This sheet pan recipe for roasted tofu, cabbage & peppers is an easy way to meal prep a healthy and nutritious vegetarian meal to enjoy throughout the week.
Over the past 4 months or so I’ve been more and more into plant based meals. Friends and family are asking me left and right if I’m a vegetarian now and the answer is: no.
I still eat meat and don’t plan to stop entirely ever but I am more focused on eating a rainbow of plants every day.
Whereas before, I’d eat maybe 1 or 2 plant based meals (aka: no animal protein) a week, I’m now probably eating 80% plant based meals a week.
As you might imagine with that approach, tofu has resurfaced as a weekly favorite.
I’ve always loved tofu recipes especially when it’s roasted and crispy (like this crispy sweet and sour tofu recipe that’s an old favorite) but now more than ever, I’ve really been into it.
Crispy baked marinated tempeh is a close second!
So as we head into the New Year, I wanted to kick things off with a plant based vegan tofu recipe that’s made entirely on a sheet pan and perfect for meal prepping if you happened to resolve to get more into that in 2020.
How to meal prep tofu
This easy method of roasting tofu on a sheet pan is the perfect way to meal prep for the week.
The first step is to make the spice mixture:
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- smoked paprika
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- cayenne pepper
Combine all the spices in a small bowl. This will get used on everything that roasts on the sheet pan: the tofu, cabbage and peppers/onions.
If you prefer a marinade to a spice mixture, check out this Thai inspired tofu marinade and use that instead.
After preheating the oven, toss the pressed and cubed tofu with avocado oil and 1/3 of the spice mixture then spread out on the baking sheet.
Arrange the cabbage steaks on the baking sheet as well, drizzle with avocado oil and sprinkle more of the spice mixture on them.
Lastly, toss the peppers and onions with some avocado oil and the last of the spice mixture then spread out onto the remaining space on the baking sheet.
Roast the sheet pan tofu
Roast the baking sheet with the tofu, cabbage, peppers and onions at 400°F on the convection roast setting. If you don’t have a convection setting on your oven, roast at 425°F.
The recipe will cook for 15 minutes and you’ll want to flip the tofu and toss the pepper/onion mixture half way through to ensure crispy edges on the tofu. The cabbage steaks don’t have to be flipped.
Another option for even crispier tofu is to make the tofu in the air fryer and make the rest of this recipe on the sheet pan.
Storing the meal prepped tofu
If you choose to not eat the sheet pan tofu recipe right away and want to package it up for meal prepped meals throughout the week, I suggest storing the tofu in a separate container from the vegetables.
You can also choose to store it in individual portions so it’s ready to go for quick and easy meals.
If you do this, use a divided container or keep the tofu to one side.
If serving with brown rice as shown, put the rice on the bottom and the tofu on top to one side and vegetables on the other side.
Sounds silly but this storage method helps keep the tofu from getting too soggy.
What kind of tofu should I buy?
Any time I’m roasting tofu or basically cooking it in any way outside of a soup (like hot & sour egg drop soup), I prefer to buy extra firm.
Personally, I always buy organic tofu and when I can find it, sprouted organic tofu as I think it’s the easiest on digestion and best sourcing for soy products.
Is pressing the tofu really necessary?
YES!
You don’t need anything fancy (like a tofu press – that’s a total waste, don’t bother) to press tofu.
Here’s my method:
- Take tofu out of the package and drain excess water.
- Wrap tofu in a large paper towel.
- Place paper towel wrapped tofu on a cooking rack on top of a baking sheet on the counter.
- Place something large and heavy like a cast iron skillet on top of the tofu and leave it alone for about 20 minutes.
- Remove heavy object, unwrap from paper towel and cut into cubes.
If you have more than 20 minutes, great! If not though, that’s about all you need to get a good bit of the water to come out of the tofu and drain onto the baking sheet. Placing the tofu on the rack on top of the baking sheet is important so the tofu doesn’t sit in it’s own liquid as the water drains out.
