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 it's the perfect centrepiece for Easter dinner or a holiday feast. This tofu roast looks all sorts of fancy, but it's actually really easy to prepare. Just 10 ingredients and a bit of time is all it takes!
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.
Just 10 ingredients and easy to make. Inspired by glazed ham this tofu roast is the perfect centrepiece for Easter dinner or a holiday feast.
Inspired by Isa Chandra Moskowitz Sweet & Smoky Glazed Tofu Ham and Yup It's Vegan Glazed Tofu Roast
- 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
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
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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!
Cloves: If you do not want to do the added decoration of the whole cloves, simply omit them and instead add ⅛ teaspoon ground clove to the glaze.
Slicing: Due to the cuts on the top of the tofu, it can be a bit tricky to slice. For easy slicing, flip the tofu roast upside down. 😉
Nutrition
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One word - Delicious! Thank you Sam
This just didnt work for me and I really dont know what I did wrong. I found the cloves a bit over powering and the flavour profile was just off for me. I was hoping that this would help me start getting into tofu but alas it didnt. I still like the concept though and I may just play with the flavours next time
This was easy to make and so delicious! My non-vegan hubby loved it too! Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe! 🙂
You're most welcome, Kelly!
Your recipes are always my go-to whenever I want to try something new. My whole family loved this !! Thanks again for your artistry and creativity. I will definitely be making this again !
Aww that's wonderful! Thanks Faith 🙂
This was delicious! I will be making often! Can't wait to try many more of your recipes.
Amazing! So happy you enjoyed it!
This is so easy and so delicious, that it’s actually silly not to just make it! Thanks for the inspiration, Sam.
Haha! You're most welcome 🙂
This was sooooo good. Sam, I love all your stuff, but I think you're at your absolute best with all the creative, delicious uses of tofu! We made this for the first time as described and it was amazing. It's now going to make regular appearances on our meal plans, and we're looking forward to trying the basic marinate + bake format with different combinations in the future. 🙂
This was delicious! My Omni family devoured it and requested it again tonight. So second night in a row it is in the oven. Yum!! Thank you!
Haha! Amazing!!!
Made this with a block of tofu I had thrown in the freezer. Absolute perfection. I've gotten tired of making tofu the same few ways I know how to and having it always turn out a bit bland. The flavour in this is so insane, I forgot I was eating tofu. Highly recommend making it! I only marinated it for an hour and it was fantastic (so I'm sure marinating it overnight would make it even better!).
Thrilled you loved it, Melissa!
I made two bricks of this with your scalloped potatoes for Easter dinner and it was AMAZING!!! I had no clove, no cinnamon sticks (used regular cinnamon), and just plain yellow mustard. It was so satisfying to slice into!!
Wonderful!!
Another winner Sam!!!! I made this for our Easter dinner. I didn't have whole cloves or even ground cloves and I wasn't about to venture into a grocery store to buy some and this was fantastic anyway! My husband, who isn't the biggest fan of tofu, pretty much ate half of it himself!!! I couldn't wait to eat the little leftover chunk for lunch the following day. Well done once again!!!
Amazing!! SO happy you both loved it, Michelle 🙂
Made for Easter dinner and it was so delicious. Had to use coconut sugar, but it was still awesome. Definitely a new family favorite!
Ridiculous! Made it for Easter dinner with mashed potatoes and broccoli. The "burnt ends" were the best part. Next time I'll reserve a little of the glaze to drizzle over the potatoes. The glaze was BOMB.
Yay! So happy you loved it 🙂
This recipe was awesome.
I made it for Easter dinner and served it with mashed potatoes and stewed carrots, onion and celery. I think sometimes we only think about tofu for Asian dishes, but this one really works as a traditional roast!
I didn’t use cloves and don’t see myself using them in the future, and I would also suggest slicing the tofu block in half horizontally, that way theirs more surface area for the glaze to make that nice “crust!”
The mustard that I had on hand wasn’t Dijon but instead was a spicy mustard with a little horseradish, which I sometimes use in a stir-fry sauce, so it turned out delicious!
Thanks Sam!
This recipe was incredibly delicious and beautiful to look at! I am so impressed with the simple glaze! Even though it took many (inactive) hours to prepare it was so incredibly worth it. I will be making this recipe again!!!
So happy you loved it, Tomm 🙂
Another winner, Sam! So yummy and visually appealing as well. It's going in the "make it again" notebook. 🙂
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed!
Thank you! My family insisted on an actual ham for Easter, but this is what I made for myself and it was delicious. My daughter said, "that's adorable!" 🙂
I made this tonight. It was absolutely delicious. I love all of your recipes. This one was creative and sooo yummy. Easy also. Thank you.
