This savory and extra spicy tofu jerky is made with oven dried tofu strips flavored with smoky seasonings and fiery sriracha sauce!
I generally have a backlog of a few weeks' worth of recipes for this blog. Occasionally I make something and decide I need to post it the very next day, but most of the time my recipes work their way through the list and slow process of photographing, editing, writing and publishing. This recipe has been in my queue for a few weeks now, and my husband has asked me numerous times when I'm going to post it. I usually take that as a sign that the recipe was pretty damn good.
In this case, I've been informed, that not only is the recipe awesome, but jerky played a part in his journey towards going meatless.
I'm lucky to be with a guy whose food preferences are pretty close to my own. But he tells me that during his younger years, long before contemplating cutting out animal foods, he belonged to a band in which he was the only meat-eating member. His vegetarian bandmates mockingly brought him several packages of veggie jerky, which he devoured and loved, much to their amusement. I suppose if jerky had ever been an obstacle to him going veg, he did away with it then and there.
I don't really think it's surprising that he loved it so much. Jerky's appeal really isn't about meat, right? It's all about the seasonings, spices and flavor.
Any recollection I have of eating jerky made from animals is way foggy at this point. I'm sure the texture of tofu jerky isn't exactly like it, but I definitely had something of an "Oh, yeah, I remember this kind of food!" moment when I tasted it.
I made my jerky by basing tofu in a super-flavorful sauce and then cooking it in the oven at a super low temperature. If you've got a food dehydrator I'm sure that would work too.
And just to show you how easy the oven method is, I went and made a video of it!
Spicy Sriracha Tofu Jerky
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra firm tofu
- ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 ½ tablespoons sriracha sauce (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Supplies
- Parchment paper
Instructions
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Drain the tofu and pat it dry.
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Cut the tofu into very thin slices, between ¼ and ⅛ of an inch, shooting for ⅛ inch. (Too thick and they'll take forever to bake.) Then arrange the slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
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Stir the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl, and brush half of the mixture over the tofu slices. Flip the slices and brush the remaining mixture on the opposite sides.
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Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake at 200°F for 2-3 hours, or until slices become tough and dry, very carefully flipping them about halfway through.
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Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the tofu to cool. The texture will toughen up a bit more as they cool.
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Store the jerky in a sealed container for 2-3 days.
These look amazing!
Thank you!! I certainly thought they were pretty darn amazing :)
This was amazing I'm new to tofu. This was really good. I will definitely make this again.
This is a 5 star for me
Thank you Terrea! This is probably a good recipe to get started with for someone new to tofu. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for sharing your results!!
I do a lot of tofu baking, but this is the first slow-and-low recipe I have tried. It turned out great. I pressed the heck out of it before brushing the marinade on to get rid of as much water as possible before putting them in the oven (and to help soak up the seasoning better). This was a great idea - thank you! It's going into my standard rotation.
Awesome! I didn't bother pressing because I figured they'd have to cook forever in order to dry out anyway, but that's a good point about them soaking up more of the marinade. I'll give it a shot next time. Thanks for sharing!!
These are bad. When I say bad, I mean naughty. I could not resist eating it all.I left none for my husband...so now I am making a second batch...praying they are still around when hubby gets home.
Thank you! We found them to be pretty addictive too. Glad to hear you enjoyed them though, and I hope your husband got to enjoy some as well!!!
This looks awesome! Do you know how long it keeps for? I'm looking for some good recipes for camping and such :)
Thank you! I've kept them around as long as 3-4 days in a sealed ziplock bag. They were still good by the end, but I probably wouldn't keep them around much longer than that.
If you have a vacuum sealer, I’m sure they will last a bit longer sealed up
Hi there!! I just have to tell you -- this is the BEST recipe ever!!!! I make this jerky for my husband on average once a week, double batch. He absolutely loves it (as do I). It makes the best sandwiches. We chop it up and mix it into stews, sauces, casseroles, etc., including just snacking. I thank you so much for sharing this recipe. To anybody that reads this note, TRY THIS RECIPE -- YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!
Awesome! I love all of those ideas, and I definitely have to give this stuff a try on a sandwich! So glad you're enjoying it. Thank you for sharing and for the inspiration! :)
Look lush, i'm gonna try this
I received a dehydrator as a Christmas gift. I would love to try this. Could you tell me dehydrator directions? How long and at what temperature?
Yes me too please! Dehydrator instructions! And also for how long it keeps.. thanks in advance! 🤗🤗🤗
I dehydrated mine for 6 hours at 150F and they turned out perfect!
I just made these and they are delicious!!! Will definitely be making them again! Quick question though- do I need to store them in the fridge or just at room temperature?
Glad you like them! I keep them at room temperature, but I've never kept them around for more than a few days. I think if you keep them around longer I'd store them in the fridge.
Hi, should these be refrigerated or will they be fine in left out in a ziplock bag?
Never mind, just read the comments 😊 They taste great; thanks!
Yes, how long and what setting for a Dehydrator. Thanks!
