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This Cashew Tofu stir-fry is loaded up with healthy veggies, crispy tofu, roasted cashews, and tossed with a simple ginger stir-fry sauce. It’s a quick and easy weeknight dinner, and also naturally gluten-free and vegan!
Two things my husband can never get enough of: CASHEWS and TOFU.
Then man snacks pretty much every day on a handful of cashews or some kind of nuts, and always makes sure that they are extra-well-stocked in our pantry. And when it comes to making a big stir-fry for dinner, a batch of well-seasoned crispy tofu will always be his protein of choice. So when I was craving some old-school Chinese cashew chicken a few weeks ago, we decided to swap in tofu instead for a vegetarian (also vegan and gluten-free) substitute.
And you guys, this stir-fry was awesome. ♡
I modified my usual ginger stir-fry sauce so that it could be completely vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free (no oyster sauce), and it was so good that I totally recommend making a double-batch while you’re at it to use later (or just make yourself a super-saucy stir-fry). Feel free to also swap in whatever other stir-fry veggies or nuts that you have on hand, and dish this up over rice, noodles, quinoa or whatever sounds good. Barclay and I can also vouch that this one keeps and reheats well, as we’ve made it for easy meal prep lunches a few times since. And best of all, it’s just delicious.
Let’s make some cashew tofu!
Cashew Tofu Ingredients:
To make this cashew tofu recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
Tofu: One block of extra-firm tofu, which we will toss with olive oil and cornstarch, then sauté on the stove until crispy. (Or alternately, you are welcome to bake it in the oven.)
Veggies: I used a mixture of broccoli, red bell peppers and red onion. But feel free to swap in any other stir-fry-friendly veggies that you have on hand.
Cashews: You want to be sure to use roasted (not raw) cashews here, so that they are nice and crunchy.
Ginger Stir-Fry Sauce: Made with soy sauce (or tamari), water, honey, rice vinegar, cornstarch, ground ginger and garlic.
Toppings: I topped my stir-fry with some thinly-sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds, as garnish.
I also like to serve this cashew tofu over rice (any kind), rice noodles, sesame noodles or quinoa. But you are also welcome to just serve the stir-fry on its own.
How To Make Cashew Tofu:
To make this cashew tofu stir-fry, simply…
Drain the tofu. Sandwich the block of tofu between paper towels, weight it down, then let the tofu drain for 15-30 minutes.
Make the stir-fry sauce. Just whisk all of the ingredients together until combined, then set the sauce aside until you are ready to use it.
Sauté the tofu. Next, slice the tofu lengthwise into 1/2-inch slabs, then cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces. Gently toss the tofu with the olive oil until evenly coated, then toss with the cornstarch plus a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet and sauté the tofu in two batches, avoiding crowding the pan, until it’s browned and crispy on both sides. Transfer the tofu to a separate plate.
Sauté the veggies. Add more oil to the sauté pan and briefly cook the veggies until crisp-tender. (Try to avoid overcooking them — you don’t want soggy veggies.)
Combine everything. Add the cashews, stir-fry sauce and cooked tofu to the pan, and toss to combine. Continue cooking until the sauce has thickened and evenly coated the tofu and veggies.
Serve. Then dish is up over rice or quinoa and serve warm, garnished with your desired toppings.
Possible Variations:
Want to customize this cashew tofu stir-fry recipe? Feel free to…
Use a different protein: If tofu isn’t your thing, you are welcome to make this cashew stir-fry with tempeh, shrimp, chicken, beef, or pork.
Use different veggies: Any other stir-fry-friendly veggies would be delicious in this recipe, such as carrots, onions, snow peas, mushrooms, broccoli, green beans, etc.
Use different nuts: If cashews aren’t your thing, this stir-fry would also be delicious with peanuts. Or you could just leave the nuts out entirely.
Make it gluten-free: Just use gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce!
Make it extra saucy: Feel free to double the sauce recipe if you would like, so that you can have extra to toss with the rice or noodles (or to use with another recipe later!).
More Favorite Stir-Fry Recipes:
Looking for more delicious stir-fry recipes? Feel free to swap in tofu as the main protein in any of these other favorite recipes!
This Cashew Tofu stir-fry is loaded up with healthy veggies, crispy tofu, roasted cashews, and tossed with a simple ginger stir-fry sauce. See notes above for possible ingredient variations.
