‘sitThis Easy Vegan Peanut Stir Fry Sauce comes together so quickly! Then, you can just pour it on top of your tofu and veggies, and you’ve got a delicious, flavorful, and wholesome meal!
Sometimes, I don’t have food ready for me to eat in the fridge and I just need a easy, tasty, nourishing, and fast meal (because when I’m hungry, I’m hungry).
This Easy Peanut Stir Fry is so perfect for those times because it comes together quickly and requires minimal effort!
Stir Fries are great because once you pour it over some rice or noodles (both of which are also super fast to make) it’s a super well rounded and hearty meal that doesn’t skimp on flavor or nutrients 🙂
It’s also a great way to use up leftover veggies and rice or noodles so that you don’t waste food!
Main Ingredients
Tofu: I like to use Extra Firm Organic Tofu in this as my protein source, but lentils, beans, or tempeh would also work well! If you’re going to use Tofu, make sure to drain the water out of the package, wrap it in a paper towel, and place something heavy on top to let the water drain out!
Coconut Aminos/Soy Sauce/Tamari: We’ll use this to coat our tofu as well and it will also be part of our base for the stir fry sauce.
Hot Sauce: I like to use Sambal Oelek or a Chili Garlic Sauce because I feel like it has more of a East Asian flavor, but feel free to use whatever hot sauce you like!
Runny Peanut Butter: This is the base of our stir fry sauce! It gives the sauce a nice rich texture, and also adds in tons of flavor! If you can’t have peanuts or don’t have any peanut butter on hand, I feel like Almond butter, cashew butter, or tahini would work well. Whichever you use, make sure it’s runny! I get mine from Costco and love it!
Sesame Oil: This isn’t completely necessary, but I really love the flavor that this adds, it tastes much more like takeout food. But, this still tastes really good without it, so don’t worry if you don’t have it!
Tapioca Starch: This is what helps the marinade ingredients stick to the tofu and the sauce ingredients stick to the veggies and tofu. This is the one I use, but feel free to replace with half the amount of cornstarch if you don’t have this!
Veggies: Use whatever you have on hand! I used bell pepper, mushroom, carrots, broccoli, onion and green onion because I think they go well in stir fry, but pretty much any veggies will work!
How to Make this Easy Peanut Stir Fry
Prepare: Drain the water from the tofu, wrap it in a paper towel, and place something heavy on top for 20-30 minutes so that the water comes out. Chop your veggies. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Bake Tofu: Cube the tofu and place it in a medium size bowl. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the tofu. Stir until the tofu is well coated. Place on a baking tray lined with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes. Then stir the tofu around to lazily flip the cubes, and bake until desired crispiness is achieved (I usually do another 15-20 minutes.
Make Sauce: Mix together all the stir fry sauce ingredients in the same medium sized bowl the tofu was in and set aside.
Sauté: In a large pan, sauté the veggies until they have slightly softened. You want them to be soft, but still have some bite to them. Turn the heat the medium low and add in the crispy tofu and then pour the sauce over top. Combine well.
Make it sticky and fragrant: Add in 1 tbsp of tapioca starch and combine well into the stir fry. If the sauce still isn’t sticking, add in another tbsp and it should start sticking after a minute or so. Top with some sesame oil and green onions and enjoy!
Why is this Peanut Stir Fry Balanced?
I love stir fry because it’s so easy to make, it’s filled with veggies, and paired with rice or noodles, it makes for a super balanced and tasty meal!
Protein: We’re getting lots of protein from the tofu and peanut butter which helps make this meal for filling!
Carbs: The stir fry itself doesn’t have a main source of carbs, but stir fry is traditionally paired with some noodles or rice, so once you do that, this meal will be much more satisfying!
Fats: The peanut butter and sesame oil are giving us fats that are going to help us stay full!
Bonus: Stir fries are packed with veggies and fiber, so depending on how many veggies you put, you’ll be getting lots of vitamins and minerals!
Easy Peanut Tofu Stir Fry - VEGAN
Ingredients
Tofu
- 1 block extra-firm tofu
- 1 tbsp low sodium tamari, soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp tapioca starch*
- 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tbsp avocado oil
Peanut Stir Fry Sauce
- 3 tbsp low sodium tamari, soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (plus a little more for drizzling on top)
- 1 tbsp honey, maple syrup, or hoisin sauce
- 3-4 tbsp chili garlic sauce or siracha
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
- ½ tsp ginger powder optional
- 1-2 tbsp water to thin
Vegetable Ideas
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1 bell pepper
- 2-4 cloves garlic
- ½ chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped or shredded carrots
- ½ cup broccoli
- ½ cup chopped green onion
Final Add-ins
- 1-2 tbsp tapioca starch*
- chopped green onion
- sesame seeds
- 1-2 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Drain the water from the tofu, wrap it in a paper towel, andplace something heavy on top for 20-30 minutes so that the water comes out.
- Chop your veggies up and preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Cube the tofu and place it in a medium size bowl.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and pourit over the tofu. Combine well so that all the tofu has some sauce on it.
- Place on a baking tray lined with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes. Then stir the tofu around to lazily flip the cubes and bake until it’s as crispy as you want (I usually do another 15-20 minutes).
- While the tofu is cooking, mix together all the stir fry sauce ingredients in the same medium sized bowl the tofu was in and set aside.
- Then, heat a little oil in a large saucepan and start tosauté the veggies. You want them to be soft, but still have some bite to them.Turn the heat the medium low and add in the crispy tofu and then pour the sauce over top. Combine well.
- Add in 1 tbsp of tapioca starch and combine well into the stir fry. If the sauce still isn’t sticky, add in another tbsp and it should start sticking to the veggies and tofu after a minute or so. Top with some sesame oil, green onions, and sesame seeds
- Serve with rice or noodles and enjoy!
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