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This Crispy Orange Tofu is drenched in a sweet & tangy citrus sauce for a cozy meal that’s better than takeout! Vegan & Gluten-Free.
Orange Chicken (now tofu!) is a Chinese-American fusion dish made from fried chicken coated in a sticky orange glaze. Easily veganized with tofu, this sweet & tangy Crispy Orange Tofu is reminiscent of that yummy, takeout-style orange chicken, but can be made from the comfort of your own home with easy-to-find ingredients!
INGREDIENTS + INSPIRATION
One of my favorite dishes to order from my local Chinese restaurant is orange tofu and broccoli over warm white rice. The bright, citrusy flavors of the tofu drenched in orange sauce is so comforting that I could eat it on a regular basis. Anytime I find myself craving a restaurant dish often, I get so excited to try and recreate it myself and share it with you. Once I perfected my own homemade version, I KNEW it had to go on the blog! *For the record, Orange Tofu is more of a Chinese-American fusion recipe rather than traditionally Chinese – its definitely still delicious though!
I like my orange tofu to be extra saucy, because we all know you want to drizzle that yummy orange sauce on everything anyways! 😉 If you would prefer to only have enough sauce to glaze your tofu, simply cut the sauce portion of this recipe in half.
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY ORANGE TOFU
This vegan orange tofu recipe can be made faster than it would take you to pick up takeout or get delivery! Just 10 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cook time before you’re enjoying a cozy bowl of crispy, saucy homemade orange chicken!
- Tear or cut the tofu into bite-sized chunks.
- Toss the tofu in a bowl with oil and tamari, then toss with cornstarch. Bake until crispy, flipping halfway through.
- Sauté garlic, ginger, and optional red pepper flakes in a pan with sesame oil, then add orange juice, tamari, vinegar, and orange zest and let simmer. Add cornstarch and water slurry and simmer until thickened.
- Coat the tofu in sauce and serve as desired!
COOKING TIPS + FAQ:
- Do I have to use tofu? No, you can opt to use any of your favorite brands of vegan chicken!
- Can I pan-fry the tofu? I highly recommend baking the tofu for a crispier texture for this recipe—pan-fried tofu doesn’t dry out as much and gets soggy faster. But, you can also coat it in tamari and cornstarch and pan-fry in a couple of tablespoons of oil, rotating the tofu until all sides are crisp.
- Storage: This dish is best served fresh but will still be delicious stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you’re making this ahead of time for easy meal prep, be sure to store the baked tofu and sticky sauce separately until reheating to serve so that your tofu stays nice and crispy! 🙂
This easy orange tofu recipe is the perfect dish for a cozy night in! Sit back, relax, and forget all your worries with a warm bowl of orange-coated comfort food! I love to serve mine with white or brown rice and freshly steamed broccoli, but this would also be incredible over thick, chewy noodles, or combined with your favorite stir fry! Any leftovers you have will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you’re looking for more better-than-takeout recipes, you HAVE to try this Vegan “Beef” & Broccoli, this Vegan Sesame “Chicken,” and this Vegan Takeout-Style Fried Rice!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
PrintCrispy Orange Tofu | Better than Takeout!
This Crispy Orange Tofu is drenched in a sweet & tangy citrus sauce for a cozy meal that’s better than takeout! Vegan & Gluten-Free.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2 to 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
For the Tofu:
- 1 14 ounce block extra firm tofu, pressed*
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons (29 g) cornstarch
For the Orange Sauce: *reduce by half if you don’t want extra for drizzling
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ½” knob of ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
- 1 cup (236 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice, strained*
- 1/3 cup (55 g) loosely packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) reduced-sodium tamari
- 3 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (about 1 small orange)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch*
- 2 tablespoons cold water
For Serving: (optional)
- Cooked rice or noodles
- Steamed or stir-fried vegetables
- Green onions, thinly sliced
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Tear the tofu into bite-sized chunks for a more chicken-like texture, or cut into small cubes.
- Tofu: Add the tofu to a medium bowl and add in the oil and tamari. Toss with a spatula until evenly coated, then sprinkle the cornstarch on top and toss again. Transfer to a baking sheet and spread out the tofu pieces so they aren’t touching. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 30 minutes, flipping the tofu halfway through.
- Sauce: Once the tofu has gone into the oven, begin prepping the sauce. Warm the sesame oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the garlic, ginger, and optional red chili flakes. Sauté for 60 seconds, then add in the orange juice, brown sugar, tamari, vinegar, and orange zest. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Mix the cornstarch with the water until dissolved, then add the slurry to the sauce and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon.
- Serve: remove the tofu from the oven and add it to the pan, coating all sides of the tofu in the glossy orange sauce. Serve warm, over rice or as desired. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Tofu: This recipe works great with the crispy tofu, but you can also make the orange sauce and coat it in store-bought vegan chicken or veg chicken nuggets!
- Orange Juice: I recommend using fresh squeezed orange juice for this – pasteurized will work in a pinch, but it will be less sweet and more bitter! You’ll need 3-4 large oranges to get ~1 cup of juice
- Substitutions: brown sugar can be replaced with maple syrup or coconut sugar. Cornstarch can be swapped with arrowroot powder to help thicken the sauce, but I recommend using nutritional yeast instead of cornstarch for the sauce instead of arrowroot powder, which can make baked things slightly gummy.
