If you want to save the ocean, eat vegan fish! These vegan tofu fillets are flakey and delicate, they have a mild taste of the sea, delicious served with a wedge of lemon, and best yet, they are easy to make too. Just 10 ingredients, and can be prepped ahead of time.
There are two key secrets to make tofu taste like fish:
Secret 1: The tofu is cut thinly part way through to give an amazing flaky texture that is so similar to fish. Bonus points, the thin cuts also allow the tofu to absorb the marinade better.
Secret 2: The marinade is made with a sheet of nori (the seaweed you use to make sushi), and white miso paste. The nori gives the marinade a sea taste while miso paste adds a subtle umami. The combo with lemon juice and a few other flavours give a beautiful delicate flavour to the tofu.
I mean just look at that delicious mouthful!
This recipe makes two large tofu fillets, but feel free to cut the tofu block into 4 to make four smaller fillets if you prefer. I love to whip up this recipe the day before and let the tofu marinate in the fridge overnight so that when it's dinner time, this dish takes just 10 minutes to cook up.
To Make Vegan Tofu Fillets (vegan fish):
Prep the tofu: Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 15 to 30 minutes. 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.
Cut the tofu in half horizontally into two large slices. Take one of the tofu pieces and place a chop stick on either side of the tofu to stop from cutting all the way through so the slices remain intact. Slice the tofu part way through repeatedly about ⅛" apart to give the tofu a flaky texture. Repeat with the other tofu slice.
Make the marinade: add the nori, vegetable broth, lemon juice, miso paste, Old Bay, garlic powder, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. If you don't have a blender you can chop the nori very finely then whisk everything together in a large bowl. This will make a very ugly greenish-brown marinade.
Place the tofu in a resealable bag or dish and cover with the marinade. Let marinated in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
Cook the tofu fillets: In a large skillet or non-stick frying pan, heat the oil or butter. When hot add the tofu fillets to the pan, discarding any leftover marinade. Fry for 3 - 5 minutes per side until the tofu is golden brown and heated through. Be very careful when flipping the tofu as it's very tender.
Serve the hot tofu fillets with parsley and black pepper and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon.
I think this vegan fish goes wonderfully with a side salad and a potato dish such as French fries or garlic mashed potatoes, but feel free to serve it with your favourite side dishes.
Hot tip: if you want a crispy skin on the tofu, dredge the marinated tofu in cornstarch just before frying and fry until evenly browned all over. This will make a thin crispy skin.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Vegan Tofu Fillets (vegan fish)
Ingredients
- 1 block (12 oz) extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and sliced (see step 1)
For the marinade:
- 1 sheet nori, torn into several pieces
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
To serve the tofu fillets:
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or light oil, for frying
- lemon slices
- chopped parsley and black pepper, (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Prep the tofu: Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 15 to 30 minutes. 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. Cut the tofu in half horizontally into two large slices. Take one of the tofu pieces and place a chop stick on either side of the tofu to stop from cutting all the way through so the slices remain intact. Slice the tofu part way through repeatedly about ⅛" apart to give the tofu a flaky texture. Repeat with the other tofu slice.
- Make the marinade: add the nori, vegetable broth, lemon juice, miso paste, Old Bay, garlic powder, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. If you don't have a blender you can chop the nori very finely then whisk everything together in a large bowl. This will make a very ugly greenish-brown marinade. Place the tofu in a resealable bag or dish and cover with the marinade. Let marinated in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
- Cook the tofu fillets: In a large skillet or non-stick frying pan, heat the oil or butter. When hot add the tofu fillets to the pan, discarding any leftover marinade. Fry for 3 - 5 minutes per side until the tofu is golden brown and heated through. Be very careful when flipping the tofu as it's very tender. Serve the hot tofu fillets with parsley and black pepper and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon.
Jess says
DELICIOUS! It’s a killer recipe, we followed it exactly except slicing our tofu block into 4 slabs then proceeding with the “flaky” slicing directions.
The second time we made it I swapped the seaweed for capers because I too have a seaweed aversion - it was great! I also halved the salt since my miso, broth, capers were all very salty.
One thing I would change though is marinated it much longer than 1 hour... it wasn’t as flavorful when I did that. I’d do minimum overnight up to a few days for the tofu to really absorb the flavor! Just prep it day before and the next day your dinner is ready to go!
Like I reviewer suggested, I only added cornstarch to the smooth bottom for a “crispy skin” side. We also liked basting it with the marinade while cooking.
Served with roasted broccolini and potato hash browns.
Finally, use the cast iron!! It worked a lot better than the nonstick for getting that beautiful browning.
Beata says
Lost count how many times I've made this recipe for my boyfriend and me, and we are not even vegan! Since finding this recipe, I used super firm high protein spouted tofu (makes "swordfish" steaks), pressed super firm tofu (makes "cod" fillets) and pressed firm tofu (makes "flounder" or "sole" steaks). So cool that you can achieve different fish effect by using different tofu every time. Latest one was the "swordfish" marinated for at least 10 days. No joke. I love to make a lot of marinade so that the tofu is completely submerged in the liquid, kind of like it is submerged in the liquid before you open the package. I think complete submersion is the key for the tofu not to go bad, but I have to say I was surprised that the acids did not break down the tofu protein too much. It could happen with the softer tofu varieties, but I guess I'd have to make this recipe again with softer tofu and see.
