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Tofu salad in a wooden bowl.
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5 from 14 votes

Tofu Salad

This delicious tofu salad is packed with crispy vegetables and marinated tofu and it's topped with a creamy tahini salad dressing.
Prep Time50 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegan
Servings: 4
Calories: 303kcal
Author: Alison Andrews

Ingredients

Marinated Tofu:

  • 16 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (450g)
  • 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
  • 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil plus more for frying
  • 1 Tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Cornstarch

Salad:

  • 6 cups Chopped Romaine Lettuce about 2 small heads
  • 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes Sliced
  • 2 cups Sliced Cucumber
  • 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper Chopped
  • 1 cup Grated Carrot about 2 medium carrots
  • 1 Green Onion Chopped*
  • ¼ cup Pickled Ginger
  • ½ cup Fresh Basil Chopped
  • 2 teaspoons Sesame Seeds

Tahini Dressing:

Serving:

  • 1 Medium Avocado Chopped
  • Chopped Chives
  • Sesame Seeds

Instructions

Marinated Tofu:

  • Press the tofu for 20 minutes before you start. It's ideal if you use a tofu press but if you don't have a tofu press then stand the tofu on a plate, with another plate on top of it, and then stack something heavy on top of that like a heavy pot or some heavy books.
  • Add the soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, ground ginger, maple syrup, rice vinegar, sesame oil and hoisin sauce to a bowl or measuring jug and whisk into a sauce (leave the cornstarch until later).
  • When the tofu has finished pressing, cut it into cubes and place into a glass dish. Pour over the marinade sauce and turn over the cubes of tofu so that both sides are covered in marinade sauce. Place into the fridge and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, heat a frying pan with a little sesame oil. Take the tofu out of the marinade sauce and fry it until golden brown.
  • Add the teaspoon of cornstarch to the leftover marinade sauce and then pour it over the fried tofu and fry until thickened.

Salad:

  • Now assemble your salad. Add chopped romaine lettuce to a salad bowl followed by sliced cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber and chopped red bell pepper.
  • Add grated carrot, chopped green onion, pickled ginger, chopped basil and sesame seeds and toss together.
  • Add the marinated tofu and toss with the salad.
  • Prepare your dressing and pour it over the top of the salad and toss together.
  • Serve topped with chopped avocado, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and chopped chives.

Notes

  1. Green onions are also called spring onions or salad onions.
  2. We used half black sesame seeds and half white sesame seeds, but either or is fine.
  3. Prep time includes pressing the tofu for 20 minutes and marinating for 30 minutes. While the tofu is pressing and marinating the other salad prep can be done. So the whole meal can be ready in an hour. 
  4. If you'd like this salad to be gluten-free then use a gluten-free soy sauce and hoisin sauce.
  5. Nutritional information includes the marinated tofu and all salad ingredients but excludes the tahini salad dressing. Nutritional information for the salad dressing can be found on that separate linked recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serve | Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 22.9g | Protein: 17.9g | Fat: 16.9g | Saturated Fat: 2.7g | Sodium: 763mg | Fiber: 7.3g | Sugar: 10.6g