Oh boy are you in for a treat! This Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Tofu is so delicious, that I have trouble not eating the whole thing in one sitting! Inspired by glazed ham with the diamond shapes and cloves, Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Tofu is the perfect centrepiece for Easter dinner or any holiday feast. This tofu roast looks all sorts of fancy, but it's actually really easy to prepare. Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Tofu takes just 10 ingredients and a bit of time to make. Sweet & savoury at home cooking has never been so good!
The tofu is coated in a sticky brown sugar glaze with mustard, garlic, and a hint of cinnamon. The outside of the tofu is chewy and it almost forms a skin, while the inside remains tender and juicy. This tofu is so delicious and simple that you may want to make this for a regular weeknight. See my tip for cloves in the recipe notes for a slightly quicker version.
This glazed tofu is gorgeous enjoyed hot out of the oven, but if you're lucky enough to have leftovers, it makes for a great sandwich when sliced cold and smeared with extra Dijon. Omnomnom.
To make the Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Tofu:
Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 30 minutes - 1 hour. I love using my Tofuture tofu press, but you can also follow these instructions for a DIY tofu pressing method. Pressing the tofu squeezes excess water out so that the tofu can suck up more of the marinade and become more flavourful!
Once pressed, remove the tofu and pat dry. Use a knife to score a diamond pattern across the surface of the tofu cutting about ¼ inch deep. Add the soy sauce and liquid smoke to a sealable bag or container, then add the tofu. Let the tofu marinate for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as overnight in the fridge, flipping the tofu every now and then to ensure both sides get marinated.
When ready to roast the tofu, preheat your oven to 375F (190C). Line a small baking dish with parchment paper.
Remove the tofu from the marinade and place on the prepared baking dish. Poke a whole clove into the center of each diamond. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until the tofu is a dark golden brown.
While the tofu is baking make the glaze by adding the brown sugar, vegan butter, water, mustard, garlic, and cinnamon to a small pot. Put over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer while whisking often, and cook for about two minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
This is how the tofu should look after baking for 50 - 60 minutes.
Once the tofu has baked and is golden brown, remove from the oven, pour the prepared glaze on top, then return to the oven and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes until the glaze is bubbling.
Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Remove the cloves using a fork or kitchen tweezers before serving. I also like to use a pastry brush to gently brush excess glaze off the top of the tofu so you can see the diamond pattern better for presentation. Enjoy hot or cold!
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Brown Sugar & Mustard Glazed Tofu
Ingredients
For the tofu:
- 1 block (350g) extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 20 - 30 whole cloves (the spice), *see notes
For the glaze:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 4 cloves garlic,, minced or pressed
- â…› teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 30 minutes to 1 hour. I love using my Tofuture tofu press, but you can also follow these instructions for a DIY tofu pressing method. Pressing the tofu squeezes excess water out so that the tofu can suck up more of the marinade and become more flavourful.
- Once pressed, remove the tofu and pat dry. Use a knife to score a diamond pattern across the surface of the tofu cutting about ¼ inch deep. Add the soy sauce and liquid smoke to a sealable bag or container, then add the tofu. Let the tofu marinate for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as overnight in the fridge, flipping the tofu every now and then to ensure both sides get marinated.
- When ready to roast the tofu, preheat your oven to 375F (190C). Line a small baking dish with parchment paper.
- Remove the tofu from the marinade and place on the prepared baking dish. Poke a whole clove into the center of each diamond. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until the tofu is a dark golden brown.
- While the tofu is baking make the glaze by adding the brown sugar, vegan butter, water, mustard, garlic, and cinnamon to a small pot. Put over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer while whisking often, and cook for about two minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Once the tofu has baked and is golden brown, remove from the oven, pour the prepared glaze on top, then return to the oven and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes until the glaze is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes. Remove the cloves using a fork or kitchen tweezers before serving. I also like to use a pastry brush to gently brush excess glaze off the top of the tofu so you can see the diamond pattern better for presentation. Enjoy hot or cold!
