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Orange Cashew Tofu

January 20, 2020 by Mia Zarlengo 37 Comments

orange cashew tofu with rice and cauliflower on a plate

Wow I am SO excited to bring you guys the vegan version of one of your favorite recipes, the no sugar added orange cashew chicken! I have to say…I may even like this version better!

Saucey, glazed tofu with crunchy cashews, fluffy rice, and roasted veggies. My ideal meal! It has all the flavor, with none of the sugar or added junk from regular take out. I honestly prefer this to take out any day! It tastes just as delicious, but leaves me feeling good afterwards!

I knew this was a winner when Blake continuously was requesting the vegan version of this dish. We have been making this weekly, so I knew it was time to put it together in actual recipe form. You guys are seriously going to love this!

orange cashew tofu with rice and cauliflower on a plate
orange cashew tofu with rice and cauliflower on a plate

This meal comes together in about 45 minutes start to finish, and you will not believe how good it is. It’s the perfect flavor and texture combo- and it’s super simple to make.

I always have the ingredients for this dish on hand. This will quickly become a staple weeknight meal for you- trust me!

Enjoy! xx

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Orange Cashew Tofu

★★★★★ 4.8 from 25 reviews
  • Author: Mia Zarlengo
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 2–3 servings 1x
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Description

Gluten free and vegan orange cashew tofu! 


Scale

Ingredients

For the sauce:

  • 1/3 cup coconut aminos
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar 
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • Juice of 1 orange 
  • 1 tbsp tapioca starch
  • 1 tsp of sesame oil 
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced 
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger or 1 inch piece of fresh ginger minced 
  • Few good cracks of black pepper
  • Red pepper flakes, to taste

For the tofu:

  • 14 oz extra firm tofu, pressed to remove excess liquid and cut into squares or cubes
  • Sea salt 
  • 2 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1/3 cup cashews

Serve with:

  • rice, quinoa, or noodles
  • roasted or steamed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, etc.)
  • green onion 
  • sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. If serving with rice and veggies, prep those first. 
  2. Press the tofu using a tofu press, or by wrapping in paper towels and placing between a cutting board and anything heavy (stack of books, heavy plate or pan, etc.). Allow to press for 15-20 minutes, then season with sea salt.
  3. Next, make the sauce by whisking all ingredients together until well combined.
  4. Heat a skillet over medium heat with the avocado oil. Once hot, add the tofu and sear on each side for 3-4 minutes, until crispy. 
  5. Remove tofu from the pan and carefully drain excess oil into a small bowl.
  6. Reduce heat to medium low and return tofu to the pan. Stir in sauce and cashews. Allow sauce to thicken while occasionally spooning the glaze over the top of the tofu. Simmer for 5-7 minutes and serve.

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Filed Under: Lunch + Dinner, Recipes

Previous Post: « Easy Buffalo Chicken Dip
Next Post: Creamy Cajun Veggie Pasta »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gillian

    January 21, 2020 at 6:03 pm

    As a vegetarian, I was super excited to see this recipe adapted to use tofu! I’m definitely going to be adding this into my staple meals!! The sauce is so tasty.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Allison

    January 21, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    Made this last night and it was delicious! I could eat Asian food every day!

    ★★★★

    Reply
  3. Cassidy

    January 24, 2020 at 8:45 pm

    This was so easy to make and delicious!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Mia Zarlengo

      January 27, 2020 at 5:17 pm

      Soo happy!! Thanks Cassidy xoxo

      Reply
      • Zora Bubala

        July 17, 2020 at 4:47 pm

        eating this as i speak and it’s delicious!

        Reply
  4. Julia T Castor

    February 2, 2020 at 10:47 pm

    Made it last night and it is BOMB. So easy to make and the sauce is delicious, the citrus packs a nice punch. My husband already requested that we add to our rotation of recipes. Thank you for this vegetarian version!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Mia Zarlengo

      February 4, 2020 at 6:16 pm

      Yay! Thank you Julia. My husband actually requests this version over the chicken version- it’s our fave! So glad you both enjoyed it 🙂

      Reply
  5. Eliza

    February 2, 2020 at 11:00 pm

    Great!! sauce was a bit too salty for me, maybe add a little less soy sauce and taste as you go! love the tofu!

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Mia Zarlengo

      February 4, 2020 at 6:17 pm

      Hi Eliza, I have only made this with coconut aminos, which isn’t really salty like soy can be!

      Reply
  6. Victoria

    February 8, 2020 at 4:21 am

    Super delicious! Loving be vegan options 😀

    ★★★★

    Reply
  7. Nora

    February 11, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    This was so good and so easy to make!! My husband who “hates tofu” downed this in a few minutes 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  8. Meg

    March 28, 2020 at 4:20 pm

    This is an all time favorite of mine! TOTALLY satisfies the takeout craving, I could absolutely drink the sauce! Can always count on you for the best weeknight recipes!

