This recipe is sponsored by EZ Tofu Press. All opinions are 100% my own.
Y'all, this is the spicy tofu sandwich of my dreams! Keep things simple, like a certain fast food chain, or load it up with your favorite toppings.
Spicy Tofu Sandwich
Last year, Dave and I spent New Year's in New York City seeing Phish at Madison Square Garden. If you love Phish, seeing them at MSG is bucket list material. And, for some reason, Phish fans are obsessed with the spicy chicken sandwich they sell in section 119 of that venue.
Obviously, I didn't get to experience MSG's spicy chicken sandwich, but developing this spicy tofu sandwich has been on my mind since then.
So! When one of my awesome sponsors, EZ Tofu Press, asked if I'd like to work on a Chick-fil-A knockoff, I knew that a spicy tofu sandwich (aka the To-ful-A) had to happen. AND IT DID. And it was so, so good.
Making Your To-ful-A
To make this sandwich, start by pressing your tofu in your EZ Tofu Press. I do not recommend skipping this step when you make this recipe. Pressing the tofu will give it a much firmer texture, which is what you want in a chicken-style sandwich.
You really do want your tofu to be extra-super-duper-firm (technical cooking term) for this recipe, because otherwise your cutlets are going to fall apart when you pull them out of the mayo during dredging.
Trust me.
I tried to skip pressing during one round of testing, and most of my tofu cutlets broke in half.
The EZ Tofu Press presses your tofu quickly, evenly, and gets so much water out - about ½ cup on average! I've had my EZ Tofu Press for years, and I love it! It's easy to clean and takes up very little space in my limited kitchen cabinets.
Once your tofu is pressed, slice it into eight cutlets, bread, and bake it to crispy perfection. Then, you're ready to throw that spicy tofu onto a bun with pickles and any other toppings you like.
Of course, you don't have to top your Spicy Tofu Sandwich in Chick-fil-a style. You can use whatever toppings you like! I love adding lettuce and avocado to this sandwich to make it even more special.
Have fun with the toppings, and build the Spicy Tofu Sandwich of your dreaaaams!
More Tofu Recipes
Do you love tofu like I do? Here are some of my other favorite tofu recipes:
- Air Fryer Tofu and Potato Scramble
- Crispy Air Fryer Tofu
- Restaurant-Style Crispy Tofu (stovetop recipe)
📖 Recipe
Spicy Tofu Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu - pressed and cut into 8 cutlets
- ½ cup vegan mayo
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper - You can use up to 1 teaspoon, if you want a spicier sandwich.
- 4 vegan buns - toasted. I used potato rolls, because we love potato rolls.
- 4 teaspoons vegan butter
- pickle chips - Use as many as you want!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Put the mayo into a shallow bowl. Put the panko in separate a shallow bowl, and whisk in all of the seasonings.
- Coat each piece of tofu generously in the mayo, then, coat it in the panko mixture.
- Bake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for 45-50 minutes, without flipping.
- Spread the vegan butter onto the toasted buns, then add 2 pieces of spicy tofu to each bun. Top with as many pickle chips as you like, and serve!
Alocasia
I can't wait to try this. It sounds great. I see that you say to cut the tofu into 4 cutlets, and the recipe calls for 4 buns, but you say to put 2 pieces on each bun. Am I actually cutting it into 8 cutlets or am I missing something? Thanks. :)
Becky Striepe
Oh whoops! That 4 cutlets is left over from a previous round of testing where I tried it with thicker pieces, but I didn't feel like that gave you enough flavor. Thank you for asking about this! I fixed the recipe card to reflect the right number.
Amber
Wow. It's been forever since I've had Chick-fil-A and let me tell you - you nailed it! My husband and I were both incredibly impressed! I was thinking of air frying it but saw in the comments above that it didn't work out so very glad I saw that beforehand! Thanks for this. :)
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Amber! And thank you so much for taking the time to comment and rate - that means a lot to me!
Dani
Great sandwich! It real does taste like chick-fil-a.
Becky Striepe
Thank you for taking the time to rate and comment! It has been a long time since I had chick-fil-a, so I'm glad to have a second opinion on that. :D
Ri
Would thus work with regular mayo?
Becky Striepe
I haven't tried it, so I can't say for sure.
Mary
In the blocks above the recipe it says 15 minutes cook time, but in the recipe itself it says to cook for 45 - 50 minutes. Which is accurate?
Becky Striepe
Oops! It's 45-50. I had been trying to do an air fryer version, which didn't work out, and I forgot to change it on the card. I'll do that now. Thank you for asking!
Cadry
I've got to make this for David! Before we went vegan, that was his favorite fast food sandwich. One time I drove an hour out of my way to surprise him with one, back when Chick-Fil-A was a rarity in SoCal. (I don't know if it is now.) Obviously, there are a million reasons I wouldn't support that business today. So I'm excited to try your cruelty-free version!!
BHH
Your recipe looks so good that I printed it--and bought the press. Thanks.
Becky Striepe
Enjoy it, Bonnie!
Dianne
I loved that you saw Phish in New York, because that meant that I got to see you! I had no idea that the MSG spicy chicken sandwich was a thing. I'm so glad you veganize it though, because this looks incredible! I'm printing this out, and I hope to make it this weekend.
Becky Striepe
I loved that about that run, too. We are coming back for NYE at MSG and hope we get to hang out again!