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Craving something savory and indulgent for yourself, or to make on your next date night? Look no further! This creamy, dreamy Marry Me Tofu is sure to impress.
Tofu steaks are dredged pan-fried to perfection and simmered in a flavorful sun-dried tomato cream sauce. Serve it atop rice or pasta for a satisfying meal that is deceptively simple to make.
Table of Contents
What is Marry Me Tofu?
You can thank TikTok for this one! Over the past month I’ve been seeing a lot of people make “Marry Me Chicken,” a dish featuring seared chicken breasts in a creamy sun-dried tomato and parmesan sauce. The joke is that the dish is so good that if you make it for someone, they might just propose!
I knew right away that I’d have to make my own vegan version! The dish could easily be veganized by replacing the chicken breasts with a plant-based chicken alternative, but I have been loving tofu so much lately that I figured I’d use that instead!
Tofu is generally way easier to find and more affordable than vegan chicken cutlets, and it also is the perfect blank canvas for all the delicious flavors going on in the sun-dried tomato cream sauce.
Ingredients for Marry Me Tofu
- Super-firm tofu.
- Flour, salt & pepper. To season and dredge the tofu prior to pan-frying.
- Olive oil and vegan butter. I use olive oil to pan-fry the tofu, and butter to make the sauce. Feel free to use just one or the other, but I love the flavor of both.
- Red pepper flakes. Optional, to add some heat.
- Onion and garlic.
- Chicken-style vegetable broth. This will add an extra savory dimension to the sauce. You can purchase vegan chicken-style bouillon cubes or paste. Regular veggie broth can also be used, but you may need to add a bit of extra salt.
- Cashew cream or vegan heavy cream alternative. For a luscious, creamy sauce. Simply blend soaked raw cashews with water in a high-powered blender until velvety smooth.
- Vegan parmesan. My favorites are by Follow Your Heart or Violife. You can also substitute in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
- Dried thyme & oregano. Feel free to use fresh if you keep those in stock.
- Sun-dried tomatoes. Look for the kind that come packed in oil. If you can’t find those, you can rehydrate dried sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water.
- Fresh basil. For the perfect amount of freshness and color.
How to Make Marry Me Tofu
Pan-Fry the Tofu
Step 1. Cut the tofu into 1/2″ steaks or another shape of your choice.
Step 2. Season the tofu generously with salt, plus black pepper to preference. Dredge with flour.
Step 3. Preheat olive oil in pan and fry until golden.
Step 4. Flip and repeat on other side.
Step 5. Repeat until all sides are browned.
Step 6. Set browned tofu aside.
Make the Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Step 1. In the same pan, melt vegan butter.
Step 2. Sauté diced onion with (optional) red pepper flakes, thyme, and oregano until tender.
Step 3. Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
Step 4. Stir in cream and vegan parmesan (or nutritional yeast) and simmer to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Put It All Together
Step 1. Add back in the pan-fried tofu and fresh basil.
Step 2. Toss tofu to coat, and allow to simmer another 1-2 minutes to reheat.
Marry Me Tofu FAQ
Yes, certainly! If you do, I recommend giving it a thorough press for at least 20 minutes. This will firm up the texture and remove extra moisture (which will help it brown nicely when pan-frying).
Blocks of firm/extra firm tofu tend to be a bit smaller (usually 12 or 14 ounces) compared to the super-firm tofu blocks (usually 16 ounces), so you might want to use 1 1/2 blocks of tofu if you want to keep the sauce ratio correct.
Yes. For the homemade route, substitute in soaked sunflower seeds for the cashews. Sunflower cream has a slightly less neutral flavor compared to cashew cream, but the texture is equally creamy and the flavor is relatively mild.
For a store-bought option, try one of the many plant-based heavy cream alternatives on the market. Silk Dairy-Free Heavy Whipping Cream, Country Crock Plant Cream, or Califia Farms Better Half are just a few options.
Finally, you can try using a cup of full-fat coconut milk if you don’t mind a slightly coconutty flavor.
