These Vegan Peanut Tofu Quinoa Bowls are an absolutely delicious and nutritious meal that you won't want to miss out on! Packed with a ton of plant-based protein from tofu, quinoa, and beans and topped with fresh veggies and a rich peanut sauce, this dish is perfect to meal prep or for any day of the week.
If you'd like more quinoa recipes, check out these Vegan Quinoa Chickpea Burgers, or this Kale Quinoa Tahini Salad next.
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❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These tofu bowls are high in plant-based protein thanks to the combination of quinoa, tofu and kidney beans.
- The crispy tofu comes out perfectly and will make you fall in love with tofu.
- The delicious sauce brings this whole dish together and will make you want to lick the bowl clean!
- It's perfect for meal prep and can be made ahead of time.
🥜 Ingredients
- Extra-firm tofu: Make sure to press the tofu before using to remove excess moisture.
- Soy sauce: Use low-sodium soy sauce if you prefer.
- Maple syrup: Adds a touch of sweetness and balance to the sauce.
- Toasted sesame oil: Adds a delicious nutty flavor to the tofu. Make sure it's toasted sesame oil, since it has a richer flavor than regular sesame oil.
- Seasonings: To season the sweet potatoes, we're using a warming mix of garlic powder, curry powder and cinnamon.
- Rice vinegar: Adds a tangy flavor and acidic balance to the peanut sauce.
- Corn starch: Helps the tofu to become crispy.
- Quinoa - you can use whatever quinoa you have on hand, white, red or multicolored. To make it more flavorful, cook it in vegetable broth.
- Creamy peanut butter - this is the base of our delicious rich sauce.
🥦Substitutions & Variations
- Feel free to use whatever frozen or fresh vegetables are your favorite to roast. This recipe is very versatile. Bok choy, red cabbage, broccoli, snap peas are all good ideas.
- Substitute lime juice for the vinegar in the sauce.
- Use brown rice, white rice, or cauliflower rice instead of quinoa if you prefer.
- Use almond butter instead of peanut butter in the sauce.
👩🍳 Expert tips
Press the tofu - This will make the tofu crispier. Use a tofu press or wrap the tofu in paper towels and place it on a cutting board with a weight on top to remove excess liquid. Check out my article on how to cook tofu for beginners for more tofu tips.
Make sure the tofu is in a single layer on the baking sheet to ensure it becomes crispy.
Cook the quinoa in vegetable broth to give it more flavor. Check out my article on how to cook quinoa for more tips.
Always rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer to get rid of its bitter flavor.
🔪 Directions
Make sure to scroll to the recipe card for full step-by-step instructions.
- Preheat oven to 400°F and press the block of tofu for 15 minutes. Cut into small cubes.
- Add the tofu cubes in a small bowl. Drizzle on some oil and corn starch and mix. Add to a baking sheet and bake until golden brown.
- In a medium bowl, mix together spices for the vegetables and toss with quartered red onion, drizzle of oil and diced sweet potatoes.
- Roast sweet potatoes and onions for 25 minutes.
- While vegetables are roasting, prepare quinoa in a rice cooker.
- Steam kale in the rice cooker when the quinoa is done cooking.
- Make peanut tofu sauce by combining ingredients.
- Thicken and heat the sauce on the stove. Add the baked cubed tofu to a mixing bowl and drizzle a little sauce. Add it back to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Assemble the bowl with quinoa, sweet potatoes, kale, kidney beans, and peanut tofu sauce.
🥄 Recommended Equipment
- Tofu press or clean kitchen towels to remove excess water from the tofu.
- Baking trays and parchment paper for roasting veggies and tofu.
- To make the peanut sauce even more smooth, use a small blender.
🌯 Serving Suggestions
Top with some sesame seeds and fresh cilantro. This goes great as a bowl. You can also wrap up the ingredients in a whole wheat tortilla or pita bread and add some arugula or lettuce and make a fresh wrap.
❄️ Storing
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Extra quinoa and roasted vegetables can be easily frozen for up to three months.
❓ FAQ's
Yes, cook the tofu in the air fryer at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through.
The easiest way is to use a tofu press. If you don't have a tofu press you can wrap the tofu in paper towels and place it on a plate. Stack heavy pots or books on top. Press for 15-30 minutes.
You can also microwave it for 1 minute and then gently squeeze the excess water out. Make sure to use a towel, since it will be hot.
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If you loved this recipe, leave a 5 ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and comment below!
📖 Recipe
Quinoa tofu bowl with peanut sauce
Equipment
- Rice cooker optional
- Tofu press optional
Ingredients
Peanut tofu
- 1 package of extra firm tofu (pressed for 15 minutes)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or lime juice)
- 1 teaspoon garlic ginger paste (Or garlic powder and ginger powder)
Roasted vegetables
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 small red onion (quartered)
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
Bowl ingredients
- 2 cups dry quinoa (rinse well in a fine mesh strainer)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 16 oz can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 bunch of kale (de-stemmed, rinsed and roughly chopped)
- Cilantro (optional for topping)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Press the tofu for 15 minutes. If you don't have a tofu press, wrap it in paper towel and cover with a few heavy books or pans1 package of extra firm tofu
Prepare roasted vegetables
- While waiting for tofu to press, let's prepare the sweet potatoes. In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, cinnamon, salt and curry powder1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon curry powder
- Place quartered red onion and diced sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle over oil and mix well. Shake spice mixture over the sweet potatoes and onions and mix well.1 tablespoon oil, 1 small red onion, 2 medium sweet potatoes
- Place on a non-stick baking sheet and set aside, while we get our tofu ready. Give enough room between the sweet potatoes so that they become crispy.
Prepare tofu & roast veggies
- Now that the tofu has been pressed for 15 minutes, cut it into larger cubes and add to a mixing bowl. Add a drizzle of oil and sprinkle on corn starch. Mix gently. Place on a non-stick baking sheet1 tablespoon corn starch, 1 tablespoon oil
- Place sweet potatoes, onions and tofu in the oven for 25 minutes.
Prepare quinoa
- While the sweet potatoes and onions are baking, prepare the quinoa by placing vegetable broth and quinoa in a rice cooker. Use the white rice cooking option. If you don't have a rice cooker, check out this post to learn how to cook quinoa on the stove or in a pressure cooker.2 cups dry quinoa, 4 cups vegetable broth
- After the quinoa is cooked, open the lid of the rice cooker and throw the chopped kale in and shut the lid. The steam from the quinoa will cook the kale without having to dirty another pot1 bunch of kale
Prepare peanut sauce
- In a small bowl or mason jar, combine peanut butter, maple syrup and soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar and ginger garlic paste (or powder).¼ cup peanut butter, ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup maple syrup, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic ginger paste
Add sauce to baked tofu
- After 25 minutes, keep the sweet potatoes in the oven, but take the tofu out.
- Place tofu in a bowl and pour ⅓ of the mixture over the tofu. Gently mix to make sure each piece is well coated. Let it marinate for 5 minutes, then pop it back on the baking sheet and into the oven for another 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, take the tofu and sweet potatoes out of the oven - or when they become slightly caramelized and golden brown.
Assemble
- Place the remaining ⅔ of the peanut sauce in a sauce pan on low and gently stir while it heats up and thickens.
- Assemble the bowl: add the quinoa, drained and rinsed kidney beans, kale, sweet potatoes and peanut tofu and top with a little peanut sauce and cilantro16 oz can of kidney beans, Cilantro
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Andrea
A great dish that I will make again!
Stephanie
So delicious!! Everyone needs to try this dish!
Maria
Thank you, Stephanie! I'm so glad you loved it