• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Olives for Dinner

Vegan Recipes for Those Who Love to Cook and Eat

  • Recipes
  • Work with Us
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
Home » Entrees » Super-Versatile Crispy Tofu Cutlets

January 26, 2016

Super-Versatile Crispy Tofu Cutlets

Jump to Recipe

These super-versatile crispy tofu cutlets have it all! They’re versatile because you can season the breading with whatever you like (suggestions below). You can serve them with mashed potatoes, on sandwiches or with any kind of vegetable. This may become your next go-to easy weeknight dinner recipe!

Super-Versatile Crispy Tofu Cutlets
 
Crispy tofu cutlets are easy to make, super versatile and get along well with any carby side and warm or roasted vegetable you put next to it. This recipe is super basic and is meant to be tweaked around with as much as you like. (See a list of serving suggestions below.) All are great, but I highly suggest serving these cutlets alongside a mound of mashed potatoes and gravy—it’s easy comfort food at its best!
 
 

Super-Versatile Crispy Tofu Cutlets

See more serving suggestions below!

Super-Versatile Crispy Tofu Cutlets

 
Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Crispy Tofu Cutlets

Table of Contents

  • Super-Versatile Crispy Tofu Cutlets
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Notes

Super-Versatile Crispy Tofu Cutlets


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: erin wysocarski
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 cutlets
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces super firm or firm tofu, cut into 4 slabs
  • 1/2 cup white rice flour (plus more if needed)
  • 2 TB Ener-G, whisked with 1 cup water
  • 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs (plus more if needed)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • a few dashes of pepper
  • cooking spray

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly mist a baking sheet or large cast iron pan with oil, set aside.
  2. Set up three wide and shallow bowls in a line in this order: Bowl one: white rice flour. Bowl two: Ener-G/water. Bowl three: panko and spices.
  3. Place one slab of tofu into the white rice flour and press until evenly coated, tapping off any extra. Next, give it a quick dunk into the Ener-G/water mixture, then transfer to the spiced panko mixture. Press the tofu into the crumbs until coated, pressing panko onto any exposed areas with your fingers. Place onto the greased baking sheet or cast iron pan and repeat the process with the rest of the tofu slabs.
  4. Mist the tops well with cooking spray and place in the preheated oven (I placed mine on the top rack) for about 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are golden. Remove from the oven, flip, give the tops of the tofu as well as the bottom of the pan or sheet another solid mist of oil, then bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until golden all over. Serve immediately.

Notes

Serving suggestions:

For a meatier cutlet: Prepare the tofu (super-firm is best) in advance by cutting it into 4 slabs and place into the freezer and allow to freeze completely. Thaw it. Once the tofu is thawed, press all of the moisture out of it. Then set up a glass pyrex with enough vegetable broth to cover the slabs. Refrigerate until ready to use. No need to press the tofu again before breading it.

For a fishy cutlet, add 1 tsp each of dill and Old Bay seasoning to the panko mixture. Serve with vegan tartar sauce, or make your own by combining pickle relish with Vegenaise. Goes great with french fries and vegan coleslaw.

For a spicy cutlet, add a few pinches of cayenne or habanero to the panko mixture. Serve with sriracha or gochujang combined with Vegenaise to taste.

For an Asian-style cutlet, season the panko mixture with 1/2 tsp Chinese Five-Spice and a little extra black pepper OR mix with Chinese spicy mustard and Vegenaise to taste and serve with rice or noodles.

For a Southern-style cutlet, serve with vegan BBQ sauce or gravy and a side of mashed potatoes or vegan mac and cheese.

The panko mixture is really versatile and can take on any kind of spice you like, such as rubbed sage, za’atar, berbere, ras el hanout or chana masala, etc. for example. Serve with whatever sides and vegan sauces you prefer.

  • Cook Time: 45 minutes

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @olivesfordinner on Instagram ... we'd love to see it!

 
Super-Versatile Crispy Tofu Cutlets

You may also like:

Quick and Easy Carrot-Ginger Tofu
Ratatouille (Confit Byaldi)
Vegan Clam Chowder
Tofu Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Filed Under: Entrees, Tofu

We hope you enjoy this content!

We'd love for you to leave a comment below. For recipes, we would also love it if you gave it a rating. Thanks so much!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Johanna says

    January 26, 2016 at 3:04 pm

    I made this kind of thing the other 5,but I used chickpea flour and plain almond milk. I also didn't add much seasoning, so it was bland. It's time for a reboot. johanna@woodbury.org

    Reply
  2. Angie Simonsen says

    January 26, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    Those all look great! Do you think a flax or chia egg would work? I kinda want the fishy one right now…

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      January 26, 2016 at 4:56 pm

      Angie, it's worth a try! If you try an alternative egg replacer with success, I'd love your feedback!

      Reply
  3. Erin says

    January 27, 2016 at 6:00 am

    This is a great recipe – thank you for posting it! A question though – is the rice flour essential, or can you use all-purpose?

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      January 27, 2016 at 3:51 pm

      I don't see why not … I hope you enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Dianna says

    September 6, 2016 at 9:28 pm

    Thank you for this amazing recipe! My three kids all loved it.

    I made a few tiny alterations:
    1/4 cup flaxseed + 1 cup water for the “egg”
    added 1/4 cup cashew parmesan to the breading because I was using it for chicken parmesan

    I’m excited to try some of your other flavor ideas. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Mary says

      September 28, 2017 at 4:45 pm

      Thanks Dianna for your comment – that is EXACTLY what I was thinking of doing with this recipe (flax egg + make it into chicken parmesan) so it’s good to know it worked for you 🙂

      Reply
  5. Christine says

    April 10, 2019 at 9:32 pm

    Made this last night adding lots of cashew parmesan to my panko. I love Asian and usually all my tofu dishes Asian on way or another so to have this delicious switch is wonderful – thank you for such a simple, quick and super delicious recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I’m Erin Wysocarski. Glad you’re here.

I create vegan recipes for those who love to cook and eat. My husband Jeff photographs them. We live in Boston with our rescue dog, Harper. More about Erin →

Follow Me!

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

As Seen On

Popular Recipes

Pasta, artistically draped around a fork on a table.

Pasta with White Wine Sauce

Two hands holding a glass mason jar of coffee sugar scrub

Homemade Coffee Sugar Scrub

Two hands framing a plate of curry on a dark background.

Cauliflower and Mushroom Curry

A whole head of firecracker cauliflower, basted with sauce in a cast iron pan against a dark background.

Firecracker Cauliflower

A top-down shot of sweet potato tempura and avocado vegan sushi rolls with pickled ginger against a dark background.

Sweet Potato Tempura and Avocado Rolls

Vegan Shrimp

Vegan Shrimp

Two hands holding a bowl of bang bang cauliflow

Vegan Bang Bang Cauliflower

A bagel loaded with carrot lox, red onion, capers and vegan cream cheese on a wooden board.

Carrot Lox

Footer

About

Olives for Dinner is a vegan food blog for those who love to cook and eat. You'll find fresh, creative and delicious recipes here, all made with plants!

Search for recipes

VIEW ALL RECIPES

Interviews

Cara Ansis of Fork and Beans
Kathy Patalsky of Healthy. Happy. Life.
Sophia DeSantis of Veggies Don't Bite

Sign up to get new recipes via email.

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
HOME ∙ ABOUT ∙ CONTACT ∙ PRIVACY

Copyright© 2023 · Brunch Pro Theme by Shay Bocks