Ingredients
Scale
Cashew Tofu Stir-Fry Ingredients:
1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
1 head broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
1 large red bell peppers, cored and cute into bite-sized pieces
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly-sliced
1 cup roasted cashews
toppings: thinly-sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds
Stir-Fry Sauce Ingredients:
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 large garlic clove, pressed or minced
Instructions
Drain the tofu. Sandwich the block of tofu between a few layers of paper towels. Then place a cutting board on top of the tofu, and stack a few heavy cans or pots or whatever you can safely balance on the cutting board. The idea is to put a lot of pressure/weight on the tofu, which will help the excess water to press out into the paper towels. Let the tofu drain for at least 15-30 minutes.
Make the stir-fry sauce. Meanwhile, whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl (or shake them together in a mason jar) until combined.
Coat the tofu. Once the tofu has been drained, slice the block lengthwise into 1/2-inch slabs, then cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces. Transfer the tofu to a large mixing bowl, drizzle it evenly with 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss until coated. Sprinkle the cornstarch plus a generous pinch of salt and pepper over the tofu, and toss until evenly coated.
Cook the tofu: Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Add about half of the tofu (however much can fit in an even layer without overlapping) and sauté for about 4-5 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crispy and golden on both sides. Transfer the tofu to a separate plate and repeat with the remaining tofu.
Sauté the veggies. Add the remaining oil to the sauté pan and add the broccoli, red pepper and red onion. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
Combine everything. Add the cashews, stir-fry sauce and cooked tofu to the sauteé pan, and toss to combine. Continue cooking for 1-2 more minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
Serve. Remove pan from heat and serve the stir-fry warm over rice, noodles or quinoa, garnished with your desired toppings.
DO YOU USE SALTED OR UNSALTED ROASTED CASHEWS? SINCE THE RECIPE CALLS FOR THE ADDITION OF SLAT AND SOY SAUCE, DOES IT MAKE MORE SENSE TO USE UNSALTED CASHEWS?
Made this today— I got 5 servings (around 1.8C ish each) from it. I was too heavy handed w/ my cornstarch on the tofu. I wish there was time guidance for cooking the vegetables in this- ie. 4min/7min etc. I know stoves vary but I had no idea really what to be looking for. I used my new wok! I used coconut aminos mixed with low sodium soy sauce. Coconut aminos have the least amount of sodium compared to soy sauce/reduced sod soy sauce/tamari.
Very yummy. I added half a package of sliced mushrooms. You could double the amount of broccoli as well.
I highly recommend buying your cashews on sale from a bulk bin (I carried my measuring cup to the store to get the exact amount. No, I didn’t dip it into the bin- I used the provided scoop to fill my cup over my own canvas bulk bag)—- a lot cheaper than pre-packaged. I got the unsalted cashew bits from Sprouts for $5/lb – so $1.65. Aldi has decent nut prices but you must do the math to figure out the cost per oz. Oftentimes nuts are NOT packaged in one lb containers.
Great recipe! I’ve tried many stir-fry recipes and haven’t ever found one with a sauce that I liked. This sauce was great, though next time I might reduce the honey. I don’t have a wok and have never had luck cooking tofu in a skillet, so I mixed the tofu with 1 T each of cornstarch, soy sauce, and olive oil and baked at 400 for 25 minutes. I added carrots this time and next time I think I will definitely add snow or snap peas.
This was a quick and easy recipe that can easily be adjusted with other veggies or protein. The sauce is really simple and delicious… with the right consistency with plenty extra if you’re serving with rice.
This has become part of my regular menu rotation at home. I’ve made it with tofu and shrimp. My picky 6 year old will eat it with shrimp, my carnivorous husband loves it with tofu as well as the shrimp. Sooooo good!! Also I use carrots instead of red onion. I love that this recipe is so easily customizable.
Made this for my daughter who is vegan. She loved it! I could only find roasted and salted cashews so I rinsed and dried them. Worked perfectly! It took about 10-12 minutes to brown the tofu. I browned the peppers and broccoli separately before making this recipe as someone commented that they didn’t brown when cooked together. Great recipe but took longer to cook that way.
Made for the first time tonight but definitely not the last! Easy and delicious, can’t wait to try it with other veggies. I added a little water after a few minutes of sauteing the veggies to steam them a bit. It was a family hit.
