Crispy Baked Tofu Salad

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Bagged coleslaw and shredded carrots reduce the prep work. I am trying to become president of the cabbage fan club. There are so many ways to enjoy this fall-winter vegetable roasted or raw. Cabbage delivers on crunch, and it easy to find in the produce department already shredded. 

The miso peanut dressing for this tofu salad is fantastic. Creamy and vegan, white miso paste works its magic adding savory, salty and umami flavor. Because the dressing is so special, you can keep the tofu marinade simple, and just bake it tossed in a little soy sauce, oil and cornstarch.

Usually salad leftovers aren’t great, but this one holds up. I always recommend if you can to not toss the entire salad in dressing if you’re not planning on eating it. No one wants a soggy salad. Since the base of this salad recipe is shredded cabbage and carrots, it can stand up to dressing and storage better than most. 

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

For tofu:

• Tofu: Use extra firm tofu. You want those cubes to hold their shape when you toss the baked tofu into the salad with the rest of the salad ingredients.
• Soy sauce acts like seasoning. Instead of salt and pepper, it on its own gives the tofu flavor. There is also low-sodium soy sauce in the dressing.
• Cornstarch helps the tofu crisp up on the outside as it bakes in the oven.
• Vegetable oil: I prefer using a neutral oil that is GMO free. You can substitute with olive oil.

For salad:

• Coleslaw mix: In the refrigerator case in the produce department, these typically include red cabbage, green cabbage and shredded carrots. You can cut any of these vegetables, but this is a great shortcut.
• Carrots: The recipe calls for shredded carrots. Again, like the cabbage, I prefer buying it already shredded. You can do it yourself with the big holes of a box grater, but the cuts won’t be as clean.
• Romaine: Along with the cabbage and carrots, I toss in chopped romaine. This recipe flips the usual proportion of leafy greens to cabbage and carrots. It is definitely lighter on lettuce, which is great here because you get all that crunch. 
• Scallions give the salad something fresh and crisp and light green onion flavor. You can substitute with thinly sliced red onions.
• Peanuts: I chop roasted lightly salted peanuts. They layer in texture and more nutty taste to enhance the overall salad. 
• Miso peanut dressing: This is a mix of white miso paste, natural peanut butter, minced fresh ginger and garlic, low-sodium soy sauce, lime juice, kosher salt, black pepper and vegetable oil.

Optional Additions

You can make one or more of the following additions to the salad:

• Cooked grains: Try quinoa or brown rice.
• Avocado, sliced or diced, gives the salad something creamy.
• Cucumbers, diced, will add more fresh bites to the salad. Because they have less seeds and more delicate skin, use English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers. 
• Sesame seeds: The salad already has peanuts, but you can include sesame seeds for more crunch. 
• Bean sprouts: You can reduce the amount of carrots and substitute with bean sprouts.

Serving

As mentioned, I love this as an entree salad for lunch or dinner. Having more cabbage and carrots than romaine lettuce makes it very hearty. If you aren’t a tofu person, you can toss in shredded rotisserie chicken or pair it with salmon or shrimp.

Leftovers & Storage

You can keep the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. The cabbage, carrots and romaine will lose a little of their crispness. Store leftover dressing into a separate container. If you can plan ahead, only toss the amount of salad that you are going to eat at one time in the dressing. This will help it maintain more of its texture.

Let leftover salad dressing to sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before you serve it. Then the oil has a chance to turn to liquid again. The cold temperature of the fridge usually hardens it. Also, give it a good stir.

Recipe Tips

• Spoon all of the tofu onto the baking sheet. After you stir it with the tofu marinade, some of the corners make break off into crumbs. They are great baked too because they turn out crispy. I like that variety.
• Use fresh lime juice for the dressing. Bottled juice has unnecessary ingredients to extend its shelf-life and does not taste as good. 
• You can use olive oil in the dressing. The recipe calls for vegetable oil, which is more neutral in flavor, but olive oil is fine too.

More Big Salad Recipes

Roasted Cauliflower Kale Salad
Sweet Potato Chickpea Salad
Roasted Vegetable Couscous Salad
Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad
Roasted Carrot Salad
Roasted Cauliflower Sweet Potato Salad
Broccoli Quinoa Salad
Apple Walnut Quinoa Salad
Edamame Salad with Tahini Ginger Dressing