Is the temperature in Celsius or in Fahrenheit?
It's Fahrenheit. You bake them for a long time at a low temperature to try the tofu out. I just updated the recipe to clarify! :)
This is truy a genious idea!!! and it is so true, beef jerkey is not about the meat, it´s about the seasonings....great post and amazing recipe :)
So true!! Thanks Albert!
Similar to 'some' vegan dishes ie chili, curry, etc are not about the meat ... they are about the gravy ie
you can replace the meat with tofu, beans, etc and still enjoy these dishes as it's "the gravy" that you like ...
This is beyond delicious! No one would scoff at tofu like this. So far we are just eating it out of hand, but I can see adding it to some dishes---maybe even your paella, which I'd like to make soon. And I probably won't be running to Whole Foods for that new sandwich that has gone viral---the tempeh tomato lettuce avocado---but I may just make one of those sammies at home with this. I can even see crumbling it up some and putting it in fried rice. It's so excellent.
Yes!! Those are all awesome ideas! We always just snack on it in my house, but I think I might need to put some on a sandwich next time I make it. :) Thanks Ellen!
girl, you are my hero. i love louisville vegan jerky's carolina bbq flavor but it's kind of pricey. this looks freaking delicious!
Yay!! I've never had Louisville jerky, but I hope this one is just as enjoyable!
Love the recipe! I think it’s a creative and wonderful idea for tofu. As a vegetarian, this is very exciting for me to stumble upon. :)
One constructive criticism: could you please put over/parchment paper in the ingredients? I just went to the store after reading the ingredients and now have to go back! :(
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll add that.
I just made this with some tofu I smoked so I omitted the liquid smoke, I used to eat homemade jerky like every day but being vegan for four years it is a texture that I miss. The hardest thing about this recipe is the wait...it was slightly painful lol, I ended up taking it out at 2 hours 45 minutes. They came out perfect and I will be trying other flavors like teriyaki maybe some salt pepper garlic and red pepper flakes. Thanks for the recipe what a great idea!
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this! And I LOVE the teriyaki idea. Thanks Angela!
Can you use a dehydrator instead of oven?
You can, but I haven't tried so I'm not sure about the time and temperature.
Well these aren’t going to last long!!! Next time double batch! Ready delicious, glad I found this recipe.
Well then I'm glad you found it too! Good to hear you're enjoying them! Thanks Valerie!
Have you experimented with different flavors
I've done this recipe without the sriracha (good, but this was better!), and then a gingery Asian-inspired one (also tasty), but I didn't record the recipe. I'll make a note to try it again and write it down. :)
oh my gosh!! i've made a few of the recipes on this blog (all OUTSTANDING successes), but this one is fantastic. i sliced my tofu super thin--probably closer to 1/10 inch or so... almost transparent in some places. the texture is so satisfyingly chewy and the flavor reminded me very much of the homemade beef jerky my late grandfather used to make. thanks so much for posting!!!
Awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And so glad to hear you've been having success with my recipes. Thanks so much!
Great recipe! I know I'm a year or so late to the party but after trying some expensive vegan jerky I bought from the store I decided to try my own. This recipe was exactly what i was looking fort I've made this twice already and am currently making a double batch right now.
For anyone who doesn't have an oven that goes low enough, my first run at 250 burned everything within an hour. They were still good but not perfect. I broke out my food dehydrator for the last run and the results were excellent. If you have a food dehydrator try using that instead.
Glad you enjoyed them! And sorry to hear your first batch burned! Another option that might work would be to bake at the lowest possible temperature but crack the oven door a bit to let some heat escape.
These are AMAZING - I'm not a fake meat kinda vegan but like you say, these are more about the flavours and I love that they're easy to throw in my bag for a quick protein snack. I tried a Korean style marinade too and it was also delicious - gochuchang instead of sriracha, and a little sesame oil
Korean tofu jerky sounds awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed them!
I've been trying different finicky vital wheat gluten and disappointing mushroom recipes forever trying to fill the jerky and bacon void in my life that's existed since becoming vegan. I would never have thought that tofu could have this taste and texture. This simple, cheap, and amazing tofu recipe is my new favorite thing!
I'm super late to the blog, but was wanting to try to make some tofu jerky of my own once I heard it existed (last week!). All the recipes I originally found called for a dehydrator, which I don't own, nor am I about to go out and buy something that I will use once or twice and that will be in the way all the time after that (looks over at my Instant Pot is only used about 3 times a year). I finally came across your recipe with oven directions. THANK YOU!!! I used pre-pressed tofu that was frozen, thawed, and pressed again. And I made a different marinade but used your amounts of soy sauce as a guide for my liquid aminos and about how much marinade I would need. I checked mine again at the 2.5 hr mark and ended up going ahead and baking the full 3 hours. Success! My mom even willingly went back and ate another piece after I got her to try the first one, and she normally refuses to eat tofu. Thanks again!
I have made this over and over and over again. The thinner you cut the extra firm tofu the better. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. This is just the first time I've commented, but I've been making it a loooooooong time.