This quick and easy tofu stir-fry is the weeknight dinner you've been looking for! Packed with flavor, crispy tofu, and tender-crisp veggies, this dish tastes better than takeout and can be on the table in 30 minutes.
Tofu stir-fry is, in my opinion, one of those absolutely essential vegan dinner recipes that everyone should have on their back pocket. Stir-fries in general make great weeknight meals (I even have a list of my favorite vegan stir-fries that I keep on hand for busy nights!).
And even though I've never met a vegan stir-fry I didn't like, this garlicky tofu stir-fry is my favorite. I've been making it for years. I love that it packs a healthy dose of plant protein and a nice variety of delicious veggies.
I tend to have the tofu and most of the sauce ingredients on hand, and the veggies can always be switched out with whatever you have in the fridge, which means this stir-fry is pretty accessible any time you get a craving for it (which is pretty often for me!).
When I serve it alongside some sticky rice I feel like I'm sitting down to a restaurant meal, but it all comes together in my own kitchen, in just about 30 minutes!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Soy sauce. You could also use tamari or liquid aminos if you prefer.
- Rice vinegar. Look for this in the international foods section of your supermarket. Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar can be substituted if needed.
- Maple syrup. You can substitute another liquid sweetener if needed, such as agave.
- Water.
- Garlic.
- Ginger.
- Sriracha sauce. Feel free to switch this out with another type of hot sauce, such as sambal oelek, or just leave it out for a milder stir-fry.
- Toasted sesame oil. Look for this in the international foods section of your supermarket.
- Cornstarch.
- Canola oil. Any type of high-heat oil could be substituted — peanut oil, vegetable oil, or corn oil would all work!
- Tofu. Stick with extra firm or super firm tofu when stir-frying. Learn more about my tofu recommendations in this guide to tofu.
- Scallions. Also known as green onions!
- Vegetables. The recipe calls for carrots, broccoli, and shiitake mushrooms, but you could substitute your favorite stir-fry veggies if you'd like.
- Rice. Serve your stir-fry with your favorite variety of cooked rice. I usually like to serve mine with brown rice or jasmine rice. You could even serve it with cauliflower rice for a lightened-up version of the dish.
- Sesame seeds. These get sprinkled on top of your stir-fry. Roasted peanuts or cashews would also work if sesame seeds aren't your thing.
How It's Made
The following 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!
- Start by doing your prep work. The most important step in making any stir-fry is prepping everything in advance. If you're using extra-firm tofu, you'll need to press it. Chop your scallions and separate the white and green parts, chop your veggies, and mix up your sauce before doing anything else.
- Heat up some oil in a skillet, then add diced tofu. Cook it for a few minutes on each side until the pieces are browned and crispy, then remove them from the skillet.
- Tip: I'm using a cast-iron skillet for my tofu stir-fry because I like the flat bottom and the nonstick surface for cooking tofu. A wok is the traditional vessel for making a stir-fry though, and will work just fine for this recipe.
- Turn up the heat and add sliced carrots and the white parts of your scallions to the skillet. Stir-fry them, making sure to flip them constantly while they cook. Tip: Always stir-fry over high heat and flip your veggies constantly to get that perfect tender-crisp texture.
- Add the broccoli and mushrooms to the skillet and stir-fry them with your carrots and scallions.
- Add your cooked tofu back to the skillet.
- Carefully pour the sauce over your tofu and veggies. It should start to bubble up pretty quickly. Be super careful here, as the high-heat could cause your sauce to sputter!
- Continue to cook and toss everything until the sauce is thick and forms a nice coating on your veggies and tofu.
- Take the skillet off of the burner and top everything with the green parts of your scallions and some sesame seeds, then dish up your tofu stir-fry with some rice and dig in.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover tofu stir-fry will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yup! Just use gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce.
Absolutely! You can skip the step of pressing your tempeh, but otherwise it's a direct substitution and you can simply follow the recipe using tempeh instead of tofu.
Sure! Just stick with veggies that are about as firm (and will therefore cook in about the same amount of time) as those used in the recipe. Green beans, cabbage or cauliflower would work well in place of the carrots. Snap peas, snow peas, red bell pepper, asparagus, or baby bok choy would work well in place of the broccoli or mushrooms.
