Smothered Baked Tofu in Peanut Butter & BBQ Sauces. Vegan + Gluten-Free!

FROM THE ARCHIVES

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MY FORMER BLOG, CAKE MAKER TO THE STARS

VEGAN + GLUTEN-FREE  / OIL-FREE / AIR-FRYER FRIENDLY

I originally developed this recipe as a gluten-free alternative to old school vegan seitan ribs. For Mardi Gras back in New Orleans, I used to make a recipe where peanut butter and BBQ sauce were kneaded into raw gluten and then baked.

Fast forward and ahhh!! This Smothered tofu is one of my favorites!! I make it pretty frequently, especially if I have time to serve it with a few sides. It’s easy enough for a weekday meal, but it’s also delicious served for a special occasion.

The recipe below gives instructions to bake this tofu in an oven, but this recipe is also really easy to adapt to an air fryer. The directions are basically the same, except I usually reduce the initial tofu baking time from 15 minutes down to 10.

Notes from my old blog say :

“You can top the tofu with any sort of citrus. I’ve made this a coupla times with lemon, with lime (as pictured in this post) and would love to try it with orange slices, or pickled jalapeno mixed with crushed pineapple.”

Since originally blogging this recipe, I have tried it with orange slices and love it. I haven’t yet tried the pineapple but still think it’ll be uhmeezing.

If you’re a fan of baked tofu, be sure to check out Super Yummy Baked Tofu for the Air Fryer! It’s my newest recipe e-book in my shop.

Print Recipe

Smothered Baked Tofu in Peanut Butter & BBQ Sauces.

2

Course: Main, Protein

Cuisine: Southern Style, Tofu

Keyword: Barbeque, Citrus Kiss, Gluten-Free, Savory, tofu, Vegan

Servings: 0

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup water
• 5 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 14 oz block extra firm tofu
• 4 cloves garlic unpeeled
• 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons reserved marinade
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala optional
• 1 lemon, lime or small orange thinly sliced
• 1 1/3 cups BBQ sauce
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Instructions

Marinate the Tofu:

• In a small baking dish, mix together the water, tamari, vinegar, nutritional yeast, granulated onion, granulated garlic and liquid smoke. Rinse the tofu and slice into 8 even slices.
• Place the tofu in a single layer in the marinade, and prick each slice a few times with a fork. The tofu should be mostly submerged in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or cover and refrigerate up to a few days.
• When you're ready to cook the tofu, preheat oven to 425F and line a lipped baking sheet with parchment.

  With the bottom of a jar or glass, smash the garlic lightly so the skin splits open.

  Place the tofu and whole garlic cloves evenly on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade and set aside.

Prepare the peanut butter sauce:

• In a small bowl combine the peanut butter, reserved marinade and garam masala.

  Stir well. The peanut butter will start to break down, and then will emulsify into a smooth, thick sauce.
• After the tofu has baked 15 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the tofu slices to a plate. Peel the softened garlic.

  Mash the garlic with a knife and then stir it into the peanut butter sauce.

Put them together and bake:

• Spoon about 1/3 cup of the BBQ sauce onto your baking sheet. Try to keep the sauce contained to a small square about 7" X 7".

  Place a slice of tofu onto the BBQ sauce, flipping it over as you put it down so that the bottom is now face-up.

  Repeat with the remaining slices, placing them together with no spaces around them, so they touch in two rows of four.
• Spread the peanut sauce evenly over the top of each slice of tofu and then cover them all with the remaining BBQ sauce.

  Use a spoon or offset spatula to make sure the BBQ sauce completely covers the peanut butter and is evenly spread over each slice as well as over the side edges.
• Place a slice of the citrus on top of each piece of tofu, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and return to the oven.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes more, until bubbly and brown.

Notes

• My favorite way to serve and eat this tofu, is with a plate of sides. Pictured at the top of the post is Smothered Tofu with cornbread and New Orleans style Red Beans. It's also excellent with other sides like coleslaw, mac 'n' cheese or even stuffing.

 

• To make this tofu peanut-free, use almond butter or tahini, for equally delicious bites.