Here’s a little quickie for you this weekend! This super simple tofu stir fry is a riff off of my favorite Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry. It’s super fast, easy, filling, inexpensive, and endlessly customizable. Keep reading to see all the possibilities for making this tofu stir fry your own!
Use any Stir Fry Sauce
This recipe is so flexible that you can literally use any type of stir fry sauce, so go with whatever you like best. The stir fry sauce for the Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry, which this recipe is based upon, is a spicy and super simple 4-ingredient sauce, but I switched it up this time and used a non-spicy sauce, then just added sriracha on top for heat as needed. Feel free to use that original sauce, something a little less sweet like the sauce used in my Ground Turkey Stir Fry, a richer oyster based sauce like in my Garlic Noodles with Beef and Broccoli, or even something a little sweeter like a bottled sweet chili sauce. It’s so flexible!
Change Up the Vegetables
I love using bagged coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) in stir fry because there’s no prep involved, it’s filling, and it’s still super inexpensive. I used about ½ of a 1 lb. bag of mix here, but you could probably even add more if you want it more vegetable heavy. You can shred your own cabbage and carrots (you’ll want about 5 cups), or even use a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables in place of or in addition to the shredded cabbage.
If using frozen vegetables, I suggest adding them to the skillet before the cabbage because they’ll need a little longer to cook. If you are increasing the amount of vegetables, you may wan to also increase the sauce and add half to the tofu and half after adding the vegetables.
Substitute the Peanuts
If you don’t like or can’t have peanuts, don’t worry! They’re totally optional. I love the crunchy texture they add to the dish, but you can either leave them out, substitute with another nut (maybe cashews or almonds), or add a few sesame seeds to the stir fry at the end. It’s up to you!
How are the Leftovers?
I’m going to call the leftovers of this one “subjective.” Haha! Dishes like this will seep water as they sit in the refrigerator and the cabbage (or other vegetables) will soften further, but that wouldn’t stop me from reheating and enjoying the leftovers. If you’re a bit more sensitive to texture and flavor changes, you may not enjoy the leftovers.
Quick Tofu Stir Fry
Servings 4Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.18)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
- 2 Tbsp water ($0.00)
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil ($0.10)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger ($0.10)
Stir Fry
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 14 oz. extra firm tofu ($1.79)
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts ($0.12)
- ½ lb. coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) ($0.90)
Toppings
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
- 1 Tbsp sriracha (optional) ($0.11)
Instructions
- Prepare the stir fry sauce first. In a bowl combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, water, toasted sesame oil, minced garlic, and grated ginger. Set the sauce aside.
- Slice the green onion and chop the peanuts.
- Take the tofu out of the package, draining away any liquid from the package (no need to press the tofu as the water will be cooked out). Crumble the tofu into a bowl.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Once the skillet and oil are very hot, add the crumbled tofu and stir fry for about 5 minutes, or until there is no longer any water pooling on the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the prepared stir fry sauce to the skillet and continue to cook and stir for 2-3 minutes more. Finally, add the slaw mix and chopped peanuts and stir fry for 1-2 minutes more, or just until the cabbage begins to wilt. Top with sliced green onions and a drizzle of sriracha, then serve!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Quick Tofu Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
Make the stir fry sauce first. In a bowl, combine 3 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp water, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and about 1 tsp grated fresh ginger. Set the sauce aside.
Chop ¼ cup peanuts and slice two green onions.
These are the two main ingredients in this super simple stir fry–tofu and shredded cabbage and carrots (coleslaw mix). You can switch up the vegetables or add more if you’d like. See the notes above the recipe for ideas.
Take the tofu out of the package, draining away any liquid (there is no need to press the tofu for this recipe because the excess water will be cooked out). Crumble the tofu into a bowl.
Heat 2 Tbsp cooking oil (your favorite kind) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil and skillet are hot, add the crumbled tofu and stir fry until there is no longer any liquid pooling in the skillet. Pour the prepared sauce over top and continue to cook and stir for 2-3 minutes more.
Finally, add the shredded cabbage and carrots, and the chopped peanuts to the skillet. I used half the bag, or about ½ lb., but you could probably add more if you’d like. Continue to cook and stir for only 1-2 minutes more, or just until the cabbage begins to wilt.
Top the stir fry with sliced green onions and a drizzle of sriracha, then serve!
Healthy and cheap ! I like this kind of combinations.
Yumm , looks very good, let’s prepare some tofu I say !
I have basically made this before, nice to see it documented with a tasty sauce that suits it well! I love convenient and quick dishes like this. Personally, I don’t mind eating the leftovers the next day, but I do add a dash of soy sauce to freshen up the flavors.
Not many dishes make it to the “clean plate club” for my picky 5 year old, but she LOVED this. She even asked for seconds! She also loves the Dragon Noodles (which I make not spicy for her). I made it with chicken instead of tofu because that’s what I had on hand and served it with rice. These simple sauces are so superior to store bought, and so fast and easy to make. What a bonus that they are cheap too! As with the Dragon Noodles, I can just add in whatever veggies we like/have on hand and the recipe comes out great. Another Budget Bytes winner!!!
A nice recipe , I put some corn and green pea, it was so good. I want to cook it again. Thank you for the recipe.
looks so delicious.
Yet again, you hit it out of the park. Seriously delicious tofu dish – the sesame oil ties it all together perfectly. So grateful for your recipes.
so good and so easy – and it’s even vegan. I love your recipes. Thank you.
Made this for lunches this week! Put it over some rice since I need the extra carbs/calories for my active job. It is tasty and quick to make!
I’ve never cooked tofu before but wanted to try it to get more variety in my diet. I found your recipe and broke your cardinal rule and used firm instead of the extra firm. That’s all I had on hand and I really wanted to try it tonight. I was careful to really brown each side of the cube and get it nice and crispy. It was really good and I’m looking forward to trying it with the extra firm now. Thanks for giving me the extra protein variety I’ve been looking for.
This was a HUGE hit with the fam and so easy! I did substitute chicken for tofu and serve with rice but other than that, followed recipe exactly.
Solved leftover issue . . . there are none, we ate it all. Thoroughly enjoyed by whole family, will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe.
Could you add cooked rice to this to make it into fried rice? I’ve been trying to find a good began fried rice and then this popped up in the weekly email.
You sure could! Or you can just serve this over a bowl of rice. Either way would be great.
Thank you so much for providing vegan and vegetarian options! I have followed your blog since the very beginning and since transitioning to vegan lifestyle 5 years ago, it has meant the world to me to still have meatless and dairy free DELICIOUS recipes I can make. Keep up the amazing work. Thank you for continuing to put out this content, your hard work is so appreciated.
Beth, I’m commenting before making this, because I’m so excited to get another meatless and healthy meal option. And if this is as delicious and easy and your wonderful beef and cabbage stir fry, we are all in for a great addition to the rotation. Can’t wait to try this and thanks for all your creative and good work.