a few layers of paper towel, then add another towel or paper towels on top, to absorb more of the water out of the tofu. Let the tofu sit 45 minutes to 1 hour.

While the tofu is hanging out, get out a small pot. In it, combine all of the ingredients for the barbecue sauce. Whisk together, to combine everything well. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, allowing the sauce to cook for about 20 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Lightly brush a large baking sheet with the canola or sunflower oil. In a baking dish, combine the panko bread crumbs, granulated garlic, sea salt, white pepper, paprika, oregano, and thyme. Lightly toss to combine everything well.

Dip the tofu slices into the barbecue sauce, turning them a couple times to coat the tofu well. Now dip the tofu into the panko mixture, pressing firmly, but also gently so you don’t break the tofu. Turn and coat the other side with bread crumbs, too. Place the tofu on your prepared baking sheet. Continue to do this until all the tofu is sauced and breaded!

Lightly drizzle a little oil over the top of each breaded tofu slice. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the tofu over. Return to the oven and bake an additional 15 minutes. Brush the top of each slice with some of the leftover barbeque sauce. Bake for about 10 more minutes, flip and do the same thing for the other side.

Serve hot. You can drizzle on more of the barbeque sauce when serving as well if you’d like!

About Julie Hashimoto-McCreery

28 year old food blogger and writer.
This entry was posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Meatless Meat, Sauces, Vegetarian and tagged , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

23 Responses to Baked Barbecue Panko Tofu

  1. Pingback: Quinoa Crusted Tofu Nuggets (Tofu "Chicken" Nuggets!) - The Cookie Writer

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  3. RR says:

    Best. Tofu. Recipe. Period.

    Thank you!!

  4. I cannot believe I did not comment sooner! This is amazing! And replacing the bread crumbs with quinoa created a nice, gluten-free alternative!

  5. peraudacia says:

    I couldn’t get mine as thoroughly coated as yours look but it didn’t seem to matter much– it was so good! Thanks for the recipe :D

  6. Pingback: 25 tofu recipes you'll love

  7. sillbee says:

    how many degrees is the oven?

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  9. marie says:

    I just have to say again that this is my FAV tofu recipe, make it regularly, about twice a month. Thanks for sharing!

  10. Pingback: Day to Day Life: Week Sixteen |

  11. Amanda Swinkels says:

    This is an incredible recipe!!! I just made it for dinner and my “anti-tofu” 3 year old enjoyed a couple pieces-and my 1 year old enjoyed her fair share…I only used 1/2 tsp of the chili flakes and it was plenty spicy with that! Love love loved this and it will frequent our menu often!!!

    • Julie Hashimoto-McCreery says:

      Amanda,
      I am so happy to hear it went over well with your little ones! It was certainly a gateway for me to get my younger son to enjoy tofu as well. Thanks for the feedback and I am excited to hear you’ll be making it again! :)

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  14. Marie says:

    just had to say again how much I love this recipe – make it almost weekly!

  15. Pingback: Panko Crusted Tofu | Pinch of Healthy

  16. Marie says:

    Oh. My. Word. This tofu is FANTASTIC! Hands down the BEST tofu I have ever eaten – yuuuuummm!!! Even my 4 and 2 year old scarfed it down! Well done Julie! Pinning and passing this recipe along to friends!

  17. noragozzo says:

    Trying this tonight! Very excited =)

  18. dhbg says:

    Yum! This looks terrific! Definitely going to try it for dinner this week.

  19. Pingback: Baked Barbecue Panko Tofu « Forbidden Rice Blog | Mr. Barbeque

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