You're most welcome 🙂
I made this for our Easter dinner and WOW! This was delicious! I wasn't sure about the glaze, but it was sooooo good! Thank you for another great recipe.
You're most welcome, Jana 🙂
My fiancé and I are celebrating Easter alone this year and I made this to make it feel a little more special. With mashed potatoes and spinach on the side, this was the perfect main dish for a fancy holiday dinner. This recipe is so easy and I will definitely make it again.
So happy you enjoyed, Sabrina!
My kids loved this. So easy to make and so delicious! Thank you!
Awesome!
I sent your recipe to my brother as well. He said it was the first edible thing he managed to cook and there were no leftovers for the first time in his house!
This one is a hit with our whole family.
This recipe looks so fancy but very easy to make. Also super delicious!!! I loved the flavour. Will make it again for sure. Congratulations for winning the 2020 vegnews awards Sam! You deserve it for sure. I love all your recipes, even the ones I have not made yet.
Thank you so much, Lariza!! 🙂
Oh my goodness this is sooooo delicious My darling husband devoured it and said if I make only this he will be happy ! Thanks Sam for another delicious recipe. Followed exactly as written with whole cloves. Wonderful recipe for a beautiful Good Friday dinner
Aww that's wonderful! So happy everyone enjoyed it 🙂
This looks really good. Now I have to split my tofu, half for this and half for your crumbles recipe.
Thanks David, I have decided to try out both options over the next couple of weeks. I have a feeling that the Coconut sugar will be the winner somehow, both on the taste side and blood glucose levels. This is just my guess though, can't back it up with anything scientific :-). Have a Happy Easter!
My, my, my this was perfection! Followed directions to a T and would not change a thing! (powdered clove version) The whole family loved and requested that I make it again soon. Thank you!
Aww yay!! SO thrilled it was a hit, Jackie 🙂
This looks great! I’m all out of soy sauce. Is there something else I could use in its stead?
Tamari
I really wanted to love this but found that the outside of the tofu was rubbery. I am a newbie to cooking tofu. Do you think it was alittle overcooked (took it out when browned and bubbly) or maybe I didn't marinate it enough? Although it sat for 3 hours I noticed the marinade on the tofu was
Spotty. Thanks in advance
Hi Erin, this recipe is designed to be a little chewy, similar to ham. For a more tender tofu recipe try my tofu bites.
Yes, tamari or coconut aminos 🙂
This looks incredible! I'd likely add thin pineapple chunks and a few maraschino cherries to garnish (with the cloves studded through everything), but I don't know whether that would hold up well. Have to give it a go and find out!
Let us know how it turns out for you 🙂
I'm a type 2 diabetic and am wondering if I could replace the brown sugar with either coconut sugar or pure maple syrup? These would be much kinder on my blood sugar levels.Would the recipe still work?
Good question! My father is diabetic as well, while I'm hypoglycemic and don't want to spike my levels as I tend to crash hard afterward. Coconut sugar would be my choice here as maple syrup has its own unique flavor profile; however, that being said, I have seen many maple-glazed hams as well! I'm interested in seeing Sam's follow-up with this.
I think coconut sugar would work just fine. Enjoy!
Thank you Sam! Will report back
Someone once tricked me with putting 1/8 tsp cinnamon in chili and it was disgusting so I'm a little nervous to put the cinnamon in this. Is it traditional cinnamon that is used in baked goods or is it that weird one that hardly has any cinnamon taste? I think one is "American" and the other European.
It's regular old baking cinnamon. If you don't want it, you can just skip it tho 🙂
Can hardly wait to try! I usually freeze my tofu blocks. Do you think a thawed tofu block will work or will the texture and appearance suffer? Thanks!
Hmm, I’m thinking maybe freezing it might hinder the scoring process. I find when I freeze tofu it “crumbles” more
Freezing tofu changes the texture of it, so while it will likely work, the texture might be very different.
I made it with a block of super firm tofu I had in the freezer. After thawing, I pressed, marinated, and then did all the rest. It came out great and delicious! I don't know if it would have been different if I'd used tofu that hadn't originally been frozen, but I can honestly say that I was perfectly satisfied with how the recipe came out. And will make again!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Rick 🙂
Omg I can hardly wait to try this recipe!!! It looks gorgeous and so delicious! Thank you for this! 🙂
You're most welcome! I hope you love it 🙂
This looks DELICIOUS! Thank you for the wonderful vegan holiday option! 🙂
You're very welcome, Mindy!