Tofu Piccata
Tofu Piccata has all of the bright and zippy flavors of Chicken Piccata thanks to the caper lemon butter sauce! A true comfort food classic!
Chicken Piccata has been popping up in my feed a lot this year, and I’ve been meaning to make it since the Springtime. And while I can see how it would be super good in Spring and Summer, I gotta say that it’s just as cozy and comforting in the Fall (and Winter!)
Instead of chicken we’ll be using tofu, specifically my Grilled Tofu Chicken recipe. That recipe on its own is super flavorful, but when we add the amazing caper lemon butter sauce, it really takes it over the top!
You can also simply use some store-bought vegan chick’n like the Gardein Scallopini, or you can also make some Seitan Chick’n too! Heck you could even use my Soy Curl Chik’n recipe!
What’s the best tofu for Tofu Piccata?
I highly recommend Super Firm Tofu as I found it had the best texture and was the easiest to work with. Once it’s been scored and marinated and grilled, it’s really hard to beat the taste and texture for the time and effort spent.
Super Firm is vacuum sealed and doesn’t require any pressing so it’s really the easiest and quickest choice. I can find it at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Trader Joe’s. If you can only find Extra Firm, just make sure you press it for at least 30 minutes.
I also highly recommend scoring the tofu, which will accomplish two things. First it allows the marinade to get into the tofu and not just on the outside. And second, it creates a better texture when you bite into it as the tofu will “shred” better.
ingredients for marry me tofu
- Tofu Marinade – I wanted to keep the ingredients as common as possible. So the marinade is just things like soy sauce, nutritional yeast and pantry staple seasonings.
The Piccata Sauce – For the sauce we’ll be using some very simple ingredients!
- Shallots & Garlic – You can also use onions instead of shallots.
- Capers – these are one of the stars of the sauce. They bring a nice salty and briny flavor, so don’t skip them!
- Dry White Wine – This really elevates the sauce, but if you don’t drink you can skip it! I would maybe add a splash of vinegar instead.
- Vegan Chicken or Veggie Broth – Use whatever broth you like!
- Lemon Zest & Juice – The zest is optional but the juice is not! Add as much as you like!
- Vegan Butter – We’ll finish the sauce off with some vegan butter to add some nice richness!
- Fresh Herbs – Sprinkle on some fresh parsley or basil if you wish!
how to make Tofu Piccata
The process is quite simple! First we’ll slice our block of tofu into fillets. The next step is optional. However I find that replicating the shape of a chicken breast really sells the dish! The eyes eat first as they say!
So if you wanna get creative, round off the edges of two corners.
Your filet should look something like what I’ve got on the left (below). If you want to get even more artistic, you can shave off the edges and make them a bit rounder and softer. Again, totally optional, but I like to do it!
You can make a Tofu Scramble or Tofu Ground Beef with the scraps!
Once your filets are looking good, score them lightly so the marinade can penetrate a bit more. I like to score them one way on both sides. Make sure you don’t score too deeply as this will make the fillet a bit more delicate and might fall apart. But scoring will create a more “shreddy” texture as well.
After that we’ll just whip up a quick marinade!
Then we can marinade for 30 minutes to overnight.
After that we simply need to grill our tofu fillets.
Optionally, you can dredge and shallow fry these as well. I found that this gave them a nice “skin” like texture that stayed crispy even after being all sauced up.
Piccata Sauce
To make the Picatta Sauce, heat up some Olive Oil, then add in the shallots, cook for 1 minute, then add in the capers and garlic. Cook for another minute.
Then add in the wine and broth and reduce for 5 – 6 minutes. Melt and whisk in the vegan butter. Finish off with lime juice (and zest) and fresh herbs. Add the tofu filets back in to heat through and serve!
how to serve Tofu Piccata
You really can’t go wrong with what you serve this with. Pasta, Mashed Potatoes, Rice, or some roasted veggies would be wonderful!
storage
Store leftovers in the fridge and eat within 3 days. This stuff passed the Goblin Test* with flying colors.
*The Goblin Test is where a dish is so good that I can eat the leftovers cold, standing in front of the fridge like a goblin.
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Tofu Piccata
Ingredients
- 16 oz Super Firm Tofu
MARINADE
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tbsp Hot Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Mayo (or Neutral Oil)
- 1 tsp Vinegar (or Lemon Juice)
- Water (as needed to thin out)
If Frying
- 1/4 cup Flour
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Piccata Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/4 cup Shallots fine dice
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp Capers
- 1/2 cup Dry White Wine optional
- 1/2 cup Vegan Chicken Broth or Veggie Broth
- 1/2 tsp Lemon Zest optional
- 1 – 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice more to taste
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Butter
- Chopped Basil or Parsley (for garnish)
Instructions
MARINADE
- Simply mix and combine the ingredients.
TOFU FILETS
- Make sure to use super firm tofu, the kind that's vacuum sealed and doesn't need pressing. Otherwise, if you are using extra firm, you should press it for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut each block of tofu into 3 filets. Optional but recommended, carve each rectangular filet into a more chicken breast like shape. You can also shave off the edges to make them smoother if you choose as well.
- Lightly score the filets on each side, but only score them one way (as opposed to cross hatch). This will help the marinade penetrate as well as create a more "shreddy" type of texture.
- Once the filets are looking good, coat them in the marinade. Marinade for at least 30 minutes to overnight.
- Get a pan up to medium high heat, add a little oil and then grill the filets for about 5 minutes per side. Feel free to brush the leftover marinade before and after you flip them. Once they are cooked to your liking remove from the heat.
- If you want to shallow fry the filets, let them cool after grilling. Then dredge them in the flour and salt and pepper. Fry them in a some oil (I used 1/4 cup for a 12" skillet) over medium heat until golden brown. Remove the the pan and set aside.You can clean out the pan if you like, or leave in the oil and any "fond" from th tofu as well. Totally up to you!
PICCATA SAUCE
- In the same skillet that you grilled or fried the tofu, over medium heat, add in the Olive Oil and heat it up for a minute. If you fried the tofu and there's still leftover oil, you can skip adding in more Olive Oil.Then add in the diced shallots. Cook for 1 minute and add in the capers and garlic. Cook for another minute, making sure to lower the heat if they shallots or onions are browning too quickly.
- Add in the White Wine (if you don't drink alcohol you can also use a splash of vinegar instead, or omit all together) and Vegan Chicken or Veggie broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a light boil.Reduce the liquid down for 6 – 8 minutes. Then add in the vegan butter (it helps to keep the butter cold and cubed into smaller cubes). Stir in the butter until it's melted.
- Add in the lemon zest if using, lemon juice and fresh herbs. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- Add the tofu filets back in, heat them back up for 1 – 2 minutes then serve immediately with pasta, rice or mashed potatoes and enjoy!
This turned out absolutley delicious. It was the first time I used your tofu carving method. It’s so fascinating how this elevates a simple block of tofu into something special. If you’re having an Italian structured meal, this piccata is an excellent secondo, as it can easily stand on it’s own.
Wow, thank you so much! Glad you dug it! And I agree, the eyes eat first and there’s just something about carving it like that!
This is delicious! The marinade is so good I even used it as a dip for pieces of raw tofu. Adding this recipe to the rotation!
haha nice, yes it’s good as a dip too! Glad you like it! Thanks!