This tofu salad makes an irresistibly tasty healthy lunch or dinner! Pair baked tofu with crunchy veggies and carrot ginger dressing.
Looking for a tasty main dish salad? Have we got a recipe for you: this Baked Tofu Salad! It stars this crispy, perfectly seasoned baked tofu: so irresistible you’ll find yourself sneaking crunchy bites right off the baking sheet! Save some though, because this salad is a great way to turn them into a meal! Toss them over fresh veggies and drizzle with carrot ginger dressing or sesame dressing, and it makes a deliciously healthy dinner you won’t want to end.
Elements in this tofu salad
This colorful tofu salad is a main dish salad that turns this plant-based protein into a hearty meal. For this recipe, we chose a rainbow of vegetable colors and textures. The best part? The dressing, which smothers everything in savory goodness. Here are the elements in this salad:
- Baked Tofu or for a shortcut, purchased seasoned tofu cubes (see below)
- Salad greens: both romaine lettuce and mixed greens
- Cherry tomatoes
- Avocado
- Radishes
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds
- For the dressing: Carrot Ginger Dressing, Sesame Ginger Dressing or Tahini Dressing
Make baked tofu, or use this shortcut
This tofu salad we made especially for our favorite Crispy Baked Tofu recipe, which makes this soy product taste irresistibly good. It’s crispy on the outside, savory on the inside, and you’ll want to polish it off in one sitting. However, it takes about 45 minutes to make: so we’ve got a shortcut too.
- Make the baked tofu before serving, or make it in advance. It’s absolutely worth the 45 minutes! To make it in advance, store refrigerated up to 3 days. Then warm it in a 350 degree oven before serving to crisp up the edges.
- Or, try a purchased seasoned tofu! We like to use seasoned tofu like Hodo brand tofu cubes for quick weeknight meals: you can simply warm it in a skillet for a few minutes.
Salad dressing options
This tofu salad tastes great with just about any dressing, but we’ve got three options that make it taste like a dream. Here’s each one with a bit of background info:
- Carrot ginger dressing: This Carrot Ginger Dressing has incredible flavor from fresh carrots, miso, tahini, and rice vinegar. Whiz it up in a blender.
- Sesame dressing: This Sesame Ginger Dressing is even simpler: and the blender is optional! It features tahini, soy, ginger, and sesame oil.
- Tahini dressing: This Tahini Dressing is the easiest of the three and takes just 2 minutes to whisk up! It’s got bold, creamy flavor.
And that’s it! Whip up this tofu salad and let us know which dressing you try in the comments below.
More tofu recipes
Tofu has grown on us over the years, and now it’s one of our favorite foods! Here are a few more tofu recipes if you’re a tofu lover like we are:
- Go for this tasty Tofu Stir Fry
- Make the Perfect Pan Fried Tofu or Crispy Tofu
- Try bold and flavorful Easy BBQ Tofu, or make a pot of Tofu Soup
- Opt for Coconut Tofu Curry or Easy Tofu Tacos
- Use soft tofu and make it into Mint Chocolate Tofu Pudding
This tofu salad recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Print
Tofu Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 salads 1x
Description
This tofu salad makes an irresistibly tasty healthy lunch or dinner! Pair baked tofu with crunchy veggies and carrot ginger dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Baked Tofu*
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 4 cups chopped mixed greens
- 1 handful cherry tomatoes
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 radishes
- 2 green onions
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
- Carrot Ginger Dressing, Sesame Ginger Dressing or Tahini Dressing
Instructions
- Make the Baked Tofu (takes approximately 40 minutes: open this recipe in a separate browser tab. If desired, make in advance and refrigerate until serving; warm in the oven to make it crispy again.).
- Meanwhile, make the dressing: Carrot Ginger Dressing, Sesame Ginger Dressing or Tahini Dressing.
- Prep the veggies: chop the lettuce and greens. Slice the tomatoes in half. Cut the avocado into slices. Thinly slice the radishes and green onions.
- Serve: Place the greens divided between shallow bowls. Top with the vegetables and the baked tofu. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Notes
*For a more protein-packed salad or for feeding very hungry eaters, use 1 recipe of baked tofu for 2 salads instead. (Our Baked Tofu disappears very quickly!) Make the baked tofu before serving, or make it in advance. It’s absolutely worth the 45 minutes! To make it in advance, store refrigerated up to 3 days. Then warm it in a 350 degree oven before serving to crisp up the edges. As a shortcut, try a purchased seasoned tofu: we like Hodo brand tofu cubes that you can warm in a skillet for a few minutes.
- Category: Main dish
- Method: Salad
- Cuisine: Salad
- Diet: Vegan
Keywords: Tofu salad
Let us know if you have any questions!
★★★★★
Made this salad today using sesame ginger dressing. Because I have a terrible oven, I just fried the well-drained tofu in a skillet on hot temperature with a mixture of water, half of the sesame ginger dressing, and some starch. The nutty flavors soaked really nicely in the tofu.
What I liked is that it was healthy but had many calories – I do a lot of sports and generally vegan salads do not fill me up sufficiently – but this was amazing! I just threw in a lot of tahini, sesame oil and avocado. This way, it could even be a standalone dinner, although I combined it with spicy Chinese fried potato today.
What I especially liked was the “calm”, nutty flavor of the dressing. I really love the tahini nuttiness and how it balances out with the other flavors.
One thing I will change next time is to make the salad sweeter. I was thinking of adding more honey to the dressing. Alternatively, I could throw in a small can of sweetcorn. What would you recommend?
★★★★