We love tofu. We love crispy tofu, we love saucy tofu, and we REALLY love tofu that’s quick & easy to make (but tastes like it wasn’t). Enter crispy baked gochujang tofu! It’s a savory, spicy, Korean-inspired dish perfect for pairing with kimchi, cabbage apple slaw, kimchi rice fritters, and more.
It’s vegan, gluten-free, protein-packed, and requires just 30 minutes and 6 ingredients. Let us show you how it’s done!
What is Gochujang?
Gochujang is a red chili-based sauce that’s spicy, savory, and slightly sweet. It’s popular in Korean cooking and traditionally fermented to develop the flavors, but there are also ways to make it more simply (and quickly) — which you know we’re all about. Here, we use it in combination with other ingredients to coat crispy baked tofu!
How to Make Crispy Baked Gochujang Tofu
For the crispiest crispy tofu, we start off with super firm (high protein!) tofu and crumble it into bite-size pieces with jagged edges. Then we coat them with oil and bake until golden and slightly firm!
While the tofu crisps in the oven, we make our Korean-inspired sauce by combining gochujang (preferably homemade, but store-bought is fine, too) with lime juice, maple syrup, cornstarch, and water.
After heating on the stove, the sauce thickens up and is ready to coat the tofu in sticky, savory perfection. YUM.
All together now! The crispy baked tofu joins forces with the gochujang sauce, and it’s ready to enjoy.
We hope you LOVE this Korean-inspired gochujang tofu! It’s:
Crispy
Saucy
Quick & easy
Savory
Spicy
& SO versatile!
It makes a simple and delicious plant-based meal when paired with rice and cabbage apple slaw, and it would also be delicious in lettuce cups or served with our Crispy Kimchi Rice Fritters!
Love Tofu? Try These, Too!
- Crispy Baked Tofu with Italian Herbs
- Vegan Ginger Sesame Noodles with Crispy Tofu
- General Tso’s Tofu Stir-Fry
- Crispy Baked Pesto Tofu (5 Ingredients!)
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Crispy Baked Gochujang Tofu (Korean-Inspired)
Ingredients
TOFU
- 1 (14-16 oz) package super firm tofu*
- 4 tsp olive or avocado oil
SAUCE
- 2-3 Tbsp gochujang (or sub store-bought // ensure vegan + gluten-free as needed)
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp water
- 3-4 tsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes // optional, depending on how spicy you like it/how spicy your gochujang is)
- 1/2-3/4 tsp ground cayenne (optional, depending on how spicy you like it/how spicy your gochujang is)
- 1 ½ tsp cornstarch
FOR SERVING optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Crumble the tofu into pieces ~1/2-inch in size and arrange them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Add oil and toss to evenly coat the tofu. Once the oven is preheated, bake for 20 minutes, flip with a spatula, and bake for another 5-15 minutes or until the tofu is a little firm and golden with crispy edges.
- Meanwhile, in a medium (or larger) saucepan, combine the gochujang, lime juice, maple syrup, and water and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust before adding the remaining ingredients. Depending on the spice level of your gochujang, you may want to add both the gochugaru and cayenne for additional spiciness (we added the greater amounts of both). You can also add more gochujang for savory notes, lime for tang, or maple syrup for sweetness. Once you’re happy with the sauce, add the cornstarch and whisk until no lumps remain.
- Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and, whisking constantly, bring to a light simmer. Once lightly bubbling, watch closely until the sauce begins to thicken. This should take about 5-8 minutes total. Once the sauce starts to thicken, remove from heat and set aside.
- Once the tofu is baked, combine it with the sauce in the saucepan or a serving bowl. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. This tofu is perfect for pairing with rice, kimchi, and/or cabbage apple slaw. It would also be delicious served in lettuce cups topped with kimchi!
- Leftovers keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Reheat in a skillet or in the oven at 350 F (176 C) for 5-10 minutes until warm and crispy.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with olive oil and without optional ingredients.
