Author: 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:
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.
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.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Brown Sugar and Mustard Glazed Tofu
Servings:
PRINT
PIN
Video
COMMENT
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
- ⅛ 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
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕
Emelyn says
Delicious!
Deb says
Will be trying this one on the meat eaters in my family for Xmas! Thanks Sammy, will have to purchase your book next year! Love your VFood! One of the best out there! Have a happy Xmas and hope the new year brings a better one for all of us! Keep safe all! Hey from Down Under ;D
Katey says
I just wanted to say thank you for this amazing recipe!! Made it for our little Thanksgiving-y dinner (not a holiday we really celebrate in my house), and my husband really loved it; he normally only gives me feedback like "It's ok. It's fine." BUT I have to also say that out of anyone, your recipes have the best track record for actual praise from him lol. Especially your tofu recipes (and the soy curls!) I forgot to marinate it overnight, but it was still soaking it up for about 10 hours. 50 minutes baking, and then 15 with the glaze on. Absolutely delectable and perfect! And it looked really pretty too. :o) More than made up for the poor quality green beans my husband bought, haha.
Shannon Jeske says
Just made it for our Thanksgiving (American)! OMG We all loved it. I am glad I doubled it.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thrilled it was such a success Shannon 🙂
Elisabetta says
I just made it ! Substituted sugar with maple syrup and I didn’t put liquid smoke .... delish !!!!
Too bad I can’t post a picture , it’s so pretty too
Lidia says
Can this be made in the air fryer?
Amy Sheinberg says
Can you omit the liquid smoke? My husband does not like a smoky taste. Anything to use in its place?
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely! If you don't like smoke flavours, just omit it.
Heather Gilbert says
One word - Delicious! Thank you Sam
Fi says
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
KELLY C YOUNG says
This was easy to make and so delicious! My non-vegan hubby loved it too! Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe! 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Kelly!
Faith says
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 !
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful! Thanks Faith 🙂
Jill says
This was delicious! I will be making often! Can't wait to try many more of your recipes.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! So happy you enjoyed it!
Srivani says
This is so easy and so delicious, that it’s actually silly not to just make it! Thanks for the inspiration, Sam.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! You're most welcome 🙂
Jo says
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. 🙂
Lisa says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Amazing!!!
Melissa says
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!).
Sam Turnbull says
Thrilled you loved it, Melissa!
Jenn says
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!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!!
Michelle says
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!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!! SO happy you both loved it, Michelle 🙂
Marlee says
Made for Easter dinner and it was so delicious. Had to use coconut sugar, but it was still awesome. Definitely a new family favorite!
DiegoGal says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you loved it 🙂