I’ve been experimenting with tofu a lot lately because it’s an incredibly inexpensive, and now quite readily available source of protein (okay, and also because it also happens to be the #1 searched word on my website). The cool thing about tofu is that it has almost no flavor on its own, so you can pretty much add it to anything, so long as there is a delicious sauce to give it some life. So this time I decided to douse my tofu in some BBQ sauce, because SUMMER! These BBQ Tofu Sliders may seriously be my favorite tofu dish so far. It’s finger-licking good (yes, they do get a bit messy), and also seriously easy. This is going to become your new favorite!
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Freeze Tofu for Better Texture
Through all of my experimenting with tofu, I have still only found one preparation method that I like, which is lightly coating the tofu with cornstarch and then pan frying it. BUT quite a few people have messaged me with another cool tip—freezing and thawing tofu to alter its texture. I don’t know the exact science behind this, but freezing and then thawing the tofu does in fact change the texture quite a bit, and for the better! The thawed tofu was MUCH easier to squeeze water out of and had a more firm, meat-like texture (less jiggly or egg-white-like). So, pop that container of tofu in your freezer when you get home from the store, then transfer it back to your refrigerator to thaw the next day. You won’t be sorry!
Swap Marinade for Dry Spices
Another “extra” I added to my cornstarch process this time is to coat the tofu in a few spices before coating in it in cornstarch. Usually people marinate tofu to give it flavor, but with the cornstarch technique you want the tofu to be as dry as possible, so marinating in a liquid isn’t a good option. Instead, I mixed together a couple smoky spices to add some oomph to the BBQ sauce later.
Leftovers
This recipe does make a strange number of servings (three large sliders), which is due to the size of a standard block of tofu, but you could stretch this to four smaller sliders, if needed. Because I was only making three sliders, I only used half of a bag of the shredded cabbage slaw mix. There are several options for the leftover cabbage. You can add it to a quick stir fry, like my Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry, toss it into a soup, or even make a small batch of Savory Cabbage Pancakes. Cabbage is incredibly versatile and makes a great low-carb filler for recipes! Here is the full list of cabbage recipes on Budget Bytes, in case you need more inspiration!
I also only used three buns out of a pack of eight, but don’t worry! Buns and other baked breads freeze great. So you can take a few buns out of the freezer as needed for your small batch recipes. They thaw really quickly at room temperature.
Need a side dish? Try serving these sliders with my Classic Three Bean Salad.
BBQ Tofu Sliders
Servings 3Ingredients
BBQ Tofu
- 14 oz. block firm or extra firm tofu ($1.69)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.04)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce ($0.15)
Simple Coleslaw
- 1/2 lb. shredded cabbage slaw mix* (about 3 cups) ($0.60)
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise ($0.44)
- 1/2 Tbsp honey ($0.06)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.06)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
For Serving
- 3 Tbsp BBQ sauce ($0.12)
- 3 Buns ($0.86)
Instructions
- OPTIONAL: Freeze the tofu at least a day before, then thaw before pressing. This gives the tofu a more firm and less jelly-like texture.
- Remove the tofu from the package and place it on a baking sheet. Place a cutting board or a smaller baking sheet on top, then place something heavy on top, like a pot full of water, or a cast iron skillet. Allow the tofu to press for about 30 minutes to remove excess water. (If you previously froze the tofu, you can press for about half the time because the water comes out much more quickly.)
- Once pressed, transfer the tofu to a cutting board and roughly chop into random 1/2-inch sized pieces. Place the chopped tofu in a bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, stir together the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Sprinkle this over the tofu, then gently stir the tofu until it is coated in the spices.
- Add 1 tsp cornstarch to the tofu and gently fold until coated. Repeat two more times until 1 Tbsp cornstarch total has been added to the tofu.
- Heat 2 Tbsp cooking oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat (cast-iron or teflon, your choice). Once the oil is very hot, add the tofu to the skillet. Let the tofu cook, stirring only occasionally, for about ten minutes, or until it appears firm and darkened on the outside edges.
