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Quick and easy Stir-Fried Veggies With Tofu is loaded with flavor, plant-based protein, and easy to customize with your favorite vegetables. Perfect for busy weeknights!
Why You’ll Love Stir-Fried Veggies with Tofu
The next time you’re looking for an inexpensive, versatile, nutritious meal made with minimal effort and time, try a simple stir fry like teriyaki tofu stir-fry, garlic broccoli stir-fry, or these stir-fried veggies with tofu. It’s quick, filling, and perfect when you want something delicious and healthy on your table without spending hours cooking.
In this 30-minute, one-pan tofu vegetable stir-fry recipe, tofu is pan-fried until lightly crispy and combined with snappy snow peas and tender mushrooms in a simple yet flavorful salty, sweet, tangy, slightly spicy stir-fry sauce for a delightful blend of flavor and texture. It’s also SUPER flexible—tweak the sauce, swap tofu for tempeh, and/or use it to clear your fridge of leftover veggies. It’s make-ahead friendly, too!
Looking for more tasty ways to enjoy tofu? Try sticky sesame tofu, General Tso’s tofu, or easy tofu adobo.
Ingredient Notes
Please refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and substitutes.
Recipe Variations and Add-Ins
- Sesame: For extra sesame flavor, add a teaspoon of sesame oil to the sauce.
- Ginger: A small amount of minced/powdered ginger adds zingy depth.
- Water chestnuts: For extra crisp texture. Found in the international section of grocery stores.
- Other vegetables: Use whatever you have to hand, including bell peppers, mini corn, broccoli/broccolini, bok choy, carrot, cabbage, bean sprouts, edamame, zucchini/yellow squash, spinach, etc., for different colors, textures, and flavors.
- Nuts: For crunch, garnish the stir-fried tofu vegetables with cashews, peanuts, or almonds.
- Green onion: Sprinkled over as a fresh, aromatic garnish.
How to Make Tofu Vegetable Stir Fry
Step 1: If you haven’t already, drain, press, and cube the tofu. Also, thinly slice the shallot and garlic, and slice the mushrooms. Then, combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl (both kinds of vinegar, sweetener, red pepper flakes, and cornstarch), and whisk.
Step 2: Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet/wok over medium-high heat. Once hot, cook the tofu on all sides until golden brown and crispy. Remove it and set aside.
Step 3: Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining oil, and sauté the shallots and garlic for a minute. Add the snow peas, mushrooms, and sesame seeds, and stir-fry until the peas turn vibrant green and tender-crisp.
Step 4: Add the tofu back to the pan along with the sauce and stir-fry until it thickens, stirring constantly. Then serve the stir-fried tofu vegetables—enjoy!
FAQs
Stir the sauce well first, as the starch settles at the bottom of the bowl.
Sure – frozen and thawed tofu is chewier, more tender, and absorbs more sauce.
Thin it with vinegar, soy sauce, or water/veg broth. To thicken it, increase heat to activate the starch or add more starch (in a slurry to avoid lumps).
For extra-firm and firm tofu, pressing helps it become crispier and absorb more sauce.
To press tofu, drain it, wrap it in a kitchen towel with something heavy on top, like a heavy book over a cast-iron skillet/ chopping board for 30 minutes. You can also reference this guide to pressing tofu for more tips!
If you use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
Pro Recipe Tips
- For the crispiest tofu: Leave it to sear untouched on each side before flipping. For extra crispness, toss it in a little cornstarch first.
- Chop veggies evenly: So they cook evenly. Depending on what veggies you use, add them incrementally (i.e., harder veggies like broccoli and carrot take longer than softer veggies).
- Adjust taste: Tweak the ingredients to make the sauce sweeter, tangier, saltier, spicier, etc.
- Adjust the texture: Cook the veggies for less/more time to your preferred texture (crunchy, tender-crisp, or more tender). For the most tender veg, add a splash of liquid and cook with a lid.
Serving Suggestions
- Grains: Serve this vegan tofu stir-fry over a bed of rice (like basmati rice or jasmine rice), vegetable fried rice, quinoa (check out this guide to quinoa), or cauliflower rice.
- Noodles: Serve them in or under the garlic sesame tofu stir-fry.
- Simple sides: Like spring rolls, tofu veg crispy wontons, dumplings, miso soup, etc.
- Salad: Like spicy cucumber salad or an Asian-inspired slaw.
Storage Instructions
Fridge: Allow the stir-fried veggies with tofu to cool, and store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freezer: While you can freeze the tofu stir-fry with vegetables for up to 3 months, the tofu becomes spongier and the veggies soften. Then thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: Heat the stir-fry in a microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through. The tofu and vegetables will soften over time, but they’re still delicious.
Stir-Fried Veggies With Tofu
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sherry or red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes (this provides medium heat. Adjust accordingly. chili paste or hot sauce also works)
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil divided
- 1 block of tofu pressed and cubed
- 1 shallot sliced (you can also use a small onion)
- 2 garlic cloves sliced
- ½ pound of snow peas or snap peas
- ½ cup of sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds (raw or toasted)
- Cooked rice for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Add the soy sauce, both kinds of vinegar, cornstarch, sugar, and red pepper flakes to a bowl and whisk together.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat and cook the tofu until all the sides are golden brown. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the other tablespoon of oil, and saute the shallots and garlic for about a minute. Add the snow peas, mushrooms, and sesame seeds and stir frequently until the peas turn nice and green.
- Add the tofu and sauce mixture and cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about a minute.
- Optionally serve over rice.
Notes
- For the crispiest tofu: Leave it to sear untouched on each side before flipping. For extra crispness, toss it in a little cornstarch first.
- Chop veggies evenly: So they cook evenly. Depending on what veggies you use, add them incrementally (i.e., harder veggies like broccoli and carrot take longer than softer veggies).
- Adjust taste: Tweak the ingredients to make the sauce sweeter, tangier, saltier, spicier, etc.
- Adjust the texture: Cook the veggies for less/more time to your preferred texture (crunchy, tender-crisp, or more tender). For the most tender veg, add a splash of liquid and cook with a lid.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
So simple and sooo delicious!
Loved it so much that I shared the recipe with my parents who will be cooking their second tofu dish ever. Thank you!
That’s so awesome! Hope they enjoy it!
Nice recipe thanks.
Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!
Delicious! I made this 2 weeks ago and making it again today for my boyfriend.
Thank you!
That’s so awesome! Hope he enjoys them as well!
Sounds delicious!! Can you use something other than that much sugar?
You could always add less and adjust to your liking 🙂 Enjoy!
Monkfruit sweetener (the golden or white) is all I use any more, in my coffee or cooking. It’s delicious.
Goodness me, this looks divine!!
Yes! I love everything about this recipe. The spice and the sesame flavors are perfection. I adore this stir fry!
Give me ALL the tofu!
Tofu is not my favorite, but this turned out great!
So so good! Love all things tofu!