- Meal Prep: If you plan on making this recipe for meal prep, I would keep the tofu and sauce separate; warm them separately, then toss right before serving. This will keep your tofu crispy!
- Oil-Free: Make my Crispy Tofu instead for a slightly different (but still delicious!) flavor and texture. Sauté the aromatics in step 2 in water or vegetable broth instead of oil.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 24 g
- Sodium: ~700 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 11 g
Easy 5/5. This is what I would would make for my crush, or someone who thinks they don’t like vegan food!
Wow high praise! SO glad you like it Kelsey!
This was The Best Orange Sauce recipe I have found so far & I have tried many recipes trying to get that take-out taste. I will make this again, many, many times. This sauce really is perfect as written! The tofu turned out dry, but I did really squeeze out ALL of the water, next time I will not drain the tofu so severely and I will check it after 15 minutes, it may have been done then, I left it go for 10 more minutes. I’m also going to double the orange sauce, IT’S THAT GOOD! Thank you Caitlyn, you’re the best!
I love this review! Thank you so much and I’m glad you enjoyed my recipe!
Would not make this recipe again. To be honest I am very disappointed because I had high expectations, but the sauce is far too sweet and acidic! The orange flavor was very overpowering. We didn’t even save the leftover sauce because neither of us thought we could stomach it again
Forgot to rate the recipe in my comment. So delicious
We loved this recipe! First time we made it tonight but will definitely make again.
I’m so happy you loved it!
Our favorite orange sauce recipe. Could you please post the nutrition facts?
Thank you
Thanks Lisa! I just updated the recipe to include nutrition information.
Delicious and spot on! Thanks!
This is SO good
The best way to cook tofu, the sauce is great, can add veggies or peppers.
Thank U!!
You’re so welcome!
Honestly the best tofu I’ve ever had
So happy to hear that!
You’re right! This is better than takeout. I made this for my mom and me tonight and we both loved it. I cannot wait to make this for the rest of my family. Thank you, Caitlin! Your recipes are the best.
I’m so glad you both enjoyed!! Thank you so much 🙂
I wanted to try a really good tofu recipe and I found this one. It had 50+ five star reviews so I was hopeful. The sauce is pretty good but the tofu still tastes like tofu.
Hi Christine! You may want to try this Smoky Marinated Tofu instead; the flavors have more time to penetrate the tofu vs. this recipe which tosses the tofu in a sauce.
I’m looking to make this recipe and substitute the brown sugar with the maple syrup. Is it the same amount used at 1/3 cup?
yes that should work!
I’ve made this a number of times now, and it always turns out great! It yields a lot of sauce.
I always air fry my tofu (torn into bite-sized pieces, not cubed). 400F, 5 minutes, then shake and let it go for another 4 minutes.
Thanks for the review, Shan! Love the time-saving air fryer hack as well!
Thank you for this sauce recipe! It turned out amazingly well and it’s so easy!! I omitted the chili flakes (my 6y/o doesn’t do spice), used rice wine vinegar and we didn’t have orange zest, but it was yummy! We added a touch more sugar as we prefer it on the sweeter side. During dinner my wife said it was restaurant-quality and I have to agree. For the tofu we like to coat in tamari and potato starch and throw them in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 400F. Combined with this sauce…delicious! Thank you!!
Thanks Sean! Love the time-saving air fryer hack too!
I get overjoyed when I find something so wonderful and I love to share it, and the enthusiasm with others, so after reading a lot of peoples comments just to see, ‘am I the only one?!’, and realizing that I am not alone in my jubilation and that you, to, are getting such great joy out of this awesome recipe. I loved it so much the first time, with no fresh OJ or zest using pasteurized OJ, that Imam currently making a double batch after buying oranges. The anticipation! Oh, I added onions and yellow peppers. It was extraordinary.
My new favorite weeknight dinner. I add shallots to the sauce and used a squeeze bottle of ginger because I am lazy, but otherwise make it as she writes out here, using rice wine vinegar when I have it. Amazing with some garlic roasted broccoli (also marinated in soy sauce and sesame seed oil).
Thank you for sharing your experience with the Crispy Orange Tofu recipe! Adding shallots to the sauce and using ginger from a squeeze bottle are great time-saving tips. The rice wine vinegar adds a nice touch when available. Pairing this dish with garlic roasted broccoli marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil sounds amazing. Enjoy this delicious weeknight dinner, Rachel! ♥
The tofu turned out perfectly crispy, following the directions. Too late, I realized my oranges were no longer good, so I tossed them. Instead, I replace the orange juice with cranberry juice. It was delicious
Glad it still worked out with the substitution. Thank you, Genevieve!
Tasted so deliciously tangy and had a bite We added pineapple chunks. YUM Thank you!!
You are so welcome, Christine!
Can’t wait to try this! I’m new at WFPB OF – easy to adapt sauce – plan to put it on a yam!
Hope you liked it!
This is by far the BEST orange tofu recipe out there! Enjoy and thank you!