Peanut BBQ Grilled Tofu Skewers
These easy Peanut BBQ Grilled Tofu Skewers use tofu marinated in an umami-rich peanut butter and BBQ sauce and then grilled to caramelized perfection.
Even though I live in an apartment that doesn’t allow us to keep our own personal grills, I still love grilling season. I just happen to do it with my own “cozy” personal griddle. It gives me the grilling satisfaction I need, and probably a lot easier to clean up afterwards, so I still consider it a win like these Peanut BBQ Grilled Tofu Skewers.
Why You’ll Love These BBQ Tofu Skewers
- Easy to assemble for your next grilling event
- A great filling high protein vegan option
- Budget friendly, using ingredients you likely already have at home
- Easy to customize by swapping in your favorite veggies
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
For this recipe, I marinated the tofu and vegetables in different sauces to help compliment each other in flavor. As a result, you will notice some ingredients do repeat, which helps keep this recipe fairly minimal to prepare.
Tofu Marinade
- Peanut Butter: Use a natural peanut butter that only has peanuts and salt in the ingredients. You can also replace it with almond butter or sunflower seed butter if preferred.
- Sriracha: You can control the amount of spice to your preference. If you don’t tolerate spice well, you can replace the sriracha for an equal amount of barbecue sauce.
- Maple Syrup: To help balance some of the heat above. Feel free to omit if the sauce tastes sweet enough with the barbecue sauce.
- Garlic: Freshly grated or crushed.
- Soy Sauce: This helps provide umami flavor. To make gluten-free, just use a gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos.
- Lime Juice: Fresh squeezed lime. If you have a large lime you can use half for this marinade and the other half for the vegetable marinade below.
- Barbecue Sauce: Use your favorite brand or homemade recipe. I often will use Stubbs Original when I’m in a rush to make these.
Vegetable Marinade
- Avocado Oil: Since I grill at a high heat, I like to use a high heat oil like avocado oil.
- Lime Juice: The other half of the lime.
- Parsley: Freshly minced. You can also swap for some fresh cilantro.
- Garlic: Can never have too much garlic in my opinion.
- Oregano: Dry oregano works really well, but you can also sub in thyme or dry basil as well.
How to Make Grilled Tofu Skewers
Marinade the Tofu
Press and drain your tofu really well then pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the tofu into 24 cubes and prepare the peanut barbecue marinade by combining the peanut butter, sriracha, maple syrup, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice and barbecue sauce in a bowl. Fold in the tofu until completely coated and then place in the fridge to marinate and prepare the remaining veggies.
Coat the Vegetables
Cut your vegetables into equal sized pieces. I try to cut them to match the thickness of the tofu as best as possible. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, lime juice, parsley, garlic and oregano with a generous pinch of salt. Mix the marinade together and then add all your vegetables to the citrus oil mix and toss to coat.
Assemble the Skewers
Carefully thread your tofu and vegetables on to each skewer. The pattern doesn’t need to be exact, just assemble them as your heart desires. The only thing I made sure to do was add about 3 tofu cubes to each skewer with vegetables in between to make 8 skewers.
Place on a preheated and greased grill or grill pan. When hot, place the skewers on the grill and allow to cook undisturbed for a few minutes until the start to naturally release from the grill and appear to have grill marks. Flip and repeat the process on the other side. Then serve the cooked skewers with some extra peanut barbecue sauce.
Tips for the Perfect Grilled Skewers
- If using wooden skewers, make sure to soak in water for at least 20 minutes before using. This will prevent the skewers from burning if baking or grilling.
- Make sure your tofu skewers are fully coated in the marinade to avoid sticking on the grill. The fat from the marinade on the tofu and vegetables will keep things from sticking.
- Cook the skewers on a medium high heat at about 375F.
- You can marinade your tofu 24 hours in advance before grilling. This can help the flavors penetrate into the tofu giving it even more flavor.
- Double the tofu marinade to serve with your cooked skewers. The sauce is very flavorful and works super well as a dip for the skewers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use extra firm or super firm tofu. Super firm tofu is already pressed and is denser in texture with minimal moisture that can help reduce the chances of your tofu from sticking to the surface of the grill. If using extra firm tofu, just make sure to press your tofu of excess water before using. A tofu press can help a lot with this.
You can. I tested the recipe with pressing only and then again with frozen tofu that I then thawed and pressed. Freezing your tofu helps to give the tofu more texture and can also help with the marinade penetrating in the tofu better.
When cooled, remove tofu and veggies from the skewers and store the leftovers in an airtight container. Place the tofu and vegetables in the fridge for up to 5 days.
How to Serve
Double the sauce used to marinate the tofu to serve your skewers with and enjoy. You can also try pairing these skewers with some of these other options as well.
- Chickpea Pasta Salad with Creamy Tahini Dressing
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Mango Pico de Gallo
- Cilantro Lime Quinoa Salad
More Vegan Recipes for Summer Entertaining to Try
- Citrus Infused Couscous Chickpea Salad
- Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus
- Panzanella Salad with Grilled Peaches
- Edamame Crunch Salad
- Peach Avocado Salad
- Chili Lime Bean Salad
Peanut BBQ Grilled Tofu Skewers
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 skewers 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Grilling
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These easy Peanut BBQ Grilled Tofu Skewers use tofu marinated in an umami-rich peanut butter and BBQ sauce and then grilled to caramelized perfection.
Ingredients
Peanut BBQ Tofu Skewers
- 1 block for extra firm tofu, pressed and drained
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1, 8oz pack of mushrooms, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
Vegetable Marinade
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
Tofu Marinade
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 2 tsp maple syrup or liquid sweetener of choice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari (use gluten-free alternatives as needed)
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Start by cutting your tofu into 24 equal sized 1 inch chunks. Mix together the tofu marinade ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Add the tofu to the same bowl and carefully fold the tofu into the sauce to coat. Allow the tofu to sit and marinade for about 30 minutes covered. If using wooden skewers, it’s a good idea to soak them in water at the same time so they are ready to grill).
- Mix together the vegetable marinade in a separate large bowl. Add the vegetables to the marinade and toss to coat completely.
- Preheat your grill pan or griddle and begin assembling the skewers. Alternate threading the skewers with tofu and vegetable chunks until your skewer is full and place on a clean tray.
- Once skewered, grease the heated grill well and place the skewers on top to cook undisturbed for 4-5 minutes at 375F and then flip once nice grill marks appear, cooking again for another 4-5 minutes on the opposite side. Serve the skewers with extra peanut barbecue sauce and lime wedges.
Notes
If using wooden skewers, make sure to soak in water for at least 20 minutes before using. This will prevent the skewers from burning if baking or grilling.
Make sure your tofu skewers are fully coated in the marinade to avoid sticking on the grill. The fat from the marinade on the tofu and vegetables will keep things from sticking.
Cook the skewers on a medium high heat at about 375F.
You can marinade your tofu 24 hours in advance before grilling. This can help the flavors penetrate into the tofu giving it even more flavor.
Double the tofu marinade to serve with your cooked skewers. The sauce is very flavorful and works super well as a dip for the skewers.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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I made these tonight and they were so good!!!! I marinated the tofu for a few hours, but I bet the flavor would really take off if I had done it over night. We will definitely be making these again.