A top recipe of mine for a reason! This Crispy Tofu Bowl is a spinoff of a classic Cactus Club dish: it’s packed with flavour layered with sweet and spicy crispy tofu, homemade mango salsa, vibrant veggies and spicy mayo.
I still remember the first time I ordered the Crispy Tofu Bowl from Cactus Club… uh-mazing! I made it my duty to recreate a version of my own and share with you of course! This recipe has now been on the blog for many years: the 5 star reviews speak for themselves.
How to Make Crispy Tofu
The star if this dish is the perfectly crispy tofu, and my 3 step breading is the secret! In this recipe you will dredge the tofu in milk (of choice), cornstarch and panko. Make sure to dry and press your tofu, getting the excess moisture out. This will make a big difference when cooking and how crispy you get it.
Next, fry the breaded tofu cubes over medium-high heat until all sides are golden brown. I like to use a set of tongs, and carefully rotate all edges. Voilà, the crispiest tofu ever.
Crispy Tofu Bowl Toppings
Your crispy tofu needs some stellar supporting characters! A bed of rice, gets topped with crunchy cucumbers, edamame, crispy sweet tofu, and creamy avocado. Top it all off with a simple mango salsa and a drizzle of sriracha mayo. Wow, is this ever yummy (and beautiful)!
Vegan and Gluten Free Crispy Tofu Bowls
This dish is naturally plant based and easy to make gluten free by substituting gluten free panko (always make sure that you use gluten free versions of all ingredients if you need it to be 100% gluten free). I think this dish is perfect for those of you trying to move towards a more plant-based diet – the sweet chili tofu is sooo delicious!
Delicious Plant-Based Recipes
If you’re looking for more plant based meals, I’d recommend trying my Baked Crispy Cauliflower Sandwiches or heading over to the Fraîche Table Meal Plan: home to hundreds of delicious vegan recipes and meal plans. If you aren’t a member, try a free 10 day trial! Some of my favourites inclide:
- Teriyaki Tofu Bowls
- Tropical Tofu Bowls
- Buffalo Tofu Caesar Wraps
- Moroccan Tofu Bowls
- Coconut Crusted Tofu
P.S. Thank you to everyone for all the reviews of this recipe. It means the WORLD to me! Happy cooking! xx Tori
Crispy Tofu Bowl
Crispy Tofu Bowls
An amazing plant-based lunch option, this Crispy Tofu Bowl is loaded with delicious healthy ingredients!
Ingredients
For the Sriracha Mayo:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (use vegan if desired)
- 2 tablespoons sriracha
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
For the Mango Salsa:
- 2 cups diced mango
- 1 cup diced red pepper (about 1 pepper)
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeded and minced)
- 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Tofu:
- 1 350 g package firm tofu, drained and patted dry
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup panko (use gluten free panko to make gluten free)
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- neutral oil for frying (avocado or canola oil work well)
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
For the Bowl:
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1-2 avocados (sliced)
- 3 mini cucumbers (sliced)
- 2 cups edamame (cooked)
Instructions
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Cook the rice according to the package directions. Prepare the rest of the bowl while the rice cooks.
For the Sriracha Mayo:
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In a small bowl mix together all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the Mango Salsa:
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In a large bowl, combine all ingredients together and stir until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the Tofu:
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Begin by cutting the tofu into 1 inch cubes. Press the cubes between 2 sheets of paper towel or a clean dish cloth to remove any excess liquid.
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Set up 3 shallow bowls: one with cornstarch, one with milk, and one with panko, paprika, garlic powder, and salt (mixed together). Toss each tofu cube first in cornstarch, followed by the milk, then in the panko to cover and set on a plate. Repeat until they are all coated.
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Heat 1/2" of oil in a medium frying pan. Working in batches, fry each piece of tofu until golden brown on all sides, around 4-5 minutes. Transfer the tofu to a large plate lined with paper towel and repeat until all of the tofu is cooked, adding more oil to the pan if needed. Once cooked toss the tofu in a medium bowl with the sweet chili sauce until covered.