What should I serve with the tofu and vegetables?
Brown rice (or white rice) is always a great accompaniment to tofu in my opinion but many other grains will work nicely as well.
Quinoa, millet and amaranth are some great gluten-free options while barley, spelt or farro would be other good options although not gluten-free.
I’ve also been into wild rice and black rice lately as another alternative to brown rice.
Whichever you choose, I suggest making a big batch while the tofu roasts in the oven so that you have it not only for this meal prep tofu recipe but any others you choose to make for the week as well.
It’s always nice to have a big batch of a grain cooked and ready to go when trying to put together easy and quick meals.
Alternatively, you can make my oven baked BBQ tofu and vegetable sheet pan meal which includes sweet potato for some filling carbs.
Other garnishes to consider
Some fresh cilantro as shown is a nice pop of brightness to this spicy sheet pan tofu recipe. You could also consider making a tahini dressing to drizzle on top of this meal with this easy combination:
- 1/4 cup tahini
- juice from half a lemon
- salt & pepper
- water to thin
Just whisk everything together in a small bowl until smooth adding as much water as necessary until you get the desired consistency.
While I try to limit eating soy products too much, I’m all for quality sourced soy (organic sprouted tofu) 2-3 times a week.
I’ve recently started buying tempeh again after a long hiatus (I think this tempeh sandwich might’ve been one of the last times I bought it!) and while I do enjoy cubing and roasting that in some BBQ sauce (sort of like this BBQ mango tofu recipe) for easy dinners as well, tofu is definitely my favorite.
The crispy edges with the soft inside of roasted tofu just can’t be beat texture wise and I love not having to worry about over or undercooking it like you do with meat.
My diet in 2020 is going to be a lot more plant focused so I hope you’re ready to eat the rainbow along with me and start enjoying some veg-heavy meals!
Enjoy this tasty and easy roasted tofu recipe to start!
More sheet pan recipes to try:
Sheet Pan Turmeric Salmon with Cherry Sauce
Sheet Pan Cornish Game Hens
Sheet Pan Maple Mustard Chicken with Pecans and Sweet Potatoes
Sheet Pan Mediterranean Roasted Lamb
Sheet Pan Pork Chops with Cabbage, Apples and Potatoes
Sheet Pan Piri Piri (Peri Peri) Chicken
Sheet Pan Meal Prep Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
- 1 small purple cabbage, sliced into thin “steaks”
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F convection roast (or 425°F if you don’t have a convection setting)
- Combine all the spices together in a small bowl.
- Place the tofu in a medium bowl with 1 tablespoon of the avocado oil. Add in 1/3 of the spice mixture, toss to combine then spread out in an even layer on a large baking sheet.
- Arrange the cabbage steaks on the baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the avocado oil and season with another 1/3 of the spice mixture.
- Add the pepper slices to the bowl the tofu was in. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil in the bowl along with the remaining spice mixture. Toss to coat and spread out on the baking sheet as well.
- Roast for about 15 minutes, flipping tofu and tossing peppers halfway through.
- Serve with cooked brown rice and fresh cilantro if desired. *See notes for meal prep storage.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Why would this have Cholesterol? Which ingredient causes this recipe to have Cholesterol.. was wondering. Thank you :)
Hi Debbie- it shouldn’t. The nutritional calculation is an estimate only and it’s software generated so it can be wrong from time to time. It’s probably picking up something from one of the spices but the meal should be cholesterol free.
I have tried this recipe and the whole family loves this. They had no idea this was tofu and the flavors are just fabulous!
Wow, this was such a gorgeous dish, plus the tofu was SO tasty!! Thanks for all the tips!!
Absolutely delicious! Best tofu I’ve ever made—thanks for all the tips!!
This looks great, can’t wait to try it. And love that you will be doing more plant based, I’ve also been moving more in that direction lately!