Healthy Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe with Flavorful Spicy Peanut Sauce

This tofu and broccoli stir fry recipe is incredibly savory, a little sweet, and loaded with flavor. The most valuable player in this dish is my homemade peanut sauce, which has a ton of fresh garlic and ginger for the ultimate umami flavor. Double the recipe and use this delicious peanut sauce for dipping fresh vegetable rolls or for a simple noodle dish or salad — you’ll be blown away by how flavorful a vegan dinner can really be!

What is Tofu Broccoli Stir Fry?

This stir fry tofu with broccoli recipe is just how it sounds; it is a blend of broccoli florets and extra-firm tofu that are stir-fried together and combined with a robustly flavored peanut sauce. The tofu ensures that this stir-fry can be a complete meal, as it adds plenty of protein and substance to the dish.

This dish’s Chinese-inspired creamy, spicy peanut sauce is so easy to make – simply whisk your ingredients in a bowl, no blender necessary! The whole recipe uses just one pot, so it’s super-easy to make when you don’t have a lot of time to cook and clean during a busy work and school week. It’s also kid-approved — my two teenagers are constantly requesting this for dinner, which makes me very happy given how healthy it is!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

With a salty and nutty sauce with hints of fresh ginger and garlic, and brilliant green tender-crisp broccoli, this easy tofu broccoli stir fry recipe will have your full attention as soon as you bite into it. It is packed with plant-based protein from extra-firm tofu along with fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, and more from the broccoli. However, it’s the peanut sauce that will keep you coming back for more with its hint of spice from the ginger and the saltiness from soy sauce and peanut butter.

For other stir fry recipes that are just as nutritious and flavorful, check out my Korean Stir Fry and Szechuan Style Tofu, which both include an abundance of tofu and veggies. Both are spicier dishes but are wonderful contrasts to the less spicy peanut sauce in this broccoli tofu stir fry recipe. Here are some reasons why you will love this dish in particular:

• A Creamy Peanut Sauce: With a blend of smooth peanut butter, rice vinegar, low-sodium soy sauce, maple syrup, fresh ginger root, and fresh garlic, this sauce is incredibly creamy and complexly flavored. It has nuttiness, saltiness, tanginess, and sweetness, along with an undertone of spice that will wake up all of your taste buds.
• A Quick & Easy Dinner: All you have to do to make this stir fry is to prepare some broccoli and tofu, mix a sauce, and throw it all together. In total, you should be able to have dinner on the table in approximately 20 minutes, making this dish perfect to make on any busy weeknight through the week. 
• Packed With Flavor: The slightly spicy peanut sauce is a flavor bomb that pulls everything together for this stir fry. It is a creamy mixture that will coat and seep into the tofu, infusing it with tons of delicious tang, spice, and nuttiness.
• An Array of Textures: The best stir fries have several different textures and this one is no different. Similar to my Curried Vegetable Stir Fry and Green Bean Potato Stir Fry, this dish has a combination of soft and more firm textures such as the soft tofu with crispy edges and tender-crisp broccoli.

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

This broccoli tofu stir fry recipe uses very few ingredients considering how complexly flavored it is. You will love the Chinese-inspired peanut sauce filled with tangy rice vinegar, umami-rich soy sauce, and spicy garlic and ginger. Here is how you can make this vegan stir fry:

• water
• peanut butter – natural, smooth
• rice vinegar
• low-sodium gluten-free soy sauce
• maple syrup
• ginger
• garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• broccoli
• scallions
• tofu – extra-firm

Step-by-Step Instructions

The wonderful things about stir-fry recipes is that they come together fast, making them an excellent option on busy weeknights. They also include an abundance of vegetables in addition to high-quality protein. Here is how to make this Chinese broccoli tofu stir fry recipe:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the water with the peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, ginger, and garlic. Set it aside.

   

2. Drain and rinse the tofu. Pat it dry and slice it horizontally.

   

3. Cut the tofu vertically into quarters. Then, cut it crosswise. You should end up with 1-inch x 1-inch pieces of tofu.

   

4. In a skillet, heat the oil over high heat.

   

5. Add the tofu, and cook it in one layer, without stirring, until the bottom is golden, about 5 minutes.

   

6. Gently turn the tofu and cook it until golden on the other side, about 5 to 7 minutes.

   

7. In a separate skillet, add the peanut sauce and broccoli, and cook for 2 minutes.

   

8. Add the tofu to the skillet and allow it to cook for another 2 minutes.

   

9. Remove the mixture from the heat, garnish it with the scallions, and serve.

Tips for the Best Results

While this broccoli and tofu stir fry recipe is incredibly easy to make and doesn’t use very many ingredients, there are a few things to keep in mind. Here is everything you need to know to achieve the best results:

• Use a Whisk for the Sauce: Blending the sauce with a whisk will prevent lumps and help the thick peanut butter incorporate with the other ingredients. If you are someone who likes to keep their peanut butter in the fridge, you will likely need to allow it to come up to room temperature or put it in the microwave for a few seconds before mixing your sauce. 
• Pat the Tofu Dry: When you buy tofu at the store, it will be in a sealed package with water. Patting the tofu dry will ensure it browns nicely in the pan and doesn’t impart added moisture to your stir fry. It will also help the tofu absorb more of the flavors from the sauce.
• Cook Tofu in an Even Layer: For this broccoli and tofu stir fry recipe, you want the tofu to become a lovely golden brown with crisp edges and the best way to achieve it is by allowing the tofu to cook in an even layer so that each piece has direct access to the heated oil in the pan. As each side browns, simply turn the tofu pieces so they can become golden on the other sides as well.
• Cut the Broccoli into Even-sized Pieces: To promote even cooking and prevent some broccoli florets from becoming too soft or some too hard, you should cut the florets into similar sized pieces. When you separate the broccoli heads into florets, simply cut larger ones in half or quarter them so they match the size of the other pieces.

Variations

Once you have mastered this healthy tofu and broccoli stir-fry recipe, you can use it as a model for stir-fries in the future. Here are some suggestions for how you can modify this stir-fry recipe to suit the ingredients you have on hand in the future:

• Make the Stir-Fry into a Noodle Dish: If you love eating Asian-style noodle dishes, you can boil some spaghetti, rice noodles, or Chinese-style noodles, and toss them with the stir fry before serving. Feel free to make some extra sauce in case you find that the noodle mixture is too dry.
• Add Other Vegetables: If you have other raw or cooked vegetables you need to use up, you can add them into this stir fry. Feel free to add snowpeas, bell peppers, mushrooms, bok choy, and more into this recipe. 
• Use Another Type of Nut Butter: Since not everyone can have peanut butter due to allergies, you may decide that you would like to use another type of nut butter. Almond butter or cashew butter are both great options as they have a similar color to the peanut butter.

Serving Suggestions

Since this dish contains your protein, vegetables, and healthy fats and carbs in one, you can serve it up as it is with a garnish of sliced green onions. However, it would also be delicious with other added garnishes like peanuts for crunch or some sliced red chilis if you would like to add some heat. This broccoli tofu stir fry is also great as part of a larger spread of Asian or Chinese-inspired dishes so that everyone can dish up what they like and have some variety.

Storage & Reheating

If you have leftover broccoli and tofu stir-fry, you can store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then, to reheat it, you can gently warm it up in a skillet on the stove until heated through.

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