Crispy Baked Tofu & Hot "Honey" Glaze | No-press oven tofu recipe (2024)

My worst personality trait is I don’t press my tofu. But for this AMAZING crispy baked tofu recipe, you don’t need to! This is the easiest crispy oven tofu, and if you’ve ever wondered how exactly to make crispy tofu, I gotchu. No air fryer, no oil, no crazy strategy or fancy equipment needed. You just need your tofu, your oven and the trust that I know what I’m saying when I say you don’t need to press your tofu 😉

I used to be so intimidated by crispy tofu. I used to think the only (aka easiest) way to make baked tofu was to just throw it in the oven naked. But now I’m proud to say I make crispy oven tofu all the time. It’s my go to. How can you pass up breaded, golden, crunchy deliciousness for dinner every night? You just can’t. Plus the fact that it’s easy, healthy and a great way to get your does of vegan protein? A total win on all counts. I’m just so tofu hyped right now. I MEAN LOOK AT THAT CRUST.

What makes this crispy tofu different

There are tons of crispy tofu recipes out there. But they all seem to need an air fryer, or use 1000 ingredients, or have to be pan fried within an inch of their life. Or they’re just coated in only cornstarch…which tbh is good, but could be much better. I looked at all these crispy tofu recipes and was like “ok…something’s gotta give.”

The biggest misconception out there is that tofu is a high-maintenance protein. And I think that’s another reason why people don’t try out tofu recipes. People think you need to press it for an hour, then marinate it, then prep it and only THEN are you ready to cook. And that couldn’t be further from the truth! This crispy oven tofu is made for LAZY people. I am the LAZIEST. If I could have my oven do all the work for me I would, but unfortunately, I need to at least get the food ready for it.

But I will say, this crispy baked tofu requires no “active” work on your part. No standing over a stove, no freaking out over frying oil (that stuff is SCARY, man) and no prodding, flipping, or messing with the tofu. You just bread it, bake it, and forget it.

And that’s what makes this crispy tofu different. It’s perfect in its simplicity. You don’t press it, you just pat it dry. And you don’t need too many ingredients for the coating. Just good ol’ cornstarch, plant milk, breadcrumbs and salt & pepper. I don’t want to bog you down with new ingredients to make this. I want this to be a weekend staple that you can always have in your back pocket.

Why don’t I press my tofu when making crispy baked tofu?

Ah, the age old question. It’s not that I’m against pressing tofu. It’s just that I always. ALWAYS. forget to press mine. When I start cooking, I want to get to it right away. So pressing tofu has always been a huge roadblock in my mind. An hour? I need to wait an hour?

SO with all of that said, some of my resistance to pressing tofu is the timing, but the other reason I don’t press my tofu is because I don’t want to get rid of all of the moisture before I even cook it.

When you press tofu, you are getting a firmer, meatier texture, but only if you cook it in certain ways. When you bake tofu, you naturally are drying it out. And if you’ve already pressed a lot of liquid out of your tofu, it will just keep getting more dried out.

But if you haven’t fully pressed all the liquid out of your tofu, you can still retain some of that moisture, even if you bake it for an extended period of time.

So in this recipe, we can bake our tofu long enough that the breadcrumbs get nice, golden and super crispy, but the tofu won’t dry out. It’s the best part of not needing to press my tofu!

Why do people press tofu?

But don’t get me wrong. Pressing tofu is a super popular way of preparing it. It’s arguably the most popular! And I get it. It gives the tofu a really nice, rich, thick texture, and you haven’t even started cooking it yet!

Plus if you are pan searing the tofu or grilling it, it helps give the tofu a really nice texture.

Additionally, some people press their tofu and then re-marinate it. This means that the tofu drains out all the water it was stored in, and then reabsorbs the marinade. Making it super flavorful in each and every bite!

And if you are into crumbling tofu for scrambles or bakes, pressing it makes it easier to crumble and meatier in texture. Plus when you crumble it, it’s ready to cook right away. You don’t need to cook off any of the excess moisture!

So all in all, press your tofu, or don’t press your tofu – you can enjoy it either way. It’s all about what you’re looking for, how much time you have and how much ~prep~ you’ve thought about. The world is your tofu oyster! (That definitely doesn’t make sense but you get it.)

How to make the hot “honey” glaze for the crispy oven tofu

Now you could definitely just buy some good ol’ Mike’s Hot Honey for this recipe. OR you could make this amazing agave-honey-chili glaze.

This is a great option for my vegan bbs, because I know that honey is not always an option on the vegan diet. But it still gives you that sticky, sweet, spicy, hot flavor that you would get if you used regular hot honey!

Now I gave exact measurements for this hot agave glaze, but each measurement is totally up to your personal preference. If you want it hotter, go for it. A little too spicy? Add some more agave! It’s really all a matter of mix-and-match. I’d recommend using the measurements I give as a starter, and then kicking off from there.

A bit about the ingredients I chose for the glaze:

• Agave nectar – can totally be subbed for honey if you’d like! You can also swing using maple syrup, but it has a more distinct flavor that isn’t my favorite with the hot sauce, so I’d try to use the other options if you can.
• Frank’s Red Hot – this is a CLASSIC hot sauce, and probably the only one I would use for this recipe. But I know we can’t all hoard hot sauces, so if you need to use another one (ie. sriracha or something similar), totally feel free to experiment with what works best for you!
• Sambal Oelek – this is an Indonesian chili paste that is the absolute best. If you don’t have it on hand (which you def should try to – you can find it at almost every grocery store!) you can use another chili paste or chili onion crunch 🙂

And then you mix it all together and you are good to go. It’s a magic potion. Once you make one batch you might be addicted. You’ve been warned 😉

Tips & tricks on how to make and store this crispy tofu recipe

Ok, it’s the best time. TIPS TIME. Here are my best tips for when making this recipe:

• Lightly (lightly!) press out the excess liquid from the tofu block with a paper towel before you slice it. The goal here is to get the tofu dry, but not pressed out. I give my tofu a firm pat with a paper towel on all sides until it looks dry on the outside. This will make it easier to handle and will help the breadcrumbs adhere!
• Use a wet hand and a dry hand when dipping the tofu – I always make this mistake (I also usually need one hand to film these recipes so….c’est la vie haha). But when breading anything, it’s best to use one hand for the cornstarch+dipping, and another hand for the breadcrumbs. It’ll be less mess and less clean up!
• Don’t be afraid to really bake this tofu. Like REALLY bake it. The best part of non-pressed tofu is it’s hard to dry out. So if you want your breadcrumbs to have a little more color, feel free to leave it in the oven a few more minutes. It won’t hurt anything, I promise!
• Make sure not to crowd your pan – this will lead to less crispy edges because crowded pans steam food instead of crisping it. Just make sure each piece of tofu has a bit of breathing room!

FAQ

Want recipes similar to this one?

Looking for other vegetarian recipes? I gotchu. Here are some of my favorites:

• Deconstructed Shakshuka
• Chicago Deep Dish Toast
• Za’atar Tofu with Harissa Carrots

Watch the recipe video here: