Home from vacation and back to the grind... like literally, let's grind up some almonds, rosemary, and lemon zest and use that delicious mixture to coat tofu slices, bake them until golden deliciousness, and I present you Almond Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tofu. See what I did there? Yeah, so clever.
I'm obsessed with these crispy, crunchy tofu slices. These are the perfect hearty, savoury main. Scrumptious served with a side of greens and a potato or totally decadent when sliced and placed on top of a salad. Add a squeeze of lemon, and oooeeee am I loving this dish.
Now, this recipe is super fun all on its own, but what's even more fun is that this recipe was part of a challenge!
Every now and then I like to collab with another amazing vegan blogger and do a little recipe mystery box game. So for this recipe, I paired up with Jasmine and Chris from Sweet Simple Vegan.
The challenge: together we chose 4 random ingredients. I selected lemon and almond, and Jasmine and Chris selected rosemary and coconut, and from those 4 ingredients, we each had to create a recipe.
I ended up going the savoury root with my Almond Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tofu, and Jasmine and Chris went the sweet path and created a dessert, these totally gorgeous and decadent Creamy Lemon Rosemary Bars. It's so cool to see how recipe writer brains can differ so much!
If you are new to the Sweet Simple Vegan blog, I highly recommend you check it out. Just like the name suggests, this site is packed full of simple vegan recipes. I'm drooling over this Vegan Cheddar Chipotle Cheese Sauce, Restaraunt-Style Teriyaki Tofu Bowls, and this Loaded Vegan Chickpea Omelette. They even shared my Blueberry Bliss Muffins from my cookbook Fuss-Free Vegan on their blog.
Now back to tofu. To make Almond Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tofu: you can start by pressing your tofu if desired. Pressing it, will make the tofu a little firmer and chewier. Leaving it un-pressed will result in a more tender tofu.
To make the almond rosemary crust: add the almonds and rosemary to a food processor grind until the almonds are finely chopped but some larger chunks remain.
Add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper and pulse to combine. Alternatively, you can finely chop the almonds and rosemary with a knife, and then just mix everything together in a bowl.
Take 3 medium bowls. In the first bowl add the all-purpose flour. In the second bowl pour in the coconut milk. In the third bowl, add in the almond rosemary mixture.
Now take a tofu slice and dredge the tofu in the flour. Shake off excess and then dip the floured tofu into the coconut milk. Finally, dip the coconut milk covered tofu into the almond rosemary mixture to coat. Place the coated tofu on the parchment paper and repeat with remaining slices until they are all coated.
Bake 18 - 23 minutes until the crust is lightly golden and crispy. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon for squeezing.
Almond Rosemary Lemon Crusted Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 block (350g) extra-firm or firm tofu drained, pressed*, and cut into 8 slices
- ½ cup raw almonds
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (about 2 sprigs with stems removed)
- ½ cup bread crumbs (gluten-free if preferred)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free if preferred)
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk (or other plant-based milk if preferred)
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- OVEN: Preheat your oven 400F (200C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.AIR FRYER: Preheat your air fryer to 370F (190C).
- To make the almond rosemary crust, add the almonds and rosemary to a food processor grind until the almonds are finely chopped but some larger chunks remain. Add the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper and pulse to combine. Alternatively, you can finely chop the almonds and rosemary with a knife, and then just mix everything together in a bowl.
- Take 3 medium bowls. In the first bowl add the all-purpose flour. In the second bowl pour in the coconut milk. In the third bowl, pour in the almond rosemary mixture.
- Now take a tofu slice and dredge the tofu in the flour. Shake off excess and then dip the floured tofu into the coconut milk. Finally, dip the coconut milk covered tofu into the almond rosemary mixture to coat. Place the coated tofu on the parchment paper and repeat with remaining slices until they are all coated.
- OVEN: Place the coated tofu on the parchment paper and repeat with the remaining slices until they are all coated. Bake 18 - 23 minutes until the crust is lightly golden and crispy. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon for squeezing.AIR FRYER: place the coated tofu in a single layer in the bottom of the air fryer (you make need to work in batches). Fry 14 - 20 minutes until the crust is lightly golden and crispy. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon for squeezing.
