This Peanut Tofu Salad is made on a bed of spinach and topped with red peppers, peanuts and crispy tofu coated in savory peanut sauce.
I’ve been going a little hard with the tofu recipes lately. Too hard? I’m not sure, but one thing I do know is that I can’t get enough. This recipe was inspired by my oh-so-addicting yet often forgotten peanut sauce—I love it so much, I figured why not add it to a salad?! So that’s how this crunch peanut tofu salad recipe was born.
As I’m typing this, I’m realizing it’s basically August and time for me to write another monthly recap post. Time is flyin’ friends, the way it usually does during the summer months. I’m trying to take things slow by enjoying longer walks with Layla, sitting on our front porch in the evenings (because we FINALLY purchased an outdoor couch), and eating as much summer product as I can. Or produce in general, really. It’s the little things!
This peanut tofu salad features carrots, red peppers and green onions over a bed of spinach, with some salted peanuts of course for a little added crunch factor. The tofu is fried in a skillet (the best way to cook tofu, in my opinion), and then coated in peanut sauce, which is essentially peanut butter, coconut milk and a little garlic. Sounds kind of strange if you’ve never had it, but it’s SO good. I also decided to use the sauce as salad dressing as well. It works!
You know how I feel about salads on a Monday—they just go together!! Starting the week off on the right foot is my favorite thing, and this peanut tofu salad is just the way to do that.
Crunchy Peanut Tofu Salad
Ingredients
for the salad:
- 1 block super firm tofu pressed
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour*
- 4 giant handfuls of spinach or more
- 1 red pepper seeds removed and sliced
- 1 large carrot or 4 mini carrots, sliced
- 2 tbsp green onions
- 1/4 cup peanuts
for the sauce:
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 can coconut milk**
- 2 tbsp cane sugar
- 1 tsp red curry paste
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 1-2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Slice your pressed tofu into bite-size pieces and place it in a ziploc bag; add flour and shake to combine.
- Next, make the sauce by adding all ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulsing until smooth. You don't want the sauce to be too thick, so if it is, add a little bit more water 1 tbsp at a time; set aside.
- Heat 2-4 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then add the tofu and cook until all sides are crispy. If your skillet isn't large enough, you may need to do this in 2 batches.
- Once all the tofu is cooked, remove skillet from the heat and pour half of the peanut sauce into the skillet, stirring to combine or until all the tofu is coated with the sauce.
- Assemble the salad: add spinach to a bowl then top it with the tofu, red peppers, carrots, green onions, peanuts and drizzle with some extra peanut sauce.
- Enjoy!
Notes
i simply love this crunchy peanut tofu salad for its goodness and the dressing looks great too, so yummy yet healthy!
I love peanut sauces/dressings…can’t wait to try this one! 🙂