To assemble:
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Divide the rice into serving bowls and top with the tofu, cucumber, edamame, mango salsa, avocado, and spicy mayo. Enjoy!
Recipe looks great! But do you mean cooked rice in the ingredients list?
OMG is all I can say. This tofu came out PHENOMENAL!! I have never fried it before so I was nervous but wow what a difference it makes! My family requested that I make this tofu from now on for our bowls!! 10/10
So happy you loved it Maria! Thank you for leaving such a nice review made my day!
Will be trying, but what did you use for a sweet chilli sauce. Had trouble with this back when I tried to recreate it. Thank you.
Hi Catherine! We used Thai Kitchen brand that we found in the ethnic food aisle but you can use any brand!
I love this recipe! I’m also struggling for a healthier me, I’ve even start running with SportMe marathon training app and I can say I’m on the right track now. Nutrition is an important part of my losing weight plan, and your blog posts are a true inspiration!
I’m confused by the mango amount, I can’t imagine any Mango yielding 2 cups, let alone 1/2 a mango… Can’t wait to try this, adding items to my online shopping cart now!
Hi Anna, you are right that was a typo! You will need about 2 mangos in my experience. Enjoy!!
Any idea on nutrition value? calorie content?
Sorry Amanda we haven’t calculated it at this point!
Amazing
I noticed you have the sweet chili tofu recipe in your book. In that recipe it calls for marinating the Tofu for 4+ hours in veggie stock. Is there a benefit to doing that? Slight twist compared to above and it’s my first time making so thought I’d ask beforehand. Thanks!
Hi! It’s a good question. It adds flavour to the tofu, but isn’t a must. You can soak the tofu for this one too and follow the steps, I just wanted to make it as easy and simple as possible! Thanks for the note!!
Making this tonight and looking forward to it. Love your recipes Tori. Your veggie muffins are such a staple in our home 🙂
Thanks Angie!!
looks delish! can’t wait to try. do you know who sells a good mango salsa to save a little time when needed. thanks tori. love all your recipes
Almost any grocery store are selling mango salsa now.
This looks amazing and am going to make this this weekend! Thank you 🖤
I’m obsessed with this bowl and have tried only somewhat successfully to recreate it, so thank you!
How many servings does this recipe make, I live alone so would prefer to avoid food waste?
Hi Angie, it serves between 4-6 people. You could easily cut it in half to make a dinner and lunch for yourself!
OMG delicious! Finally made this tonight and it is amazing! Thankyou and keep them coming! I am loving your cookbook too.
Thanks Lana!
Just made this for our family including 3 kids ages 5, 9 and 11. It was a hit and my 9 year old who loves to cook helped with the mango salsa and mayo. Thank you for sharing. They LOVED the tofu.
Love this so much!! so glad your family liked it Becky!
Hey Tori! I made this last night and it was so yummy! Both my kids gobbled it up! Minus the salsa for them and siracha mayo. Thanks for the recipe. We are always trying to add some new plant based meals in our weekly rotation.
Happy to hear your whole crew enjoyed it Rachel! I find it’s such a great dish to modify to everyone’s preferences.
Do you think it’s safe to freeze the cooked tofu? I like to make batches and freeze things to make my life easier for future meals!
Thanks!
Hi Paige, I don’t think the tofu would freeze well after being cooked unfortunately but it could be worth a try? I’d love to hear how it works out if you give it a try!
I made this for myself tonight and it was soooo fabulous! Love the crispy tofu, I’ve never made it this way before and it is so good! Thanks for an awesome recipe. I ordered your book and it arrives tomorrow…excited!!!!