- Remove the tofu from the heat, add the 1/4 cup BBQ sauce, and stir to coat.
- While the tofu is cooking, prepare the simple coleslaw. In a medium bowl stir together the mayonnaise, honey, Dijon, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add the shredded cabbage coleslaw mix, then stir until it is coated in the dressing.
- To serve the sliders, scoop about 1/3 of the BBQ tofu onto each bun, then drizzle each with an extra tablespoon of BBQ sauce. Finish each slider off with a heaping scoop of the simple coleslaw and finally, the top half of the bun. Enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make BBQ Tofu Sliders – Step by Step Photos
It’s kind of hard to believe that this sad looking block of tofu can become the mouth-watering sandwiches in the photos above! 😅 Anyway, start with a 14 oz. block of firm or extra firm tofu. If you have the time or remember, freeze the block of tofu (I just did it right in its package) and then thaw it before beginning this recipe. It gives the tofu a slightly better texture. Whether frozen or not, you’ll wan to press the tofu to remove the excess moisture. I like to place it between to baking sheets (the rim catches the extra liquid) and then place something heavy on top, like a pot full of water or a heavy cast iron pot. Press the tofu for about 30 minutes if you did not freeze/thaw, or for about 15 minutes if it has been frozen and thawed. Once it’s pressed, it will look a little like the photo above.
Roughly chop the tofu into random shaped pieces, about 1/2-inch in size.
Place the chopped tofu in a bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Sprinkle that over the tofu, then gently stir it until the tofu is coated in spices.
Next, add 1 tsp cornstarch to the tofu at a time, stirring to coat before adding more, until you’ve added 3 tsps (that is 1 Tbsp) cornstarch.
Add 2 Tbsp cooking oil to a large non-stick skillet (you can use cast iron or Teflon, whichever type of non-stick you prefer). Heat the skillet over medium and once the oil is very hot, add the tofu. Allow the tofu to cook, stirring only occasionally, for about ten minutes or until the tofu feels slightly more firm and the edges have darkened. It won’t really be “crispy”, but the texture will be more firm.
Remove the tofu from the heat. Add 1/4 cup BBQ sauce to the tofu and stir to coat.
And now that BBQ tofu is finished and ready to go! I have a hard time not eating it out of the skillet at this point! You could also build some bowl meals out of this tofu if you don’t like sliders or buns.
Since the tofu doesn’t need much attention as it cooks, you can prepare the simple coleslaw while you wait. In a bowl, combine 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 Tbsp honey, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir the dressing ingredients together until smooth.
Add 1/2 lb. (about 3 cups) packaged coleslaw mix and stir until it’s coated in dressing. This “coleslaw mix” is simply bagged shredded cabbage and carrots. You can find it near other bagged salad greens in the grocery store.
And now it’s time to assemble the BBQ Tofu Sliders! Just place 1/3 of the BBQ tofu mixture on each bun, drizzle another 1 Tbsp BBQ sauce over the tofu, then top with a heaping scoop of the coleslaw. Then DEVOUR. :)
Oh. My. Gosh. Even my non-vegetarian husband loved these! Slight changes I made: I sort of tore & crumbled the tofu instead of chopping it (honestly just I didn’t want to wash another knife & cutting board) and I did an apple fennel slaw because our favorite local barbacoa joint does one & we’re obsessed. This has made it into our regular rotation.
Absolutely delicious. I accidentally used super firm tofu instead of extra firm, but I ended up really liking the texture. This was my first venture into tofu and I’m delighted at how it went.
This was so good! I’ve never done the tofu freezing technique and it definitely seems to make the texture less tofu-y. I used a tofu that does have 16oz in the package (it’s called High Protein tofu by Wildwood) so I was able to get 4 sandwiches out of this, giving sandwiches next day to my boyfriend and I. I thought the tofu was even better texturally the next day, which is odd because it typically doesn’t heat up well. After pressing, I “marinated” the tofu for about 4-6 hours in the spices called for which I upped slightly due to having a few oz more, and I added some olive oil to it during this process so it wasn’t just dry spices. I did not add the corn starch til just before trying however. The tofu had a nice smokey flavor after frying, even before adding the bbq sauce. Served with sweet potato fries and on a soft brioche bun! Yum!