I don’t normally comment on recipes but need to tell you how much my family loves this!! It’s in our regular rotation. I cook the tofu in the air fryer to make it extra crispy but otherwise follow your recipe. Thank you!
Buy Now → 
We love tofu in our house! I can’t wait to try this in our house!
Paige
https://thehappyflammily.com
can I swap mushrooms in for the tofu?
DO YOU USE SALTED OR UNSALTED ROASTED CASHEWS? SINCE THE RECIPE CALLS FOR THE ADDITION OF SLAT AND SOY SAUCE, DOES IT MAKE MORE SENSE TO USE UNSALTED CASHEWS?
SORRY, I MEANT TO TYPE SALT.
Thank you for this recipe! It checks all my boxes: healthy, easy to make, super tasty ?
Followed the recipe exactly and the whole family liked it!
Made this today— I got 5 servings (around 1.8C ish each) from it. I was too heavy handed w/ my cornstarch on the tofu. I wish there was time guidance for cooking the vegetables in this- ie. 4min/7min etc. I know stoves vary but I had no idea really what to be looking for. I used my new wok! I used coconut aminos mixed with low sodium soy sauce. Coconut aminos have the least amount of sodium compared to soy sauce/reduced sod soy sauce/tamari.
Very yummy. I added half a package of sliced mushrooms. You could double the amount of broccoli as well.
I highly recommend buying your cashews on sale from a bulk bin (I carried my measuring cup to the store to get the exact amount. No, I didn’t dip it into the bin- I used the provided scoop to fill my cup over my own canvas bulk bag)—- a lot cheaper than pre-packaged. I got the unsalted cashew bits from Sprouts for $5/lb – so $1.65. Aldi has decent nut prices but you must do the math to figure out the cost per oz. Oftentimes nuts are NOT packaged in one lb containers.
Absolutely delicious, thank you!!!!!!
Delicious! We loved it!
This was delicious! We’ll definitely make it again. Thank you for sharing such yummy recipes. ☺️
This dish was fantastic! Wouldn’t change a thing. We served over rice noodles. Look forward to making it again soon.
I love vegetable,i try to follow this recipe,thank you
Great recipe! I’ve tried many stir-fry recipes and haven’t ever found one with a sauce that I liked. This sauce was great, though next time I might reduce the honey. I don’t have a wok and have never had luck cooking tofu in a skillet, so I mixed the tofu with 1 T each of cornstarch, soy sauce, and olive oil and baked at 400 for 25 minutes. I added carrots this time and next time I think I will definitely add snow or snap peas.
Perfect and easy meatless Monday meal
This was a quick and easy recipe that can easily be adjusted with other veggies or protein. The sauce is really simple and delicious… with the right consistency with plenty extra if you’re serving with rice.
This has become part of my regular menu rotation at home. I’ve made it with tofu and shrimp. My picky 6 year old will eat it with shrimp, my carnivorous husband loves it with tofu as well as the shrimp. Sooooo good!! Also I use carrots instead of red onion. I love that this recipe is so easily customizable.
Amazing! The whole family loved it ! So good . We will make it again soon.
Made this for dinner this evening, turned out even better than I could have imagined!
Just wanna thank you for this. This is my go-to whenever I realize I messed up my food shopping and need to manifest dinner!
Made this for my daughter who is vegan. She loved it! I could only find roasted and salted cashews so I rinsed and dried them. Worked perfectly! It took about 10-12 minutes to brown the tofu. I browned the peppers and broccoli separately before making this recipe as someone commented that they didn’t brown when cooked together. Great recipe but took longer to cook that way.
This was delicious.
I used unsalted cashews and roasted them beforehand. I added some fresh ginger to the sauce and used two garlic cloves.
Made for the first time tonight but definitely not the last! Easy and delicious, can’t wait to try it with other veggies. I added a little water after a few minutes of sauteing the veggies to steam them a bit. It was a family hit.
Delicious! The cornstarch really helps the sauce thicken up and the tofu cashew combo was a nice plant based protein combo.
I don’t normally comment on recipes but need to tell you how much my family loves this!! It’s in our regular rotation. I cook the tofu in the air fryer to make it extra crispy but otherwise follow your recipe. Thank you!
Love this recipe. I do cook my tofu in airfryer