Tofu Buddha Bowl

This flavor-packed baked tofu Buddha bowl is loaded with veggies, sweet mango, and a delicious spicy peanut sauce.

These nourishing bowls are how my family and I eat many of our meals, hence the list at the bottom of the page for more vegan Buddha bowl recipes to try (like my Mustard Tempeh Buddha Bowl).  It’s actually a running joke that we’re “bowl people,” because our dishwasher rarely has plates in it.  

This tofu nourish bowl is merely a suggestion for mealtime; mix and match your grains, veggies, and sauces.  Make it your own to suit your preferences.  They also work great for meal prepping!  

Tips for This Recipe

• The tofu Buddha bowl recipe calls for extra firm tofu, but firm tofu can be used.  It will be a little softer than extra firm.  If your tofu comes vacuum-packed and there’s no liquid to drain, you can probably skip the pressing.  
• The mango is hit or miss in my house, leave it out if you'd like.  I personally like the sweet mango with the spicy peanut dressing. 
• If you have kecap manis (an Indonesian sweet soy sauce), replace 1 tablespoon of tamari and the maple syrup with 1 tablespoon of kecap manis.  The sweet soy sauce is thick, so I try to gently spread it over the tofu.  
• Take about 1-2 tablespoons of peanut sauce and massage it into the kale after the stem has been removed and the kale has been torn into bite-size pieces.  This will break down some of the fibers, and it will reduce in volume.
• I use natural peanut butter, the kind that’s just peanuts and maybe salt.  It will have natural oil separation, stir it back into the peanut butter before measuring.  If you substitute with regular peanut butter that has a sweetener and oil, it may alter the taste and texture of the peanut sauce.

How to Prepare the Baked Tofu

To make the tofu Buddha bowl start by draining the tofu and then press it for 20-30 minutes.  Then mix the tamari and maple syrup together, and add the cubed tofu.  Gently toss the pieces to coat them in the sauce.  Then sprinkle on the nutritional yeast and gently toss again. 

Next, spread the cubes out on a silicone mat or parchment paper-lined baking tray. Bake for 40 minutes in a preheated oven set to 350 F (180 C).  Flip the tofu halfway through.  

How to Make the Peanut Sauce

To make the peanut sauce for this tofu Buddha bowl, mix all of the ingredients together and start with 3 to 5 tablespoons of water.  How much water you’ll need will depend on thick the peanut butter is and how thin you like your sauces.  

The sauce can be mixed with a blender, a whisk, or just a fork.  I prefer a whisk, it creates a smoother sauce compared to a fork, and there's no need to wash a blender (which creates a smoother sauce).

Natural peanut butter has oil that separates at the top of the jar, it will need to be stirred back into the peanut butter.  Even after doing this sometimes with natural peanut butter the contents at the bottom of the jar can be drier than what’s at the top.  Before I measure nut butter, I like to give the contents another good stir (not including the initial stir).

How to Build a Buddha Bowl

My method for building a Buddha bowl is splitting my plate into quarters: ¼ for beans, soy products, or lentils, ¼ for a grain, ¼ for vegetables other than greens, and ¼ for green leafy vegetables (but it actually takes up a lot more than ¼ of my plate to fit in all those greens).  So, here are some vegan bowl ideas for you to build your own or skip down to the recipe for a tofu Buddha bowl with peanut sauce.

Beans, Soy, or Lentils

• Any kind of bean
• Chickpeas
• Oil-Free Crispy Tofu
• Oil-Free Marinated Tofu
• Tempeh
• Lentils (Walnut Lentil Taco Meat)
• Leftover chili (Red Lentil Chili or Plant-Based Quinoa Chili)
• Oil-Free Refried Beans
• Edamame

Grain or Pseudo-Grains (not a grain but used like a grain)

• Any kind of rice
• Mexican-Inspired Brown Rice
• Cilantro lime brown rice
• Instant Pot Millet
• Quinoa
• Barley
• Couscous
• Pasta
• Starchy vegetables like potatoes

Vegetables or Fruit

• Roasted or raw broccoli
• Roasted or raw cauliflower
• Roasted or raw red pepper
• Roasted or raw carrots
• Roasted Brussels sprouts (Mustard Glazed Brussels Sprouts)
• Roasted red onions
• Roasted squash
• Roasted sweet potatoes
• Roasted potatoes
• Roasted mushrooms
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Apple (delicious with a mustard sauce and tempeh)
• Mango (I like it with spicy peanut sauce and tofu)

Greens

• Kale
• Baby kale
• Spinach
• Romaine
• Red or green cabbage
• Steamed, sautéed, or grilled bok choy

Sauces

• Spicy Peanut Dressing
• Vegan Mustard Sauce
• Dijon Tahini Dressing
• Creamy cashew dijon dressing
• Cashew lime crema
• Oil-Free Hummus
• Cilantro cashew dressing
• Smoky Tahini Dressing
• Vegan Guacamole
• Salsa

Other toppings

• Toasted or raw nuts
• Seeds like pumpkin, sesame, or sunflower
• Fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill, chives
• Green onion
• Crumbled nori sheets (like in this Vegan Sushi Bowl)
• Avocado
• Sprouts
• Pico de Gallo
• Pickled radishes
• Pickled red onions
• Crushed red pepper flakes

Storing Tofu Nourish Bowl

I prefer to store the grains and tofu together and store the fresh vegetables separately, then wait on adding the sauce until it’s time to eat.

More Vegan Nourish Bowls

• Mustard Tempeh Bowl
• Vegan Deconstructed Sushi Bowl
• Vegan Taco Bowl
• Butternut Squash Buddha Bowl
• Roasted Sweet Potato Nourish Bowl
• Chickpea Vegetable Rice Bowl
• Peanut Tempeh Bowl
• Vegan Southwest Sweet Potato Bowl

As always, I hope you enjoy this tofu Buddha bowl recipe!

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