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This Lemon Tofu Sheet Pan Dinner is quick, vegan, and delicious! It’s the perfect post-workout meal prep recipe and only takes 30 minutes to make!
How do you prepare tofu?
To make this recipe easier I used extra firm pre-pressed tofu. I found mine at Trader Joe’s but they have them at a lot of other local grocery stores (Walmart, Whole Foods, Local Grocery Stores, etc).
If you don’t buy pre-pressed tofu, you will need to press the tofu yourself before you use it which will require extra time in prep. The dryer your tofu, the better the texture and flavor.
To press tofu, follow these instructions.
- Cut block in half vertically.
- Grab three to four pieces of paper towels and layer them on top of each other on a large plate or preferably a cutting board.
- Place your two pieces of tofu on top of the paper towels
- Grab another three to four pieces of paper towels, layer them on top of each other and place on top of tofu slices
- Grab another plate or cutting board and place that on top along with some heavy books or weights so that the water will press out of it.
- Leave this pressed down for at least an hour. After that, you will marinate and then bake it!
You can also use this EZ Tofu Press. I have never used it by my fellow blogger friend over at Glue and Glitter uses it all the time in many of her recipes (like this Spicy Tofu Sandwich) and it’s definitely a time saver!
How to Make a Lemon Tofu?
*Please read the detailed and printable recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
Prep Tofu and Asparagus
- Cut tofu into cube-like shapes and add them to the baking sheet pan. (Photos 1 & 2)
- Next, grab asparagus and snap or cut off the ends. Add the asparagus to the baking sheet next to the tofu. (Photos 3 & 4)
Bake Your Tofu and Asparagus
- Grab a measuring cup and whisk together your marinade ingredients until fully combined. Then pour ¾ of your marinade over both tofu and asparagus reserving some for later use. (Photos 1 & 2)
- Toss marinade with tofu and asparagus making sure the marinade coats evenly. Add to your oven and bake until tofu is a yellow caramelized color. (Photos 3 & 4)
Cook Rice and Assemble Your Meal
- Add water or broth to a medium-size pot and bring to a rolling boil. Add rice, lower heat to a simmer, and cook covered until the rice has absorbed the liquid and it’s nice and fluffy. (Photos 1 & 2)
- Then take the remaining of your marinade and pour it over rice. Mix well. Divide your baked tofu and asparagus evenly into 3 separate servings and serve immediately. (Photos 3 & 4)
Substitution, Cook, & Storage Tips
- Broccoli can substitute (or another vegetable) for asparagus.
- Use whatever oil you have on hand that has a high smoke point (it should say it on the bottle or jar.) Melted vegan butter would work for this too.
- If you don’t like brown rice use quinoa or white rice instead. Potatoes can work too just know your cook time will increase when roasting them.
- I used garlic powder for this recipe however crushed garlic will give it a more intense garlic flavor. Feel free to use that instead if you want. (You can buy pre-crushed garlic at your local grocery store).
- This sheet pan dinner stores in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It does NOT freeze well.
How Does This Recipe Help With Vegan Weight Gain?
Tofu is a GREAT source of protein! While there is a lot of controversy about soy, I find it works great for me. One serving (150 grams or ¾ cup) of tofu has 13 grams of protein!
Tofu is a complete protein without the added fat or carbs like you find in other sources of plant-based protein like nuts and beans.
You can add this dinner to your weekly regimen especially after a glute training session.
How Does This Recipe Help With Vegan Weight Loss?
To make this more weight loss (waste/weight release friendly) you could:
- Double up on your veggies and omit the brown rice.
- Cut the amount of oil you use for your marinade in half.
