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!
It’s a sweet and sticky sauce with the most addicting flavor. Without any added sugars!! I am forever blow away by how this sauce turns out every time. It is truly so delicious and made with such simple ingredients!
This orange cashew tofu is gluten free, too! It’s made with coconut aminos in place of soy sauce, for a gluten free and lower sodium sauce.
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!
We love serving this with:
- Lettuce wraps and cauliflower rice
- White or brown rice and roasted broccoli
- Over a bed of sautéed cabbage and quinoa
This meal comes together in about 45 minutes start to finish (even less if you aren’t cooking rice), 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!
**Note: I do not recommend replacing the coconut aminos with anything- soy sauce or tamari will be too slaty in this recipe!
Enjoy and be sure to leave a rating and review if you give this one a try! xx
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Orange Cashew Tofu
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2–3 servings 1x
Description
Gluten free and vegan orange cashew tofu. Made with no added sugar and super simple ingredients!
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
- If serving with rice and veggies, prep those first.
- 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.
- Next, make the sauce by whisking all ingredients together until well combined.
- 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.
- Remove tofu from the pan and carefully drain excess oil into a small bowl.
- 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.
Notes
*I do not recommend subbing the coconut aminos with soy sauce or another alternative- the sauce will be too salty!
Gillian
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.
★★★★★
Allison
Made this last night and it was delicious! I could eat Asian food every day!
★★★★
Cassidy
This was so easy to make and delicious!!
★★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Soo happy!! Thanks Cassidy xoxo
Zora Bubala
eating this as i speak and it’s delicious!
Julia T Castor
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!
★★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Yay! Thank you Julia. My husband actually requests this version over the chicken version- it’s our fave! So glad you both enjoyed it 🙂
Eliza
Great!! sauce was a bit too salty for me, maybe add a little less soy sauce and taste as you go! love the tofu!
★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Hi Eliza, I have only made this with coconut aminos, which isn’t really salty like soy can be!
Victoria
Super delicious! Loving be vegan options 😀
★★★★
Nora
This was so good and so easy to make!! My husband who “hates tofu” downed this in a few minutes 🙂
★★★★★
Meg
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!
Gabby Paolini
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.
★★★★★
Malgie
I love this dish!!! such an easy weeknight meal! we often add broccoli for an extra crunch.
★★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Thanks so much Malgie! My favorite dinner as of late!! 🙂
Katherine
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
★★★★★
Dana
This meal is heaven, and reheats well too…will definitely be making this again!
★★★★★
Gabby
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!
★★★★★
Allie Wahrman
Can you use cornstarch in place of tapioca?
Paige
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!!
★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
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!
Maggie
Great and quick!
★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Thank you Maggie! 🙂
Christina O'Leary
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!!!!
★★★★★
Noa
Delicious and easy!
★★★★★
Ly Nguyen
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!!
Niko
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!
★★★★★
Kerri
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.
★★★★★
Eliza
This has become a staple Sunday dinner! So easy to put together and the flavor always delivers. Love this!
★★★★★
Stephanie
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!
Laura O
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 :).
★★★★★
Kellen
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!
★★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Oh this makes me so so happy! This is the dish that made my husband love tofu lol! Thank you Kellen 🙂
Jillian
This is incredible!! I could drink this sauce. The taste is amazing and you’d never guess it’s made with such clean ingredients!
★★★★★
Maddie
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.
★★★★★
Sofie
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 🙂
★★★★★
Gabby
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.
★★★★★
Alex
I LOVE this recipe!! I’ve tried cooking tofu so many times and have never liked it – this is the first time that I’ve LOVED it! Plus the cashews are the perfect crunch to go with the tofu and sauce.
★★★★★
Colleen
This sauce was so tasty! Made this for my husband who isn’t a big tofu fan and he even thought it was “pretty dang good”! I added baby carrots, roasted broccoli and the Trader Joe’s chili lime cashews and served over rice and was enough for 4 servings.
★★★★★
Alaina
Delicious and a perfect amount of sweetness!!
★★★★★
Megan R LaMariana
I make this at least once a week for my boyfriend and I we’re OBSESSED. Mia your recipes are insane <3
★★★★★
Melina
Hi Mia! I’m going to make this tonight and wanted to know approx how much orange juice it is? Reason I ask is in ave massive navel oranges ! Not sure if it will be too much! Thx :)) I’ll report back with my rating after! Love all your recipes
Rachel Robertson
Meh. The tomato paste masked all of the other flavors. Sauce texture was good, so maybe I’d try it again but without the tomato paste.
★★
Kiera Kennette
I love this recipe! I have made it with both tofu and chicken and the sauce is amazing! Super easy to make which is the best!
★★★★★
Charli
This was so tasty!! I’ve been wanting a quick and easy dish like this to add to my list! I didn’t read the note about no soy sauce before I left the grocery, but I ended up using a third to half a 1/3 cup of soy sauce and didn’t think it was too salty at all. It made the sauce less liquidy though, so when added to the tofu, it thickened up quickly. I can’t imagine it changed much because the dish was delicious. Will be making this often!
★★★★★
Mia Zarlengo
Thank you so much Charli! SO glad it worked out for you 🙂