this easy to make tofu is perfect for the holidays! the tofu cutlets with gravy can be the star of the show on your dinner table.
My first vegan Thanksgiving I bought these Gardein breaded “turkey” cutlets with a gravy. To be honest it was oily and reminded me more of a chicken cutlet. It wasn’t bad but not great either. So I was inspired to try and make my own take on something similar and it was amazing.
Why Tofu Cutlets are the Best
Golden crispy tofu paired with a delicious, creamy gravy is all you are going to want to eat from now on. The tofu is marinated in seasonings and spices similar to turkey so it gives your that familiar taste.
I think this is a dish that is great for vegans but I am not sure how it would go over with non-vegans. While it is incredibly delicious and will give your dish that meaty boost, I think some non-vegans might be confused by this dish.
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Tofu Cutlets with Gravy
Ingredients
Tofu Cutlets
- 1 block of extra firm tofu
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- ½ lemon juice
- 2-3 sprigs of rosemary
- 2-3 sprigs of thyme
- ¼ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp seasoning salt Trader Joe’s
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp parsley
Breading
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Gravy
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ¼ cup all purpose flour or cornstarch for gluten free
Instructions
- Prepare tofu by pressing it. Wrap it in a towel and squeeze to get out excess water. Slice tofu into rectangles. Can be as thick or as thin as you like.
- Place tofu in a container. Add the vegetable broth, lemon juice and seasonings (rosemary to parsley) into the container with the tofu.
- Seal the container and gently shake around to make sure all the tofu has some of the marinade on it. The longer the tofu sits in the marinade the more flavor it will have. You can do this up to 2 days in advance or the morning before cooking.
- Once you are ready to cook the tofu preheat the oven to 400F.
- Take the tofu out and if there are any rosemary needles on the tofu pull them off and coat the tofu in breadcrumbs. Because the tofu is wet, the breadcrumbs will stick and this is to just provide a light coating.
- Place the tofu on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat to all the tofu slices. DO NOT THROW OUT LEFTOVER MARINADE IT WILL BE USED TO MAKE GRAVY.
- To help the tofu crisp up a bit more lightly drizzle olive oil the slices. Bake for 17-20 minutes until golden and crispy.
- To make the gravy first start by straining the leftover marinade to get out any big herbs or seasonings left behind. Take the liquid and put it into a sauce pan. Add 2 more cups of vegetable broth. Add the flour and if you like a little extra salt. Whisk until it has formed a thick texture. It should go from translucent to opaque.
- Before serving heat the gravy and if it has thickened you can always add in a few teaspoons of water to help thin it.
- To serve place the tofu on a dish, drizzle with some gravy, a few cracks of black pepper and garnish with fresh thyme and lemon.
Video
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If you enjoyed this recipe please be sure to leave a comment or review, it is so helpful for the blog. Thank you!
Loved it💋 thank you!
These were incredible! I marinated the tofu in the fridge for 2 days and double-coated the cutlets with breadcrumbs and it was delicious. I personally love the Gardein turk’y but find it really expensive, and this is a fantastic alternative that I’ll definitely be making again. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Oh wow 2 days I can’t even imagine the flavor on them! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it, thank you for taking the time to make them and leaving a comment, I really appreciate it!
I will try these it looks good. I do disagree on one point though….Gardein cutlets are bad..very very bad 🤣
Can you use dried herbs instead of fresh? How much would you use?
sure I would suggest about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of the rosemary and thyme depending on how herby you like your meals
I use the marinade in this recipe for 99% of my tofu dishes. Tofu parm? Nuggets? Wings? Marinaded in this recipe for two days. It’s AMAZING. I’m very particular about my tofu, and my boyfriend is a picky eater in general, but whenever I use this marinade and ask him how the tofu tastes he looks at me and says, “this is tofu?”. I can’t sing enough praise about it. Thank you so much for such a tasty recipe!
Hi Edith! Oh my goodness I apologize that for some reason I just saw this comment right now (I know I am a little late haha) but thank you so so much for the kind words. I am so HAPPY to hear how much you and your boyfriend love it. <3
Not sure what I did wrong here, but the panko definitely did NOT stick to the tofu. I even tried an egg wash and it still came off in the oven. Also the gravy didn’t thicken at all, even though the added only 1/2 the amount of broth in the recipe.
Hi Rachel, I am really sorry to hear that. I have been making tofu this way for years and haven’t had a problem. Did you pat them dry after they were in the marinade? That’s the only sort of reason i could think for it not sticking. In terms of the gravy not thickening I am honestly not too sure. I am really sorry the recipe didn’t work out properly for you.
I’m making this for Thanksgiving dinner! But wondering what is the 1/2 lemon juice? Half cup? Half teaspoon?
