When I first went vegetarian back in the early '90s, tofu was the subject of all kinds of jokes directed at those following a meatless diet. I’ll admit, even though I was one of those meatless people, I probably cracked a few jokes myself. It took a long time for me to warm up to tofu, and for those years when I wasn’t a fan, I had plenty of snarky comments for vegetarians who attempted to transform tofu into the likes of pasta sauce, chocolate mousse and scrambled eggs.
Photos by Emily Caruso
Here I am today, a couple of decades later, telling you that tofu actually does a pretty darn good job of impersonating unlikely non-vegan food items.
When it comes to taste, tofu really doesn’t have a whole lot going on. Back in my tofu-hating days people told me that tofu would take on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with. As a current tofu lover I can say this is true in select circumstances. In the case of a tofu frittata, the tofu gets blended up with soy sauce and nutritional yeast, so it can’t help but take on a savory flavor that mimics eggs. Nutritional yeast is easy to find at most health food stores and online. It’s a great way of packing some umami into vegan dishes and tastes a bit like cheese, so if you do much vegan cooking you’ll definitely be able to put it to good use. When you bake blended up tofu it firms up, just like eggs do in a frittata.
Crispy potatoes give a nice contrast in texture to the soft and eggy tofu in this frittata. Since we’re into summer and everyone’s gardens or CSA boxes are soon to be overflowing, I went and threw in some summer veggies as well. Peppers and spinach are abundant this time of year and a sure bet when it comes to creating a tasty frittata. Feel free to get creative and try swapping out whatever veggies you’ve got on hand though. Cherry tomatoes or zucchini might be nice in place of the peppers, while chard and kale would make great substitutions for the spinach. Just make sure to give any tougher greens like kale a bit of extra cook time, which can be achieved by throwing them in during the last few minutes of cooking your potatoes and onions.
Ingredients
- 1-14 ounce package extra firm tofu drained
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric optional, for color
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium red potato about 8 ounces, finely diced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 scallions chopped
- 1 small red bell pepper finely diced
- 2 cups lightly packed baby spinach sliced into thin strips (about 2 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place tofu, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, cornstarch and turmeric (if using) into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade. Process until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
- Coat a medium skillet with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add onion and potato. Sauté until lightly browned in spots, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add garlic, scallions, bell pepper, spinach and black pepper. Fold in tofu mixture until evenly mixed.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly oil 9 inch by 9 inch baking dish and transfer tofu and veggie mixture to dish. (If you're using an oven-safe skillet, you can skip this step.) Smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Bake until firm in the center and lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to sit 5-10 minutes before cutting.
Notes
If you have a 10 inch oven proof skillet you can use it for both sautéing and baking, avoiding having to transfer your mixture and dirty an extra dish.
Anna says
yumm!! can't wait to try 😀
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Alissa says
Thanks Anna! Enjoy!
Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday says
I love this vegan frittata - spinach and peppers sounds great, I'm also thinking cherry tomatoes and kale! It's great how you can make a whole bunch of variation with the base recipe. This is absolutely great, Alissa!
Alissa says
All kinds of veggies would be delicious in this! I've got cherry tomatoes popping up like crazy in my garden, so I think they're definitely making it into the next one. Thanks Jennifer! 🙂
Marcia says
Good morning! I made this for my husband and I for brunch this morning! I don't know if it's just me, but the time frame shown for every recipe I make is way off time wise. It took me to one hour from gathering the ingredients to putting this baby in the oven. I truly don't know how you, or anyone, can gather, wash, chop and cook everything in 10 minutes time. Fear not, I'm not picking on you, I'm just making a statement about realistic timing, which happens with every recipe I try!
My question for you is: when was I supposed to put the spinach in? Was it during the cooking or when the tofu mixture is combined with the veggies? I read the instructions over and over searching for that answer but couldn't find it. I ended up adding the spinach when I mixed the tofu combo in. Once I did that, I realized it must be a mistake because when I brought the dish out of the oven, the spinach didn't look like it was cooked. Uncooked spinach is yummy, but I'm trying to win my husband over to the "light" side and away from the "dark" side of the old familiar standard American diet and into the plant-based world so I really wanted it to taste/look as beautiful as possible!
I will admit I ended up adding some extra amounts to your spice list as well as some Sriracha hot chili sauce because it really needed something. When I served it, I put a small bowl of green salsa on our plates and that made my husband very happy!
Thank you for all your recipes and for giving all of us who are like me that are better at following recipes than throwing stuff together and making it work (doesn't work for me!).
Alissa says
Hi Marcia! Thank you for your feedback! Prep times can definitely vary and we always try to give estimates based on our experiences. Having said that, I could see how this might take a bit longer for some, especially given the fact that I've made this type of thing a bunch of times before so I know where I'm headed through the whole experience. 🙂
The spinach does go in when you combine the tofu with the rest of the veggies. Thank you for catching that! I went with baby spinach here because it doesn't generally need advance cook time in order to wilt during baking. I could see how having it cooked ahead of time so it's super well done might be desirable though, especially to those who are just adding more veggies to their diet, like your husband. Adding to the potato and onion during the last few minutes of sautéing is another option if you'd like your spinach a bit more cooked.
Thanks again for taking the time to provide all of this feedback, and I'm glad to hear your husband enjoyed it!
Sandra says
Hello. This looks great, and I'm planning on making it for brunch next week. My question is about the tofu - the intro says this uses savory baked tofu, but the instructions only refer to extra-firm. Would the frittata hold together if I use the baked instead of the extra firm?
Thanks.
Alissa says
Hi Sandra! The intro is actually referring to the tofu after the frittata is finished, becuse it's baked and savory seasonings are added. 🙂 I'm not sure baked tofu would work, as you'd be starting with something with a much lower moisture content.
Sandra says
Thanks - I get it now!
Rachel says
I made this for lunch today and it was amazing! The taste and texture was spot on =) I added artichoke, cauliflower, tomato and moxarella in place of the pepper and spring onions (scallions) and half a teaspoon of kala namak (black salt). I bet this would be delicious scambled up and added to toast, maybe with some fried mushrooms for good measure =)
Alissa says
Glad you enjoyed it, and I love your choice of veggies! Thanks so much Rachel!!
Valerie Port says
Can you prepare this a day ahead?
Katie Trant says
You sure can! It'll be fine overnight in the fridge.
Lauren Calabrese says
Soooo amazing!!! I added 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax, 3 T water) to try and make it a little firmer. I also added 1 T of kala namak (black salt) to give it a bit more of an eggy flavor!
The first time I made it I made it with potatoes, onions, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Just made it again this morning with bell pepper, sweet potato, and cherry tomatoes! Sooo amazing and so nice that you can put your own spin on it! Great recipe, thank you! <3
Megan says
I found that two tablespoons of soy sauce was way too much and overpowered the flavors in the dish. I’d recommend adding the soy sauce slowly to taste or omitting it all together by adding more nutritional yeast.
karen conorino says
I made these for our Christmas brunch this morning & substituted dried bing cherries for the blueberries. They are fantastic! Better than Starbucks! Simple & delicious, thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Amy says
Do you think soft tofu would work with this?
Kristin says
I know this is an older recipe, but I just made it and it is AMAZING!!! Will definitely be adding this into the weekly meal prep rotation 🙂