This sauce would be amazing with any of your favorite proteins. Tempeh can be dredged and pan-fried just like tofu, for example.
If you want to make vegan Marry Me Chicken, there are quite few vegan chicken substitutes on the market, such as the ones by Daring Foods and Gardein. Gardein offers a chick’n scalloppini which would work great in this recipe, although it can sometimes be hard to find. A homemade chicken-style seitan filet would be a great option too.
My personal go-tos are the Follow Your Heart Vegan Parmesan Shreds or the Violife Just Like Parmesan Wedge. However, I know that Daiya and Trader Joe’s also make vegan parmesan shreds, though I haven’t tried either of them yet.
Storage & Reheating
Marry Me Tofu keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container. The sauce tends to thicken when chilled, so you may wish to add a splash of water when reheating it to thin it back out to your preferred consistency.
This dish can also be kept in the freezer for a month. Freezing and defrosting will alter the texture of the tofu somewhat, making it a bit spongier. Thaw it out in the fridge overnight before reheating, ideally, or simply microwave it. As mentioned above, the sauce will thicken, so you may wish to thin it back out with a splash of water.
More Tofu Recipes
- Spicy Gochujang Tofu (Korean Inspired)
- Better Than Chipotle Sofritas (Copycat Recipe)
- Baked Buffalo Tofu Bites
Marry Me Tofu
Video
Equipment
- Enameled braiser or other skillet
Ingredients
Pan-Fried Tofu
- 1 (16 oz) block super-firm (high protein) tofu cut into 1/2" steaks or pieces
- salt and pepper to generously season the tofu
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Marry Me Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1/2 medium onion, or 2 shallots finely diced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional, or use Calabrian chili paste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes diced
- 1 cup vegetable broth I recommend chicken-style bouillon; see notes
- 1 cup cashew cream recipe follows; see notes for substitutions
- 1/4 cup grated vegan parmesan or sub 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil plus extra to garnish
- salt to taste
Cashew Cream
- 1/3 cup raw cashews soaked 4+ hours or boiled ~10 minutes
- 2/3 cup hot water
Instructions
Prepare the Cashew Cream
- If you would prefer to use a store-bought nondairy cream, check out the recipe notes for recommendations.
- Make sure the cashews are thoroughly soaked or boiled so they blend as smoothly as possible. Drain the soaking liquid and add the cashews to a high powdered blender along with 2/3 cup hot water. Blend for several minutes, until the mixture is completely smooth. Set aside.
Prepare the Tofu
- Cut the tofu into your preferred shape — you can do 1/2" steaks, cubes, or triangular pieces. I tend to prefer the smaller pieces because it gives the tofu a little more surface area for the sauce to coat.
- Generously salt the tofu pieces and add pepper to preference. Add 1/3 cup flour to a plate or shallow dish and dredge the tofu.
- Heat a skillet or braiser over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil (or enough to coat the bottom of the pan) and heat until the oil shimmers.
- Add the dredged tofu pieces in one layer (work in batches if needed). The tofu should sizzle immediately when added to the pan; otherwise, the oil isn't hot enough. Pan-fry until lightly golden brown on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the browned tofu to a plate.
Prepare the Sauce
- Melt the nondairy butter in the same pan. Add in finely diced onion, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional), 1/2 teaspoon oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon thyme to the pan. Add a generous pinch of salt and sauté for 3-5 minutes, or until onion is tender.
- Add minced garlic and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the 1/3 cup diced sundried tomatoes and sauté for another minute.
- Pour in 1 cup vegetable broth. If any bits are sticking to the bottom of the pan, gently scrape them loose with your wooden spoon.
- Stir in the 1 cup cashew cream (or plant-based cream substitute), along with the 1/4 cup shredded vegan parmesan (or 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast). If you are using nutritional yeast, you may need to add in an extra pinch of salt.
- Let the sauce simmer, stirring often, until it thickens to a creamy consistency. This usually only takes a minute or two. If it thickens a little more than you prefer, you can simply stir in an extra splash of water or vegetable broth.