Hi Diane, I apologize as I’m just seeing this now but it was just the juice of 1/2 a lemon. H
No worries, thanks for clarifying! I ended up putting about that much, to split the difference. And it was SO GOOD. I made it this year for our first meatless Thanksgiving. So impressed with how it turned out. A few observations: thicker slices of tofu have better flavor and texture than thin (we got ours from a local seconds shop and they were already sliced). The panko didn’t stick well for me so I made a flour, salt & pepper breading. It was still not as bready as in the picture but worked fine enough. For the gravy I made a roux with Miyokos vegan butter and flour, then added the marinade/veggie broth combo a little at a time. Delicious. Thank you!!
oh yay! I am so so glad to hear you enjoyed it! ah yeah everyone definitely has different tofu thickness preferences! I am glad to hear you enjoyed it overall!
These were tasty and quite easy to make but it seems like you’ve included the gravy ingredients with the breading ingredients and you didn’t indicate the amount of lemon juice, although I did find your reply in the comments saying it was the juice of half a lemon.
Hi Janet, I am glad you enjoyed them! Ah yes I can see where the confusion came in with the breading and gravy ingredients I haven’t had anyone say that was a problem yet but I will make a fix. The lemon is listed in the tofu cutlet ingredients, 3rd ingredient. thank you for trying!
Any alternatives to the seasoning salt? Or perhaps a way to make it?
Hi Ian you can make your own its very easy its just a blend of spices https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/237461/homemade-seasoned-salt/ or you can just season the recipe with those spices! There are also plenty of brands that make seasoning salt if you check out the spice section in your local stores.
Just made it and the cutlets came out great! Only thing I had a problem with was the gravy, I just couldn’t get it to thicken. Is it possible you meant 2tbsp of flour rather than 2tsp?
Hey Ian, so glad to hear you enjoyed it. Hmm that could be to be honest this recipe is very old and I am not sure what entirely happened when I wrote it out because in the video I actually say to use 1/4 cup flour. So I do apologize for that and I am fixing it now. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
Hi! I would love to make this recipe for thanksgiving. I have a gluten-free friend coming and i’m curious your thoughts on using cornflakes instead of panko? or a GF brand of breadcrumbs. If you’ve had success I could just do them all GF, or I may try doing half with panko and half with a GF alternative. thanks!
Hi Max! Hmm cornflakes could be a fun substitute and would make it nice and crispy. I don’t have any brands to recommend as I am not gluten free and I don’t normally work with too many gluten free products. So ultimately it is up to you if you would rather experiment with the cornflakes or gf breadcrumbs! I think both would be great. Let me know how it goes!!
Use gluten free panko!🙂
I’m interested in trying this for Thanksgiving, but I need to make it the day before. Is it just as good the next day? Any tips on the best way to reheat?
Hi Julia if you want to make it ahead of time I would suggest cooking it for less time so when you reheat it, it almost finishes cooking it instead of cooking it past a desired point. Cook it for about 5 to 7 minutes less I would also recommend letting it really cool completely before putting it in the fridge so the breadcrumbs cool. I would recommend heating in an oven or air fryer. Also, if you would like you could also bread them and then freeze them spaced out on a sheet pan (you could even do this 2 to 3 days before if you’d like) and then bake them the day of. Hope that helps!
So delicious! Doubled the recipe and made this to bring to Thanksgiving. Even the meat eaters tried and liked this. I did have to bake my tofu for a lot longer than 20 minutes to get it golden brown and crispy, but otherwise love this recipe and will definitely be making again!!
Hi Kelsey, oh yay I am so glad to hear you enjoyed it!! Hmm everyones ovens do work differently and it also could be that maybe you cut your tofu thicker than mine. But overall, I am so happy to hear you made it and enjoyed it. You can also turn the oven temp up by 15 to 20 degrees if you’d like! Thank you for making it and taking the time to leave a comment/review it means so much!!
This recipe was really good!! My only critique (and it may be my own error) is that I think the tofu definitely needs to be coated in olive oil to help it crisp up & make the bread crumbs crispier. The gravy is really good!! It was my first time making gravy, but this recipe was easy. I had to add extra flour to thicken it up, but it’s not an issue in the moment as you cook. I had friends over who don’t eat meat this Thanksgiving (and I love tofu), so this recipe was perfect to make sure I didn’t have extra leftovers!! Would definitely make it again!
Hi Marcella I am so glad to hear you enjoyed it overall. I did include to use olive oil in the recipe, did you decide not to do that or you felt it needed more oil? “To help the tofu crisp up a bit more lightly drizzle olive oil the slices. Bake for 17-20 minutes until golden and crispy.” Overall, I am glad to hear you and friends enjoyed it. THank you for trying it and taking the time to leave a comment and review!