Vegan Orange Chicken with Tofu Recipe
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Jump to Recipe Watch VideoThis vegan orange chicken with tofu recipe is a great plant-based alternative to orange chicken! A hearty and easy high protein vegan dinner. This tofu is fantastic to serve with vegetable stir fry and some freshly steamed sticky rice.
This vegan orange chicken tofu recipe has a bright and flavorful sauce made with orange juice and spices. A tasty and simple dinner to make on busy weeknights.
We absolutely love this easy orange tofu recipe – it’s bright, flavorful, and SO good with your favorite sauteed veggies. Orange chicken used to be a favorite of mine growing up – but I had to find a way to make it plant-based and taste amazing! This recipe has it all: hearty tofu cubes, fresh veggies, and a homemade orange sauce made with simple ingredients.
For a delicious & flavorful sauce, I used liquid aminos instead of soy sauce. Liquid aminos have a similar flavor to soy sauce. We always keep a few bottles of this in our pantry! It gives a great umami flavor to the orange tofu.
This Vegan Orange Tofu Recipe Is:
- Fresh
- Bright
- Vibrant
- Citrus-y
- Tangy
- Sweet
- Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients You’ll Need
Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!
- Garlic, Green Onions, Fresh Ginger Root
- Tofu – I like using extra firm tofu for this recipe!
- Corn Starch: the secret to thicken the sauce at the end, it really makes a difference. It makes a great sticky orange sauce that coats every piece of tofu perfectly.
- Sunflower Oil: our go-to oil for roasting or baking! Sunflower is a high oleic oil, so itās best to use for high temperatures. Or use another neutral oil like vegetable oil or avocado oil.
- Turmeric ā a staple in our spice cabinet!
- Brown Sugar – for a little sweetness in the sauce, and it has a little more flavor than white sugar.
- Sesame oil – gives the vegan orange chicken sauce a great savory taste.
- Sesame Seeds – I love adding a handful of these sesame seeds to finish off this recipe! These seeds add a nice crunch and light flavor to this orange tofu.
- Liquid Aminos – Liquid aminos have a ton of the great flavor of soy sauce. We always keep a few bottles of coconut aminos in our pantry! It gives a great umami flavor to the orange tofu.
- Fresh orange juice and orange zest
- Sea salt & Black pepper to taste
Additions and Variations
- Serve this crispy orange tofu with cauliflower rice or cauliflower florets. Or steamed green beans, shiitake mushrooms, sliced bell pepper, or a side of broccoli.
- For a spicier version, add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
- Instead of the brown sugar in the spicy orange sauce, substitute maple syrup, coconut sugar, or agave nectar.
- Substitute brown rice or jasmine rice for plain white rice.
Equipment You’ll Need
This recipe is fairly simple, and has a short list of equipment to use.
- Sheet pan and parchment paper for baking the tofu.
- Mixing bowl
- A sauce pan
- A juicer or citrus press for the orange juice
For the best fruit juice, I love using my easy clean slow juicer, which gets each delicious drop out of the fruit. It’s great for most fruits and larger peeled citrus!
If your looking for a great juicer, it’s quiet, simple to clean, and an excellent tool we use almost daily.
How to Make This Recipe
For the Tofu
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, tear the tofu right off the block into bite-sized pieces, about 1 square inch. Place the tofu pieces in the bowl, and toss it with corn starch, sunflower oil, garlic salt, and turmeric. Mix well to combine.
- Place coated tofu on the lined sheet pan in a single layer, and bake for 40 minutes, flipping halfway.
For the Sauce
- In a large saucepan, add the sunflower oil, garlic, and ginger root. SautƩ over low-medium heat for 4-5 minutes until garlic and ginger begin to brown.
- Add the liquid aminos, orange juice and chili flakes and bring to a boil.
- Whisk in the corn starch to thicken the sauce, and continue to stir over low heat.
- Once tofu has finished cooking, toss with the orange sauce. Top with sesame seeds and green onion, and serve with your favorite rice and veggies. Enjoy!
More Tasty Tofu Recipes You’ll Love!
- Sticky Garlic Tofu Noodles
- Tofu Tikka Masala
- Crispy Tofu Wraps
- Tofu Alfredo Pasta Sauce
- Turmeric Tofu Breakfast Sandwich
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If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
Vegan Orange Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
For the CrispyĀ Tofu
- 1 16-ounce package tofu
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 2 green onions sliced
For the Orange Sauce
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ginger root minced
- 1 teaspoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
For the Tofu
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, tear the tofu right off the block into large chunks, aboutĀ 1 square inch.Ā Place the tofu in the bowl, and toss it with corn starch, sunflower oil, garlic salt, and turmeric. Mix well to combine.
- Place coated tofu on the lined sheet pan, and bake for 40 minutes, flippingĀ halfway.
For the Sauce
- In a large saucepan, add the sunflower oil, garlic, and ginger root. Saute over low heat for 4-5 minutes until garlic and ginger begin to brown.
- Add the liquid aminos, orange juice and chili flakes and bring to a boil.
- Whisk in the corn starch to thicken the sauce, and continue to stir over low heat.
- Once tofu has finished cooking, toss with the orange sauce. Top with sesame seeds and green onion, and serve with rice and veggies.Ā Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Additions and Variations
- Serve this crispy orange tofu with cauliflower rice or cauliflower florets. Or steamed green beans, shiitake mushrooms, sliced bell pepper, or a side of broccoli.
- For a spicier version, add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
- Instead of the brown sugar in the spicy orange sauce, substitute maple syrup, coconut sugar, or agave nectar.
- Substitute brown rice or jasmine rice for plain white rice.
Nutrition
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Trying to eat less meat. This is great
This is by far the best orange tofu recipe I’ve made. Best flavors and I loved it although I tore and cut my tofu pieces too small so next time I need to be mindful about that.
Thank you so much Laura! I’m so glad you enjoyed it – it’s a favorite for us as well š
Great! Iām trying to cook lower sodium dishes, which tend to be kinda blah. This had alot of flavor, I didnt even miss the tons of tamari I used to use in my tofu dishes. I think next time Iāll grate some orange peel on the final product, other than that Iāll keep the recipe as is. Thanks!
Thank you Dianna – we always try to cook with less sodium as well! I am so glad you tried out this recipe and loved it, and adding the orange zest is a fantastic idea!