These grilled tofu steaks in a creamy vegan sauce are a quick, easy and delicious option for dinner. The sauce is made in a blender, and it is creamy, spicy and aromatic with herbs. 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.
More tofu dinner recipes
- Tofu steaks with Irish whiskey sauce
- Tofu florentine
- Chilli tofu
- Tofu tikka masala
- Or browse all of my tofu recipes
Recipe card
Grilled Tofu Steaks in a Creamy Vegan Cajun Sauce
Equipment you'll need
- Grill or grill pan
- Skillet
Ingredients
For the grilled tofu:
- 16 oz super-firm tofu/high-protein tofu (use extra firm tofu 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 avocado oil or any neutral 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 Information
My top tips
- Use extra firm or super firm tofu. Extra firm tofu with excess water squeezed out makes steaks that are chewy on the outside but softer inside. Super firm or high-protein tofu makes chewier steaks with more texture.
- Marinate the tofu: This adds a lot more flavor to the tofu, so don't skip it. All you need is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tamari, thyme, ground black pepper and salt.
- Cut the tofu in thick steaks. This will ensure the tofu steaks grill thoroughly and don't fall apart. I get eight steaks from one block of tofu.
- Soak the cashews. This ensures a very creamy sauce.
- Spice it up. I use paprika and ground black pepper. For even more heat add a dash of cayenne or hot sauce.
Serve
I love these tofu steaks with a crusty French bread drizzled with olive oil and a leafy salad on the side. The sauce is also wonderful with pasta. Cut the tofu into smaller cubes after grilling and serve it with your favorite pasta. Or serve it over creamy vegan mashed potatoes. I can't think of a more delicious meal!
Mary says
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 says
🙂 Love this story! So happy you and your family enjoyed these steaks, Mary. Thanks for letting me know!
Kathleen Andersen says
Thanks for another great recipe! We loved it!
Vaishali says
Kathleen, thanks for letting me know--so happy you loved it.
Rewari says
Seriously – every recipe of yours that I try is fantastic. Made this exactly as written. Perfecto!
Vaishali says
Awesome, so happy to hear! 🙂
Beth Siegelbaum says
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 says
Awesome to hear that, Beth!
Wasif says
No hate. But if you choose to eat tofu, eat it. Why do you need to name it steak?
Vaishali says
Because a steak is any thick slice of food, including non-meat!
Keefwong says
It’s a tofu steak lol
Jill says
Do you say that to people who eat Tuna steaks?
Heather Sullivan says
Really yummy! Although I might add a little more kick next time. I like it spicy
Vaishali says
You can certainly add more cayenne or hot sauce for kick! So happy you made it.
Mo says
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 says
Awesome, so glad you made it!
Andi says
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 says
It's hard to get tofu to absorb flavors, but marinating it longer would help. Happy you tried it!