This grilled tofu is the best ever! It’s grilled to perfection on a grill pan and brushed with a fabulous sesame ginger marinade sauce.
You will love this grilled tofu recipe. It’s super easy to make, packed with flavor and high in protein too, so it makes a perfect weeknight dinner.
You don’t even need to use an outdoor grill, a grill pan works great and it’s exactly what we used to make this tofu.
Of course if you love easy tofu recipes then you’ll also love our marinated tofu, kung pao tofu and General Tso’s tofu so check those out too. You’ll also love our delicious vegan kebabs.
How To Make Grilled Tofu
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Press two blocks of tofu, ideally using a tofu press, or if you don’t have a tofu press, by placing the tofu on a plate, with another plate on top of it, and then stacking something heavy on top of that, like a heavy pot or stack of books. Leave to press for 30 minutes.
- When pressed, slice each block of tofu into 3 rectangular blocks, so that you have 6 rectangles.
- Brush the tofu with a little sesame oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
- Mix up your basting sauce by adding toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, hoisin sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger powder and cayenne pepper to a measuring jug.
- Whisk it into a sauce.
- Lightly brush a grill skillet with sesame oil and heat it for around 6 minutes on medium to high heat until hot.
- Place three of the tofu blocks onto the hot skillet. They will stick to the skillet.
- Grill the tofu for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes they will have grill lines and should release from the skillet easily without sticking.
- Flip the tofu over and grill for 5 minutes on the other side.
- Remove the tofu from the skillet and repeat with the remaining 3 tofu rectangles.
- Then return the tofu to the skillet, 3 pieces at a time and lightly brush the basting sauce on both sides.
- Serve over basmati rice and pour over the rest of the sauce. Top with chopped green onions and a sprinkle of white sesame seeds.
Ingredient Notes
Firm or extra firm tofu. It is crucial that you use firm or extra firm tofu in this recipe. Extra firm is preferable. And then we still press the tofu to make it as firm as possible. This is so that the tofu holds its shape and doesn’t break up when you try to lift it from the grill skillet.
Pressing the tofu. The most ideal way to do this is to use a tofu press. We have had one for years now and it comes into regular use in our kitchen so it’s a very handy tool to have. Otherwise a heavy pot or heavy stack of books will also do the job.
Sesame oil and toasted sesame oil. The tofu is brushed with sesame oil (NOT toasted sesame oil) and the grill pan is also brushed with sesame oil but the basting sauce uses toasted sesame oil. It’s important not to mix them up.
Regular sesame oil has a high smoke point so it’s a good option to use for grilling or frying. Toasted sesame oil has a wonderful flavor so works great for sauces. If you used toasted sesame oil in your grill pan it would likely smoke up your whole house. So use regular sesame oil to brush the grill pan and your tofu before grilling and then use toasted sesame oil in your basting sauce. This is also why we just brush on the basting sauce briefly at the end, when the tofu is already grilled and why we don’t cook the tofu in it.
Chef’s Tips
Let the grill pan get hot before adding the tofu. The grill pan needs to be hot so that the tofu seals when it hits the pan, gets those lovely grill lines, and doesn’t stick.
Wait 5 minutes before flipping. In addition to the grill pan being sizzling hot, you must also wait the full 5 minutes before you try to flip the tofu. If you try to flip it too soon, it will break up.
More Tofu Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Grilled Tofu
Ingredients
- 24 ounces Extra Firm Tofu (680g) 2 blocks of 12 ounces each
- ½ Tablespoon Sesame Oil
- Sprinkle Salt and Pepper
Basting Sauce:
- 4 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 4 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 2 Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
For Serving:
- Basmati Rice
- Green Onions Chopped
Instructions
- Press the tofu, ideally using a tofu press, or if you don't have a tofu press, by placing the tofu on a plate, with another plate on top of it, and then stacking something heavy on top of that, like a heavy pot or stack of books. Leave to press for 30 minutes.
- When pressed, slice each block of tofu into 3 rectangular blocks, so that you have 6 rectangles.
- Brush the tofu with sesame oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper.
- Mix up your basting sauce by adding the toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, hoisin sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger powder and cayenne pepper to a measuring jug. Whisk it into a sauce.
- Lightly brush a grill skillet with sesame oil and heat it for around 6 minutes on medium to high heat until hot.
- Place three of the tofu blocks onto the hot skillet. They will stick to the skillet.
- Grill the tofu for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes they will have grill lines and should release from the skillet easily without sticking.
- Flip the tofu over and grill for 5 minutes on the other side.
- Remove the tofu from the skillet and repeat with the remaining 3 tofu rectangles.
- Then return the tofu to the skillet, 3 pieces at a time and lightly brush the basting sauce on both sides.
- Serve over basmati rice and pour over the rest of the sauce.
- Top with chopped green onions and a sprinkle of white sesame seeds.
Notes
- Tofu – it is crucial that you use firm or extra firm tofu in this recipe. Extra firm is preferable.
- Sesame oil – regular sesame oil is used to brush onto the tofu and onto the grill skillet, and toasted sesame oil in the basting sauce. Don’t mix them up because toasted sesame oil is not a good option to use in high heat. This is why we also just brush on the basting sauce at the end, we don’t cook the tofu in the sauce.
- Let the grill pan get hot before adding the tofu. The grill pan needs to be hot so that the tofu seals when it hits the pan, gets those lovely grill lines, and doesn’t stick.
- Wait 5 minutes before flipping. In addition to the grill pan being sizzling hot, you must also wait the full 5 minutes before you try to flip the tofu. If you try to flip it too soon, it will break up.
- Prep time does not include the time spent pressing the tofu.
- Nutritional information is for tofu and sauce only and excludes basmati rice.
Hello! I’m not sure how long you leave the tofu on the skillet at step 10 🙂 Can you please help? Thank you for yet another recipe that I know we will all love.
Hi Farida, just as long as it takes to brush on the basting sauce on either side. All the best and hope you enjoy the recipe!
Made this for brunch today. Very easy.
I didn’t have toasted sesame seed oil so I used peanut oil instead. It was still quite delicious. I’ll definitely make it again using the toasted sesame seed oil in the basting sauce.
Great recipe. Thank you ????
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Mary-Ann!
Making a bland tofu into something scrumptious is really an art. Thank you for this simple effective recipe.
Thanks Anna!