Shalyse says
I really enjoy this recipe. I’ve made it multiple times and used red crushed chili flakes because I didn’t have the gochugaru. It’s always a little spicier than I expect, but my husband loves that and I still enjoy it. I usually serve with potatoes and broccolini, but tonight I’m serving with air fried French fries and asparagus. We’ve used the leftovers as a salad topper before which was enjoyable
We’re so glad you both enjoy it, Shalyse. Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Amalia says
I’ve made this recipe so many times, it’s illegal to not leave a review. I absolutely love it. Minimal prep involved, it basically makes itself lol. The sauce is a flavor bomb – I usually leave out the gochugaru and cayenne because I think my gochujang is already spicy enough. My partner is obsessed with it! We serve it with rice and kimchi, and green onion + sesame seeds on top. This method of making tofu is kinda genius and I’ll for sure try more recipes like this.
Whoop! We’re so glad you and your partner enjoy the recipe, Amalia. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review! xo
Hazel says
Absolutely delicious. I skipped the cayenne, but added roughly 3 tsp of gochugaru. I love the texture of baked tofu like this. Used extra firm tofu and didn’t press out the excess moisture quite as long as I should have, but it still turned out really nicely. Great on its own with rice, but I also used it as an ingredient in Eric Kim’s (NYT Cooking) sheet-pan bibimbap recipe.
Yum, that sounds amazing, Hazel! Thank you for sharing! xo
Trish says
Hi I’m looking forward to making this and also your kimchi fritters. I’m wondering if i could bake the tofu and fry the fritters in an air fryer? I’ve just invested in one and am itching to use it! Thank you!
Hi Trish, we think that would work beautifully! We’d recommend spraying the fritters with a little avocado oil to help them crisp up more. Let us know how it goes!
Trish says
Thank you so much, in the end I decided to use the oven and skillet and followed the recipe exactly. I served it with brown rice and a carrot salad and it was delicious! I brought left overs for lunch yesterday and they re-heated beautifully in the microwave. I will definitely make it again and try it in the fryer next time. Love your website :)
Amazing! Thank you so much for your kind words and lovely review, Trish! xo
Milan Lawrence says
This recipe is so delicious!!! I have made it twice and it hits every time. The gochujang recipe is so easy to make and pairs perfectly with the tofu. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
We’re so glad you’re enjoying the recipe, Milan. Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Lisa says
This was a huge hit! I ended up pan frying the tofu instead of baking since it was too hot to turn on my oven. Served it with the cabbage and apple slaw and some rice. We didn’t add any extra spice (we love spice but not so much for the kids). Super yummy! Thanks!
Amazing! Thank you for sharing, Lisa! xo
Hedda says
Sauce was very good, but the tofu was like crispy rubber. This was not a successful dish, in my opinion, but I will retain the sauce portion of the recipe for other things. I may try it with softer tofu, so that my mouth feel is happier.
Hi Hedda, sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the texture! It does have a more firm texture, which we enjoy, but it shouldn’t be rubbery. Baking for less time or crumbling the tofu into larger pieces will create a less firm texture if you’re up for giving it another try.
Erin says
This was so delicious! The tofu turned out really crispy. I made sticky rice and then cut up cucumbers, avocado, green onion. Put everything in a bowl and sprinkled some sesame seeds! I made a bit of extra sauce and drizzled it on top after as well. Will definitely make again!
That sounds like such a lovely meal! Thank you for sharing, Erin! xo
Lee says
Thank you for this! It turned out delicious! I used tapioca starch instead of cornstarch. So happy to have Korean-inspired recipes!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Lee! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing that modification! xo
Yashira O says
I was looking for a recipe to use up my gochujang paste when this popped into my inbox. I will now be buying another bottle of gochujang paste!! This was delicious. I followed the recipe as is without adding more spice. It was a perfect balance of sweet and just enough kick for me. I plan on making it again with chicken. I paired it with the cabbage Asian pear slaw and can’t get enough of either. Thank you for another fabulous recipe.
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed both recipes, Yashira. Thank you for letting us know! xo
valerie says
This looks amazing!! Can’t wait to try it. I feel like it’s gochujang’s time to shine with all of the sriracha shortages happening right now.
So true! Go gochujang :) Hope you love it, Valerie! xo
Janet says
Do you have a tofu press you might recommend?
Hi Janet, here‘s the one we use and like! It looks like it isn’t currently available, but this one looks very similar. Hope that helps!