Vegan Salmon

This vegan salmon is made with tofu that is marinated and then pan fried and seared for the most crispy, flaky and delicious tofu salmon of your dreams!

This vegan salmon is simply amazing! I’m not going to say it’s the best tofu salmon you’ve ever tasted, because you might not have ever had salmon made out of tofu before!

But seriously once you taste this you will fall in love with it. It’s not the quickest recipe (the tofu has to marinate overnight) or the easiest (it’s a little bit fiddly) but you’ll know it’s entirely worth it when you take the first bite.

It’s loaded with flavor, ultra crispy on the outside with the most beautifully tender, flaky center.

You’ll also love our vegan fish recipe (made with celeriac), our vegan shrimp and our vegan paella.

Ingredients You’ll Need For Tofu Salmon:

Ingredient Notes

• Sliced beet – you can use pickled beets (as we did) or simply slice a beet and use 3 slices of it. Its main purpose in this recipe is to provide the color.
• Nori – this is the type of seaweed used to make sushi rolls. The easiest way to chop nori is with a scissors. So simply take a sheet of nori and chop it up into small pieces with a scissors for the finely chopped nori. The nori strips are cut to roughly fit the bottom of each piece of tofu.
• Extra firm tofu – we used two 8-ounce blocks of extra firm tofu and cut each block into two, to get 4 salmon fillets. You can use a single 16-ounce block and cut it into 4 pieces. Extra firm tofu is best and then we still go ahead and press it to get it ultra firm. If you buy vacuum packed extra firm tofu then you may not need to press it.

How To Make Vegan Salmon

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 the tofu for 30 minutes, ideally using a tofu press, or by placing it on a plate, with a second plate on top of it and then place a heavy pot on top of that. After 30 minutes, pour off the excess water and pat your tofu dry.
• Cut each block of tofu in half if you have two 8-ounce blocks, or into 4 pieces if you have a single 16-ounce block.
• Slice a wedge of tofu off the top of each piece, by cutting diagonally from halfway on top of the piece down to the bottom corner. This will give it more of a salmon fillet look.

• Place two butter knives on either side of a piece of tofu and make diagonal cuts across the tofu. The knives will stop you from cutting all the way through the tofu.
• Repeat this for all the pieces of tofu. These cuts will help to recreate the flaky texture of a salmon fillet.

• Add vegetable stock, finely chopped nori, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, liquid smoke, beet slices, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, light brown sugar, crushed garlic, minced ginger and red pepper flakes to your blender and blend until smooth.

• Place the tofu pieces into a deep dish and pour over the marinade sauce.

• Gently turn the tofu pieces in the marinade sauce to make sure they are well coated. Be careful not to break them.
• Leave the pieces upside down in the marinade sauce (the color gets into the tofu pieces better this way), cover the dish and refrigerate overnight.

• Once marinated, gently lift the tofu pieces out of the marinade sauce and place them onto a non stick baking tray.

• Dip the rough side of a strip of nori (cut to fit the bottom of each piece) into the marinade sauce and then gently stick it onto the bottom of the tofu.

• Place the tofu with the nori strip attached to the bottom, back onto the non stick baking tray, lying on its side.
• Repeat with the other tofu pieces.

• Place cornstarch into a bowl and gently roll each piece of tofu in the cornstarch, making sure it’s coated on all sides.

• Place the tofu back onto the non stick baking tray, lying on its side.
• Repeat for all the tofu pieces.

• Heat a non stick frying pan or skillet over medium heat.
• Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (or extra virgin olive oil) and then add the tofu pieces, lying on their sides.
• Cook for 2 minutes until that side is crispy.
• Then flip the tofu so that the tops are face down. Cook for 2 minutes until the tops are crispy.

• Flip the tofu onto the second side and cook for 2 minutes until crispy.
• Then flip the tofu so that the bottoms with the nori strips are facing down. Cook for 2 minutes until the bottoms are crispy.

• Finally, stand the tofu pieces up on their backs. Cook for 2 minutes until crispy.

• The tofu is now done. You can gently turn them in the pan a few more times to make sure they have a fatty coating. This will mimic the fattiness of salmon.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with a sprinkle of ground black pepper, red pepper flakes and chopped cilantro with lemon wedges on the side.

It’s also divine with vegan tartar sauce.

Some veggie sides would be divine with this as well, such as vegan creamed spinach, vegan broccoli salad or vegan cauliflower cheese.

Chef’s Tips

Marinate the tofu pieces upside down. This is so that the marinade can get into the slices and lightly color the insides and also get flavor into the tofu.

Fry the tops and sides before you do the bottom with the nori ‘skins’ on. We start by frying them on their side, then on the tops and then on the other side and only then do we fry them on the bottoms with the nori ‘skins’. The reason for this is that frying the sides and tops helps to seal the nori skin in on the edges so that by the time you fry the bottom and directly fry the nori, it is much less likely to come off and just sticks all the more to the bottom of the tofu.

Gluten free. To make these vegan salmon fillets gluten free simply use tamari or a gluten free soy sauce.

Make Ahead, Storing and Reheating

Make ahead: This tofu salmon works great as a make ahead option as most of the prep happens ahead of time: preparing the tofu, making the marinade sauce and marinating the tofu overnight. When you’re ready it’s just a case of placing the nori strips on the bottom of the tofu fillets, rolling them in cornstarch and pan frying until crispy on all sides.

Storing: Keep leftover vegan salmon fillets in a container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-4 days.

Reheating: Reheat the vegan salmon fillets in the microwave or in the frying pan. They can also be reheated in the air fryer to crisp them up again.

More Vegan ‘Seafood’ Recipes

1. Vegan Fish
2. Vegan Shrimp
3. Vegan Scallops
4. Vegan Tuna
5. Vegan Crab Cakes
6. Vegan Fish Tacos

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!