Meatless Monday just got a whole lot better with this plant-based orange tofu! Crispy, baked tofu nuggets tossed in a sweet citrus orange sauce and served over rice with steamed vegetables. It’s the perfect vegan take-out style dinner.

Orange tofu
Tofu is one of my favorite plant-based proteins because of its versatility. It can be prepared in endless amounts of ways, and pretty much takes on any flavor you give it!
Orange tofu is an easy weeknight meal that can be paired with your favorite rice and side of veggies. It’s packed with delicious sweet citrus flavor, and honestly tastes like take out!

How to make crispy tofu
I wanted to give the tofu a more realistic look, like the classic orange chicken. Instead of evenly slicing the tofu into cubes, I broke it apart with my hands into large chunks and baked it until crispy.
Before breaking apart the tofu, let it sit in paper towels or a thin dish rag for 10 minutes to release some of the liquid. Then break it up into chunks, and season it with garlic powder, salt and tapioca flour before baking.
The tapioca flour truly gives it that perfect crunchy exterior, so don’t skip it!

Homemade Orange Sauce
You’ll need just a few simple ingredients to make the delicious orange sauce. It pairs so well with the tofu, but can also be made and served with your choice of protein.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- orange juice- you can squeeze your own orange juice, or use the bottled kind like I did
- coconut aminos, or low-sodium soy sauce
- coconut sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
- garlic
- ginger
- rice vinegar
- orange zest
- tapioca flour (or substitute cornstarch, or arrowroot flour)
- salt
- red pepper flakes
Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients, then cook it in a skillet until it thickens. Toss in in the baked tofu once its ready, and mix it into the sauce until its evenly coated.

This simple and delicious orange tofu is easy to make, so delicious, and is the perfect weeknight meal when you’re craving comfort food.
I can’t wait for you guys to try it!

Hi! I have this in the oven currently and it smells great. Question on the sauce…is it really 1/3 cup aminos or soy sauce? I added that in and mine is tasting pretty amino-y and looking pretty brown. Just wondering if I read the recipe wrong or can maybe add more citrus to offset it? Thanks a bunch!
Hey Ali, yes 1/3 cup! Mine was pretty dark too, but if it doesn’t taste as citrus-y I would add a little more orange zest rather than OJ so that it wont be too tart
Your tofu recipes always turn out great, and this was no different. I could not believe how much this sauce tasted like real take-out orange chicken. This will definitely become a new go-to recipe!
Thank you so much!! 🙂
this was absolutely delicious!!! this recipe made me fall in LOVE with tofu and i will be remaking!! i never knew tofu could taste this good and i’m so happy to be lucky enough to discover this.
I’m so happy to hear that, Carla!
Looks Awesome! If I wanted to use chicken instead of tofu, do I still bake the chicken for the added crisp? Thanks.
Hey Liana, yes! I would suggest only baking it for half the time though since it will cook through faster. You can check it after 20-25 minutes! Another option is to pan-fry it until brown on all sides and them remove it from the pan, cool the sauce until thick, and add it back in.