Try using a reduced sodium soy sauce.
More Vegan Stir-Fry Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Tofu Stir-Fry with Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons sriracha sauce or sambal oelek, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the Tofu Stir-Fry
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, or high heat oil of choice
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) package super firm or extra-firm tofu, drained (and pressed if using extra-firm) cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated
- 1 medium carrot, sliced on a bias into strips
- 1 medium broccoli crown, broken into florets
- 4 ounces shiitake mushroom caps, cleaned and sliced
For Serving
- Cooked rice
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil and place it over medium heat.
- Add the tofu cubes in an even layer.
- Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping once or twice, until browned on multiple sides.
- Remove the tofu from the skillet and transfer it to a plate.
- Raise the heat to high.
- Add the white parts of the scallions and carrots to the skillet. Stir-fry for 1 minute.
- Add the broccoli and mushrooms to the skillet. Stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes more, until the veggies deepen in color and become tender-crisp.
- Return the tofu to the skillet and add the sauce.
- Continue to cook everything for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and coats the tofu and veggies.
- Remove the skillet from heat and add the green parts of the scallions.
- Divide onto plates and top with sesame seeds. Serve with rice.
Notes
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I made this dish tonight, and I was a little hesitant about using maple syrup when I read the recipe. However, I must say that the sauce is incredibly delicious and the maple syrup goes so well! 🤤 thank ya, gonna add this to the rotation
It was a really good sauce and went well with the tasty vegetables and tofu. The problem was due to the cornstarch as a thickening agent, it needed way more liquid to make the sauce. I had to add in about a cup more of broth and water.
Fabulous quick, easy and tasty recipe. thanks so much!
I subbed the maple syrup with honey with the same amount and it was great!
Fantastic recipe. I love saucy meals- curries, stirfrys, etc. I'm a lifelong vegetarian, and sometimes I cannot believe there are still new recipes I haven't tried that are this different from the usual ol' stirfry, while being this tasty. Adding it to my regular rotation. Thank you :)
Holy yum, this was so easy and delicious! I added rice and doubled the sauce. I am adding this to my recipe collection! Thank you!
I made this last night Alissa. I am always looking for Chinese food recipes since we don’t have much good Chinese here. Not surprisingly it was absolutely delicious! My husband and I both loved it and will be making it many times over. Once again, you hit it out of the park!! Thank you!
This was delisc altho I added lots of veggies and served with coconut rice
Thank you
This recipe is my favorite! The flavor is outstanding
I love every one of your recipes that I make-- and I've made a ton! Chomping this down right now, and I'm definitely gonna do this over takeout in the future-- it's delicious!
I read this recipe twice & could not find where the cornstarch is used. Maybe I missed something. Would you please let me know?
It's one of the sauce ingredients - include it when you whisk them all together in step 1. :)
I've been working my way toward a vegan lifestyle for about a month now and this is definitely my favorite dish so far. I can't wait to try more recipes on your website.
Awesome! I'm so glad you like it! Thanks Mike!
I had limited time to make dinner tonight and your recipe was a lifesaver. My husband just had surgery on a broken ankle and he's a type 2 diabetic, so we're really trying to eat healthy...and I'm a rather inexperienced cook. Thankfully I had almost all of the ingredients in your recipe and it was easy to follow. We didn't have maple syrup (and neither of us are crazy about it) so I squeezed cutie juice into the sauce. I used liquid aminos instead of soy sauce and instead of sriracha I used leftover chili sauce packets from Panda Express. I used a 16oz block of extra firm tofu but the sauce was still plentiful enough to cover it all. I used zucchini instead of broccoli and raw, pre-sliced carrots and white mushrooms to save time. Oh, and pre-minced garlic. It was all really tasty, though I'll probably add more orange juice and a little less vinegar (it was a bit much for me). My husband was a happy camper though, so this will definitely make it into our rotation. We're not vegan so we'll mix the leftover stir fry with some leftover chicken. He's excited for his lunch tomorrow! Thanks for a flexible, tasty recipe.
