Caramelized Tofu & Onion Sandwich

Name: Caramelized Tofu & Onion Sandwich
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 14 ounces extra firm tofu (pressed); 1 ½ tablespoons nutritional yeast; ¼ cup plus 1 ½ teaspoons coconut aminos (plus more as needed); ½ teaspoon onion powder; ½ teaspoon garlic powder; 1 ¼ teaspoons sriracha (or kimchi sriracha); 2 teaspoons neutral flavored cooking oil; ½ large white onion (thinly sliced); 4 hamburger buns; Vegan mayonnaise to taste; 4 large leaves green leaf lettuce (or iceberg, or romaine)

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This vegan Caramelized Tofu & Onion Sandwich is not only the most delicious sandwich ever. It's also rich in vitamin B₁₂ and protein, and made with all budget and pantry-friendly ingredients.

Sesame seed coated burger bun with caramelized tofu and onion, vegan mayonnaise, and green leaf lettuce. Held between two hands. — Satisfying and delicious, this will become your go-to sandwich in no time!

I have a great relationship with tofu. It's good for my heart, helps me grow stronger, and unlike my three teenagers, it doesn't talk back to me! What's not to love?

Tofu takes center stage in this ultimate vegan sandwich. You'll be hard pressed (no pun intended) to find a more delicious one out there –except maybe my High-Iron Avocado White Bean Sandwich. And my Vegan Rib Sandwich with Street Corn is definitely worth a mention.

Jump to:

👩🏼‍🌾📖 Ingredients & Instructions
🧅 Substitutions & Variations
🔪 Equipment
⏱ Storage
🙋🏽‍♀️ FAQ
👩🏽‍🍳 Made This Recipe?
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

👩🏼‍🌾📖 Ingredients & Instructions

Budget and Pantry-Friendly Ingredients:

One (14-ounce) block of super firm tofu cut into 8 rectangles widthwise. — Cut the tofu widthwise into 8 equally sized rectangles.

Press the tofu for about 20 minutes before slicing. To skip this step, buy pre-pressed tofu. I use super firm tofu (Nasoya), or extra firm sprouted tofu (Wildwood), where the pressing is already done for you!

Alternatively, invest in a tofu press (Tofuture). Press the tofu in the morning, and refrigerate in the press until ready to use. It is very easy to clean, and the excess water conveniently collects in the bottom.

Meanwhile, prepare the marinade. This easy 5-ingredient marinade is made with nutritional yeast, which is typically supplemented with vitamin B₁₂. (Read the nutrition label to be certain.) Vegans often fall short of this essential nutrient. In addition, nutritional yeast is high in protein, and contains all nine essential amino acids.

Nutritional yeast, coconut aminos, onion powder, garlic powder, and sriracha in a white baking dish. — Add the marinade ingredients to a baking dish, large enough to hold the tofu in a single layer.

Marinate the tofu in the same dish for easier clean up.

Six tofu rectangles marinating in a red sauce in a white baking dish. — Place the tofu in a single layer and marinate for 15 minutes.

Cook the tofu in a large nonstick skillet, with a drizzle of oil, for about 5 minutes on each side.

Alternatively, for oil-free, bake the tofu rectangles at 400ºF for about 15 minutes, flipping them over half way.

Pan-frying marinated tofu in a large nonstick skillet using a pair of tongs for turning. — Cook the tofu in a single layer until both sides are golden brown and caramelized.

Remove the tofu from the skillet. Set aside.

Golden brown onions cooking in marinade and coconut aminos in a large nonstick skillet. — Cook the onion in the remaining marinade until softened and golden brown, adding more coconut aminos as needed.

Truly caramelized onions take much longer to cook and become much more jammy. However, this faux method using coconut aminos works perfectly well for this recipe, and speeds up the process.

Once the tofu is done browning, use the onions and tofu to make a sandwich or burger.

Open-faced hamburger bun topped with a rectangle of caramelized tofu, a green lettuce leaf, and caramelized onion –on a wooden cutting board. — Add the tofu, onion, lettuce, and condiment of choice to the burger bun.

Enjoy!

See recipe card for quantities.

🧅 Substitutions & Variations

Tofu - Substitute with tempeh to change things up. Simmer the block of tempeh for 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and marinating. This removes its slightly bitter flavor.
Coconut aminos - Substitute with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, or tamari as desired. The onions will not be quite as caramelized, but they will still be very flavorful.
Onion - White onions are slightly sweeter and milder in taste than yellow onions. They are great for sandwiches and salads. However, feel free to substitute for yellow onions as needed. Both work in this recipe.
Lettuce - instead of green leaf lettuce, you can use romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, or spinach
Bun - use gluten-free buns instead of wheat bread buns to make this sandwich gluten-free
Sriracha - Omit the sriracha for no spice. Or add more for a spicier marinade.

Try these budget-friendly tofu recipes.

🔪 Equipment

I use the Tofuture brand tofu press for pressing my tofu. It is easy to use and works really well.

Otherwise, press the tofu by wrapping the block in a kitchen towel, or between several layers of paper towel. Place the block onto a large cutting board, and place a smaller board on top. Top with a heavy fruit bowl and press for 20 minutes. Change the paper towel as needed, when it becomes soaked.

⏱ Storage

Refrigerate any remaining tofu and onion in separate air-tight containers. Good for 2-3 days.

You can also freeze the tofu. Freezing changes the internal structure of tofu, producing a texture very similar to chicken.

🙋🏽‍♀️ FAQ

What are caramelized onions?

Caramel comes from the simple cooking of sugar. Onions are naturally sweet, and when cooked slowly for an extended period, their natural sugars caramelize, and they become intensely flavorful.
Coconut aminos (made from the sap of the coconut tree) is also naturally sweet. When cooked together, the coconut aminos quickly produces a faux caramelization of the onion. It is not quite the same jammy quality of traditional caramelization, but it works great for this recipe.

How can you get onions to caramelize faster?

The traditional method for caramelizing onion is to cook them slowly in a little oil or butter until they are richly browned. This can take up to 1 hour.
A neat trick to speed up this process is to add baking soda during cooking. Baking soda changes the pH, which increases the Maillard reaction, causing the onions to brown more quickly. Use ⅛ teaspoon baking soda per 1 pound of onions.

Why is it necessary to press tofu?

Packaged tofu has a high water content, and water prevents browning. If you marinate tofu straight out of the packet, it does not soak up much of the marinade, and steams upon cooking. For tofu to brown and develop a delicious flavor and chewy texture , remove excess water prior to cooking.

👩🏽‍🍳 Made This Recipe?

Share your Caramelized Tofu & Onion Sandwich creation with me on Instagram. It makes my day to see you recreate my recipes.

I would love it if you would rate this recipe and leave a comment. Thank you in advance.