This tofu salad recipe is an easy high protein salad that is perfect for lunch or dinner.
Crispy fried tofu is added to a fresh green salad with a lemon tahini sauce. It’s a 20-minute meal idea with plant-based ingredients that will make you feel great.
Table of Contents
Tofu salad is an excellent plant-based meal for those trying reduce their meat intake.
Like some of our other plant-based diet recipes, like tofu curry, rice noodle salad, and tofu stir fry it uses tofu as the main protein source.
I could talk for ages about the health benefits of tofu, I mean, Louise and I cooked more than 40 recipes with tofu for this blog 😝.
But I will not bore you with the nutritional benefits (this time around).
I will, however, share that this meal is a relatively high protein salad (16 grams per small serving). It contains healthy fats, and it is high in fiber.
The secret to a delicious tofu salad recipe is in the sauce.
I HIGHLY recommend tahini lemon sauce as it elevated tofu and veggies in a beautiful unison.
We have also tested it with peanut sauce, mustard dressing and cilantro lime dressing, they were all delicious!
Ingredients
- Lettuce: We use Romaine lettuce but feel free to replace it with your favorite variety. You can use butter lettuce, watercress, lamb’s lettuce, Batavia lettuce, curly endive, spring mix, little gem, and iceberg lettuce.
- Cucumber: Use English or American cucumber. You can replace them with other varieties, such as smaller Persian cucumbers, snack cucumbers, and Kirby cucumbers. Substitute thinly sliced zucchini, fennel, radishes, or chopped broccoli florets.
- Tomatoes: Use small plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes. Replace them with any other type of tomato as long as they are ripe, such as grape tomatoes, red cocktail tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, Heirloom tomatoes, and vine tomatoes. Substitute diced red bell peppers, or strawberries for tomatoes.
- Corn: We use canned corn for most of the year, but when corn is in season, you can also use cooked corn on the cob. Substitute yellow bell peppers or grated carrots for corn.
- Scallions: Substitute red onion or shallots for spring onion.
- Avocado: Diced avocado adds creaminess, healthy fats, and plenty of nutrition. Substitute roasted winter squashes like butternut squash, pumpkin, or kabocha squash for avocado.
- Fried Tofu: It only takes about 15 minutes on the stovetop to make. Substitute air fryer tofu, baked marinated tofu, or oven-baked tofu for fried tofu.
- Tahini sauce: Tahini, lemon juice, water, crushed garlic, and salt.
Instructions
Step 1: Add tahini, lemon juice, water, crushed garlic, and salt to a small bowl and whisk until the ingredients are creamy and smooth. Set aside.
Step 2: Mix cornstarch, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a large container. Then cut the tofu into small cubes and toss it in the mix until coated.
In a large non-stick pan, warm up the olive oil, then arrange the tofu on a single layer and fry it on medium-high heat for 12 minutes, flipping it every 2 to 3 minutes.
The tofu cubes should get golden brown on most sides. While the tofu cooks, prep the vegetables.
Step 3: To a large salad bowl, add chopped lettuce, corn, chopped cucumber, thinly sliced green onions, and halved cherry or halved plum tomatoes, and pan-fried tofu.
Pour in about half of the dressing. Don’t add the avocado just yet.
Mix the salad until everything is well coated in the dressing.
Before serving, add diced avocado and drizzle the remaining dressing on top.
Serving Suggestions
Add healthy carbohydrates to your tofu salad with:
Farro, cooked barley, whole grain rice, couscous, and cooked quinoa. You can also serve tofu salad with these easy homemade croutons or a slice of no-knead focaccia bread.
Questions
Firm tofu and extra-firm tofu are best for salad as they keep their shape when you dice them up and toss them in.
No. In theory, tofu does not need to be cooked. However, cooking it to improve its flavor and texture is advisable, as uncooked tofu is bland.
Make Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead: the salad is best when freshly made; however, you can chop the veggies ahead of time (except the avocado) and store them in the refrigerator to keep them crunchy.
You can also make the dressing in advance and keep it in an airtight container for 3 days. The fried tofu doesn’t keep well, so it’s best to cook it just before assembling the salad.
Refrigerator: keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 – 36 hours. The salad and the tofu will lose their crisp, but they’ll still be tasty and nutritious.
Freezer: this recipe is not freezer friendly.
More Salad Recipes
If you love wholesome salads, take your pick from these fresh salad recipes:
If you tried this tofu salad recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Tofu Salad
Ingredients
VEGGIES
- 8 packed cups lettuce chopped
- 1 cup cucumber diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ cup corn
- 2 spring onions finely chopped
- 1 avocado
TOFU
- 14 ounces tofu firm or extra firm
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
DRESSING
- ⅓ cup tahini
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
MAKE THE DRESSING
- To a small bowl, add ⅓ cup tahini, ⅓ cup water, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 clove garlic (crushed), and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk until well combined and set aside.
PAN FRY TOFU
- In a large container with low edges, mix 4 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.Cut the 14 ounces tofu into ½-Inch cubes (1.3 cm) and toss it in the mix until coated.
- In a large non-stick pan, warm up the olive oil then arrange tofu on a single layer and fry on medium-high heat for 12 minutes, flipping it every 2-3 minutes. The tofu is ready when golden brown on most sides.
MIX THE VEGGIES
- To a large salad bowl, add 8 packed cups lettuce (chopped), ½ cup corn, 1 cup cucumber (chopped), 2 spring onions, thinly sliced, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved, and the tofu. Pour in about half of the dressing.Toss well, then when you are ready to eat it, add thinly sliced or 1 avocado (diced). Give it another quick mix, taste it, adjust for salt, and serve immediately.
Video
I love it!
Wonderful! Thanks so much Kajetan!