- Give the sauce and a taste and season to preference with salt. The amount of salt needed will vary depending on the brand of broth and parmesan you used. Chicken-style bouillon tends to run on the salty side, but a regular veggie broth from a carton will likely need extra salt.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons fresh basil. Then add the pan-fried tofu back into the pan, gently tossing to coat with sauce. Allow it to simmer for another minute or two to reheat the tofu.
- Serve garnished with more fresh basil. Pair with pasta or rice for a satisfying meal.
Notes
- Chicken-style vegetable broth: This will make the sauce more savory! I recommend using double-concentrated broth for more flavor — just use 2x the bouillon required for 1 cup of broth. My favorite options are the Not-Chick’n Edward & Sons Bouillon Cubes or the Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian No Chicken Base.
- Vegan parmesan: I like the Follow Your Heart Vegan Parmesan Shreds or the Violife Just Like Parmesan Wedge.
- No Cashews: You can replace the cashews with raw sunflower seeds to make homemade sunflower cream. It doesn’t have as neutral a flavor as cashews but it’s very creamy. You can also use canned coconut cream if you don’t mind the slight coconut flavor — I find the Sprouts brand works well for this. Alternatively, you can use your favorite plant-based half & half or heavy cream substitute. Silk and Country Crock offer two options. I haven’t tested this recipe with either personally.
- Can’t find super-firm tofu: You can make this with firm/extra-firm tofu. I recommend giving it a thorough press for at least 20 minutes to firm it up and remove extra moisture. Blocks of firm/extra firm tofu tend to be a bit smaller (usually 12 or 14 ounces), so the ratio of sauce-to-tofu will be a bit different. You can use 1 1/2 blocks firm/extra-firm tofu if you like.
This was SO good. Great flavor and not too complicated, but felt very fancy! The sauce ended up a little thicker for me but overall it turned out great!!
This was amazing!! So rich and creamy. I made it for my non vegan family and everyone loved it! Tastes even better the second day
Very tasty! There’s no instructions for the cashew cream though. I followed the recipe here: https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-cashew-cream/
What are your thoughts on not using Parm? I have yet to find vegan cheese that I like.
Delicious!!!
I made this without vegan parm (as I ran out – i like the Violife one) and it was very tasty. I’d just add just a little nutritional yeast for umami flavor, a touch of extra cashew or other vegan cream (I used the country crock plant cream, which I LOVE in savory sauces like this), and some extra salt for the loss of saltiness from the parm. I’m sure it’d be even better as written, but it was still delicious this way!
This looks delicious! How many servings does this make?
This was absolutely delicious! The only substitution I made was using a good sized scoop of vegan cream cheese mixed in instead of cream because I didn’t have any. Non-vegan (but tofu loving) family members were blown away and gave it an A+. It was complex with just enough saltiness and was somehow rich and light at the same time. This would be great in an italian style sub!
I made this for dinner tonight and my husband said this recipe is a keeper! I ran out of time to make cashew cream so I used Califa heavy whipping cream. Thanks for this delicious recipe! Jess B., Longmont, CO
Made this recipe! The tomatoes I used were the dried ones not, the oil based ones. I would recommend soaking them in hot water if you can’t find the oil based ones. Also, because my pot could only handle a few tofus and I had to work in batches, the flour that was in the oil started to burn, so I could really use a tip for that
I’ve made this recipe about 5 – 6 times for a number of people from vegans to omnivores and its invariably a hit! I’ve made alterations like topping with dill, not using the sun dried tomatoes (because of my picky brother), to not adding parm because i ran out and changing it for another type of plant based cheese and its still delicious and feels very indulgent. Additionally, I just want to say that I’ve never made a recipe by Sarah that is not a crowd pleaser, she is one of my favorite internet cooks
This was amazing!! I made it for my non vegan family and everyone loved it.
This was very delicious. I doubled the recipe. I’m so glad to have a new tofu recipe in my roster.