I can totally see using this recipe in fish tacos, like someone asked. I think I'd go for the softer tofu and slice it kind of thin, so that it fits nicely in the taco shell. I would not worry too much about the tofu pieces breaking, as the fish is kind of thin and sometimes broken up in fish tacos, too.
I sauteed and seared our "swordfish" in a little bit of butter and white wine, and served with roasted asparagus last night. Holy cow yum!!! Thank you, Sam!!!
Fluteed says
works great in "fish" tacos. Add vegan coleslaw and avocado.
Sandyp_eats says
I would love to try this recipe to make fish tacos which I miss so much! However, I have a real aversion to all kinds of seaweed and nori. Is there another thing I could substitute? I was thinking capers?
Thanks for any input and I love your recipes- just received the new cookbook yesterday! 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you so much!! Yes capers would be a nice alternative. Enjoy!
Véronique says
Hi, I am wondering about the salt in the recipe, is your vegetable broth salted? I’m making the recipe right now and I can’t wait to eat it tonight! Thank you
Jo says
This recipe is amazing! Followed the recipe exactly (including dredging in cornstarch) and it was flaky, flavorful, and had a crispy crust! Definitely will make again!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you loved it so much, Jo 🙂
Brenda V Schnell says
I made this tonight and it was so good! Amazing how fish like it tastes. I cooked it on my Cuisinart grill pan without oil and it worked very well.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Brenda!
Abi says
So, so delicious! It's also fun to prepare with the chopstick trick!!! We had it with your mashed potato recipe and a ton of garlicky greens and it was insane. Thank you!!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! Thrilled you loved it, Abi 🙂
Emma Richey says
Am I able to freeze the marinated tofu for future fillets?
Jenny says
This is good but just an fyi to anyone who uses cornstarch. Do not do oil free frying, it won't work.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed, Jenny!
Tre says
I am obsessed with this recipe!!!!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!!! 🙂
Yulca says
We liked this even more than your (fantastic) vegan fish & chips recipe - the crispy cornstarch "skin" on the uncut side is a must! So good!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh I never thought to do the cornstarch on just one side, great idea!! 🙂
Sherri Lewis says
The other day, my spouse mentioned that fish was the one food that she still missed as a vegan, so I made these fillets for her tonight even though I wasn't sure she would like them. She isn't a big fan of tofu and gets weirded out if things are texturally off, but, to my surprise, she LOVED it and came back for seconds! (We were BOTH surprised, to be honest.)
Hats off to you, Sam, for this fantastic recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful, Sherri! So happy to hear that 🙂
Ren says
You’ve done it again, Sam!
I made fish and chips for dinner tonight - real fish for my husband, and these tofu fillets for me. He tried the tofu, looked sad and said “I like yours better than mine”!! And I don’t blame him, it was delicious!
I put some some vegan butter, garlic and a squeeze of lemon in the pan towards the end of cooking.
This recipe will be in regular rotation in this house now.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha!! That's wonderful!!!
Brenda Wiley says
Another insanely good recipe!! This may be my current favorite of yours Sam!! Super easy to make too. Thanks for the link for the nori sheets, since there's nothing like that in stores around here.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, wonderful!!
Courtney R says
Another great recipe! I didn't have miso so I subbed with tamari and nooch. I marinated overnight and had it for breakfast. The squeeze of lemon in top is key! I'm sure its delish without it but that really kicks it up. Thank you!!
Sam Turnbull says
Thrilled you loved it, Courtney 🙂
Lauren says
Yay! I tried this! I used about 1/3 c dulse flakes instead of nori and my marinade turned out quite think, however, the end result was so yummy!! I have been looking forward to trying this since you emailed it out. My non-veggie husband even liked this and commented that the texture was nice with all of the slits in it.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you loved it, Lauren 🙂
Beata says
Made it last night for dinner! Used a 16 oz. block of super firm sprouted tofu and cut it into 3 nice and thick slabs. Made twice the amount of marinade but had to omit Old Bay Seasoning as I found out I didn't have any and didn't feel like going to the store just for that... Added extra garlic powder instead.
I let the tofu marinate (it was covered in the marinade completely) for 24 hours and last night I pan fried the tofu with butter and some white wine (just like I would cook a fish fillet). I was able to flip the tofu with a flat spatula and a fork, and I was able to get a nice seared and golden brown "skin" on both sides of the fillet. We had the tofu fillets with pan roasted Italian flavored (oregano, parsley, basil and a little of white wine and olive oil) Brussels sprouts. Holy cow, the texture of the tofu was spot on (absolutely loved the flakiness!), and I could totally taste the white wine infusion in the tofu. There was hardly any fishy taste though, so I may need to up the nori sheets or perhaps use kelp powder or dulse flakes? And definitely will make sure I have Old Bay for next time! Because there will be next time.