Awesome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! If you can add some other type of sugar in place of the maple syrup, I'd try that - it will help balance out the tartness. Thanks Liz!
This is way too salty with that much soy sauce. I made it per the recipe and even over rice it's a salt bomb. I love the ingredients but will make a different sauce in the future. This was a miss for me.
Sorry you didn't enjoy it! You could always reduce the amount of soy sauce and/or use a low sodium variety if you give it another try.
Is there anything I could sub for maple syrup?
Granulated sugar or agave should work just fine!
I subbed honey with the same amount and it was great!
can't wait to try this. sounds yummy! I have never tried sriracha sauce as I don't like a lot of spice, but I may try just 1 tsp. in this recipe. Hope it won't be too strong. going to pick up some broccoli today & perhaps some Brussel sprouts. anxious to get started. Thanks for this recipe.
I don't think it should be too spicy with just a teaspoon, but if you want to err on the side of caution you could always just add a tiny bit at time when the stir-fry is done cooking. I hope you enjoy it!
I have never been a stir fry girl but I decided that the time has come to get into them! I saw this recipe on pinterest and I'm so glad I did because it's amazing! I used only half the maple syrup because I like that real asian flavour but otherwise amazing! I also used just the veggies I had leftover in the fridge with some tofu in there too! Love
Awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Lauren!
This was excellent! I love tofu and try to always keep some in the fridge. I was looking for a quick and easy stir fry for a busy weeknight meal and came across your recipe. So glad I did because it was exactly what I wanted! Quick, easy, delicious and I had everything on hand; except I was out of fresh ginger (used up for smoothies) Anyway the sauce is AMAZING! And I served it with Jasmine rice! Thank you!
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Dolly!
I just made this to take for my lunch today and for my daughter to eat either before she goes to work or after she comes home. Of course I had to taste test it and it is DELICIOUS! Followed the recipe exactly as it says and the sauce has just the right amount of salty, sweet, and spicy taste. This is a keeper! Thank you for sharing 😊
Yay! I'm glad you like it! Thanks Cristina!
I’ve made this twice now and I love it. It’s super simple and tastes so great. I used the link you provided to prepare my tofu and it came out perfect. Thank you. This is now a recipe I will make frequently and I’ve shared it too.
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks so much Kathy!
I made this for the first time tonight, and my husband said, “This is outstanding!” My18-year-old son and I loved it too. I doubled the recipe, and ended up with some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. It was excellent with brown basmati rice and your smoky tofu dumplings. Never had a bad meal using one of your recipes. Thank you!
That's so great to hear! I'm glad it was a hit with you and your family. Thanks so much Melanie!!
I made this and amped up the veggies, adding a small chopped up cabbage and a bag of broccoli slaw that had snow peas and shredded carrots. Added scallions too. I cook low sodium so I used a low sodium vegan soy sauce I made from other recipe...it came out delish! I'd share a picture if allowed. This was my first time using avacodo oil with the tofu, yay it didn't stick to the pan how wonderful. Great recipe!
Awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
My husband and I made this for dinner tonight and really enjoyed it. The sauce is delicious: a little sweet, a little smoky, a little spicy. The sauce is also easy to whisk up, and really elevates a simple stir-fry. I made this recipe as written, but added thin strips of baby bok choy just because I wanted to use it up. I added the bok choy at the end of cooking, just before adding the sauce, and that worked fine. I'll definitely make this again. Thanks!
I love bok choy in stir-fries - I'll bet it was excellent in this! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Colleen!!
Did you dessicate the tofu first or just take it straight from the container with water? Which type of tofu did you get?
Extra firm tofu, any brand! And yes, the recipe works best if you press the tofu using a tofu press or the book method explained in this post: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/how-to-cook-crispy-delicious-tofu-a-step-by-step-tutorial/
I looove the look of this! I've really started to enjoy tofu lately, and I love cooking up a quick stir fry with a tasty homemade sauce :) This one sounds yummy!
I miss tofu so much! Looks so delicious, good Chinese food is all you need. And chocolate :)