This recipe for Vegan Chopped Power Salad is tossed with oven-baked tofu, cashews, hemp hearts, and a sweet, nutty Almond-Miso Dressing.
Maple-Miso Tofu
Last year I linked to a Maple-Miso Tofu recipe in one of my What I Ate This Week posts and shortly afterwards, the recipe disappeared from the internet. I have no idea why it was taken down, but I get people asking me once in a while if I happen to have a copy of it myself; sadly, I do not. I get asked about it enough that I figured I'd try to make my own version and post it here.
Then I decided that what would make that Maple-Miso Tofu even better was to serve it in a bowl full of noodles. A noodle salad! With chewy baked tofu and maybe an almond-lime sauce, like the one I made a few months ago to dip crispy baked zucchini in. I was all set to make that, until I decided what would be even better would be to make the Maple-Miso Tofu and then serve it in a regular, non-noodle salad with an almond-lime dressing. But right before I went to the kitchen to start cooking, I realized making two separate sauces would be a little bit of a pain, so I merged the two together and made an Almond-Miso Dressing that works for both the tofu and the salad. Sorry Maple-Miso Tofu, I will have to tackle you another day.
Baked Tofu
When you bake tofu with a sauce, it's best to use a conservative amount because any excess sauce on the baking sheet will blacken and burn. Tossing the tofu with two tablespoons of sauce might not seem like a lot and it's not, but it's the perfect amount to coat the tofu before you bake it. After the tofu is finished baking, you'll toss it in another tablespoon of the dressing, which kicks up the flavor.
With tofu, almond butter, cashews, and hemp hearts
Ingredients
Almond-Miso Dressing
- 3 tbsp unsweetened almond butter
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
- ½ tsp sriracha
- 2 tbsp water
Chopped Power Salad
- 1 14 oz package extra-firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes and cut into 1-inch cubes
- Almond-Miso Dressing
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 cup purple cabbage shredded
- 1 carrot shredded
- 1 red pepper diced
- ½ cup sliced green onions
- ½ cup cilantro leaves
- ⅓ cup raw cashew pieces
- 1 –2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 –2 tbsp hemp hearts
Instructions
Almond-Miso Dressing
- Whisk together all of the ingredients, except the water, in a small bowl. Add the water and whisk again; if the dressing is too thick, add more water ½ tablespoon at a time until it reaches a smooth, pourable consistency.
Chopped Power Salad
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Put the tofu cubes in a large bowl. Drizzle them with 2 tablespoons of dressing and toss gently to coat. Transfer the tofu to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 35–40 minutes, stirring halfway through the baking time, or until the tofu is just beginning to brown on the edges. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, drizzle the tofu with another tablespoon of dressing, and use a spatula to toss the tofu in the sauce, making sure every piece is coated.
- Toss the lettuce, cabbage, carrot, red pepper, green onions, cilantro, cashews, sesame seeds, and hemp hearts in a large bowl. Fold in the tofu. You can either toss the entire salad with the remaining dressing at this point or divide the salad into bowls and drizzle the dressing on top.
I really like the sound of this salad - it's so full of great flavours and textures and that almond/miso dressing sounds totally out of this world.
Yes, I will admit, I was totally patting myself on the back about that dressing. 🙂
I've always wondered what the heck you do miso paste. Me thinks it's time to dive in.
Oh, so many things! Even just stirring it into a bowl of broth and adding veggies to make miso soup is delicious.
What are hemp hearts?
It's another name for hemp seeds. They're high in protein, so they're great to add to salads, smoothies, homemade granola bars, etc.
Talk about healthy in a bowl! I've been meaning to get miso, so this gives me the perfect excuse to go to Whole Foods again 🙂 What's your fave brand of miso?
I was going to say, "The one with the guy on it," but I figured that wouldn't be very helpful, so I had Chris go look and it's Miso Master. 🙂
I was so bummed that the Maple Miso Tofu recipe was gone - spent so much time looking for a good replacement. I wasn't thrilled with the one I came up with so looking forward to trying this! Thanks 🙂
Someone found the recipe and emailed it to me! So I have it now. 🙂 Let me know if you still want it!
yes!! I would love the recipe!
Thank you for your AMAZING blog!!!
Vivi
I started doing a lazy version of this recently with packaged Asian salad mix. I can't wait to give this dressing a try.
Tofu baking hack: Parchment paper is key for easy clean up!
Yes! I need to start buying stock in parchment paper companies because I go through an insane amount of it. 🙂 I've heard there's reusable parchment paper, so I need to look into that...
i laugh because I'm reading this over a dinner of baked tofu and stir fried broccoli !
This looks great! I'm so obsessed with baked tofu. I can't wait to try this dressing. Sounds delicious!!
It's SO much better when it's baked, isn't it!? 🙂
A fantastic salad, Kiersten. Can't wait to try your miso dressing!
I think it's going to be a new favorite around here! 🙂
This looks great Kiersten! Chewy tofu over lots of delicious veggies and a mighty sauce sounds like my ideal meal.
