Description
Coconut Crusted Tofu has a perfectly crisp crust, chewy interior, and lightly sweet and savory flavor! When paired with colorful butter lettuce wraps, it’s a wonderful light dinner that’s loaded with bright vegetables and a creamy peanut sauce.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For coconut crusted tofu:
- 1 14 oz block firm or extra firm tofu
- 1/4 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 TBS maple syrup
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and one clove minced garlic (all optional, but helpful for more flavor)
- 1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 lime, juiced (1–2 TBS)
- 2 TBS cornstarch, arrowroot, or flour of choice (to thicken)
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs*
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
For lettuce wraps:
- One head of butter lettuce (can sub romaine)
- Sliced red peppers and carrots
- Sliced mango
- Basil, cilantro, and/or mint
- Sesame seeds and sliced green onion, optional
- Hot sauce, like Sriracha
- Peanut sauce
Instructions
- Open package of tofu and place in a large dish. Add a heavy pot on top to press out additional water. This allows for the tofu to soak up the marinade as much as possible. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes to release water. Drain water out of the dish and slice tofu into large cubes.
- Mix marinade of tamari, maple syrup, and grated ginger and pour over tofu. Let sit for at least 5 minutes to soak in these flavors. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Mix batter in a medium sized bowl by combining nondairy milk, lime juice, cornstarch, and salt. In another bowl, mix Panko and coconut. Place these two bowls in a line next to a lined and oiled baking sheet. This will be your breading station.
- To bread tofu, remove each piece from the marinade and dip into the milk batter, swirling to coat. Then, immediately dredge in the coconut/Panko mixture, pressing to ensure each side is covered fully. Place on lined baking sheet and repeat until all tofu pieces are used.
- Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven, and carefully flip each piece (take care to not remove some of the coating when doing this, as it can stick. Bake for 10-15 more minutes, until browned but not burnt.
- To serve, place a few pieces of tofu in a lettuce wrap with sliced peppers, carrots, mango, and fresh herbs. Dip in peanut sauce and enjoy!
Notes
- Crushed saltine crackers make a useful substitute for Panko if you can’t find it.
- The nutrition information is for tofu only.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Fusion
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One piece of tofu
- Calories: 40.9 calories
- Sugar: 0.6 grams
- Sodium: 53.9 milligrams
- Fat: 2.5 grams
- Saturated Fat: 1.1 grams
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.4 grams
- Trans Fat: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 2.1 grams
- Fiber: 0.4 grams
- Protein: 3.4 grams
- Cholesterol: 0 milligrams