Vegan Po’ Boy
The Classic New Orleans Sandwich, only this Po’ Boy is made with crispy Fried Tofu and is totally Vegan!
I love Po’ Boys so much, I’m honestly surprised I don’t have more recipes for them on this site! They are so simple yet delicious and satisfying! There are a lot of different things you can put on a Po’ Boy, but today I’m doing some Fried Tofu!
That said, you could totally make some Soy Curl Beef or Chicken and that would be amazing on it too!
ingredients for Vegan Po’ Boy
Seeing as Tofu is the protein in this sandwich, let’s go over that!
What’s the best tofu for this Po’ boy?
I highly recommend Super Firm Tofu as it’s vacuum packed and doesn’t require pressing. It has very little moisture so it will crisp up much easier!
For the bread, I recommend a French Roll, not a baguette as that will be too tough.
The fixings will be the classic shredded lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. I’ve heard that traditionally a dressed Po’ Boy is made with just Mayo and maybe some hot sauce as the condiment.
However, I really like putting my homemade Remoulade on mine, but you do as you like!
how to make a Vegan Po’ Boy
To make the tofu, you have two options, you can either make my Crispy 15 Minute Tofu.
Or you could make the recipe I have below!
Pat tofu dry, and break into bite size pieces. This will get you rougher edges than simply cutting the tofu into cubes. These craggier edges will crisp up more!
Then toss the tofu chunks in the hot sauce. After that toss them in the seasonings.
Fill up a dutch oven or large skillet with a neutral high smoke point oil (such as peanut, canola or vegetable). You just need enough oil to cover the tofu nuggets, but don’t fill the pan more than halfway. Heat to 375 F (I highly recommend using a thermometer).
While the oil heats up, prepare the dry and wet dredges in separate bowls. Make sure they are big enough to fit all the tofu so you can toss them.
I recommend you dredge a single piece of tofu as a test to make sure the seasoning is to your liking. So once the oil is at 375 F, toss one piece into the wet dredge and coat thoroughly, let the excess drip off, then toss in the dry dredge and coat well. Add to the oil carefully and fry until golden brown, should only take about 2 – 3 minutes (but fry as needed of course). Let it rest for a few minutes to cool. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
Then add the rest of the tofu nuggets to the wet dredge and using clean hands, toss them to coat. Then add them all to the dry dredge and toss to coat as well.
Add them to the oil, making sure not to crowd the pan. I recommend frying them in at least 2 – 3 batches.
Once golden brown, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, add them to a wire rack lined baking sheet. Season immediately with more salt or Cajun Seasoning if desired.
You can keep them warm in an oven set to its lowest setting (around 200 F is good). Then simply fry the rest until done.
Split a French roll in half (I like to cut it about 95% so it still has a hinge) spread as much Remoulade or Vegan Mayo on both sides as you’d like. Then lay down some shredded lettuce, tomato slices, pickles, and then plenty of your fried tofu nuggets.
Drizzle more Remoulade or Hot Sauce, and dig in!
storage
These are best eaten fresh, but I found that eating cold leftovers was good too.
To reheat them in the Air Fryer, do so at 375 F for about 5 – 6 minutes.
can i air-fry or bake these?
For less oil, yes you can use the Air Fryer! Check out my Air Fry Vegan Chick’n Recipe!
Frying Techniques
If you want to see about different techniques, check out my BEST WAYS TO FRY VEGAN CHICKEN post!
other recipes you’ll dig!
- Remoulade
- Cajun Seasoning
- Popeyes Chick’n Sandwich
- Buffalo Cauliflower
- Seitan Fried Chick’n
- Air Fried Chick’n
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, please leave a rating & review! It really helps out the blog and it makes my day, thank you!
Vegan Po’ Boy
Ingredients
Fried Tofu
- 16 oz. Super Firm Tofu
- 1 Tbsp Hot Sauce (I used Crystal)
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning (may need to adjust if using store bought)
Dry Dredge
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 1/4 cup Corn Meal (Fine Grind)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning (more or less to taste)
Wet Dredge
- 1/2 cup Plant Milk (unsweetened)
- 2 tsp Vinegar
- 2 tsp Hot Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Dry Dredge
For Sandwiches
- 3 – 4 French Rolls
- Shredded Lettuce (about 1 cup per sandwich)
- Tomato Slices (2 – 3 per sandwich)
- Dill Pickle Slices (as many as you'd like)
- Vegan Remoulade (or Vegan Mayo)
- Hot Sauce
Instructions
- Pat tofu dry, and break into bite size pieces. This will get you rougher edges than simply cutting the tofu into cubes. These craggier edges will crisp up more!
- Then toss the tofu chunks in the hot sauce. After that toss them in the seasonings.
- Fill up a dutch oven or large skillet with a neutral high smoke point oil (such as peanut, canola or vegetable). You just need enough oil to cover the tofu nuggets, but don’t fill the pan more than halfway. Heat to 375 F (I highly recommend using a thermometer).
- While the oil heats up, prepare the dry and wet dredges in separate bowls. Make sure they are big enough to fit all the tofu so you can toss them.
- I recommend dredging a single piece of tofu as a test to make sure it’s seasoned to your liking. So once the oil is heated to 375 F, toss one piece into the wet dredge and coat thoroughly, let the excess drip off, then toss in the dry dredge and coat well. Add to the oil carefully and fry until golden brown, should only take about 2 – 3 minutes (but fry as needed of course). Let it rest for a few minutes to cool. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
- Then add the rest of the tofu nuggets to the wet dredge and using clean hands, toss them to coat. Then add them all to the dry dredge and toss to coat as well.
- Add them to the oil, making sure not to crowd the pan. I recommend frying them in at least 2 – 3 batches. Once golden brown, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, add them to a wire rack lined baking sheet. Season immediately with more salt or Cajun Seasoning if desired. You can keep them warm in an oven set to it’s lowest setting (around 200 F is good). Then simply fry the rest until done.
- Split a French roll in half (I like to cut it about 95% so it still has a hinge) spread as much Remoulade or Vegan Mayo on both sides as you’d like. Then lay down some shredded lettuce, tomato slices, pickles, and then plenty of your fried tofu nuggets.
- Drizzle more Remoulade or Hot Sauce, and dig in!
