Orange Tofu

You’ll love our orange tofu recipe (aka vegan orange chicken) because it’s so easy to put together, with simple ingredients, in less than 30 minutes.

Every bite packs a ton of flavor thanks to the sticky, zesty orange glaze that perfectly coats the crispy tofu.

You can prepare orange tofu with crispy baked tofu cubes (30 mins), air-fryer tofu (20 mins), or in just 15 minutes with pan-fried tofu.

Our recipe involves no tofu pressing, marinating, or complicated steps. Just dice, cook, and eat.

The taste of this dish is incredible! The oven-baked tofu is moderately chewy and crispy but still soft and juicy.

The sauce is sweet, slightly sour, tangy, zesty, garlicky, sticky, and tongue-tickling. We absolutely love it.

Eat this with jasmine rice, cauliflower rice, or steamed broccoli to round up the flavor and make it a complete meal.

Use firm or extra firm tofu. Avoid soft or silken tofu. It will fall apart while cooking.

We tried making vegan orange chicken with oven-baked tofu, pan-fried tofu, frozen and thawed tofu and pressed tofu in all possible combinations.

Our favorites turned out to be the simplest and quickest ones. Not pressed, not frozen, simply oven-baked or pan-fried tofu. We’ll show you both.

You can substitute store-bought vegan chicken for the tofu.

For oven-baked tofu, you’ll also need olive or avocado oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch to make the tofu tasty and crisp. For pan-fried tofu, you’ll need olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Red bell pepper (optional)

Red bell pepper adds a crunchy texture, and its sweet taste works beautifully with the orange tofu sauce.

Substitute mushrooms, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, green beans, or baby corn for red bell pepper.

Sticky Orange Sauce

Orange juice

Fresh orange juice is best, passed through a sift to remove orange bits. Substitute store-bought 100% pulp-free orange juice.

Orange zest

We think orange zest makes a big difference in giving orange tofu a flavor boost.

You can skip this ingredient if you are doing this with store-bought orange juice and don’t have oranges.

Ginger

Peeled and grated. It adds that zesty flavor.

Garlic

Finely minced, pressed, or grated.

Sugar

Any sugar is ok. White sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, palm sugar.

You can substitute maple syrup or agave syrup for sugar. Not the same, but still tasty.

Soy sauce

It adds richness and umami to the sauce. We use low-sodium soy sauce, but any other will work. For gluten-free, use tamari or coconut aminos instead.

Vinegar

A splash of vinegar goes a long way in adding a wonderful tongue-tickling tang that makes this dish irresistible.

You can use rice vinegar, white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.

Corn starch and water

Corn starch is a thickening agent; we use it to thicken the sauce. Together with the melted sugar, it creates a sticky/creamy texture that coats the tofu perfectly.

Mix the cornstarch with water before adding it to the sauce so that it doesn’t create lumps. Corn starch slurry is often used in Chinese and Asian cooking to thicken soups and stews.

This is essential to make a creamy sauce that sticks to the tofu.

Red pepper flakes

If you like your vegan orange tofu recipe a little spicy, add a pinch of red pepper flakes, chili flakes, finely chopped chilies, or a teaspoon of sriracha sauce.

Serve it with

We serve this dish with steamed or boiled rice. Whole grain rice, basmati, or jasmine rice are excellent. You can also try it on cooked Asian noodles, like Udon or Soba.

Garnish with freshly chopped scallions, green onions, or chives on top, and a pinch of sesame seeds. You can also add a drizzle of sesame oil.

Oven-baked method

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Remove the tofu from the package and dry it with a paper towel. Cut it into bite-size dice.

Transfer it into a bowl, and toss with olive oil, soy sauce, and cornstarch.

Arrange the tofu on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F or 200°C, then turn around and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until chewy and crisp.

While the tofu bakes, you can prepare the orange sauce.

Pan-fried method

Remove the tofu from the package and dry it with a paper towel. Cut it into bite-size dice.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet. Add tofu cubes and season with a generous pinch of salt and black pepper.

Pan-fry on medium heat for 12 minutes, turning the tofu around every 3 minutes. The cubes should be crisp and golden on most (not all) sides.

Transfer tofu cubes to a plate lined with kitchen paper and make the sauce.

Make the orange sauce

To a large skillet, add orange juice, orange zest, grated ginger, grated garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Let simmer on medium to low heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, whisk cornstarch and water in a separate bowl. Whisk until the cornstarch is fully dissolved in the water, then add the cornstarch slurry to the pan with the orange sauce.

Stir constantly and cook on medium to low heat until your vegan orange tofu sauce thickens. It should take 1 minute.

Add the diced tofu and sliced bell pepper and cook for another minute or two until the tofu is completely coated in sauce.

Serve in a rice bowl with some green onion tops or chives.

The best way to enjoy this crispy orange tofu is with steamed or boiled rice.

You can also add some freshly chopped spring onion and sesame seeds on top and serve it with a side dish such as:

• Crisp Asian cucumber salad with quick pickled red onions.
• Juicy mango salad with avocado and bell peppers.
• Sautéed green beans with a tasty Asian dressing.
• Simple leafy side salad.

Orange tofu with broccoli

You can serve vegan orange chicken with steamed or boiled broccoli or cauliflower florets. The sauce makes the broccoli taste amazing, and the dish will be even healthier.

Other vegetables you can use are carrots, snap peas, snow peas, mushrooms, baby corn, and green beans.

In this case, stir-fry veggies on medium-high heat for a couple of minutes with a touch of oil and a pinch of salt before adding them to the bowl with the tofu.

• To press or not to press? We prefer not to press the tofu. It turns out juicier this way. If you like drier and tougher tofu, you can press it. To do that, wrap it in paper towels, and put it under a heavy object for 30 minutes.
  
• Make it crispier: if you like super crispy orange tofu, you can bake it for up to 30 minutes. Do not bake more, or it starts to get bitter. We think 20 minutes is the perfect baking time.
  
• Add some heat: if you like your orange tofu spicy, you can add a pinch of red pepper flakes or half a teaspoon of sriracha sauce.
  
• Thicker sauce? One tablespoon of cornstarch is enough to thicken this amount of liquid. However, if you like a denser, thicker sauce, add another tablespoon of cornstarch. Before adding it, dilute it in 1 tablespoon of water so it doesn’t lump up.

Refrigerator: store orange tofu leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat for 1 minute in the microwave.

Freezer: we don’t recommend freezing this recipe.

Here are some of our favorite tofu recipes:

• Healthy and light tofu salad with creamy dressing
• 15-minute pan-fried mushroom tofu
• Marinara sauce lover? Try our tofu meatballs in tomato sauce
• Easy pan-fried lemon tofu
• Ultra creamy tofu curry
• 20-min tofu soup

For many more tofu ideas, check out our tofu category page.