Don't miss out this vegan tofu parmesan. So easy and delicious you will fall in love with this Italo-American classic!
Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano.
Who's up for some serious plant based comfort food?
If you fancy a delicious Italo-American classic, inspired by the traditional Eggplant Parmigiana that is full of flavour and dead easy to make you're in the right place.
I assure you that this tofu parmesan will wow you and your guests and you will all be up for seconds.
So my advice is:
roll up your sleeves and make sure you make plenty!
Good old Tofu
As many of you are already aware, tofu is my favourite plantbased protein. I adore how versatile it is and how easily we can make it the "king" of:
- Mains
- Desserts
- Salads
- Pasta Dishes
- Appetizers
- Buffet
Tofu blocks come in different form and textures.
I always advise you to make sure you pick the right one for the recipe you are going to make.
Overall we can classify tofu into 3 main categories:
- Silken
- Firm
- Extra Firm
Silken tofu contains 88–90% water and 6% protein and is made with soy milk containing 10–12% solids. This variety of tofu is ideal for sauces (both sweet and savoury), quiche and desserts.
The firmer the tofu, the better it will perform to be used in dishes where it is required for it to be sliced or cubed, aka stir fry, grilled, pan fried etc.
To learn more about tofu, I suggest that you read this intresting article.
What type of Tofu should we use for this recipe?
The easy answer to this question is: the firmer, the better.
I suggest you to use a firm tofu block and press it for 10-15 minutes before use.
Alternatively you can use frozen tofu.
Simply defrost the block of tofu and follow the recipe. Frozen tofu doesn't need to be pressed. Check this Tofu "ribs" recipe to learn more about the frozen tofu hack.
How to make this delicious Tofu Parmesan
Tofu Parmesan is the vegan friendly twist of the Italo-American chicken parmesan.
There are three main ingredients to nail this easy dish, and these are:
- tomato sauce
- tofu
- mozzarella cheese
One of the key elements of this dish, is indeed a good tomato sauce. You can make your own with a bunch of simple ingredients or use your favourite store bought one.
I will show you how I make mine using simply onions, tomato passata, basil, oregano and salt & pepper.
As already mentioned, we will need to press well our tofu block before cutting into "steaks".
Then we will coat it first into a batter (in place of eggs) made with chickpea flour, corn flour, black salt, turmeric and plant based milk.
Finally we will need to coat the tofu steaks into ground corn flakes (or breadcrumbs if you don't need this recipe to be gluten free) before frying it until golden brown.
Once the tofu is ready and smelling gorgeous, we can hop to the final step: assembling & bake!
On a baking tray align the fried tofu steaks, cover with 2-3 tablespoon of tomato sauce and top with your favourite vegan mozzarella (click here for homemade version).
Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 5-7 minutes.
Enjoy your tofu parmesan with some side salad or over some pasta dressed with the remaining tomato sauce.
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Easy Tofu Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients:
1 block Firm Tofu (300gr)
½ cup Ground Corn Flakes
3 tablespoon Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil (for frying)
...for the tomato sauce..
250 ml Tomato Passata
10 Basil Leaves
½ Onion
1 Pinch Oregano
Salt
Pepper
...for the batter...
90 ml Plant Based Milk (Soy)
3 tablespoon Chickpea Flour
2 tablespoon Corn Flour
½ teaspoon Himalayan Salt
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 pinch Turmeric
1 pinch Baking Powder (optional)
Method:
1. Press the tofu for 10-15 minutes (if you're using frozen tofu, skip this step).
2. Make the tomato sauce (if you're using store bought sauce, skip this step). Finely chop the onion, and sauté in a pan with a splash of water (or olive oil) and a pinch of salt until tender. Add the tomato passata, the oregano, the basil and season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven at 180°C (350°F).
4. Make the batter. In a bowl sieve all the powders: chickpea flour, corn flour, turmeric, garlic powder and baking powder. Add the plant based milk a bit at a time to avoid forming lumps. Season with salt and whisk well with a fork or a whisk.
5. In another bowl arrange the corn flakes.
6. Cut the tofu block into 1cm thick slices. Coat each piece first into the batter then into the ground corn flakes. Set aside.
7. In a pan heat the vegetable oil for a few seconds, then fry the tofu cutlets on both sides until golden brown (it will take roughly 2-3 minutes per side).
8. Drain onto some kitchen paper to remove the excess of oil.
9. Arrange the tofu onto a tray, then coat each piece with 2-3 table spoons of tomato sauce and top with vegan mozzarella.
10. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted.
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