So glad you liked it Alycia!! I can’t wait to hear how you like the book! And thank you for taking the time to leave a review, xoxo
Hi Tori. I was wondering if the tofu could be made in advance or is best to serve hot with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl? Have and love the cookbook. Every recipe I have made so far has been a winner. Thanks, Debbie
So, so good. Holy Hannah! We are meat eaters but I grew up eating tofu and we eat meatless at least once a week. My meat eater husband kept saying how good the tofu was. I have been wanting to try the bowl at Cactus Club, I don’t even think I need to now. Good job.
So so glad to hear you loved it Caitlin!! Thanks for taking the time to write a review!
A bit labor intensive… not a weeknight throw together dinner, but VERY flavorful and delicious! Make sure to budget time for this one
Amazing! We all loved this so much. Definitely will make again soon!
Just finished this for dinner and it was delicious!!! Loved the crispy tofu and the salsa!! Will definitely be making this again 🙂
Decided I wanted to try and cook with tofu. This was a 20 out of ten! Made it last night for dinner and just had some leftovers for lunch. I actually totally forgot about the sweet chilli sauce for the tofu and it was still so so good!! Will be adding this into my rotation. Thanks for sharing this Tori👍
So glad you liked it Karen! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, it truly means a lot to us!
SO GOOD! Made this tonight and thought it was better than Cactus Club or any other power bowl I’ve had at any other restaurant. Definitely adding it to the meal rotation! Perfection!
This recipe is AMAZING!!! I’ve made it a few times and my husband is obsessed! Wondering if baking the breaded tofu instead of frying it would result in the same thing?
Hi Vai, I haven’t tried it before but it might work! I’d love to hear how it turns out if you give it a go!
I make this weekly and my husband and I both love it! I wasn’t able to get tofu in my small town the first time I made it and decided to try tempeh and it’s amazing!!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Melodie! Tempeh is a great idea!
This was delicious! My husband said restaurant quality. Definitely a bit time consuming, and I even cheated and used Safeway’s fresh mango salsa, but I would make it again for sure. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Oh I love to hear that Megan! So glad you liked it, thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
I found this a few weeks ago and I’ve lost track how many times we’ve made it. I double the recipe Sunday nights as my husband wants it for lunches now. I made it for family last week and my sister is hooked now (after saying she didn’t want to try tofu). I’m making it for a dinner party tonight and can’t wait to have it again!
I found this a few weeks ago and I’ve lost track how many times we’ve made it. I double the recipe Sunday nights as my husband wants it for lunches now. I made it for family last week and my sister is hooked now (after saying she didn’t want to try tofu). I’m making it for a dinner party tonight and can’t wait to have it again!
I am so glad you like it Amanda, I hope it’s a hit at the dinner party!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review.
This is BY FAR my husband’s fave tofu bowl! And I love it too!
Thank you so much for sharing this!!!
My whole family adored this recipe! So simple and yummy. Tastes just like the cactus version!
OBSESSED! Thank you for sharing!
Not a huge tofu fan so used slightly steamed cauliflower instead and it was great!
Yum that sounds delicious!
It is actually outrageous how good this recipe is! Especially during this time, it’s so great to have a meal I’d be happy to be served at a restaurant. Amazing.
What a super delicious amazing dish. I’ve had the crispy tofu bowl at Cactus Club before, but this is so much better! Huge hit in my house. It was time consuming, took almost 2 hours from start to sitting down and eating, but well worth it and maybe I’ll get better and faster with prepping everything. Is there an easy way to cut a mango into pieces? Thanks for this recipe!
This dish was amazing! It’s the first time my kids have eaten tofu (other than in miso soup) and they gobbled it up. A little time consuming to make all the components but well worth the effort!
This bowl was amazing!! The flavours together were delicious! Do you have a brand of tofu that you prefer?
Hi Keshia! I tend to use Soyganic! Glad you liked it!
