Easy General Tso's Tofu in the Oven or the Air Fryer

This recipe is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. All opinions are 100% my own.

General Tso's Tofu is quick and easy to make in either the oven or the air fryer, and you can pile on the broccoli, unlike when you order delivery.

Y'all, I love General Tso's tofu. LOVE. It's my go-to takeout meal, but my big frustration is that restaurants don't seem to understand what I'm saying when I ask for extra broccoli.

More Easy Tofu Recipes: Twice-Baked BBQ Tofu, The Best Baked Buffalo Tofu Bites

I'm saying I want my meal to basically be 50% broccoli. I created this recipe for easy General Tso's Tofu, so I could have my favorite meal with the tofu-to-broccoli ratio I prefer.

Lightened-Up General Tso's Sauce

Any time you're making a "sticky" sauce, there's going to be sugar involved. I love sweet sauces, but I do try to avoid refined sugar when I can do it without giving up any of the flavor.

In this recipe, I sweeten the sauce with orange juice and maple syrup instead of white sugar. The result is a sticky-sweet sauce that's refined-sugar free without sacrificing any of the deliciousness.

Making the sauce takes less than 15 minutes on the stovetop. Just simmer a few ingredients, add a bit of cornstarch, and simmer some more.

Once your General Tso's Sauce is ready, it's tofu time!

Making the Tofu

Making the tofu is easy, too.

Start by pressing out the excess liquid. Pressing gets the excess liquid out, so your tofu gets that super firm, restaurant-style texture. And the EZ Tofu Press makes it quick and easy while maintaining the shape of your tofu block.

The EZ Tofu Press gets an average of ½ cup water out of a single block of tofu in 10-15 minutes!

Press your tofu while the sauce simmers, so it will be ready to cube when you're ready to cook.

Dice up the tofu into 1" cubes, then toss with cornstarch and bake or air fry. The cornstarch will give your tofu a crispy coating that the sticky General Tso's sauce clings to like a dream!

While the tofu bakes, start making the rice and broccoli, so everything will be ready at the same time.

After the first round of tofu cooking, toss the tofu cubes with some of the sauce, and bake or air fry again. After that round of cooking, you're ready to serve!

Plate up your tofu with as much (or as little) broccoli as you like, and add a side of rice. Then, drizzle on some of the leftover sauce, and DEVOUR it!

More tofu recipes

• Bacon-Wrapped Tofu Appetizer
• Baked Tofu and Vegetable Skewers
• Tofu Banh Mi-Inspired Salad with Tofu

Easy General Tso's Tofu

General Tso's Tofu is quick and easy to make in either the oven or the air fryer, and you can pile on the broccoli, unlike when you order delivery.

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5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Air Fryer, Vegan

Keyword: general tso's tofu

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 475kcal

Ingredients

For the General Tso's Sauce

• ▢ 1 cup orange juice
• ▢ 3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce - (or more, if you like things spicier)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup maple syrup
• ▢ 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch - dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

For the Tofu

• ▢ 1 block extra firm tofu - pressed and cubed
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the Bowl

• ▢ 2 cups steamed broccoli
• ▢ 4 cups cooked rice
• ▢ chopped green onion - for garnish

Instructions

• ▢
  If you're baking your tofu, preheat the oven to 400F.

Make the General Tso's Sauce

• ▢
  Combine all of the sauce ingredients except the cornstarch mixture in a small saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
• ▢
  Add the cornstarch mixture and continue to simmer, stirring, until the cornstarch completely dissolves and the sauce reduces and becomes syrupy. Set the sauce aside.

Make the Tofu in the Oven

• ▢
  In a large bowl, combine the tofu with the second tablespoon of cornstarch, and toss to coat. Bake for 30 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave the oven on.
• ▢
  Transfer the tofu to a bowl, and toss it with ¼ cup of the General Tso's Sauce. Transfer it back to the same lined baking sheet, and bake at 400F for 10 more minutes. Now you can turn off the oven.
• ▢
  Serve with the broccoli and rice, topped with extra sauce and green onions.

OR! Make it in the Air Fryer

• ▢
  In a large bowl, combine the tofu with the second tablespoon of cornstarch, and toss to coat. Air fry at 370F for 15 minutes, shaking after 8 minutes to prevent sticking.
• ▢
  Toss the cooked tofu with ¼ cup of the General Tso's Sauce, and air fry again. This time, at 350F for 5 minutes, shaking once to prevent sticking.
• ▢
  Serve with the broccoli and rice, topped with extra sauce and green onions.

Video

Notes

Estimated cooking time is for the air fryer. The cooking time increases from 30 minutes to 55 minutes, if you use the oven.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Easy General Tso's Tofu

Amount per Serving

Calories

475

% Daily Value*

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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