In need of a dish for the holidays? Then look no further because this baked tofu with pecan leek stuffing and vegan gravy is here to save the day ! Tofu is baked with stuffing and then served with an easy vegan gravy. you are going to love it.
This will be my fifth year making holiday recipes. I have done a lot of things most people expect and look for like: Lentil Shepherd’s Pie, Vegan Wellington, Vegan Chick’n Pot Pie, Tofu Cutlets with Gravy just to name a few! So this year I was like what can I make that is a little bit easier and to make and would still look gorgeous on a table. I was searching for inspiration on Pinterest, and I came across this recipe (not vegan). I thought it could be the perfect inspiration and work out really well with tofu! The baked tofu with pecan leek stuffing is easy to make, I love that it is all made in one pan and then served with that incredible vegan gravy.
Tofu Time
Is it any surprise that I would use tofu? I have probably 50+ tofu recipes on this blog because I love it so dearly. My go to tofu is always super firm tofu. It is sturdy, it doesn’t fall apart and you do not have to press it. You can make this recipe using extra firm tofu but you will need to press it beforehand. For this recipe you will marinate the tofu for at least 30 minutes, or it can be overnight. Then you wrap it in rice paper wrappers, a technique I saw from the Edgy Veg. This will give the tofu a skin in a way similar to that of chicken or turkey. It is a really cool idea and I was honestly so impressed with how it turned out! Because this tofu block is left whole and you don’t cut it till the end I poked holes in it with a skewer to help it soak up some extra flavor while marinating.
Rice Paper Skin
So, I was scrolling on TikTok late at night, as one does, and I saw Candace’s aka Edgy Veg chick’n recipe pop up! She was talking about how she used rice paper to make a “skin” and I thought that was really clever. I figured it could be fun to try that out for this. I wanted to do something different since I have already have a lot of recipes showing you how to bake tofu. Check out these recipes for more tofu baking recipes! Baked Tofu Bites, Lemon & Rosemary Sheet Pan Tofu with Potatoes, Sheet Pan Tofu Cutlets with Roasted Veggies from my cookbook Plantiful. So, I do like that this recipe is a little different and provides different texture to the tofu. I also was honestly so impressed the rice paper gets crispy and I brushed it with some oil and seasonings which really helped to give it a good color and taste.
The Stuffing
There isn’t a Thanksgiving side dish I look forward to more than stuffing. My mom just always makes it on the stove top and pretty plain. This one I decided to amp up a bit with some pecans and leeks! It is so delicious and of course with the tofu and gravy it just is the best comforting food. If you want to try a different kind of stuffing this Roasted Vegetable Stuffing is so delicious too! I personally like to buy my little bread cubes because in all honesty I am lazy and would forget to put out stale bread and cut it into cubes. I like to use the one from Peppridge Farm as it is vegan friendly. Please be sure to check the ingredients as they can contain chicken, sausage, turkey – so just always double check your ingredients.
Easy Gravy
I am not a huge gravy lover. I only need a little bit but I do feel it is important to a holiday dish. It brings the whole dish together and adds a lot of extra flavor. Don’t skip on the gravy for this recipe. It only takes a few minutes to make, and it just uses vegan butter, flour, the veggie broth from marinating the tofu. Add some extra seasonings and you are golden! If you want to add some onions, mushrooms you certainly can just by sautéing them beforehand!
