These Vegan Garlicky-Pepper Tofu Bites with Chili Dipping Sauce are one of my absolute favorite appetizers, because they’re both delicious and easy. And I pretty much always have the ingredients on hand! These were actually first developed for Nasoya’s Tofu U website (go check it out!)
You’d never expect something so easy to be so yummy, or lovely. I mean look at those! You could serve them at your fanciest cocktail party and all your friends would just be wowed.
My favorite part is the dipping sauce. Or no, maybe it’s the crispy little black bits on the baked tofu.
Or maybe it’s the fact that you don’t need a fork or spoon to eat them. I mean c’mon… everything tastes better when its served on a toothpick, right?
So go on. Wow your friends. You know you want to.
And if you’re in the mood for more scrumptious tofu recipes, try some of these on for size:
- 1 12oz package Nasoya Black Soybean tofu, well pressed
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (a little more or less, depending on how much you love pepper!)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Non-stick spray
- ½ cup vegan mayo
- 2 teaspoons chili powder (if you’re heat-averse, start with 1 teaspoon and taste before adding more)
- Firstly, make sure your tofu is really well pressed! You want these bites to be firm so they’ll stay on the toothpicks. Slice the tofu in half lengthwise through the center, giving you two large flat rectangles. Stack on top of each other, then slice into thirds. Slice again into thirds in the other direction. This will give you 18 bite-sized cubes. If you want smaller bites, slice into fourths.
- Mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, garlic powder and lemon juice, then add the tofu. Let them hang out together in the fridge for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with a little cooking spray. Spread the tofu out on the foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove, spray the tops of the tofu with more non-stick spray, then flip each piece.
- Cover with the remaining soy sauce mix, and add a few cracks of pepper, then back for another 15-20 minutes or until they’re firm and are starting to get dark and crispy around the edges. While the tofu is in the oven, mix together the Nayonaise and the chili powder for your dipping sauce. Chill until ready to serve. When the tofu is done, serve 1-2 per toothpick for a healthy, delicious appetizer!
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Yum yum yum! I need to eat more tofu—especially when it looks this delicious! 🙂
Hi Just looking over some of your lovely recipes. I actually love (the looks) of all your seitan recipes, but alas I can no longer eat it. This tofu recipe looks wonderful, but I have no access to Nasoya Black Soybean tofu, I have never seen it. Is it that different in taste and texture, that another tofu could not be used?
Also can I pin this? Thank you.
Tess
You can use any tofu you like, although I would recommend it be firm. There’s so much flavor from the garlic and the chili dipping sauce 🙂
When I flipped the tofu, where was I supposed to get the soy sauce mixture to put on top of it? I had soaked my tofu in the soy sauce mixture and it was all absorbed. Are you supposed to make more?
When I’ve made these, I’ve always had sauce left that didn’t get absorbed, that’s what I meant for pouring over the tofu after you’ve flipped it. I’m sorry that your all got absorbed!
Hi Barb!
If I was going to try and make these to *bring* to a party, how would you recommend preparing them?
Should I do everything at home up until the point where they go in the oven, and then go that part at the party so that they come out warm?
Or are they still good if re-heated (in the oven? in the microwave?)
Or are they just as good cold?
Do they lose a lot of their crispness if I let them chill, or reheat them in the microwave?
Any advice would be great 🙂 Thanks!
Welllll… If you’re close enough with the party host that you’re comfortable taking over her oven, I’d probably marinate them and bake them at the party. My second choice would be to bake them at home and reheat them just a bit in the microwave- they don’t need to be hot, just warm. Even at room temperature they’re still pretty good (although not quite as good as fresh out of the oven). Hope that helps!
Thanks Barb 🙂 The host is my sister, so I am definitely going to take over her oven, haha!
LOL, in that case DEFINITELY take over the over 🙂 I hope they turn out great!
Hello. I would like to weigh in here as I have started testing these for a sanctuary fundraiser where we will not have any electricity. As I need to make 200 bites, they will have to be refrigerated and served and room temperature AND without the dipping sauce (you can’t have 500 patrons dipping!). I did a test batch and they have held up well with refrigeration and then at room temperature. They were missing that heat of the dipping sauce so I added sweet & spicy chili sauce to the marinade and increased the “hang out” time to overnight. These are wonderful.
This is wonderful input, THANK YOU! And I hope you have a wonderful fundraiser too!
Success! I think that if I’d made 400 they would still all be gone. I served them room temp and people loved them. Thanks, Barb!
These turned out really good. Make sure you use fresh cracked pepper for the best flavor and make sure you use sesame oil and not toasted sesame oil. I also baked mine on parchment paper rather than spraying them with cooking oil. They are FANTASTIC served hot.
I too am making these for an event where they need to be served at room temp, as finger food, without dipping. My serving idea is to put a dollop of the sauce in between two tofu bites served on a toothpick.