Oh my gawsh! I made this last night and LOVED it! I JUST realized now that I didn’t missed the step of tossing the cooked tofu w chili sauce, so guess I’ll just have to do another batch tonight! Lol. I subbed chili flakes for jalapeno as I didn’t have any. Worked fine. I did up the salsa earlier so the flakes had time to ‘stew’. 2 mangos=pretty much 2 cups,perfectly! Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
So happy you enjoyed this Marilyn! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!
So good! Such a hit in our house. We eat tofu many other ways but have never tried frying it like this to make it extra crispy. I was worried to toss the tofu in the sauce after cooking thinking the crispy layer would come off but it stayed in tact and was perfect! Thanks for the great recipe!
So happy you enjoyed it Jenna! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Tori! This was amazing! I too love the Cactus Club crispy tofu bowl but this is BETTER! I will definitely make this again…thank you so much!
I made this recipe today, but didn’t have tofu, so instead I used cauliflower! Made it very similar to your cauliflower tacos (in your cook book). Turned out amazing! Seriously EVERY recipe I try always works out and gets so many compliments! This recipe is a winner!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was AMAZING!! My meat loving husband was so impressed with the tofu. Super flavourful, your recipes never disappoint :)(
Thanks so much Amanda happy he liked it!!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was ABSOLUTELY amazing! It will definitely be made again in the near future!
Hi Tori! I’m usually not one to post comments but this recipe is absolutely amazing! It’s literally our favourite dish ever. Everything you make on the blog and in the cookbook never disappoints! All of your recipes are winners! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Stephanie! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
This was absolute perfect! The right textures, flavours and presentation. This is my favourite dinner by far!
Thanks so much Sheila! I am so happy you love it!! Tori
On your post I thought I read “air fryer” tofu? Did you cook the tofu in the air fryer? If so can you share the directions? Thank you, looking forward to trying this.
Hey Karoline! I actually cooked this tofu in a pan with about 1/2 inch of oil. Working in batches, I fry each piece of tofu until nicely golden brown on all sides! I have not tried air frying them, but if you end up trying, please let me know how it goes! Tori
This was a huge hit. Delicious! Your recipes never disappoint. Thank you.
Thank you so much Brenda! This is also one of my favourites – I ate it today!! Tori
Hi Tori and team,
Thanks for this, I was craving the Crispy Tofu bowl for a week, and then I remembered your stories from week ago, Two of my three teen age boys and husband normally eat a lot so I doubled the tofu ( ended up with a bit of left overs, but 1 tofu would not have feed all five of us) could not get fresh mango at the IGA so went with prepared mango salsa with fresh lime and fresh cilantro. It was so worth the two hours to make! I am not a deep frier, but will do this again. thank you and keep creating!
Hi Lisa! You are so welcome – Thank YOU for sharing. I am happy to hear you and your family enjoyed! Tori
Best. Recipe. Ever. This meal has been on repeat in my house. I’m obsessed! Although it requires quite a bit of prep, it’s worth it. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Stephanie, I couldn’t have said it better myself! I’m so happy you love this tofu bowl. Thanks for sharing and taking the time to review this recipe it means so much to me! Tori
This is DELICIOUS !!! Seriously the best thing!
We LOVE this recipe in our house – even my youngest will gobble this up. We make it regularly for dinner. I often sub the mango for pineapple as its easier to find.
Loved it. First time using your recipe but I know I’ll make it many more times. I used my air fryer snd it was really easy and crispy. Competes very well with the Cactus tofu bowl.
That’s awesome Indra thank you so much for taking the time to rate the recipe! Tori
Love this recipe! I like to be plant based so its a no brainer for me BUT my meat eating husband gave me lots of compliments. 👍🏼
I halved the recipe and it was perfect for rwo.
This recipe is phenomenal. Wouldn’t change a thing, so fresh and flavourful!
Thanks so much Corinne! So happy to hear! xx Tori
Hi Tori! I just wanted to say I’ve made this bowl so many times now and its one of my favourites! I cook the tofu in the air fryer and it turns out perfect every time! It’s the only time I can get my husband to eat tofu without complaining, so thank you!!