This recipe is delicious. On our first try, we split the batch during cooking to test out two different BBQ sauces. Both versions came out awesome. We also tried the recipe as is and without the smoked paprika (for the kids). Again, both are good, but we (the adults) preferred the recipe as is. The kids preferred it without the smoked paprika, as expected.
I’m not trying to be rude but we really didn’t like it. I swear I followed the recipe to a T. But I think it comes down to the fact that I just don’t like tofu. The texture doesn’t get crispy enough for me, and it’s just spongey nothing with bbq on it. I can I say I tried, and I’m glad others enjoy it!
I’ve been vegetarian for 13 years and this is the best bbq tofu I’ve ever made! It’s definitely going in my rotation.
These sliders are AMAZING!!! The slaw is the perfect tangy, sweet flavor to top off this DELISH bbq. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
So good! I just cooked this for two meat eaters and a vegan (used Vegenaise for the coleslaw). They all loved it! I added some hot sauce to the bbq sauce for some extra spice. Adding it to the growing list of BB faves!
I’m always looking for vegetarian friendly recipes that my non-vegetarian husband will enjoy. I made the bbq tofu sandwiches – it was a huge hit! I did an apple fennel slaw (trying to copycat a restaurant favorite of ours). After freezing, thawing, and draining the tofu, I sort of squeezed into pieces instead of chopping. It gave it a more ‘realistic’ look – less structured. You know it’s better than OK when the hubby asks if we could add it to the regular meal rotation :) Thank you Beth for thinking of the vegetarians!
So good and so easy!
I put them in a lettuce wrap for the crunch and to make it even more of a healthy meal than it already is!
I have one of the vegetarian meal plans, and while EVERY dish we’ve ever made from Budget Bytes is amazing, this one is hands down the best. I’m a vegetarian and have eaten a lot of tofu in my life, and my partner is a meat lover who eats mostly vegetarian (I do most of the cooking) and we both agree that this is a showstopper and a hands down favorite from Budget Bytes. I make it every few weeks- it’s THAT good. The tofu’s flavor and texture is incredible and the coleslaw is so easy and perfect. We like to use spicy bbq sauce for a little kick!
I’m so glad you both liked it so much!! :)
These were tasty and filling! I probably left it in the pan a little long, but some of the bits got really crispy and good. I put the tofu on a pretzel bun, which was super delicious. My fiance told my daughter they were like a sloppy joe to get her to eat it, and she ate the whole thing!
I love these! I have a lot of recipes in my rotation, but I make these at least once a month. The tofu turns out super meaty and the contrast with the cabbage is great. I like to serve them with sweet potato fries. I sometimes use soy curls instead of the tofu and it works just as well
This BBQ Tofu was AMAZING!!! It really hit the spot for the barbecue craving I’ve been having in the years since I gave up eating meat. I made the sandwiches without the cole slaw only because my boyfriend isn’t a fan of it, but I love it and will go the extra step and make it next time. This was my first time cooking with frozen/thawed tofu and I definitely recommend it!! I used high-protein super-firm tofu and the texture was perfect. Thanks for this recipe – I will definitely be making it again!
Wonderful! You can also crumble the tofu to make it a bit more like a sloppy joe. I’d suggest adding BBQ sauce a little at a time to see how much feels right. I never need to use the full 1/4 cup, more like 2 tablespoons. The first time I added a 1/4 cup and it was too much for my taste. (Not Budget Byte’s fault—I’m sure it totally depends on the brand of BBQ sauce you have and how runny it is, and also probably personal preference). Adding a little at a time is an easy fix :)
Tried to add 5 starts but it wasn’t working!