Crispy Baked Tofu

Seriously the best crispy baked tofu recipe, it tastes like the most delicious roasted Italian sausage bits you will want to make forever and a day. Bonus point for NO PRESSING the TOFU and done in 30 minutes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword baked tofu, crispy tofu, roasted tofu

Servings people

Calories 155kcal

Author Florentina

Ingredients

14 oz block extra firm tofu
2 Tbsp Shoyu or Tamari
2 Tbsp olive oil + more for drizzling
2.5 tsp granulated onion
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1.5 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp oregano
1 rosemary sprig (chopped leaves only or a pinch of dry rosemary)
2 tsp maple syrup
1 pinch red pepper flakes
black pepper to taste freshly cracked
1 pinch flaky salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400”F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Drain the tofu block (Do Not Press). Have a large mixing bowl ready and break up the tofu block with your hands into bite size pieces 1/2 inch or so. Toss with the shoyu and olive oil then sprinkle in the spices and toss to coat well. (The tofu will break off some smaller pieces which is perfectly great as they will get crispier and make a great contrast of meaty + crispy with the larger pieces).
Transfer the seasoned tofu to the baking sheet and drizzle with an extra drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt and bake for 20 minutes. Give everything a good shake or stir and continue baking another 10 minutes or until you reach desired crispness and chewiness of the tofu bits and a gorgeous roasted golden brown color is achieved. Garnish with fresh herbs like Italian parsley, basil or onion chives and serve with your favorite creamy pasta, on pizza, in lasagna etc…

Video

Notes

Fennel Seeds - It's where the authentic "Italian sausage" flavor comes from, they get nice and toasty in the process with a mildly sweet anise flavor profile. DO NOT OMIT! This is your star spice in this recipe!
Extra Firm Tofu - It's important to choose an extra firm block of tofu packed in water that you will only drain but DO NOT PRESS. All the trapped moisture is going to evaporate in the oven creating steam and helping the edges get crispy while the center stays tender without drying out.
Using Super Firm Tofu - this high protein tofu comes vacuum sealed usually without any liquid and it's also a good option for this recipe, however you might want to cut back on the cooking time by a few minutes as this one contains less moisture and has a tendency to get chewier quicker.
Tear the Tofu - Tearing the tofu into bite size pieces will yield an irregular texture that traps lots of flavor and gets crispy all around with some small bits falling off and getting darker and crunchy like bacon bits. It's a beautiful contrast between meatier pieces and the little crispy bits.

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