Thanks for the crispy tofu bowl.
I just ate this from Cactus Club on Wednesday. I came home and knew I needed to make it for my family. I search online and find your recipe and know it will be amazing.
Come Sunday, we are enjoying this meal and it is beyond phenomenal! I only added a small amount of honey to the mayo for the kids as they found it a bit spicy. Honestly, this recipe blew my dish from the restaurant out of the water. Beyond amazing. Thanks.
What an awesome compliment thank you Deb! I really appreciate it!
Can you bake this in the oven??
Woo Hoo. My daughter-in-law made this recipe for us. We loved it so much, I asked for the recipe from her. I made it for a group of people and they all loved it too. I had to share the recipe with them too.
Thank you so much. Keep up the delicous recipes!
Karen
Hi Karen! I am SO happy to hear this!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with others and for leaving me a great review. It means a lot!
xx Tori
I have literally never left a single review in my entire life…..but this recipe DESERVES a review!!!! We made it last night and it is one of the best meals we have ever had. It will be a staple moving forward. So delicious and so many great flavors!!
Oh Ashley that made my day thank you so much! I know how busy life is and the fact that you took the time to leave a review means a lot to me. Glad you loved it! Tori
I just had this bowl at Cactus Club tonight for the first time and it was so amazing, I came right home and googled recipes to try to duplicate at home. I can’t wait to try this!!
Hi Laura! I am so happy you found this recipe! Please enjoy it xx
OMG. This was incredible. The tofu was the best I’ve ever made. My non-vegetarian wife even loved it and I’ll be making it again very soon.
Hey Trish!! Thanks so much for leaving a review! It means a lot to me.
Also, I’m thrilled you love this recipe. It’s one of my favourites too!
xx Tori
Substituted chicken instead of the tofu and baked in the oven (trying to stay away from frying currently) and it turned out awesome! Love this recipe!
I made this for my dinner as I’ve been trying to incorporate more variety of proteins. It is DELICIOUS and so easy!!! I followed the steps exactly as outlined and it was a success.
I love it! I will definitely be making this again soon.
Love it – thank you Maria!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was AMAZING!!! I am a pescatarian and my husband and kids are not – so we also sautéed some bite sized pieces of chicken as another option. Everyone tried the tofu (which is very rare) and loved how crispy this was! This will become a regular meal for us and I am currently searching to make more of your recipes!
Hi Courtney! That’s so awesome and yes I have done it with chicken too – super delish! Thanks for following along, Tori
WOW. This was so delicious!! Best meal I’ve made in a while. I didn’t have red pepper for the salsa so I used tomatoes instead. I might decrease the amount of sriracha next time as it was a tad too spicy for me. I don’t even like tofu normally but this was so crispy to couldn’t even tell it was tofu. I want to send this recipe to everyone I know because it was THAT good.
Hi Megan,
Thanks so much for taking the time to review! I am THRILLED you love this recipe!! xo Tori
Delicious! We’ve made this too many times to count and love how easy and tasty it is! We also sometimes add corn or other seasonal veggies. The trickiest part is getting the oil the right temperature so it doesn’t burn the outside of the tofu before the inside is cooked. One of my all time fave recipes!
Hi Andrea! I love hearing this is one of your fave recipes of all time! What an honour. Thank you for taking the time to share this, I appreciate it so much. xx Tori
These were outrageously delicious. I added some additional veggies to the bowl toppers, but 10/10 would eat this again!
Thanks Kelly! I am thrilled you loved this recipe! xo Tori
I just made this! It is absolutely delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything in this dish comes together quite nicely. I just had 2 bowls!
Wow Daphne! So happy to hear! Thank you for sharing and taking the time to review. xx Tori
These bowls turned out amazing! Only substitution was using banana peppers from my garden instead of jalapeños. Will definitely make this again!
Thank you Ashley I appreciate the feedback and the review!