This Tofu Bell Pepper Stir Fry has a balance of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors. It is an easy healthy meal.
This Tofu Bell Pepper Stir Fry is sweet, savory, and spicy. It is packed with veggies and flavor!
Eat it by itself or over rice, rice noodles, or quinoa.
Serve some Glazed Tofu Meatballs, Vegan Gluten Free Cream Cheese Wontons, or a Vegetable Spring Roll as an appetizer.
Another stir fry recipe that is packed with veggies is my Frozen Vegetable Stir Fry With Zucchini Noodles. It is done in about 15 minutes.
Other recipes with tofu and bell peppers are my Tofu Quinoa Sushi Rolls and my Vegan Stuffed Peppers with Tofu.
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❤️ Why You'll Love It
- It is sweet, savory, and spicy.
- It has crispy tofu and healthy veggies in a flavorful sauce.
- It's an easy meal with simple ingredients.
🧾 Ingredients
- Firm or extra firm tofu: I used firm tofu, but you could also use extra firm, which has less water. Whichever you choose, I suggest draining and pressing it to get the moisture out so it gets crispy.
- Bell peppers: Red bell pepper and yellow bell pepper both add a sweet, crunchy bite. Green bell pepper adds a bitter note.
- Mushrooms: Add an umami flavor and meaty texture.
- Carrots: Add a sweet flavor and crunchy texture.
- Onion: Adds a pungent flavor.
- Serrano pepper: Adds a spicy note. You could use jalapeño pepper for less spice or habanero for more spice.
- Garlic: Adds a pungent flavor.
- Fresh ginger: Adds sweet and spicy flavor.
- Tamari: Since I'm gluten intolerant, I like to use tamari in place of soy sauce. The low-sodium kind is my go-to. Tamari adds a salty umami flavor.
- Maple syrup: Balances out the salty umami flavors in this dish. Adds sweetness. You can also use brown rice syrup or agave syrup.
- Brown rice vinegar: For its acidity. I used unseasoned rice vinegar. It balances out the other flavors. You could also use lime juice.
- Olive oil: To cook the tofu and veggies in. You could also use avocado oil, coconut oil, or sesame oil for a nutty flavor.
- Salt and pepper: Watch how much salt and pepper you add. The tamari has a lot of sodium and the serrano pepper already adds a punch of spice.
To see the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
📖 Variations / Additions
- Broccoli
- Bamboo shoots
- Bok choy
- Snow peas or sugar snap peas
- Green beans
- Baby corn
- Eggplant
- Bean sprouts
- Water chestnuts
- Green onions
- Sesame seeds
- Red pepper flakes for more spice
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🔪 Instructions
- Mix together maple syrup, brown rice vinegar, and tamari in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Drain and press tofu. If you don't have tofu press, you can do this by putting the tofu in between a towel on a cutting board. Then, place a cast iron skillet or other heavy object on top. Let sit 15 minutes like this. The towel will soak up the excess moisture. Slice into cubes.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat or wok on high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent.
- Add cubed tofu and cook until golden brown.
- Add ginger and garlic. Cook for a minute.
- Add carrots and peppers. Cook until slightly tender.
- Add mushrooms and sauce. Cook a few more minutes.
- Serve over white rice, brown rice, or rice noodles.
💭 Tips
- You can use your favorite veggies, just make sure to cook the hard vegetables first. They will take longer. Then, add soft vegetables.
- If you are using a wok, cooking goes a lot faster than a frying pan. You will need less oil than I listed here.
- Have all the vegetables cut ahead of time. It makes things a lot easier.
🍽 Serving
- As is - which is how I like it
- Rice (my latest favorite is rice made from chickpeas)
- Rice noodles
- Quinoa
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
Firm tofu or extra firm tofu is best for a vegan stir fry. It gets crispy when drained, pressed, and fried.
You're either not draining and pressing it first or you're not cooking it long enough or at the right temperature.
If you want it crispy, you'll need to drain the block of tofu and press it.
This tofu bell pepper stir fry recipe will last 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
🍱 Other Asian-Inspired Recipes
🎥 Video
If you tried this Tofu Bell Pepper Stir Fry Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and let me know how you like it in the 💬 comments below. I love hearing from you!
This easy vegan stir fry can be eaten by itself or served over noodles or rice.
I originally posted this recipe on February 14, 2015. I added new photos, text, and a video when I republished it.
📋 Recipe
Tofu Bell Pepper Stir Fry
Ingredients
- ¼ cup low sodium gluten free tamari
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 14 oz. firm tofu drained and pressed
- 5 cups julienned red, green, and yellow peppers (3 peppers)
- 1 cup julienned carrots
- 1 ½ teaspoons finely diced serrano pepper
- 1 cup sliced baby bella mushrooms (crimini)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Mix together tamari, brown rice syrup, and brown rice vinegar. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat or wok on high heat, add onions, and cook until translucent.
- Slice drained and pressed tofu into cubes. Add cubed tofu to the pan with onions and cook until slightly browned.
- Add minced garlic and ginger and cook about a minute.
- Add carrots, and red, yellow and green peppers, and chopped serrano. Cook until almost tender.
- Add mushrooms and sauce and cook a few more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve over rice or brown rice noodles.
Notes
Nutrition
*Note: Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only. Different nutrition calculators give you different results.
Jared Kovacs (thehesitantchef) says
This looks really tasty! Thanks for sharing.
parentingpatch says
This recipe sounds and looks super yummy! I will keep this idea in mind when I want something new to feed my family.
Kayli says
This sounds delicious! Pinning this for later.
Kristie says
Looks really delicious and I love how you included the meaning of each ingredient! So cool.
Kristie
Willow Moon says
Thanks! I love reading about other cultures, and found it interesting, so thought I would share.
everydayjennyblog says
This sounds delicous! Love all the symbolism!
Willow Moon says
It's interesting, isn't it!
Lakesha says
Looks good I must try it out
quintanj1 says
This looks delicious! I have never tried tofu but I am willing to try this!
Willow Moon says
I could eat tofu daily!
Abby says
Yum! What a great way to bring savory taste to tofu.
miragonz says
That looks so good! I am pinning so I can make it later.