As much of a mouthful that name is, these Grilled Tofu Steaks in a Creamy Vegan Cajun Sauce come together in mere minutes. The sauce is made in a blender, and it is creamy and spicy and herby. The grilled steaks are smoky and flavorful. A 30-minute vegan, gluten-free recipe.
Here's an easy dish with all the flavors of summer that will leave you licking your fingers--and the pot: vegan Grilled Tofu Steaks in a Creamy Cajun Sauce.
What's more, you have to do very little actual work for this recipe. Marinate the tofu (which should take all of five minutes), grill it up, mix up the sauce in the blender (no chopping required beforehand) and then just give it a few minutes on the stove to cook up into a world of deliciousness.
Let's get on with cooking this simple and tasty dish, and if you make it (which I hope you will), be sure to come back and tell me about it.
Pick the right kind of tofu: What kind of tofu you'll use depends on your personal preference. If you want steaks that are chewy on the outside and softer inside, use extra firm tofu, with most of the water squeezed out.
But if you like chewy tofu (I do!) use super firm tofu.
Remember, the longer you leave it on the grill the chewier it will get.
Marinate your tofu: This adds more flavor to your tofu and to your sauce as well, so don't skip it. The marinade I use is super easy, all you need is olive oil, a dash of balsamic vinegar, a dash of tamari, thyme, ground black pepper and salt.
Cut the tofu in thick steaks: I get eight steaks from a block of 16-oz tofu. You don't want very small pieces if you're grilling them, especially on an outdoor grill.
Soak the cashews for the sauce (unless you have a high-powered blender): If you want a really creamy sauce, soak the cashews for at least 30 minutes before you make the sauce.
Use dry herbs if you don't have fresh: As plentiful as herbs are in the summer, I actually prefer dry thyme and dry oregano in the recipe because it doesn't mess up the lovely orange of the sauce. Use fresh if you'd rather.
Spice it up: I add about a teaspoon of paprika to this recipe, and lots of ground black pepper, which makes it nicely spicy but not overwhelmingly so. But if you want more heat, add some cayenne.
I love it with a crusty French bread drizzled with olive oil and a leafy salad on the side.
This also makes a great pasta sauce. You can cut the tofu into smaller cubes after grilling and serve it over your favorite pasta.
Or serve it over creamy vegan mashed potatoes. I can't think of a more delicious meal (and neither can Jay).
Grilled Tofu Steaks in a Creamy Vegan Cajun Sauce
Equipment
- Grill or grill pan
Ingredients
For the grilled tofu:
- 16 oz super firm or extra firm tofu (use extra firm for steaks that are less chewy, but squeeze excess water out first. Slice the tofu once through the middle, then cut each half into four steaks)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
For the creamy vegan Cajun sauce:
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (if you want to use more paprika, which you certainly can, add regular paprika)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 cups water (if you have mushroom stock around, use it for even more flavor)
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter (optional)
Instructions
Make the tofu steaks:
- Whisk all the marinade ingredients. Dredge the tofu in the marinade and set aside for 30 minutes at least if possible. You can skip the marinating time, but you'll get more flavorful steaks if you let them sit in the marinade for a while.
- Heat the grill or grill pan on high heat. Place the tofu steaks on the grill and turn the heat to medium low. Cover the steaks and let them cook about 4-6 minutes on each side or until they have nice grill marks on them. Turn the tofu at a 90 degree angle halfway through grilling to get a cross-hatch pattern. Set the grilled tofu steaks aside.
Make the creamy Cajun sauce:
- Place all the ingredients except the butter in the blender and blend into a smooth sauce. It will appear thin at this point, but that's fine.
- Add the butter to a hot skillet, if using. Pour in the sauce from the blender and mix well. Cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low and continue cooking another 5-8 minutes or until it has thickened nicely. If it isn't as thick as you want it to be, give it a little longer on the stove. Stir frequently and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Add the tofu steaks to the saucepan and let them heat through, then turn off heat.
- Garnish with fresh parsley or thyme or both.
Nutrition
Mary
I made this the other day Wow! I cannot say enough good things about this sauce!! you could eat cardboard with this sauce on it! I did make a couple of minor changes to suit us. I used no chicken broth in place of water or mushroom stock (cause I didn't have any). I added a little better than bouillon no chicken base to the saucepan after the sauce got warm enough to dissolve it. and I added 1/8 teaspoon cayenne to give it a slight heat! OMG! I loved it, my husband at Tofu for the fist time and said it was good! (this being 2 weeks since he had claimed He would never eat that stuff) LOL! I gave the one small leftover serving to my step daughter and she loved it she also wanted the recipe. Thank you for this wonderful sauce and great Tofu recipe!! I did grill the tofu this time but on an indoor grill. didn't do such a great job. but next time I will grill outside or pan fry. and there will be a next time and a next time. Thanks again
Vaishali
🙂 Love this story! So happy you and your family enjoyed these steaks, Mary. Thanks for letting me know!
Kathleen Andersen
Thanks for another great recipe! We loved it!
Vaishali
Kathleen, thanks for letting me know--so happy you loved it.
Rewari
Seriously – every recipe of yours that I try is fantastic. Made this exactly as written. Perfecto!
Vaishali
Awesome, so happy to hear! 🙂
Beth Siegelbaum
This dish was delicious and simple. We will definitely have it again! So far all of your recipes have been great. I look forward to trying more.
Vaishali
Awesome to hear that, Beth!
Wasif
No hate. But if you choose to eat tofu, eat it. Why do you need to name it steak?
Vaishali
Because a steak is any thick slice of food, including non-meat!
Keefwong
It’s a tofu steak lol
Jill
Do you say that to people who eat Tuna steaks?
Heather Sullivan
Really yummy! Although I might add a little more kick next time. I like it spicy
Vaishali
You can certainly add more cayenne or hot sauce for kick! So happy you made it.
Mo
I grilled some tofu on the weekend as part of my meal plan and then came across this recipe. I quickly changed my menu and tried this sauce out and WOW. Was divine and simple 🙂 Thank you.
Vaishali
Awesome, so glad you made it!
Andi
Very tasty, I was excited to have all the ingredients on hand and made it tonight! The marinade for the tofu didn't impart much flavor, it was mostly oil. But the sauce was delicious!
Vaishali
It's hard to get tofu to absorb flavors, but marinating it longer would help. Happy you tried it!