We sent the picture of the fillets I made to my boyfriend's vegan sister, and she demanded the recipe this morning, so I happily pointed her to your website!
Anyway, even without Old Bay and without the fishy taste, the fillet was spectacular and the super firm sprouted tofu made for a very filling fillet! A definite repeat, especially considering how easy it was to make. Thank you Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it Beata 🙂
Irene McDonald says
I made 2 "fillets" last night for supper. Cooked 1 in a non stick frypan and left the second in the marinade for tonight. Well I was blown away by the texture +and taste. If I closed my eyes I would have sworn I was eating fish. I am looking forward to doinbg the remaining one in my air fryer. Another hit for me. Delisciouse!!!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful, Irene! I'm thrilled you loved it so much 🙂
Laurelea Conrad says
This was soooooo delicious. Made it today, marinating the tofu for 8 hours. Tasted like fish filet and I was in heaven! It has been so long since I tasted fish. This hit the spot and I’ll make it regularly. Served it with lemon wedges, vegan tartar sauce, potatoes, peas and spinach salad. Yummy!
in2insight says
These were so fun to make! Tasted great as well.
Thank you, Sam!
Next time, I am going to add a stronger seaweed for deeper flavor and also try baking / air frying them just to cut down on oil.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! SO happy you enjoyed 🙂
LaTrice Mays says
Sam Hi can't wait to try this! How do you store the rest of the Nori that you don't use. I have some but it don't say vegan so Im tossing it out. But are the Nori sheets all vegan? Also the brand I bought which I used once in a vegan gut healing soup had a kick to it (kinda spicy) does this as well? Please let me know I'm ready to cook this!!
Sam Turnbull says
Nori sheets that are intended for making sushi should only contain one ingredient: nori (or it may be listed as seaweed). So yes, they are vegan. If yours are spicy they are likely a seaweed snack. I just store the leftover sheets in the cupboard in the original packaging. They should keep fresh for up to a year.
Tracey says
Hi Sam:
I'd like to try this but have some questions on nori. Are sheets of nori always the same size? Are seaweed snax the same thing? I finally was able to get a copy of your book a few weeks ago. I really enjoy your approach to vegan cooking!
Sam Turnbull says
The nori I'm speaking of is used to make sushi, and they are all about the same size as they are intended to make a roll. Seaweed snacks are usually fried and salted so they wouldn't be ideal for this recipe. Hope that helps. Enjoy the book!! 🙂
Amy Caruthers says
Could this be baked on parchment for an oil free version? Thanks- looks wonderful!
Sam Turnbull says
I think that would work fine. 🙂
Suzanne says
I just so happened to have all of the ingredients in the house - tossed the marinade together this afternoon, went for a run, took a yoga class, and then made dinner. Even marinating only a few hours (and admittedly not bothering to press the tofu) it came out GREAT! I did mine in the air fryer. 375 for about 15-20 minutes, flipping once.
I’d definitely make these again. Maybe some dried dill next time instead of Old Bay and a few dulse flakes to make it a bit fishier. But still, as is, they’re really good. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you loved them, Suzanne 🙂
Nico says
Wow, thank you! Definitely will try it. Any chance this could be applied for fish fingers with some coating like tempura? Would the marinated fish hold the crunchy exterior?
Suzanne says
I think you can marinate it for 24 hours, then coat it a thin flour/water batter and THEN toss in panko. There’s no way breadcrumbs are sticking to the marinade as is.
You can probably even bake the fillets first and then batter them to make a bit firmer.
Sam Turnbull says
I haven't tried it but I imagine you would need some sort of flax egg or something sticky to hold the panko on. Enjoy!
Jordan says
I want to make this on the weekend. Do you think it would work if I dipped it in batter? Or maybe dipped in flax egg & then panko?
Sam Turnbull says
Yep that would work. You could try my vegan tofish and chips recipe for a similar technique. 🙂
Huong says
Thank you Sam.
Helen says
I'm def going to get the ingredients and try this on Saturday. I'll be using an air fryer because I don't use oils and I'll let you know how it turns out!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! I hope you enjoyed it 🙂
Chantal says
Hello,
I plan to make this tonight, but I do not know what OLD Bay seasoning is. If I can't find it, can you suggest something similar I could use intead?
Thank you 🙂
Chantou
Beata says
Old Bay is a spice blend that one would use in a fish fry recipes, for example. In my opinion, a Cajun seasoning has a somewhat similar flavor vibe.
Here are the ingredients from Old Bay's label: Celery Salt (Salt, Celery Seed), Spices (Including Red Pepper and Black Pepper), and Paprika.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Chantou, it's a seasoning blend that is commonly used on fish recipes so it give a fishy vibe. You can make your own by following a recipe online such as this one. Enjoy!
Susie says
I can’t wait to make this today. Can I use kelp instead or nori?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes absolutely! You'll get a slightly different tofu fish flavour 🙂