This recipe is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. As always, opinions are 100% my own.
Pineapple-ginger glazed tofu is sweet and savory with a perfect texture. It makes a great vegan holiday dinner and is sneakily simple to make!
Recipe notes
The secret to making pineapple-ginger glazed tofu is my favorite tofu cooking technique: bake it twice! The first round of baking is not required, but it makes such a difference in the final texture.
If you're making this for a weeknight meal in a hurry, you can skip that first round, but for Christmas dinner, I'd definitely go all the way with this recipe.
The other thing that's crucial to the perfect texture in this recipe is pressing your tofu well. And you probably know by now that when I press my tofu, I use my EZ Tofu Press, because it's the best.
There are other ways to press tofu, but the EZ Tofu Press goes a long way when it comes to helping your tofu block keep its perfect shape as you squeeze the water out. For a tofu cutlet recipe like this one, the shape is super important.
An EZ Tofu Press also gets out more water than other pressing methods I tried. Last year, while we I was shooting a promo video for the Press, we decided to measure how much water came out. We pressed six to eight blocks of tofu that day, and we averaged a half cup of water from each block of Whole Foods Extra Firm Tofu.
Getting the water out not only improves the texture, but it prepares the tofu to drink in whatever marinade you make. And you want your tofu thirsty, because this pineapple-ginger glaze is top notch!
Serving suggestions
This recipe begs to be served with all of the comfort food fixin's. Serve your glazed tofu with your favorite holiday sides, like:
Pineapple-Ginger Glazed Tofu Cutlets
Ingredients
For the Pineapple-Ginger Glaze
- 1 20 ounce can of pineapple in juice - drain, and reserve the juice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1" piece fresh ginger
For the Glazed Tofu
- 1 block extra firm tofu - pressed and sliced into 8 cutlets
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Make the Pineapple-Ginger Glaze
- Pull out 4 pineapple rings, and set them aside. You should have 2 pineapple rings remaining.
- Put the pineapple rings, ¼ cup of the pineapple juice, the brown sugar, and the ginger into your blender or food processor. Puree until you have a thick glaze.
- Pour the glaze into an 8x8" glass pan.
Make the Glazed Tofu
- Place the tofu cutlets into the glaze, tossing to coat. Let the tofu marinate for at least 15 minutes. More, if you can wait longer.
- Remove the tofu from the pan. Place it on a lined baking sheet, and brush it with a couple of tablespoons of the reserved glaze.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the tofu from the oven and transfer it to the glass pan that's holding the glaze. Brush more glaze onto each tofu piece.
- Top the tofu with the remaining 8 pineapple slices. Bake for 30 more minutes.
Sherwood
Step 1 says to reserve 4 slices of pineapple, but step 5 mentions 8. Did I miss something?
Becky Striepe
Doh! It should be 8 in step 5. You need 2 rings for the glaze, then the remaining 8 for topping. Sorry about that!
Mary Ellen | VNutrition
Pineapple is my jam so I know this will be so delicious! You're a tofu genius!
Becky Striepe
Haha thank you, Mary Ellen!
Cadry
This sounds wonderful, Becky! It would be so festive as a holiday main dish, and I love the look of those pineapple slices.
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Cadry!
Sarah
I'm always looking for new ways to flavor my tofu cutlets, so THANK YOU for this recipe!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Sarah! Enjoy! :D
Dianne
I love the idea of baking the tofu twice! I bet this is amazing!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Dianne!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
This recipe is genius! I am so excited to try it. I love pineapple!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Amy!
HeathCliff
I don't usually cook with sugar, I usually use maple syrup, and even then, cut down the amount. Would maple syrup work, and if so, what do you think is the minimum quantity? And if I were to cut down on the brown sugar, would it still work with half the amount of sugar?
Becky Striepe
I have not tested this with maple syrup, so I am not sure! Let me know how mixing it up goes, if you try it!
Linda Weinberger
What else could I use since I try not to use sugar or sugar substitutes. Perhaps pureed dates or prunes. And could use fresh pineapple instead of canned.?
Becky Striepe
I’m not sure! Let me know what you end up doing, though! :)