4 Ingredient Smoked Tofu

When I’m browsing vegan recipes I often see ones that call for smoked tofu as an ingredient, which is awesome — smoky tofu is great! It’s super flavorful and easy to work with. But I can rarely ever find it in stores where I live. So I decided to make my own, and you know what? It was easy! And also better than the stuff you buy at the store, in my opinion.

What You’ll Need

Tofu. I like extra-firm tofu best for this recipe. You could use super firm, but it won’t soak up as much marinade.Soy sauce. Tamari or liquid aminos could be substituted for this.Rice vinegar. Just about any type of vinegar can be substituted — white, red wine, apple cider — just be aware that the flavor will vary slightly depending on what variety you use.Liquid smoke. Look for this near the barbecue sauces at your supermarket.

How to Make Baked Smoked Tofu

The following is a summary of the process for making this dish, along with some tips. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe.

If you’re using extra-firm tofu (or anything less firm than that — which I don’t recommend), you’ll need to press it before getting started. Super firm tofu can simply be blotted after slicing.Cut your tofu. You can really cut it into any size and shape you like, but keep in mind that the smaller the pieces, the more surface area you have to absorb your marinade, which means more flavorful tofu. I cut mine into thin slices (a bit les than ½-inch) for the batch shown in the photos.Mix your soy sauce, vinegar and liquid smoke. Feel free to play around with additional seasonings as well, but these are the only three you need for a basic smoked tofu.Place the tofu in a shallow dish, pour the marinade over it, and let it soak for anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours. Be sure to cover and chill it if you’re soaking it for more than 2 hours.

Arrange your marinated tofu pieces on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake them for about 20 minutes on each side, until darkened and shrunken a bit.