Crispy sesame tofu with zucchini noodles is the perfect healthy, vegetarian meal prep that is low carb, vegan and gluten free too. These meal prep lunches are served with crispy sesame tofu on a bed of zucchini noodles and a delicious peanut sauce to go with!
It's the absolute beginning of the New Year and I'm ready to tackle 2018. Actually, I'm ready to tackle anything with these super YUM and crispy sesame tofu with zucchini noodle meal prep lunches.
I made these last week and the week before and I'm still making them. I know how that sounds. I can almost hear you say - you need a life woman!! But these are soooo good, that I really can't stop. And I feel light and healthy and there are no post lunch nap times.
Because that's my biggest problem in life. How to work from home and not fall asleep as soon a slunch hits my stomach. I've tried tea, coffee, getting up and walking around but nothing works. Except a light, healthy lunch. As long as I don't feel super full and heavy after a lunch meal, I'm ready to power on.
And that's why these crispy sesame tofu with zucchini noodle meal prep lunches are so very amazing.
I love recipes like these which are minimal effort.
Start by making a zippy peanut butter sesame sauce that is awwwmyygoooodddd sooooo good that I have permanent space set aside for it in the refrigerator now. It's a super easy blender sauce made with peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, maple syrup and water
Then we toss the tofu in a pan with the sauce and cook it till the sauce caramelizes and becomes crispy and coats the tofu
In the meanwhile, spiralize all the zucchini and set aside
And that's all there is to it! You just place the peanut sesame sauce in disposable sauce cups like these; add the zucchini noodles to glass meal prep containers and you are good to go!!
I have to tell you that this is a really light meal. So it's more like a nice salad that adds fiber, protein and fats to your lunch.
Two ways to eat crispy sesame tofu with zucchini noodle meal prep lunches
- You can either eat these cold like a salad. I basically toss everything in the sauce and eat it straight from the refrigerator, This way the zucchini noodles stay crunchy and its great for afternoons
- Or you can pour the sauce over the tofu and microwave the meal prep container. Toss everything and it's a delicious hot meal. The zucchini noodles do leave a little water when you microwave, and when you toss everything together, it gets a little soupy but still stays crunchy and delicious.
These meals stay good in the fridge for five days. I like storing the sauce separately so that the zoodles stay fresh and crunchy till you are ready to eat. The salts in the sauce will make the zoodles leave water so best to store it separately.
More Yummy Meal Prep Ideas:
- Chipotle Chicken Meal Prep Lunch Bowls 4 Ways
- Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry Meal Prep Lunch Boxes
- Easy Chicken Burrito Meal Prep Bowls (Gluten Free)
- Chicken Fajita Meal Prep Lunch Bowls with Cilantro Lime Quinoa
Crispy Sesame Tofu with Zucchini Noodle (Vegetarian Meal Prep)
Ingredients
Sesame Peanut Sauce
- ½ cup Peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
- ¼ cup Light low sodium Soy Sauce
- ¼ cup Rice Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Chilli Flakes
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup or Honey
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves roughly chopped
- 1 knob Ginger peeled and roughly chopped
Other Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 350 gms Firm Tofu cut into small pieces
- Zucchinis spiralized
- Sesame Seeds and Green Onions for topping
Instructions
- In a blender or add all the ingredients for the sauce along with a splash of water and blend till smooth. Set aside ¼ cup sauce and divide the rest in the mini sauce containers. You might be left with a little extra sauce which you can reserve for later - it works really well as a salad dressing!
- Heat oil in a pan and add the tofu. As soon as the tofu is a very light brown, add ¼ cup sauce to the pan and toss the tofu in it. Cook everything on low heat. In some time, the sauce will start to evaporate and slowly it will start turning into golden brown and sticking to the pan and tofu. Things will become crispy and you finally you'll be left with crispy browned bits of tofu in the pan.
- To assemble the meal prep containers, divide zucchini noodles in the containers. Divide the tofu amongst the containers and place the mini sauce containers on one side. Place the lid and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Two ways to eat:
- You can either eat these cold like a salad. I basically toss everything in the sauce and eat it straight from the refrigerator, This way the zucchini noodles stay crunchy and its great for afternoons
- Or you can pour the sauce over the tofu and microwave the meal prep container. Toss everything and it's a delicious hot meal. The zucchini noodles do leave a little water when you microwave, and when you toss everything together, it gets a little soupy but still stays crunchy and delicious.
- It's best to store the sauce separately till you are ready to eat so that the zoodles stay crunchy.