Definitely a great recipe. Easy and a little fancy. My husband ate it sooooo fast. I didn’t have parmesan so I just added a couple tbsp of nutritional yeast. Still fantastic.
I wish I could give this more than 5 stars, it’s so good!!
Absolutely deeelish, thank you for this recipe.
Great recipe! We’re obsessed
I’ve made this multiple times and it’s so good!! Def hits the spot!
Wow this was so delicious! Thanks for sharing
This was delicious and so easy! Thank you Sarah! Your recipes are always yummy!
can you use coconut milk instead of vegan cream
Yes, if you’re ok with a mild coconut flavor! Full-fat canned coconut milk would be ideal texturally.
The dish is so easy! I’m a mom and don’t have time to make long meals but this was fast and easy! I omitted the tomatoes, didn’t have any, and fried my tofu in cornstarch instead of flour because I’m gluten free. Turned out amazing! Served over rice.
This was so easy to make and so delicious! I added cherry tomatoes and red bell peppers to the onions. I can’t wait to make this again.
This recipe is AMAZING! My husband is not vegan and was pretty skeptical but devoured it. It is so delicious and will be one of our staples. I love how it feels like comfort food but the vegan adaptation of this recipe is definitely healthier than the traditional heavy cream based ones. It’s easy to make but feels like a fancy meal too. I can’t wait to experiment with different variations of the recipe. Here’s what I changed – halfed the red pepper flakes (would have been incredibly spicy otherwise), heavily sprinkled the tofu with garlic powder, paprika and salt, left out butter, added at least an additional 1 cup of water and 1 cup almond milk (likely eve a bit more). It set up in the fridge a ton. Next time I’m going to just sauté or bake the tofu as well. I floured and fried it but I just don’t think it’s necessary because the sauce is so delicious. We served this over white rice and broccoli. I’d like to try a version of this over fettuccine noodles sometime. Thanks for the great new recipe!
Made this but I omitted the butter, oil and used corn starch and air fried the tofu. Also used the nutritional yeast, and 1 cup water with 1/2 Tbs better than bouillon veggie stock. Also, 1/2 cup almond milk mixed with 1 Tbs corn starch. This is soooooo good. I do recommend doing tofu cubes for my version. 100% recommend. Glad she posted this!
When I made my cashew cream I needed to blend a full cup of cashews to get that cup of cream. Also I made my chicken broth in a can of unsweetened coconut milk which came out to 1.5 cups. I used orrington farms chicken broth base which requires 2 teaspoons to make a full cup, I used heaping teaspoons since you said extra was good and it completely ruined the dish, it overpowered everything, I wish I would have used 1/2-1teaspoon instead. Other than that the dish was really good and I look forward to making it again with much less chicken broth powder. The unsweetened coconut milk was the best little tweak.
Ok so when I made my previous comment I was just tasting the sauce, once adding the tofu back and eating over rice the chicken broth wasn’t as strong. I’d still use less however probably only 1 teaspoon less. Overall this was delicious, I take back my 4 stars and give it 5, sorry I jumped the gun with my review.
Officially my favourite tofu dish. This is so good and reminds me of a vegan chicken nepolitana basil dish at my favourite local Italian joint but less oily. Amazing. I’m already married but my husband proposed again.
This is just so good! I have made it twice. We love it. I made it exactly as described the first time. The second time I had some silken tofu I wanted to use up and so made the cream sauce by blending it with the other sauce ingredients. They were both delicious!
That was incredible!! soo much flavour and I didn’t even use parmesan, I just subbed it for nooch. I didn’t have basil either! making it again tonight, this time with basil. I can’t wait!
Fantastic, but more, bend me over and fuck me good than marry me.
Made a double batch of this tonight. It was outstanding!!! Whole family cleaned their plates. I am excited for leftovers ! Thank you so much for the super clear instructions. Will definitely make again !
I make this at least once a fortnight now. It is delicious. I have swapped the tofu out for chickpeas on occasion and also added mushrooms.
My family love it!
Truly a phenomenal dish that we made for our non-plant based families… it was a hit!