Vegan Crispy Garlic Tofu

This vegan crispy garlic tofu is the perfect quick, easy, and healthy dinner! Made with 4 simple ingredients with amazing crispy texture.

Happy Monday! I’ve got the oh so rare savory recipe for you guys today, but trust me, straying from the sweet is well worth it for vegan crispy garlic tofu.

For the longest time (over two years!), I thought I was allergic to tofu. After going vegan, Joe and I were at Whole Foods and decided to try some stuff from their prepared foods hot bar, ya know where you fill up a little container. Well I decided to try some tofu dish, along with a few other things, and had a horrible reaction for hours after – stomach swelling like crazy, horrible pain, the whole deal. So, I assumed it was the tofu since it was the only food I had never had before that I had tried at that hot bar. So, I assumed that I had the most ironic allergy ever as a vegan, and accepted that I’d never have tofu again, and honestly didn’t want to after that night. Yikes.

Well, a few months later, I had the same type of reaction again. We had prepared a recipe with liquid smoke, no tofu in sight. I had exactly the same AWFUL symptoms, which made me wonder whether it was the tofu at all. It’s highly likely for restaurants/places like that to use liquid smoke for deeper flavors in dishes, so I’m thinking that was actually the problem. I was still apprehensive to try tofu again, fearing another night of pain and suffering. Joe was relentless in encouraging that I do so because he loves it, so I finally did. I discovered two things.

1. I’m not allergic, had no symptoms whatsoever.
2. HOLY SHIT. I love tofu.

Needless to say, I’m so happy I tried it again and even happier that I’m not allergic. Tofu has so many incredible health benefits, it’s super high plant protein content, a great source of both iron and calcium, and  it’s full of vitamins and minerals.

Also, forget all the bullshit about soy that you’ve heard. It’s great for your health, and shockingly, will not make you grow man boobs. People seem to be so concerned about all the “hormones” in soy, but there’s ample research to show that they phytoestrogens in soy products like tofu and tempeh are COMPLETELY different from estrogen in humans or non-human animals. I also find it funny that people who preach that soy is unhealthy are often shoving meat in their face, which undoubtedly has been injected with hormones and tons of other horrible crap. Just saying!

Now that I’ve ranted about how amazing tofu is, let’s talk about this vegan crispy garlic tofu! There are approximately a million ways to prepare tofu. It’s such a great blank canvas, another reason I’m so excited to start incorporating it into my diet. I started off with this baked version, and fell in love with the texture.

Ingredients for vegan crispy garlic tofu

• Firm tofu: firm tofu has great dense texture and absorbs all the savory, garlic flavor going on.
• Nutritional yeast: nutritional yeast gives a savory, cheesy flavor to the tofu.
• Garlic powder: of course we need garlic, and I use garlic powder to keep things super simple but flavorful.
• Liquid aminos: liquid aminos helps the seasonings stick to the tofu and gives great salty flavor.

Tips for making vegan crispy garlic tofu

• Serve with whatever sides you like. This tofu is super versatile, I love serving it with broccoli, quinoa, green onions and chili sauce on top.

This vegan crispy garlic tofu is a must for your dinner menu! It’s so easy, and the texture comes out super crisp on the outside but still with some chew in the middle. Unlike any texture I’ve had, and it was SO satisfying. We make this multiple nights a week for dinner now, and no end is in sight.

Xo,

Sara