    Reply
  9. Gabby Paolini

    March 29, 2020 at 3:43 pm

    This recipe was a hit!! The sauce is sooo flavorful and I was able to make a couple meals for the week out of it. It was way easier than I expected and so good.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  10. Malgie

    April 7, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    I love this dish!!! such an easy weeknight meal! we often add broccoli for an extra crunch.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Mia Zarlengo

      April 8, 2020 at 9:58 pm

      Thanks so much Malgie! My favorite dinner as of late!! 🙂

      Reply
  11. Katherine

    April 19, 2020 at 1:29 am

    Can’t get over how good this recipe was! My far-from-vegetarian boyfriend went back for seconds, and I could have drank the sauce. The recipe was also very easy– we had with Jasmine rice and frozen stir fry veggies

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  12. Dana

    May 7, 2020 at 6:42 pm

    This meal is heaven, and reheats well too…will definitely be making this again!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  13. Gabby

    May 14, 2020 at 9:36 pm

    100% amazing! My bf (who says he doesn’t like tofu) loved this! The cashews are a great crunch! It stays well in the fridge, we had it for leftovers with some of the anti-inflammatory rice, and my bf said its the best meal he has had in a long time!
    Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  14. Allie Wahrman

    May 31, 2020 at 7:23 pm

    Can you use cornstarch in place of tapioca?

    Reply
  15. Paige

    June 12, 2020 at 11:22 pm

    I made this with cornstarch instead of tapioca, and soy sauce instead of coconut aminos because that’s all I had at the time and the sauce turned out too thick and too salty which overpowered the orange flavour (…my own fault for not following the recipe though, lol *face palm*) – so for anyone looking to make those substitutions that I did, I wouldn’t recommend! It was still tasty but next time I will follow the recipe as written!!

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Mia Zarlengo

      June 14, 2020 at 1:00 am

      ah yes soy sauce is way salty compared to coconut aminos so i don’t recommend subbing! i’m sorry you didn’t have luck with it!

      Reply
  16. Maggie

    June 16, 2020 at 12:15 pm

    Great and quick!

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Mia Zarlengo

      June 17, 2020 at 2:08 pm

      Thank you Maggie! 🙂

      Reply
  17. Christina O'Leary

    July 9, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    This recipe reminds me of childhood! Ordering orange chicken from the local Chinese restaurant! Except this is WAYYYYYY BETTER! This is the best “orange” sauce I’ve ever had. I put it on everything! This recipe is one of my staples and SOOOOOO delicious and easy to make!!!!!! Thanks, Mia!!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  18. Noa

    July 28, 2020 at 12:29 am

    Delicious and easy!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  19. Ly Nguyen

    July 28, 2020 at 3:50 am

    This was amazing!! I used reduced sodium soy sauce and corn starch because I didn’t have the other ingredients but it was amazing! No leftovers from this meal!!

    Reply
  20. Niko

    July 30, 2020 at 12:07 am

    I love this recipe! It’s my favorite way to eat tofu. So fun and easy and EVERYONE I cook it for absolutely loves it. Thanks for another delicious recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  21. Kerri

    July 30, 2020 at 3:19 pm

    I make this once a week and I can’t get enough of it. I even made it for my Dad who isn’t big on meat free dinners and he asked me for the recipe and has been making it himself. So easy, so yummy, and so satisfying.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  22. Eliza

    August 3, 2020 at 2:49 pm

    This has become a staple Sunday dinner! So easy to put together and the flavor always delivers. Love this!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  23. Stephanie

    August 16, 2020 at 12:20 am

    This meal is amazing!!! I could literally eat it every night. It is definitely going on the rotation! Thank you for another super delicious recipe! Love it!

    Reply
  24. Laura O

    September 13, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    Love this recipe! It’s so fragrant and full of flavour. Love that it’s low in oil and sugar-free without compromising any of the flavour. Great creation Mia, this will become a new staple at home :).

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  25. Kellen

    November 24, 2020 at 1:11 am

    Made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! My husband isn’t always the biggest fan of tofu, but we are both excited to make it again tomorrow night!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Mia Zarlengo

      November 24, 2020 at 5:27 pm

      Oh this makes me so so happy! This is the dish that made my husband love tofu lol! Thank you Kellen 🙂

      Reply
  26. Jillian

    November 24, 2020 at 10:04 pm

    This is incredible!! I could drink this sauce. The taste is amazing and you’d never guess it’s made with such clean ingredients!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  27. Maddie

    December 2, 2020 at 12:43 am

    First time cooking with tofu and really happy with how it turned out! I also only had soy sauce on hand, the grocery store was out, luckily we had the reduced sodium so it wasn’t too terribly salty. I’m looking forward to making this with coconut aminos next time! So easy and quick for a weeknight dinner.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  28. Sofie

    December 11, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    My favorite dish ever!! So easy to put together yet so delicious, beautiful presentation too if you garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. I pair this with white rice and veggies and it hits the spot everytime 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  29. Gabby

    January 15, 2021 at 6:21 pm

    SO GOOD! I was surprised at how easy this was to make. The sauce is so good and I didn’t feel terrible after eating it as I might with takeout. I don’t eat meat very often (maybe once a week) and I’m glad I found this awesome tofu recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Welcome! I am so happy you chose to gather around my table. My name is Mia Zarlengo, and I am a registered dietitian with a passion for simple healthy recipes, women's hormonal health, and overall wellness! Read More…

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