A plant-based grilled delight for summer BBQs and potlucks! This Coffee & Chili Rubbed Tofu is a vegan and gluten-free main dish that veggie lovers and meat eaters can agree on! Flavorful, bold in taste, and a great way to serve tofu.
Grilling season is in full swing! Thank god because, I love grilled foods. No I don’t have a grill myself (aside from a little George Foreman…which works just fine for apartment life!). But luckily, my parents have two at their place and I’m always welcome to use them.
My favorite on the grill is fish (especially salmon) or Chivettas chicken (a local marinade that is super popular). I also love grilling veggies, squash, potatoes, and Portobello caps as ‘veggie burgers’. There’s just nothing better than that crispy char on fresh foods. 🙂
When I think about it, there aren’t many foods I haven’t tried grilling! My family even used to make grilled pizzas when we all lived together. Those were good.
One thing I have yet to grill however….TOFU. Crazy, considering I love tofu and eat it all sorts of other ways!
I was invited to my vegan friend’s BBQ for the 4th of July and she asked me to a bring a protein since she’s not the most skilled in the kitchen and doesn’t have a grill. So basically all the guests will be providing the food like a big, fun potluck! I was excited to be invited of course, but I was at a loss on what to make. Veggie burgers? Some sort of BBQ jackfruit or tempeh sloppy joes? Luckily, I got my answer in the mail when I received a shipment of extra firm tofu from my favorite tofu purveyor, House Foods. We all know I love House Foods tofu and that they’re my go-to brand when it comes to all things SOY.
Here are some past recipes I’ve made using their amazing products…
Low-Fat Vegan Pudding Pie Tart
Vegan Chinese 5 Spice Noodle Soup
Low-Fat Vegan Caesar Dressing Dip
Needless to say, I had my heart set on a tofu-based main. But what to make?
Taking some inspiration from a rub for steak my mom recently made, I decided to go with a BOLD flavored topping for my tofu. A mixture of coffee (flour from Trader Joe’s), coconut, and chipotle chili powder, to be exact! With a little sweetness added from maple syrup and mildness from almond butter to balance everything out, I had a thick, creamy paste to coat the tofu with before tossing on the grill.
Coffee & Chili Rubbed Tofu
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 8 mins
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Category: Main Meals
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s Coffee Flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 ½ tbsp drippy almond butter + 2 tsp water, mixed together
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 12 oz House Foods Extra Firm Tofu, sliced in thirds into 4 oz portions
Instructions
- Preheat George Foreman Grill or a regular grill. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients (except tofu). Using your hands, place tofu slices (one at a time) in the bowl and coat with coffee coconut chili mixture. Repeat with each slice until full coated. Let tofu slices marinade in sauce for at least 1 hour. Place tofu slices on your grill of choice and grill for 8 minutes (flipping half way thru if using a regular grill). Remove from grill and serve with extra sauce.
Vegan, gluten-free, and totally unique. This Coffee & Chili Rubbed Tofu is the perfect plant-based protein to serve as a main alongside some other grilled goodies.
The extra firm tofu from House Foods is KEY here. It has to be extra firm because it holds up the best on the grill and gets the most amazing texture when it’s cooked. Even my meat loving dad, who I just gave a subscription to Omaha Steaks for Father’s Day, loved these ‘tofu steaks’. That’s saying something because he’s not much of a tofu lover…unlike MOI!
So next time you have to entertain a vegan friend or family member, you have a delicious main dish to serve! But like I said, even meat lovers are fans of this recipe so you don’t need an excuse to make some up during the prime season for grilling.
I will definitely be bringing these on the 4th of July now that I’ve tested them out! As for sides, I’m thinking my Fresh n’ Fruity Sweet Potato Hash or my Vegan Pork n’ Bean Mac and Cheese would go great with this recipe.
Do you like grilled foods?
Have you ever grilled tofu before?
What’s your favorite thing to grill during the summer?
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22 responses to “Coffee & Chili Rubbed Tofu [vegan + gluten-free]”
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I like snackin Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner link up!g on baked tofu like this –
Thanks Helen!
It’s just so fun that you aren’t afraid of doing a new dish for a BBQ Kaila; I LOVE grilled food, but I’ve never had grilled tofu.
It’s just so fun that you aren’t afraid of doing a new dish for a BBQ Kaila; I LOVE grilled food, but I’ve never had grilled tofu.
Thanks girl!! Grilled tofu is amazing!!
I love grilled tofu! my mom doesn’t eat meat so whenever i cook for the whole family i rub tofu with whatever I’m rubbing my meat with and grill it for her! I always steal bites because its so good! My favorite thing to grill is eggplant and zucchini.
OH YES!! Zucchini and eggplant are GREAT on the grill!
I have never seen coffee flour! I’ll have to keep on eye out for it, this tofu sounds delicious!
Thanks lovely!! Definitely give it a try!
What a great idea! I’ve never seen or even heard of coffee flour, but I’ll definitely be looking for it next time I’m at TJs!
You will LOVE this rub!! So tasty!!
I have never thought of cooking tofu on the BBQ, what a great idea! #recipeoftheweek
Thank you so much for commenting Kate!! You will love this!!
I want this so bad!! I just need to find coffee flour! Pinning, because when I find it, it’s on!
Thanks Jaxx! Let me know when you try this!!
Nice idea and i will try myself .
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!!
This looks awesome! Hope you have a great 4th of July weekend and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
★★★★★
Thanks so much Helen!!
I’m just starting to get into eating tofu so it’s great to have another fab recipe to try it with!
★★★★★
Thank you! Let me know how you like it!!
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