This Buffalo tofu salad is made with pan-fried tofu pieces and crunchy bits of carrots and celery in a fiery Buffalo sauce. Pile it on greens, stuff in in a wrap, or enjoy it on it's own — it'll be delicious no matter what!
Years ago, and I mean years ago, Buffalo tofu salad was one of my favorite dishes to get from the salad bar at Whole Foods. I haven't seen it in a long time, so I'm pretty sure they don't make it anymore. (Has anyone seen it lately?)
So I did what I always do when I can no longer get one of my favorite dishes out: I recreated it at home!
My Buffalo tofu salad tastes exactly like the stuff I used to love from Whole Foods, and it's almost as easy as getting in the car to go out and buy some. So it's basically an all around win!
Even though I've pictured the dish over greens, it can be enjoyed countless ways. I've had it in wraps, on sandwiches, or all by itself. It's excellent with some vegan ranch dressing or vegan blue cheese.
If you loved my crispy Buffalo tofu wings but are looking for a different way to get your spicy Buffalo sauce fix, definitely give this a try!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Frank's hot sauce. I'm using a mix of Frank's hot sauce and vegan butter for this recipe, which I actually like better than Frank's Buffalo sauce. You can use the Buffalo sauce if you prefer — it's vegan.
- Cornstarch. We're using this to thicken the sauce. You just need a tiny bit!
- Vegan butter. You can find this near the regular butter at the supermarket most of the time. Try Earth Balance, Melt or Miyoko's brand.
- Vegetable oil. Any high-heat oil will work. Feel free to use coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil, among others — whatever you like to cook with!
- Super firm tofu. You can substitute with firm or extra firm tofu — you'll just need to press it first.
- Salt.
- Carrot.
- Celery.
- Scallions.
- Accompaniments. Depending on how you want to serve your Buffalo tofu salad, you can include salad greens and other veggies, vegan ranch or blue cheese, bread (for sandwiches), or tortillas (for wraps).
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 mixing your sauce. Stir together your hot sauce and cornstarch, then add melted butter.
Tip: The cornstarch will dissolve best if the hot sauce is chilled a bit, so pop it in the fridge a bit before cooking if you can.
Heat some oil in a large skillet, then add diced tofu. Cook the tofu cubes for a few minutes on each side, until they're lightly browned and crispy. Sprinkle them with a few pinches of salt as they cook.
Carefully pour the Buffalo sauce mixture into the skillet with the tofu. Watch out, because it can sputter when it hits the hot cooking surface.
Stir everything up and cook the tofu in the Buffalo sauce for a few minutes, just until the sauce thickens up slightly. Take the skillet off of heat and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
Place the Buffalo tofu into a large bowl with diced carrot, celery, and chopped scallions. Stir everything up!
Your tofu salad is ready to enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover Buffalo tofu salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days.
Prep-Ahead Prep Tips
- This recipe makes an excellent make-ahead filling for sandwiches and wraps, or a topper for green salads.
- The carrot and celery can be diced in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
More Vegan Buffalo Sauce Recipes
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Buffalo Tofu Salad
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons Frank's hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 (16 ounce or 454 gram) package super-firm tofu, diced (½-inch)
- Pinch salt
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- Accompaniments of choice (see Note)
Instructions
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Stir the hot sauce and cornstarch together in a small container. Stir until the cornstarch is fully dissolved, then stir in the vegan butter.
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Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat.
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Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the tofu cubes in an even layer. Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping the pieces once or twice until they're browned on multiple sides. Sprinkle them with a pinch of salt while they cook.
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Carefully pour the sauce into the skillet with the tofu. Stir everything up and simmer the tofu in the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
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Remove the skillet from heat and let the tofu cool for a few minutes.
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Transfer the tofu to a medium mixing bowl and add the carrot, celery and scallions. Stir everything until combined.
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Serve with accompaniments of choice.
Recipe Notes
Serve over salad greens, in tortillas, or in sandwiches with vegan ranch dressing or vegan blue cheese.
This is really funny because now that I have more time I've been going through back issues of my magazines and tearing out recipes I want to try. I found a buffalo chicken one and tore that out to try with tofu. You beat me to it! We think too alike!
It's so weird when that happens! I've posed the question before as to whether there's a collective blogger unconscious at work...or maybe it's just that Buffalo sauce is amazing we're all long overdue to realize it :)
Once I saw 'buffalo' in the title of this post I knew that you and I could be friends. I'll eat just about anything with buffalo sauce. You should definitely have a look at my favourite buffalo recipe: http://www.the-real-meal.com/2012/10/tofuffalo-wings-and-sweet-potato-fries.html. Maybe not as healthy as some of the options, but definitely the perfect buffalo fix for when I get a real bad craving.
Yes! I'm so happy to have finally discovered how amazing Buffalo sauce is. Your tofuffalo wings sounds delicious. Definitely indulgent, but I tend to think that when you decide to indulge on occasion, it's important to do it right. Thanks for the comment and link to your recipe. I will totally give that a shot next time I decide to splurge :)