More Thanksgiving Recipes
Cornbread Casserole
Cheesy Skillet Cornbread
Sweet Potato Casserole
Vegetable Medley
Winter Couscous Salad
Mashed Potatoes
Easy Vegetable Side Dishes
Apple Crumble
Homemade Biscuits
Spiced Apple Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Filling
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Baked Tofu with Pecan Leek Stuffing and Vegan Gravy
Ingredients
Tofu
- 1 block 16 ounces/454g super firm tofu
- 1 ½ cups (360ml) boiling water
- 1 ½ teaspoons (9g) better than bouillon, vegetable
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 to 3 leaves fresh sage
- 3 rice paper roll wrappers
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) salt
- Pinch black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) paprika
Stuffing
- 1 ½ cups (150g) bread cubes
- 2 tablespoons (28g) vegan butter
- 1 cup (240ml) vegetable broth
- 1 celery rib chopped (about 1 ounce/35g)
- 1 small sweet onion chopped (about 6 ounces/165g)
- 1 leek chopped (about 2.5 ounces/70g)
- ½ cup (50g) pecans, roughly chopped
Gravy
- Remaining veggie broth from marinating
- 2 tablespoons (28g) vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons (21g) all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon (1g) garlic powder
- Pinch black pepper
- 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves only
Instructions
- Use a skewer to make small holes in the tofu. In a container add the water, better than bouillon, and herbs. *You can use vegetable broth too. Add the tofu into the container and let it sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes (or longer up to 2 to 3 hours).
- Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing. In a large pan sauté the onions, leeks, and celery for 3 to 5 minutes over low heat until onions start to turn translucent. Then add in the vegetable broth and raise heat to high, bring to a boil. Remove fro the heat add in the bread cubes and pecans. Mix together and let it sit until bread cubes soak up broth.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Remove the tofu from the vegetable broth, do not throw this away it will be used to make the gravy. Dip the rice paper rolls in water until soft and flexible and wrap it around the tofu.
- In a small bowl mix the olive oil, salt, black pepper, and paprika together. Use a silicone brush to brush half of the oil all over the tofu.
- Add the stuffing to a 9 x 11 casserole dish. Place the tofu on top. You can add the herbs from the veggie broth on top as well. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove and brush the remaining oil over the tofu. Place back in the oven and bake for another 30 minutes.
- In the same pan where you made the stuffing add the vegan butter for the gravy. Melt over low heat. Then add the flour and stir until the butter has absorbed the flour. Slowly add the vegetable broth in a few tablespoons at a time and whisk. This will help the gravy to be smooth and not clumpy. Continue until all vegetable broth has been added. Add any seasonings and herbs you like. Cook the gravy for 5 minutes until it starts to bubble over medium heat.
- Once the tofu is done remove it from the dish, allow it to cool for 15 minutes before cutting. The tofu may leave a spot on top of the stuffing just toss the stuffing around if this bothers you.
- Slice the tofu and place it on top of the stuffing. Drizzle gravy over top and garnish with black pepper and any fresh herbs.
Video
Notes
- You can use Better Than Bouillon or vegetable broth for this recipe whatever you have.
- You can use dried herbs in place of the fresh herbs.
- Allow the tofu to cool after cooking, if you try to cut it too early it will be too hot and the rice paper will pull away from the tofu.
- To make the gravy gluten free you can use cornstarch or a different flour.
- Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Synette B.
I made this and I love it! We don’t eat tofu a lot because I don’t have enough recipes to make it tasty. This is a winner and will definitely be a regular dinner. I don’t like stuffing, so I baked the tofu with butter nut squash, potatoes and other veggies. Thanks for sharing!
plantifullybased
Hi Synette awww yay I am so so happy you enjoyed it! thank you for taking the time to leave a comment xoxo
Nicki
Delicious and great idea! Did a trial run to test out before thanksgiving turned out great! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
plantifullybased
yay so glad you enjoyed it Nicki!!! wooo thanks for leaving a comment/review xoxo
Patti K.
Hi Francesca–looking forward to making this, but if I can’t locate the rice paper in time, do you have any suggestions about baking the tofu without it? Different prep, more basting, etc? Thank you!
plantifullybased
Hi Patti you can just leave it out! You can always add a cornstarch coating on the outside and prepare it the same way! Hope you enjoy xo
Patti K
Made it–loved it! As did the whole family. Thanks for the great recipe and excellent instructions. Looking forward to making more of your recipes. : )
plantifullybased
aw thank you so much Patti! So glad you and your family enjoyed it thank you for trying and leaving a comment/review xo