These tofu bowls are both delicious and super easy to make! They're made with crispy baked tofu, roasted veggies, and rice, all smothered in a dreamy peanut sauce. Perfect for a weeknight dinners!
These tofu bowls are the weeknight dinner that dreams are made of. They're as easy as can be, and SO GOOD!
See, when it come to weeknight dinners, I tend to gravitate to vegan stir-fries. They tend to be simple and tasty, and my classic tofu stir-fry is an all time favorite. Stir-fries are wonderful. But have you ever had a vegan bowl?
What I love a about a good bowl is that each of the components can be super easy to prepare, and in a recipe like this, almost all of your bowl toppings get cooked in the oven, hands off. So you don't have to babysit anything, like you do with a stir-fry. While the ingredients roast, stir together your sauce and cook up some rice.
In addition to being super easy, these bowls lend themselves really well to meal prep. You can do the prep work in advance and roast everything on the day of serving, OR cook everything and reheat it later. It's up to you!
Jump to:
Ingredients You'll Need
- Tofu. Super-firm tofu is the ideal variety for this recipe, but firm or extra-firm will also work, as long as it's pressed first.
- Soy sauce. Liquid aminos or gluten-free tamari can be used it you need to keep the recipe gluten-free.
- Cornstarch.
- Ground ginger.
- Garlic powder.
- Vegetable oil. Whatever high-heat oil you normally like to use for roasting will work. Olive oil, corn oil, and canola oil are all fine options.
- Brussels sprouts.
- Sweet potato. I'm using an orange sweet potato (also known as a yam in some supermarkets), but a purple or yellow sweet potato would also work well.
- Rice. Use any variety of rice you like! I'm using basmati in the bowls shown in the photos. Not into rice? Quinoa, millet, or couscous will also work!
- Peanut butter. Go for creamy (not chunky) natural (runny) peanut butter.
- Maple syrup. Another liquid sweetener such as agave nectar or coconut nectar could be used if preferred.
- Sriracha sauce. Make sure the sriracha sauce you're using is vegan, as not all brands are. I'm using Kitchen Garden brand sriracha. You can also skip this ingredient if you're not into heat.
- Rice vinegar.
- Toasted sesame oil.
- Salt & pepper.
- Avocado.
- Chopped scallions. Also known as green onions.
- Toasted sesame seeds. Chopped peanuts or cashews could be used as alternatives to sesame seeds.
Tip: If you're not a fan of Brussels sprouts and/or sweet potatoes, simply swap them out with your favorite roasting veggies. Broccoli, carrots, butternut squash, bell peppers, and cauliflower would all work well!
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Dice your tofu and place it in a bowl with soy sauce, cornstarch, ginger, garlic and oil. Gently stir to coat the tofu in the other ingredients. You can even dig in with your hands if that's easier.
Arrange the tofu cubes in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Place halved Brussels sprouts and diced sweet potato on a second baking sheet, and rub them lightly with oil.
Pop both baking sheets into the oven at the same time. The ingredients should take about the same amount of time to roast, but keep an eye on everything just in case.
While the veggies and tofu bake, cook the rice according to the package directions and whip up the peanut sauce by stirring together peanut butter, soy sauce, maple syrup, sriracha sauce, rice vinegar, and toasted sesame oil. Thin the mixture with water.
Tip: If you're a fan of my vegan peanut sauce recipe, feel free to use it for these bowls. It's a bit richer than the sauce that's part of this recipe, because it uses coconut milk in place of water to thin the sauce.
The tofu is finished baking when the pieces are browned and crispy.
The veggies are ready when the sweet potato is soft and the Brussels sprouts are darkened and crispy in spots.
Divide the cooked rice among four bowls, then top the rice with the tofu and roasted veggies, giving them a sprinkle with salt and pepper. Garnish the tofu bowls with some sliced avocado, chopped scallions, and sesame seeds, then give everything a nice drizzle with the peanut sauce. You can add some sriracha too if you'd like!
Leftovers & Storage
Store the components of your bowls separately if possible. The rice, tofu and veggies will keep in airtight containers for about four days. The peanut sauce will keep in an airtight container for about a week. The only ingredient I don't recommend storing is sliced avocado, as it will turn brown very quickly.
More Tofu Dinner Recipes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Sheet Pan Peanut Tofu Bowls
Ingredients
For the Baked Tofu
- 1 (16 ounce/454 gram) package super-firm tofu diced (about ½ inch)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the Roasted Vegetables
- 8 ounces Brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 small sweet potato, diced (about ½ inch)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Base
- 1 cup rice
For the Peanut Sauce
- â…“ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce, optional, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Water, as needed (about 3 to 5 tablespoons)
For Serving
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the baked tofu, first place the diced tofu into a medium bowl, along with the soy sauce, cornstarch, ginger, garlic powder, and oil. Stir gently to coat the tofu in the other ingredients.
- Arrange the tofu cubes on one of the baking sheets, in a single layer.
- Arrange the Brussels sprouts and sweet potato on the other baking sheet, covering half of the sheet with each veggie. Drizzle each type of vegetable with a teaspoon of oil and gently rub it in.
- Place both baking sheets into the oven for about 20 minutes.
- While the tofu and vegetables are in the oven, cook the rice according to the package directions (Note 1).
- To make the peanut sauce, whisk all of the ingredients except the water together in a small bowl. Thin the mixture with as much water as is needed to create a creamy but pourable sauce. Taste-test the sauce and adjust any seasonings to your liking.
- Remove the tofu from the oven when the pieces are browned and crispy. Remove the veggies from the oven when the sweet potato pieces are fork tender and the Brussels sprouts are browned. Give the veggies a sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Divide the rice among four bowls, then top each bowl with the tofu, vegetables, and sliced avocado. Drizzle with peanut sauce and sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve.
Notes
- If using brown rice, consider starting it before the tofu and vegetables, since it will take longer to cook.
- This recipe makes four very generous servings. You could get as many as six smaller servings by making extra rice.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Great peanut sauce. I whatever vegetables I have on hand its very versatile.
This came together much faster than I thought it would. Actually a very easy weeknight meal. You could drop the rice to lower the calories/carbs a bit and it would still be really lovely.
Incredible!
Does the tofu need to be pressed before seasoning? Thanks!
Not it you use super-firm tofu! If you substitute with extra-firm or firm, then it will need to be pressed.
The peanut sauce was devine. This is a definite repeat