At Sustainable Action Now, we understand that our daily choices, especially those concerning what we eat, have a profound impact on both our personal well-being and the health of our planet. Embracing plant-based eating is one of the most powerful ways to contribute to a more sustainable future, significantly reducing our environmental footprint while nourishing our bodies. We’re excited to share insights from “Food with Feeling” recipes, a fantastic resource for making plant-based meals both easy and incredibly delicious. For a full array of recipes that align with a sustainable lifestyle, be sure to explore our Recipes section.

Many people have had less-than-stellar experiences with plant-based proteins like tofu, often finding it bland or unappealing. However, the secret to truly enjoying tofu lies in proper preparation and, crucially, a fantastic marinade. As “Food with Feeling” emphasizes, a good tofu marinade can transform this versatile ingredient into a dish you genuinely look forward to eating.

The Art of Perfecting Tofu: Tips from Food with Feeling

“Food with Feeling” offers invaluable advice for achieving the best tofu dishes, ensuring they are flavorful, texturally appealing, and a joy to incorporate into your diet:

• Choose Wisely: Opt for extra-firm or super-firm tofu. Super-firm varieties, like those found at Trader Joe’s, often don’t even require pressing, saving you time and effort.
• Press for Success: If you’re using extra-firm tofu, pressing it is a game-changer. This step removes excess water, allowing the tofu to better absorb marinades and achieve a crispier texture when cooked.
• Tear, Don’t Cut: This might sound counterintuitive, but tearing tofu into irregular chunks creates more rough edges and grooves. These imperfections are perfect for crisping up during cooking and holding onto all that delicious marinade.
• Marinate, Marinate, Marinate! This is perhaps the most critical tip. Tofu is a sponge for flavor, and letting it soak in a vibrant marinade for at least 30 minutes (or even a few days for meal prep!) makes all the difference.
• Air Fry for Crispy Perfection: For the ultimate crispy tofu, the air fryer is highly recommended. It’s a quick, easy, and efficient method that delivers consistently delicious results.

Three Ways to Transform Your Tofu: Summery Marinades

“Food with Feeling” introduces three distinct and delightful marinades, perfect for adding a burst of summer flavor to your plant-based meals:

1. Cilantro Lime Tofu: This marinade is a vibrant and zesty classic. Combining olive oil, fresh lime juice, minced garlic, chopped cilantro, paprika, and a touch of honey or maple syrup, it creates a bright and aromatic profile that’s incredibly refreshing.
2. Nashville Hot Tofu: For those who love a kick, this marinade delivers. Inspired by the iconic Nashville Hot Chicken, it features a robust spice mix of cayenne pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, and garlic powder, balanced with olive oil, salt, and pepper. It brings a fiery, flavorful punch to your tofu.
3. Lemon Pepper Tofu: Light, bright, and wonderfully summery, this marinade is a fantastic alternative. It blends olive oil, minced garlic, fresh lemon juice, ground mustard, fresh dill (or dried), white rice vinegar, honey or maple syrup, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. It’s a simple yet elegant flavor profile that truly shines.

These marinades are designed for ease, coming together in a single bag or container. You can even marinate directly in your tofu press container after draining the liquid, minimizing cleanup.

Freezing Marinades for Future Convenience

A fantastic tip for meal prepping and reducing food waste is to freeze your marinades with the tofu. Simply prepare the recipe as written, then place the marinated tofu directly into the freezer. When you’re ready to cook, just transfer it to the fridge 6+ hours beforehand to thaw. While some find that freezing and thawing tofu can alter its texture slightly, giving it a “meatier” bite, it remains a convenient way to have delicious, pre-marinated tofu ready for those busy days.

Tofu is an incredibly sustainable protein source. Compared to animal-based proteins, its production requires significantly less water and land, and it generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions. By choosing tofu and other plant-based options, we actively contribute to a healthier planet, reducing the strain on natural resources and mitigating climate change.

Incorporating these flavorful tofu marinades into your cooking is a delicious step towards a more sustainable lifestyle. It’s about making conscious choices that benefit both ourselves and the world around us. Explore these recipes and more in our Recipes section, and discover how easy and rewarding sustainable eating can be.

How to make these marinades

These marinades are all super easy and come together all in one bag or Tupperware. I’ve been loving this tofu press lately because after you press the tofu and dump out the excess liquid, you can marinate your tofu directly in the container.

Cilantro Lime Tofu

I’m such a sucker for anything Cilantro Lime flavored and I hav no idea why it took me this long to get a Cilantro Lime Tofu recipe up on the blog. It’s so simple and so GOOD!

Here’s what’s in it:

• Olive oil
• Lime juice
• Garlic
• Cilantro
• Salt + pepper
• Paprika
• Honey or maple syrup

Nashville Hot Tofu

I grew up in Nashville and once wrote a local article rating all of the best Hot Chicken in Nashville. This was a good 10 years ago so I’m sure it’s pretty out-dated by this point. But point being, I have a good pulse on the flavors of hot “chicken” and absolutely love how this one turned out!

Here’s what’s in it:

• Spice mix including: Cayenne pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder
• Olive oil
• Salt + pepper

Lemon Pepper Tofu

I always really loved Lemon Pepper wings growing up so of course I had to create a tofu version! This one is super light and just the epitome of summer to me!

Here’s what’s in it:

• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Lemon juice
• Ground mustard
• Fresh dill (dried also works)
• White rice vinegar
• Honey or maple syrup
• Salt + pepper (lots of it!)

tofu recipes for you

• Garlic Butter Tofu
• Honey Garlic Tofu
• Tofu Lunch Meat
• Marry Me Tofu
• General Tso’s Tofu

3 delicious Summer inspired tofu marinades. They’re all SO SIMPLE to make and great for meal prep if you want to marinate it in the fridge for a few days until you’re ready to enjoy!

Course air fryer, dinner, Tofu

Cuisine American

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories

Author Brita Britnell

Ingredients

For the Cilantro Lime Flavor:

• 1 block of extra-firm or super-firm tofu pressed as needed*
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves finely minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

For the Nashville Hot Tofu:

• 1 block of extra-firm or super-firm tofu pressed as needed*
• 1 ½ tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper to taste

For the Lemon Pepper Tofu:

• 1 block of extra-firm or super-firm tofu pressed as needed*
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves finely minced
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill dried also works
• ½ tablespoon white rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ – ½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• If using extra-firm tofu, make sure you press it first.
• Cut or tear the tofu into bite sized chunks. I like to tear my tofu because it provides lots of rough edges that get crispy when you cook it.
• Combine all of the marinade ingredients for your selected flavor into a sealable container (bags or Tupperware both work well). Add in the tofu and toss to combine.
• Let marinate for at least 30 minutes but longer is better. Cook according to desired preferences. I love to air fry my tofu but you can also pan fry it, grill it or bake it! ENJOY!

Notes

Super firm tofu does not need to be press.