Notes
Nutrition
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Elisha says
I’m going to try this tomorrow!
Pablo bread crumbs or normal bread food processed?
What kind of side did you serve this with? I’m thinking colourful roasted carrots :)& spinach and cucumber salad!
Brittany says
Loved this recipe! I made it with garlic mashed potatoes. The squeeze of lemon juice after they have baked really makes these taste amazing!
After I dredged and breaded the tofu, I put the slices on a greased cooling rack that fit in a sheet pan and I put them in the fridge for an hour before baking. This really helped the breading to adhere to the tofu.
Kelsey says
I made this for Easter dinner. I was fairly easy, and super delicious. I couldn’t find gluten free breadcrumbs, so I subbed 1/4 c hemp hearts and 1/4 c almond flour. Will definitely make again!
Ren Atkins says
This was great! Crunchy and flavourful, and easy to prep. You really have the best tofu recipes. I had some leftover coating, so I'm saving it to sprinkle on top of a mac and 'cheese'.
Chris Day says
What a delicious meal! I love that the ingredients are so easy to find and those which I usually have on hand. The only thing I will do differently next time is to use only the amount of coconut milk I need and freeze the rest. I ended up throwing out a lot of coconut milk.
Thanks so much for this excellent recipe!
BA says
I made this for a holiday dinner - it was SO delicious! The squeeze of lemon juice on top really gave the flavors a bright note, too. Definitely a repeat.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thrilled you enjoyed 🙂
Stephanie jackson says
This was such an amazingly delicious recipe. THank you so much for posting. Ive never cared for fish before I was vegan but loved tarter sauce and the crust on the fish so this just blew my mind and taste buds and so much better as tofu! Will keep this recipe in the rotation forever.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! Thrilled you loved it so much, Stephanie 🙂
Zoe says
I just made this for lunch and thought it was absolutely delicious! I switched all purpose flour for whole wheat and used oven-dried quinoa instead of bread crumbs to give it an extra pack of protein. I calculated that with these modifications, each slice of tofu has 87 calories.
Loved the recipe thank you
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome, so happy you enjoyed, Zoe 🙂
Alicia says
Oh man this looks so good! I cant wait to give it a try, I bet my husband will love this!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! I hope you both enjoy it!
Claire says
I made this for my boyfriend and it blew his mind (and tastebuds). He now wants me to make this all the time.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! That's awesome. So happy your boyfriend loved it so much 🙂
Katie says
This looks so tasty! What tofu do you use?
Sam Turnbull says
I don't have a preference of brand.
Briana says
This was best vegan recipe by far! The whole family loved it!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! Thrilled you everyone loved it so much, Briana 🙂
Ilene says
This is totally delicious and very easy to make. Everyone loved it. I doubled the recipe as I don't cook on my Sabbath, so that part was easy too. Thanks!!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh that's wonderful, Ilene, so happy you enjoyed it!
crystal herndon says
Hi Sam can you use something besides bread crumbs like all almonds or almonds mixed with sunflower seeds? How would you adjust a recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Crystal, yes, I think you could likely get away with an alternative as the breadcrumbs just add to the crispy coat. More almonds might work just fine. Enjoy!
Bonnie says
Absolutely amazing! I will be making this over and over and over again. Thanks so much. Oh, and also for the vegan egg-yoke dipping sauce as well. Thought I'd never get to dip my toast again. Love your recipes.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, you're most welcome, Bonnie. So happy you love them so much 😀
Ashleigh says
Hi! I asked my mum to bring home almonds today so I could make this for dinner, but she got cashews instead. Do you think they'll work or are they too soft? Thanks 🙂
Ashleigh says
So I ended up using the cashews. Wow! Honestly the best tofu I've ever had. Thank you so much for this recipe, I'll definitely be making it again (but next time with almonds).
Sam Turnbull says
Oh wow!! So amazing! I was going to say cashews would be fine, so I am so happy you enjoyed it and went for it. 🙂