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This Cashew Tofu stir-fry is loaded up with healthy veggies, crispy tofu, roasted cashews, and tossed with a simple ginger stir-fry sauce. It’s a quick and easy weeknight dinner, and also naturally gluten-free and vegan!
Two things my husband can never get enough of: CASHEWS and TOFU.
Then man snacks pretty much every day on a handful of cashews or some kind of nuts, and always makes sure that they are extra-well-stocked in our pantry. And when it comes to making a big stir-fry for dinner, a batch of well-seasoned crispy tofu will always be his protein of choice. So when I was craving some old-school Chinese cashew chicken a few weeks ago, we decided to swap in tofu instead for a vegetarian (also vegan and gluten-free) substitute.
And you guys, this stir-fry was awesome. ♡
I modified my usual ginger stir-fry sauce so that it could be completely vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free (no oyster sauce), and it was so good that I totally recommend making a double-batch while you’re at it to use later (or just make yourself a super-saucy stir-fry). Feel free to also swap in whatever other stir-fry veggies or nuts that you have on hand, and dish this up over rice, noodles, quinoa or whatever sounds good. Barclay and I can also vouch that this one keeps and reheats well, as we’ve made it for easy meal prep lunches a few times since. And best of all, it’s just delicious.
Let’s make some cashew tofu!
Cashew Tofu Ingredients:
To make this cashew tofu recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Tofu: One block of extra-firm tofu, which we will toss with olive oil and cornstarch, then sauté on the stove until crispy. (Or alternately, you are welcome to bake it in the oven.)
- Veggies: I used a mixture of broccoli, red bell peppers and red onion. But feel free to swap in any other stir-fry-friendly veggies that you have on hand.
- Cashews: You want to be sure to use roasted (not raw) cashews here, so that they are nice and crunchy.
- Ginger Stir-Fry Sauce: Made with soy sauce (or tamari), water, honey, rice vinegar, cornstarch, ground ginger and garlic.
- Toppings: I topped my stir-fry with some thinly-sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds, as garnish.
I also like to serve this cashew tofu over rice (any kind), rice noodles, sesame noodles or quinoa. But you are also welcome to just serve the stir-fry on its own.
How To Make Cashew Tofu:
To make this cashew tofu stir-fry, simply…
- Drain the tofu. Sandwich the block of tofu between paper towels, weight it down, then let the tofu drain for 15-30 minutes.
- Make the stir-fry sauce. Just whisk all of the ingredients together until combined, then set the sauce aside until you are ready to use it.
- Sauté the tofu. Next, slice the tofu lengthwise into 1/2-inch slabs, then cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces. Gently toss the tofu with the olive oil until evenly coated, then toss with the cornstarch plus a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet and sauté the tofu in two batches, avoiding crowding the pan, until it’s browned and crispy on both sides. Transfer the tofu to a separate plate.
- Sauté the veggies. Add more oil to the sauté pan and briefly cook the veggies until crisp-tender. (Try to avoid overcooking them — you don’t want soggy veggies.)
- Combine everything. Add the cashews, stir-fry sauce and cooked tofu to the pan, and toss to combine. Continue cooking until the sauce has thickened and evenly coated the tofu and veggies.
- Serve. Then dish is up over rice or quinoa and serve warm, garnished with your desired toppings.
Possible Variations:
Want to customize this cashew tofu stir-fry recipe? Feel free to…
- Use a different protein: If tofu isn’t your thing, you are welcome to make this cashew stir-fry with tempeh, shrimp, chicken, beef, or pork.
- Use different veggies: Any other stir-fry-friendly veggies would be delicious in this recipe, such as carrots, onions, snow peas, mushrooms, broccoli, green beans, etc.
- Use different nuts: If cashews aren’t your thing, this stir-fry would also be delicious with peanuts. Or you could just leave the nuts out entirely.
- Make it gluten-free: Just use gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce!
- Make it extra saucy: Feel free to double the sauce recipe if you would like, so that you can have extra to toss with the rice or noodles (or to use with another recipe later!).
More Favorite Stir-Fry Recipes:
Looking for more delicious stir-fry recipes? Feel free to swap in tofu as the main protein in any of these other favorite recipes!
Description
This Cashew Tofu stir-fry is loaded up with healthy veggies, crispy tofu, roasted cashews, and tossed with a simple ginger stir-fry sauce. See notes above for possible ingredient variations.
Scale
Ingredients
Cashew Tofu Stir-Fry Ingredients:
- 1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- 1 head broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
- 1 large red bell peppers, cored and cute into bite-sized pieces
- 1 small red onion, peeled and thinly-sliced
- 1 cup roasted cashews
- toppings: thinly-sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds
Stir-Fry Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 large garlic clove, pressed or minced
Instructions
- Drain the tofu. Sandwich the block of tofu between a few layers of paper towels. Then place a cutting board on top of the tofu, and stack a few heavy cans or pots or whatever you can safely balance on the cutting board. The idea is to put a lot of pressure/weight on the tofu, which will help the excess water to press out into the paper towels. Let the tofu drain for at least 15-30 minutes.
- Make the stir-fry sauce. Meanwhile, whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl (or shake them together in a mason jar) until combined.
- Coat the tofu. Once the tofu has been drained, slice the block lengthwise into 1/2-inch slabs, then cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces. Transfer the tofu to a large mixing bowl, drizzle it evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss until coated. Sprinkle the cornstarch plus a generous pinch of salt and pepper over the tofu, and toss until evenly coated.
- Cook the tofu: Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Add about half of the tofu (however much can fit in an even layer without overlapping) and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crispy and golden on both sides. Transfer the tofu to a separate plate and repeat with the remaining tofu.
- Sauté the veggies. Add the remaining oil to the sauté pan and add the broccoli, red pepper and red onion. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
- Combine everything. Add the cashews, stir-fry sauce and cooked tofu to the sauteé pan, and toss to combine. Continue cooking for 1-2 more minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
- Serve. Remove pan from heat and serve the stir-fry warm over rice, noodles or quinoa, garnished with your desired toppings.