What People Are Saying About This Recipe
“This is the third recipe of yours I’ve tried and they’ve all been winners! Even my meat-loving husband enjoyed and complimented this one, and he’s the type to be very skeptical of not only meat substitutes but foods he doesn’t have much experience with, and baked tofu is one of those. The lemon marinade was so tasty and came together really quickly. Such a simple meal, but delicious. I plan to keep working my way through your recipes! Thank you!”-Kelly Macaulay
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Garlic Lemon Tofu Sheet Pan Dinner
Ingredients
- 16 oz pre-pressed tofu note 1
- 1 pound fresh asparagus note 2
- ½ cup olive oil note 4
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from ½ fresh squeezed lemon)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder note 4
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups of water or broth note 3
- ½ cup dried quick cook brown rice note 3
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Grab a medium to large baking sheet pan (make sure it fits inside your oven) and line it with parchment paper.
- Take pre-pressed tofu out of the package and cut into cube-like shapes. Add it to the baking sheet pan and set aside. Next, grab asparagus and snap off the ends. (You can also cut off the ends with a knife on a cutting board). Add the asparagus to the baking sheet next to the tofu.
- Grab a small bowl or small measuring cup and add your olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, black pepper, and sea salt. Whisk until fully combined.
- Then pour ¾ of your marinade over both tofu and asparagus reserving some for later use. Using your hands, toss marinade with tofu and asparagus making sure the marinade coats evenly. Add to your preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes until tofu is a yellow caramelized color.
- While tofu and asparagus are baking prepare your Quick Cook Brown Rice. Add water or broth to a medium-size pot and bring to a rolling boil. (It will boil faster if you cover the pot with a lid).
- Add rice, lower heat to a simmer, and cook covered for 10-15 minutes. Once done, remove the pot from heat and let stand for 5 more minutes, covered so that it can fluff up and absorbed the liquid. Then take the remaining of your marinade and pour it over brown rice. Mix well.
- By this time, your tofu and asparagus will be done. Allow cooling for 5 minutes. Serve your Sheet Pan Dinner by diving your tofu, asparagus, and quinoa all into 3 portions.
- Store in refrigerator in 3 divided meal prep containers for up to 3 days. It is NOT freezer friendly.
Video
Notes
- TOFU: You can use tempeh instead of tofu or make it soy-free using seitan or chickpeas.
- ASPARAGUS: Broccoli can substitute (or another vegetable) for asparagus.
- QUICK COOK BROWN RICE: I used Trader Joes Quick Cook Brown Rice. You can use quinoa or white rice instead if you like. Potatoes can work too just know your cook time will increase when roasting them. Of course if you don’t use rice or quinoa, omit the water/broth from the ingredient list.
- ADDITIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS: Use whatever oil you have on hand that has a high smoke point (it should say it on the bottle or jar.) Melted vegan butter would work for this too. I used garlic powder for this recipe however crushed garlic will give it a more intense garlic flavor. Feel free to use that instead if you want.
Nutrition
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© Gina Marie Hoskins. Vegan With Curves. All Rights Reserved. Unless noted otherwise, all images, recipes, & content are copyright protected and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. My images and written content are NOT to be used without prior permission. Read full Copyright Disclosure.
© Gina Marie Hoskins. Vegan With Curves. All Rights Reserved. Unless noted otherwise, all images, recipes, & content are copyright protected and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. My images and written content are NOT to be used without prior permission. Read full Copyright Disclosure.
Kelly Macaulay
This is the third recipe of yours I’ve tried and they’ve all been winners! Even my meat-loving husband enjoyed and complimented this one, and he’s the type to be very skeptical of not only meat substitutes but foods he doesn’t have much experience with, and baked tofu is one of those. The lemon marinade was so tasty and came together really quickly. Such a simple meal, but delicious. I plan to keep working my way through your recipes! Thank you!
Gina Marie
I am so happy you are enjoying my recipes Kelly! Your feedback means a lot to me! Thank you so much!!
Heather OBryan
I love tofu too! I get flack from my meat-eating friends, who are convinced hat tofu isn’t good for you. Well, it’s better than class-1 carcinogenic substances such as red meat and processed meat! Anyway... have you used super-firm tofu? How do you like it compared to extra firm?
Gina Marie
lol so true! I have never used super firm tofu before but I assume it has the same meaty texture. It will be on my to do list to try next year.