Looking forward to the maple-miso tofu recipe too 🙂
One of my readers found the original recipe and emailed it to me! So I have a copy now. If you want it, let me know. 😉
Yes please!
I just emailed it to you! 🙂
Yes, I would very much enjoy a copy of the Maple Miso Dressing.
Thank you for all the work you do!! My daughter and I are just entering the world of vegan....she's a couple of steps ahead of me.
Renee
I just emailed it to you! Good luck with going vegan--my mom went vegan last year and while it was a big adjustment at first, she found it to be much easier than she thought it would be!
Yes please! :--)
Sending it now!
If at all possible to still get a copy.. I'd love to try the maple-miso tofu recipe. Sounds delicious!
Definitely a power salad! I love miso and this dressing sounds amazing. Love the hemp hearts. Can I ask you please, what are your thoughts on Tofu/soy as a GMO?
I try to avoid GMOs when I can, but I'm realistic about it--if I go to a restaurant or eat at someone's house, I'm probably going to eat GMOs. I just believe in doing the best you can. When it comes to soy, I've never had a problem finding GMO-free tofu, tempeh, etc. It makes me sad when people say they don't eat those things because of GMOs, because there's a common misconception that all soy products are GMO! My little local grocery store only sells Nasoya tofu, which is GMO-free, and large natural food stores like Whole Foods have a lot of additional options.
Wow-gorgeous salad! I bet the miso and almond butter pair perfectly together! Definitely can't wait to try this 🙂
They do! I love salty-sweet salad dressings.
Love the look of this! It's going on my list of things to make!
I hope you like it!
This looks truly yummy! Not to mention how inviting it looks, thanks to those vibrant colors!
xo, Elisa
Thank you! I love photographing salads--they make it easy. 🙂
That salad looks yummy! Definitely want to try soon. FYI, cookbook author Lorna Sass has a Maple-Mustard-Miso Tofu recipe that is excellent. It's in her "The New Soy Cookbook" and might have been the one online then pulled: 2 T shoyu, 2 T dijon, 1 T white miso, 1 T maple syrup, 1 T toasted sesame oil.
Minus the mustard, that's actually very similar to the Maple-Miso Tofu! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I like it! A power salad to power you through the day!
That dressing sounds amazing- definitely giving it a go! And I agree; baked tofu is where it's at!
I hope you like it if you make it! 🙂
After making my power salad last week, I am definitely into continuing the trend with this salad this week!! I love the sound of that dressing...miso and I are BFF lately!
Power salads for allllll! We will conquer the world!
That disappearing act happened to me on another recipe I intended to try. One of these days I'll get it together and save hard copies of recipes. I remember making that Maple Miso Tofu for a good stretch until I got tired of it, and I'll be excited to try Almond Miso Tofu.
Yeah, now that Pinterest exists, I pretty much never save recipes any other way now. I used to print everything!
Yum!!!! I'm so into miso + Asian flavors lately--can't wait to try this. Like ASAP. Also, I hate losing recipes >((( Nothing makes me grumpier. I made the BEST incredibly fudgy dark delicious chocolate-y cookies last Christmas thanks to Pinterest and now that blog is GONE. So sad!!
I think you're going to have to start working on recreating that cookie recipe yourself. I want cookies! 🙂
I absolutely love the colours, textures, and flavours in this! I just came back from a conference in Seattle where all I could eat was restaurant/take out food so now all I'm craving is salad! I love salads like this that are actually filling while still super good for you!
I always feel the same way after traveling! At first, it's so fun and novel to eat at restaurants all the time, but after a few days, I just want fruit and salad and water. 🙂
I love a giant salad for dinner, but it's so much more exciting when it's full of different ingredients and textures like this one. This salad looks like it strikes the right balance between filling you up with protein but also leaving you feeling light and energized. Sounds delicious too!
I need lots of different flavors and textures in my salads too. If it's mostly lettuce, I won't eat it! 🙂
Made this recipe this week- only change I made was to use massaged kale instead of romaine. It is DELICIOUS! And quite a lot more filling (and that feeling lasts longer) than I expected. Perfectly used up the last of some almond butter i had been wondering what to do with. Thank you! I've been perusing your site for a while and am just now beginning to use it as my main source of dinner inspiration. So far so good!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! The tofu and the almond-based dressing really help give it some staying power. 🙂
I know this is an old post but I just wanted to comment and say that I made this dish last night and loved it! I pan fried the tofu (tossed with cornstarch first) in coconut oil and the cubes came out crispy and delicious! I just loved the dressing and all the nutritious vegetables... it was all stuff that while it's not "in season" right now, it's still available in winter and good quality. I felt like I was just taking in so many antioxidants with such a wonderful flavor profile. Anyway, thanks so much! I have cooked SO many dishes from this site over the last few months (it's helped TONS with meal planning) and they are always a hit for me and for my fiance (who loves meat, but I think he might love my cooking more...). Thanks for everything-- if you ever wrote a book, I'd be the first to order 🙂
I would love the recipe for the maple miso tofu!
It looks great and fulfiling.
?? looking good thank you