You will never look at tofu the same way again!
Vegan sesame tofu fingers are magical! They are gluten-free, baked, refined-sugar free and still absolutely one of the best tasting tofu dishes I’ve ever had. You just press all the liquid out of the tofu. Marinate it. Toss it in corn starch and bake. It makes the crispiest and most flavorful tofu even though it is baked and gluten-free. The amazing tofu is tossed in the best ever sesame sauce!
So, this tofu gets so crispy that is actually stays really crispy even after it has been tossed in the sesame sauce! These vegan sesame tofu fingers are the perfect entree, or the perfect appetizer! You can make them into a meal with some veggies and rice, or just pick them up and eat them with your fingers and maybe a dip like I do!
I love the process I use to make these sesame tofu fingers. It is so freaking easy. Almost like a shake and bake. Once the tofu has marinated, I just throw the tofu in a large ziploc bag and sprinkle the cornstarch into the bag. Seal the bag and shake! It coats them super well.
Then, all you have to do is bake and make the sauce while the tofu bakes. Pour the sauce over the tofu fingers, toss. Then eat. They are finger lickin’ good! They are crispy, salty, sweet, umami and every flavor that your taste buds need right now!
Vegan Sesame Tofu Fingers
Ingredients
Tofu Fingers
- 1 Block (15oz.) Extra firm tofu, pressed
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 2 Teaspoons Rice wine vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Agave syrup
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sriracha
- 1/4 Cup Cornstarch
Sesame Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1/4 Cup Canned tomato sauce (tomato puree not ketchup)
- 3 Tablespoons Agave syrup
- 1 Teaspoon Sriracha
- 1/2 Teaspoon Rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame seeds, I used half white and half black
- 1 Teaspoon Cornstarch
- 1 Teaspoon Water
Instructions
- First, you need to press your block of tofu. It is important to get as much liquid out of the tofu as possible. The firmer the tofu, the easier it is to work with. I recommend pressing for at least 30 minutes. If you need a step by step, I will link my tofu guide below. Just click where it says tofu cooking guide in the notes.
- When you are ready to make the tofu fingers, cut the block of tofu into "fingers". Long and thin.
- Then in a large bowl, whisk together the 1 tablespoon of coconut aminos(or soy sauce), the 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar, the 1 teaspoon of agave, and the 1/2 teaspoon of sriracha.
- Now, add the tofu fingers to the bowl with the marinade and toss to coat all of the tofu. It won't be a lot of marinade, they won't be submerged. Let them sit, tossing a few more times for about 15-20 minutes.
- Once the tofu has been sitting for a bit, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Then, add the tofu fingers to a large ziploc bag, and sprinkle the cornstarch into the bag. Seal the bag and toss the tofu. Coat all of the fingers in the cornstarch.
- Put the tofu on a sheet pan that has been sprayed with non stick spray, or coated with some oil. If you don't want to use oil, you will need a non stick pan, or they will stick.
- Bake the tofu at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, flip the tofu and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Bake until brown and crispy.
- While the tofu is baking, make the sesame sauce. In a small sauce pan, whisk together the coconut aminos(or soy sauce), tomato sauce, agave, sriracha, rice wine vinegar and sesame seeds.
- Heat on medium low, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Then add that to the sauce, whisk to combine.
- Continue to simmer the sauce until it is nice and thick, a few more minutes. Turn off the heat.
- When the tofu fingers are brown and crispy, add them to a bowl and pour the sauce over them. Toss to coat and serve with chives or scallions!
Notes
Nutrition
I get so excited when I see you’ve posted a new recipe. All your recipes look amazing, Lauren!!
Thank you so much! These tofu fingers are AMAZING!
Another tasty and satisfying meal! This is easy and delicious. I use Trader Joe’s extra firm tofu. No need to press the water out of the tofu. Thank you!
Looking forward to trying this recipe tonight!
I found your IG while trying to motivate myself to cook again and made this tonight for my week’s main meal prep. I couldn’t resist trying a little though. The sesame sauce is sweet, salty, and tangy, and the tofu is nice and meaty (even though I was very lax about evenly cutting it hahaha).
Thank you for an easy to follow recipe with clear timing that allowed me to interleave the prep with cooking my accompanying quinoa and veggie stir-fry. I’m looking forward to work lunches this week!
Is there a substitute for corn starch?
You could use all purpose flour or tapioca starch would probably work too. I haven’t tested it with anything but cornstarch, but I think your favorite flour or starch will work.
Hi, is it possible to freeze them in any way?
Hi, have you tried making these with tempeh, do you think it would turn out similar?
I have not tried it with tempeh, but I do think it would turn out similar and be super delish!
I love this recipe – and I was able to coat the tofu in cornstarch without a plastic bag – just tossed them in a dry bowl. Thanks for sharing such delicious recipes!
The sauce was great! Thanks for sharing.
best tofu I’ve had. FINALLY a crunchy tofu. Do spray the pan liberally… it does stick before the first flip!
Wonderful! I’m a big tofu eater and this has got to be one of my favorite sauces yet. I’m starting to have cravings for it lol
I made these today and I have to say they are simply delicious. I’m wondering if you could bake it in the airfryer? Have you tried this yet?
I have not tried them in the air fryer yet, but I bet that would work great!!
Delicious! And I was able to skip the plastic bag, too. Thanks for a great recipe!
We really enjoyed this recipe, My husband loved the sauce! We make a lot of your recipes, not too difficult and great flavours!
I already know this recipe will be delicious because all of your recipes I’ve tried are delicious! I will be making these for an upcoming party and have a quick question…tomato puree is not the same as tomato sauce. Which one do you recommend? (The recipe sort has both), “…tomato sauce (tomato puree not ketchup)”
Thanks, Collette
I use tomato sauce, I just always add that note about tomato puree not ketchup, because I always get questions about that from people not from the U.S. People assume I mean ketchup,so I like to clarify!
Was really delish, making this again for sure!
Super delicious . The style of the sauce reminds me of general Tsos.
Can’t wait to try it! Can you advise your preferred dipping sauce?
My hubby loves salty and crispy foods; most salty crispy snacks aren’t good for diabetics, especially the sesame sticks often found in snack mixes. He is not vegan and vowed he would never eat tofu, so it took some nagging to convince him to make these with me.
Well, we did not expect the tofu to puff up while baking. They looked like little, mini loaves of bread. (We used extra firm tofu and pressed it for thirty minutes.) We laughed hysterically because they did not resemble the ones photoed.
A few stuck to the tray, so do coat the tray well.
We didn’t know if they were to be eaten hot or cold. We ate them hot. They did deflate a bit as they cooled. The texture was interesting and not at all what I expected. Leathery on the outside and airy on the inside? We’ve never eaten baked tofu before.
Ours had a crunch, but I wouldn’t say they were crispy. For my taste, they were a little too spicy, but I am kind of wimpy when it comes to spicy food.
Overall, I think I would make them again 🙂
These turned out soooo good! I’m diabetic so used a zero calorie sweetener and served them with a little brown rice and a Thai cucumber salad. Made for an excellent meal!
Could you prebake the tofu sticks in the morning and then cost them with the sauce right before you are ready to eat them for lunch? Would you need to warm them up a bit before coating with sauce?