- You can easily swap the zoodles for noodles if you like because these taste great both ways!
Noe Nunez says
What is the serving size exactly?
Erin says
Planning on making this for this week, how many zucchinis do you spiralize for this recipe?
Richa says
About 3 zucchinis
Melissa says
This was so delicious and easy to make! My daughter loved it and said she'd make the sauce to use on everything.
Richa says
Thanks for leaving a comment! Soooo glad you liked it Melissa
Laeken S. says
I substituted chicken for tofu as we arent vegetarian and that's what we had!
This recipe is delicious and I found the sauce really tasty and unique!
Richa says
Yea the sauce is the best! Soooo glad you liked it Ekta
Meredith says
This recipe was incredible! The sauce almost tasted cream based. So good. One question though. Any idea how many calories it is per serving
Richa says
So happy you liked the recipe Meredith! Thank you for leaving a comment. The nutritional info is not updated
Kelley says
I also had a problem getting the tofu crispy. What kind of oil do you use? I finally added the sauce when the firm tofu pieces began to break up. While it was still good, I want that crispy feature! Any suggestions?
I also did saute my yellow squash a little. Other vegetable would be good like beans or carrots. A good spiralator is an important kitchen gadget.
Richa says
Hey Kelley, I just used canola oil. Did you coat them like I mentioned in the recipe?
Amanda says
I have not tried the recipe yet, but do I need to try to get some water out of the tofu before cooking with it by wrapping it with a cloth? You have to for some other recipes and I was wondering if this would be one of them!
Richa says
Hey Amanda, place something heavy on the tofu and leave it on the counter for 15 minutes. That should remove the water
Kerri says
I use extra firm tofu and make sure I get as much water out as possible.
Richa Gupta says
That's the best way, Kerri! Glad you liked this tofu zucchini noodles!
Dyana says
Love this recipe. Has become a staple!
Richa says
Thank you so so much Dyana! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Ayrx says
I was looking for a recipe to use up some left over tofu and with ingredients I had lying around. Lucky me I found this!
I didn't have zucchini noodles (or a cutter for it) so I used some black bean and sesame noodles that I had lying around instead and julienned a zucchini. It came out really good!
I really love the sauce. It's similar to some of the sauces I've had on salads at asian restaurants.
Will be making this again in the future.
Thanks for the recipe!
Richa says
That sauce is my favourite too. So glad you liked it Ayrx!
Kaitlin says
Excited to try this but am wondering if you have ever tried freezing the leftovers and using again at a later time?
Richa says
I haven't tried freezing this Kaitlin and I wouldn't recommend freezing cooked Tofu. The texture wouldnt be great after.
julie says
Hi, would you also happened to have the calories per serving, as I'm on a diet right now.?
Richa says
Hey! I recommend using a tracker like myfitnesspal where you can add a link to the recipe and it should help you calculate the nutritional info
Tara says
I was so excited about this recipe. But it just didn't work for me. It definitely took way longer than 30 minutes and my tofu never got crispy. The tofu was in the pan for a solid 20 minutes before even adding the sauce, sizzling away, but it never got brown. So then I added the sauce, and it did evaporate, but it never stuck to the tofu and the tofu never got crispy or coated. It still kind of tastes like nothing, and I love tofu.
I still give the recipe 3 stars because this sauce is my new favorite thing. You could put it on an old shoe and I would asks for seconds.
Richa says
Hey Tara, I'm really surprised that this didn't work for you. I have so many readers who have tried this recipe and left a comment on the blog as well as Instagram with great results. I have a few questions which will help me troubleshoot: Was your pan hot enough when you cooked the tofu? Did you make any changes to the quantity of sauce/ ingredients/ quantity of tofu?
Cindy says
WOW! I’ve never left a comment on a recipe before but I am beyond happy I came across this one. My taste buds are thankful! So so yummy!
Richa says
I'm honoured that you liked it so much Cindy! Keep coming back for more recipes 🙂
Sarah says
Thank you for this amazing recipe!!! I made a little extra and have 5 meals which is perfect for our hot Australian summer. The sauce is DELICIOUS 😋
Richa says
Yaaaay! Glad you liked it Sarah!
Yvonne says
Can we not use maple syrup? Will it change the taste?
Richa says
Yes you can substitute the honey with maple syrup
Von says
Hi Richa,
Was wondering if we could opt the maple syrup out as we do not like sweet food? Will it change the taste or texture of the tofu?
Richa says
Skipping the maple syrup would change the taste slightly. The sweetness is nice. You can substitute the maple syrup with honey or sugar