Notes
Nutrition
Tana says
I made this in my air fryer and it was fantastic. I reduced the heat by 25 degrees and just kept a close watch on it. It browned up pretty quickly, maybe only 25 minutes or so. The glaze is wonderful. Definitely need to double the entire recipe for next time! I’m so happy I found your recipes, and thank you for the tofuture tofu press recommendation. It’s so much easier using that!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
So wonderful to hear it went well in the air fryer! Thanks for your review, Tana!
Carrie says
This is in the oven now but parts of the tofu turned grey! I pressed it for a couple hours and marinated it in the fridge overnight. Anyone know if this is normal and ok to eat?!
LILLITH WALKER says
THIS. IS. AMAZING!!!!! Made this for dinner tonight. It was amazing and tasted so much like ham! However I didn't read all the directions and forgot to score the tofu until just about ready to put it into the oven so I had to make a 2nd marinade to put into the score which made it a little salty. I only made half of the glaze and that was plenty. The texture was wonderful - the top was firm but the bottom was really lovely and creamy.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
We're so glad you enjoyed it and were able to troubleshoot along the way!
Cheryl Clarke says
I LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it countless times. I’m making it tomorrow night. My non vegan husband loves it too. I’m curious how the added citrus may turn out. Kinda scared to try it as it’s perfect as written. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
It's one of my faves too! Yum!
Sarai says
I substituted the water with Orange juice and it was good. Not a significant difference, but a little something. When I make double batches of the gravy I do OJ and Bourbon.
Craig says
Followed the directions exactly. It takes quite a bit of time to p.epare but is not difficult. Two stars because we didn't enjoy the flavors - a bit too much clove, and not enough other flavors in the tofu. The end pieces of the tofu had a nice dark color and texture, but also had too much clove. The interior pieces were a bit mushy. I agree with the previous reviewer, some citrus would have made the flavor profile more complex and interesting. Overall, my wife and I thought it was not worth the effort to make again.
Greatly appreciate the recipes here, we will definitely try others.
Christiane says
This was fantastic (perfect balance between the savory marinade and the sweet glaze). And such a festive pattern! I plan to make it again for Christmas.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thanks for the review 🙂
sarah says
this was incredible! for the marinade i didn't include the liquid smoke, i added some orange juice/maple syrup/sriracha/paprika. followed everything else exactly and it came out perfect. has the same warm flavors as a honey baked ham, amazing for a vegan thanksgiving dinner 🙂 (but i’ll definitely be making it for a normal dinner too)
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you love it!
Adrianne says
Could I make this in an air fryer? If yes, any thoughts on baking time/temp? Same as in recipe above?
Sam Turnbull says
I haven't tried it, but i think it should work. I would try 350F for 30 - 45 minutes. Enjoy!
Blair says
Hi, is there a reason to score the diamond shape in the top or is it just for presentation?
Mine is in the oven now. I just put the glaze on...which I could have eaten that alone!! So yummy! And my home smells incredible!
Sam Turnbull says
Presentation and also the texture as the scored area will get chewy. Enjoy!
Anonymous says
This is amazing! I always loved cloves and a sweet maple glaze on ham. This is the perfect substitute for me!
Anonymous says
I forgot to mention that I am lazy, so often I will just add about 1/4 tsp of ground cloves to the marinade and then another dash of ground cloves to the glaze instead of using whole cloves. Works a charm!
JE says
Really good! I greatly cut this recipe down, cause I didn't want to do a whole block for just myself. I let the tofu marinate overnight, and followed your recipe exact. Although with a smaller piece, I did not need the initial hour cooking time. When it was completely done, I was worried I had overcooked it and it would be tough, but it was great. It actually tasted like I was eating a piece of ham. I think even tofu-haters would have to admit this is pretty good. Thanks for posting.
Pat says
Oh my goodness this was delicious and beautiful! I omitted the liquid smoke since it doesn't agree with me, and added 1 tsp. regular paprika to the marinade instead. The one flavor that seemed missing was pineapple or citrus. I think next time I make this I will add 1 Tb. pineapple or orange juice to the marinade, and maybe substitute half or all of the same for the water in the glaze. Thank you!