Smoky Vegan BBQ Tofu Bowls
I’m about to lay some magic on you. This vegan BBQ tofu bowl meal with spicy green beans and sweet potato mac and cheese is absolute comfort food at its finest. It’s three simple recipes in one meal to create a perfectly balanced bowl of garden-fresh green beans, macaroni and cheese, and BBQ chicken-style tofu. It’s the perfect comfort food with homegrown flavor.
Ingredients
For the BBQ tofu:
- 1 block extra firm tofu frozen, thawed, and sliced into 6 or 8 cutlets*
- 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 Tbsp vegan chicken bouillon powder
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil optional
For the sweet potato mac and cheese:
- 1 15-oz can sweet potato puree
- 1/2 cup cashews unsalted, unroasted
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup vegan chicken bouillon powder
- 4-6 large cloves garlic
- 2 Tbsp white miso paste
- 1 Tbsp BBQ sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp smoked salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 16-oz box of elbows or shells
For the green beans:
- 1/2 pound green beans ends cut off
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 7-inch long hot pepper, minced
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Step 1: Prep the tofu.
- To a large measuring cup, add the BBQ sauce, olive oil, and bouillon powder. Mix with a fork or small whisk until completely combined.
- Pour this marinade over the tofu and marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight for best results.
Step 2: Bake the BBQ tofu.
- Preheat your oven to 350 and line the tofu cutlets on a baking sheet.
- Bake the cutlets for 30-40 minutes, stopping once to flip them halfway through.
- Let cool slightly before slicing and serving.
Step 3: Make the sweet potato mac.
- Get a large pot of water boiling on the stove and add a generous pinch of salt.
- While you wait, add all the ingredients (except the macaroni) to a high-speed blender or food processor, pouring the hot water in last. Let this sit, so the cashews can soften while you start cooking the pasta.
- When the water is boiling, cook the pasta al dente according to the directions on the box.
- While the pasta cooks, blend the sauce ingredients on high until it’s completely smooth.
- When the pasta is finished cooking, drain it, spray it with cold water, and add it back to the pot.
- Pour the cheese sauce on top and stir until combined.
- Heat it on low, uncovered and stirring often, for about 7-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens and everything is warmed through.
Step 4: Make the spicy green beans.
- Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat and carefully add 1 Tbsp olive oil.
- Then, add your green beans and peppers and use a spatula to roll them around so they’re coated in the oil. Let them cook in the skillet for 3-4 minutes so they get a bit of a char.
- Next, drizzle them with 1/2 more Tbsp olive oil and stir until everything is coated again. Let them cook another 3-4 minutes like this.
- Finally, sprinkle the veggies with salt and carefully add 1-2 Tbsp water to the skillet to deglaze the pan (be careful not to breath in the steam that comes out of the skillet when you do this - it will make you cough).
- Stir everything around once more and cook for another 2-4 minutes until the veggies are nice and charred.
Notes
*The Tofu Freezer Trick: This recipe works best when you first freeze the tofu (in its package), then defrost it and press as you normally would before continuing with the recipe. This is called our Tofu Freezer Trick (we have a whole freezer tofu guide on it!), and it is a life-changing way to cook tofu!
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 411kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 20gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 16gSodium: 1865mgFiber: 7gSugar: 13g
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