A warm and comforting meal for the new year, and let's just say this spicy tofu quinoa bowl is the perfect way to end Tofu Week here at The Cookie Writer!
Day One: Quinoa Crusted Tofu Nuggets (Tofu "Chicken" Nuggets)
Day Two: Coconut and Peanut Tofu Vegetable Mix
I feel today's spicy tofu quinoa bowl is not too different than the previous post, but let me tell you, in terms of flavor it is bold and spicy!
I like meals that come together and you do not have to worry about a main, a side or two, and more additives to the plate. Since I cook for the blog so often, we are generally left eating a main course without sides, or side dishes as meals. It sounds terrible but I assure you we get all our nutrients 🙂
That being said, I love when a recipe comes together and incorporates everything you need. Grains, dairy, vegetables, you name it. Bowl recipes are fantastic for this, and they are definitely popular at the moment. When I was creating this spicy tofu quinoa bowl, I wanted something that was healthy, quick, and available to a wide arrange of dietary lifestyles. This recipe is both vegan and gluten-free (vegetarian if you choose to use butter,) and would make the heartiest of meat-eaters proud. My husband really liked those tofu nuggets, but I think this may be his favorite recipe of Tofu Week.
Once again I utilize firm and extra firm tofu here, and having made this dish multiple times now, I will say that a frying pan does work a bit better than a cast iron pan here. I mean, if your pan is seasoned properly it should be okay to handle the dry tofu method, but since my pan was brand new and factory-seasoned, I found the tofu stuck a lot. With a frying pan I have never had my tofu stick, so just food for thought.
📖 Recipe
Spicy Tofu Quinoa Bowl
A warm and comforting meal for the new year or any other occasion. Very easy to make.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs firm or extra firm tofu, drained
- 2 cups uncooked quinoa
- 4 cups water
- 1 lime, juiced
- Salt
- 1 (19 oz) can black beans, drained
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 small red pepper, diced
- 1 small green pepper, diced
Sauce:
- 1 (6 oz) can chipotles in adobo sauce
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ lime, juiced
- 1 tsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter (or oil for vegans)
- ½ cup salsa (or more to tone down the spiciness!)
- Avocados
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot, combine the quinoa, water, lime juice, and pinch of salt over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Squeeze out as much water from the tofu that you possibly can (I wrap it in paper towel and place heavy pans on top.) Slice into bite-sized squares.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the tofu (no oil needed as we are dry-frying these) and cook until golden brown on all sides (cook take as long as 15 minutes,) stirring occasionally.
- While tofu is cooking, in a food processor combine the entire can of chipotles with sauce, garlic, lime juice, sugar, butter, and salsa. Puree until smooth.
- When the tofu is golden, reduce heat to medium and stir in onions and peppers. Cook for 1 minute and then add the sauce with the black beans. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- To assemble, pour quinoa into bowl. Top with tofu mixture and some avocado slices.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 711Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 446mgCarbohydrates: 83gFiber: 17gSugar: 8gProtein: 41g
So sad to see Tofu Week come to an end. If you have not tried tofu before, I highly recommend it (it just takes on the flavor of whatever it is cooked with!) Cooking the tofu with no oil or fats in a frying pan (what we like to call as dry-cooking) ensures a nice, crispy exterior which really helps with the texture (a common fear of most people who have never tried tofu.) If you fry that tofu right, it will not get soggy in recipes like this spicy tofu quinoa bowl and you will be left with a great tasting meal (and no textural issues!)
Christie
I do not use tofu enough. It is a fabulous source of protein. This sounds like the perfect recipe for me to get back to eating lots of tofu.
Kacey
It really is, and I wish more people realized that tofu is not just for vegetarians and vegans.
heather @french press
I really need to up my tofu game! we love it, and I almost never use it outside of stir fry dihes. This meal sounds amazing!
Kacey
I used to be the same way! It is fun to play around with it 🙂
Jessica - The Novice Chef
I love that you did a whole week to tofu! I do not eat it as often as I should -- so this shall be dinner tonight. Love the addition of the chipotle peppers!
Kacey
Spicy, but delicious!
Florian @ContentednessCooking
Nothing beats a full bowl of amazing flavors, yum!
Jill Silverman Hough
I almost never cook with tofu, but this recipe has inspired me--it looks and sounds delicious, and simple, and satisfying.
Kristina
oooh, chipotle! I love this recipe - saving to try soon!
Megan Keno
This looks awesome, I love the flavors in it! I'll have to share this with my vegan friends 🙂
Erin
I have a tofu fear and I need to get over it because my kids love it and ask to go out for Asian food or the Whole Foods hot bar so they can get it. lol. This looks great!!! I love using quinoa!
Kacey
Omg, that is awesome your kids love it! I can see why it scares people, but cooked correctly, and you have a winner!
Justine | Cooking and Beer
Yum! I feel like tofu doesn't get enough love. There are so many great things to do with it! This quinoa bowl looks delicious!
Kristyn
What a beautiful-looking dinner idea! 🙂
Michelle | A Latte Food
I've never had tofu before, but this looks amazing!
eat good 4 life
Loving this recipe. Some of my favorite ingredients in here!
EL
Made this tonight - it's great! I didn't have a food processor so I just chopped everything up really small and mixed it up, and it worked fine. I also took all the seeds out of the chipotles first so they wouldn't be quite so spicy. Delicious!
Kacey
Great call on the seeds! And so happy it turned out! If you ever have the opportunity to grab a free food processor, I highly recommend it! 🙂
Olga
Hi Kacey,
This looks like a great recipe! I love quinoa and tofu, so I think they'll taste great together (also spotted your quinoa tofu nuggets recipe for later 🙂
I have one question though: in the city where I live (St. Petersburg, Russia) we don't really have chipotles in adobo sauce. Can you recommend what I can replace them with? I would love to cook this delicious dish!
Thank you so much for the inspiration that you share!
Kacey
Yay! We really love this dish (it has a kick but so worth it!) I found this link: http://www.pepperscale.com/chipotle-in-adobo-sauce-substitute/ Not sure how much it will help but maybe using more salsa in place of the chipotles and adding chipotle powder? I don't know if you have access to chipotle powder but maybe chili powder would work (however, I find their tastes quite different.) I am sorry I could not be of more help! It took me forever to find this product in Canada.
Olga
Thanks so much, Kacey! I'll try to localize it and let you know how it goes 🙂
Kacey
I hope it works out! I will keep my eye out for other ideas 🙂
Myra
I made this tonight and LOVED it! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!