This Sheet Pan Asian Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry is packed with fresh veggies, crispy tofu, and a homemade stir fry sauce that makes an easy, vegetarian meal cooked all together in one pan in less than 20 minutes!
I am a girl who loves a good sheet pan meal. Throw everything on one pan, pop some brown rice rice or quinoa on the stove (or in the microwave), and dinner is ready with minimal clean up and mess.
However I have struggled to find good vegetarian recipes that are also sheet pan meals and since we are trying to incorporate more meatless meals into our diet, having some simple meals up my sleeve is a must. Today's recipe is one of those.
The key to making this recipe really shine is to thoroughly press or dry the tofu first so that it can get nice and crispy in the oven, because, let's be honest, no one wants to eat soggy tofu.
Now, the easiest way to do this is with a tofu press, which is absolutely worth buying if you eat tofu often. If you don't enjoy tofu often, you can also press it with some paper towels and some heavy cans. Just wrap the tofu in a few layers of paper towels and place something heavy on top. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes so the extra water can be pressed out and absorbed by the paper towels. It may sound like a lot of work, but it makes a world of difference when it comes to getting that crispy tofu in this dish.
Once you have your tofu pressed, the rest is easy. You'll then whip up a quick-and-easy stir fry sauce with soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and Asian garlic chili paste. You can throw in some ginger as well if you like. Toss the tofu and veggies with the sauce and lay everything out on the sheet pan in a single layer. Then, into the oven it goes for 15 minutes.
When it's all done, what you're left with is a crispy tofu covered in a delicious, caramelized sauce with perfectly cooked veggies. It doesn't get much better than that!
Side Dishes to Serve with Sheet Pan Asian Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry
There are so many ways to make side dishes that really shine with minimal effort.
- Rice goes great with stir fries! Try a Cabbage Fried Rice, a nice, fluffy brown or white rice, or Cauliflower Rice.
- Another gluten-free grain like quinoa, barley, or millet would work too.
- This Sesame Soy Broccoli really hits the spot, any time, with any meal.
- If you're not a fan of broccoli, how about trying some Sesame Green Beans?
- You could add the whole mixture to a bed of lettuce, broccoli slaw, or a kale and shaved Brussels sprouts bagged greens mix. Hot or cold — it's delicious.
- If you don't feel like cooking one more thing, pre-cooked bags of rice and pasta work well with this too. Follow the directions for heating.
How Can I Use Leftover Stir Fry?
Leftover stir-fry might seem like one of those dishes that's best leaving well enough alone. After all, how much can you really do with leftover Asian veggies and tofu? Plenty!
- Reheat, mix with a little spicy Sriracha, and add over rice, quinoa, cauliflower — go crazy and be creative!
- Try adding the reheated mixture to a lettuce wrap. Romaine leaves or Bibb lettuce works well here.
- Heat up the stir-fry leftovers and wrap up inside a low-carb tortilla. Give it a good pressing with some cooking spray on a grill pan for an Asian crunch wrap effect.
- Add the leftovers to some leftover pasta and boom — you now have a whole new dish. Spice it up with some hot sauce or red pepper flakes.
- Use the ingredients as filling for a frittata.
- Wrap up the leftovers in an egg omelet.
- Heat up some vegetable or chicken broth and add in noodles or rice plus the warmed up leftover stir-fry ingredients for a healthy, hearty Asian stir-fry soup.
Ideas for Customizing This Sheet Pan Asian Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry
Stir fries are made for customizing. The number-one way in which I would mix this up is to add whatever veggies you love. Buy a bag of frozen, use fresh, use squashes, asparagus, onion, bok choy — get creative! The worst thing that could happen is that you'd have to pick a few out of your dish if they don't end up working.
The second way I'd customize this dish is to change up the protein. If you are not a fan of tofu, try shredded or sliced chicken, or sliced beef. Pork would work well too. Or, skip the meat all together and toss some chopped peanuts into the mix.
Third, I would add some spices to this dish. I tend to go red pepper flakes for a little heat all the way up to Sriracha for a lot of heat. If you want, add peppers to your dish as you cook. Slice up jalapenos or other spicy pepper and saute away!