Baked Breaded Tofu in Cream Sauce Recipe

This was a fun recipe to create, and I put it in my “it is definitely a win column!”

Chicken to tofu

The origin of this recipe is a chicken breast and creamy pasta dish. My daughter used to love that meal when she was little and had recently begun asking about it. I do not cook that often with tofu, but I knew that I needed to use it for an appropriate plant-based update. The cream was easy to replicate with Violife Cream Cheese. And although the tofu was not at all a “substitution” for chicken – it really made a different dish – it was a perfectly yummy end result! And my biggest measurement of success – daughter and husband approved! I actually think my daughter liked this plant-based version better than the original. Besides the yum factor, the dish was great heated up for lunch the next day!

So, maybe the only bad news about this recipe is that there are really three different pieces that you need to prepare. It is not complicated, but I did have a lot of dirty dishes from the different preparations. I recommend getting an agreement from someone else for dish duty prior to making it.

I think you can fiddle around with each piece if you want to. Essentially, you will be making a marinade that has leftovers and is great as a plant-based ranch salad dressing (we loved ours with a crudité platter); the tofu; the veggies; and the pasta. So, maybe it is actually four pieces – but the pasta does not really count because it basically cooks itself, lol!

To press, or not to press

The first step is freezing your tofu. You do not have to do this, but it helps the tofu to soak up the marinade and makes the overall texture a bit firmer and chewier. I froze mine overnight and then put it in cold water to defrost throughout the day. If you have time, you can also defrost it in the fridge. I also pressed my tofu for about 30 minutes. This is the tofu press that I have, Tofu Press by Tofuture Pressing your tofu is a step that I recommend you do not skip. It will help your tofu to absorb the marinade better, helps it to keep its shape throughout the cooking process, and improves its texture. No worries if you do not have a tofu press, you can wrap a clean kitchen towel around the tofu block, place it on a plate, and put another plate or weighted item on top.

While my tofu hung out in the press, I made the marinade. You could easily do this the day before. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you use it. I usually do everything at once, the only prep I do is a weekly one on Sundays. That includes the weekly granola, weekly juice, chia puddings, and the like. But, finding what works for you is what makes the transition to home-cooked plant-based meals a success. So, if you prefer spreading out at least one of the steps, it may help you to have a little less scrambling to make dinner.

The gift of gathering in the kitchen

My daily routine is to head to the kitchen as close to when my daughter arrives home from school. I know not everyone can do this, and I am forever grateful for this life that has given me the gift of that time with her. It tends to be around 4:00 by the time she gets in. We take some time running through her day and then she transitions into homework. She sits right there in the kitchen, usually listening to music and singing while doing homework. I totally do not understand how she can concentrate, but it works for her. And, once she is engrossed in her homework, I start cooking. I like to have dinner ready as close to 6:00/6:30 as possible because crazy as it sounds, my teenager tries to get to bed before the clock strikes 9:00.

Anyhoo, enough of the back story, here is the recipe and preparation instructions.

Marinade Ingredients:

Marinade Recipe Instructions:

Place all marinade ingredients into your blender and process until you have a green deliciously smooth ranch type dressing. Set aside a 1/2 cup to use with this recipe and put the rest in an airtight container in the fridge and dream about your lunch salad or after work crudité snack platter.

Breaded Tofu Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the tofu block in half so that you have two thinner block pieces. Then cut your two blocks each into 9 equal squares so that you end up with 18 beautiful tofu squares. Place the tofu and 1/2 of cup a of the marinade into a reusable sealable bag or a glass container with a top, and gently shake the mixture so the tofu gets completely covered. Let it sit for 30 minutes. (You can skip ahead to the next recipe instructions while the tofu rests and absorbs the marinade).

After 30 minutes, use tongs to take the marinade covered tofu pieces and cover them with breadcrumbs. I measured out the cup of bread crumbs and used the tongs to roll the tofu pieces one by one in a bowl. Once covered move each piece to a baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes, flipping half way through.

Veggies and Cream Sauce Instructions

Note: make sure you cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Meanwhile, heat up your olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, celery, and red pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes until veggies are yumilicious. Meanwhile, cut the cream cheese into cubes. And, in a separate sauce pan, combine the cream cheese and milk over low heat until smooth. Mix in your white wine/sherry and once combined, pour this cream sauce over your veggie mixture. Mix well.

I use my very large skillet so I once my veggies and cream sauce are combine I can add in the pasta and toss in the tofu, but you can also plate this individually if you have used a smaller pan. However you plate it, make sure the pasta gets a really nice coating of the delicious cream sauce.

You can add parsley as a garnish, but we usually just dig right in.