Tofu Lettuce Wrap Tacos

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Crumbled tofu is baked with spices to become the filling in these Tofu Lettuce Wrap Tacos and we loved them with the avocado-tomato salsa. And this tasty recipe is such a unique way to cook tofu; check it out!

PIN Tofu Lettuce Wrap Tacos to try them later!

When I went to Kenya and Istanbul with my blogging friend Donna earlier this year, one of the nights in Nairobi we cooked a Mexican food dinner for a bunch of ex-pats who were friends of Donna’s daughter Kate. Apparently good Mexican food is impossible to get in Kenya, and we made a huge Mexican feast for the crowd.

Donna is not only a good traveling companion and a very creative food blogger, but she’s also a prolific cookbook author, and for the vegetarians attending the dinner she made amazing tofu tacos using a recipe from the book 101 Things to do with Tofu (affiliate link) that she wrote with her daughter Anne. I was intrigued by the process that turned extra-firm tofu into taco filling that really did taste great, and I liked the tofu tacos so much I got permission from Donna to share the recipe with my readers.

I actually made these Tofu Lettuce Wrap Tacos in early June, shortly after Donna and I returned from our trip, but the crumbled tofu has to be baked for nearly an hour, and I didn’t think a recipe like that would be a hit in the summer! So I’ve been waiting eagerly to share this recipe with you.

And even though I am kind of known for never following a recipe the way it’s written, I didn’t change Donna’s ground tofu filling recipe much at all. I have a few favorite tofu recipes, but overall I’m not a very experienced tofu cook, so I can’t wait to try some of the other ones from Donna’s book.

How to Make Tofu Lettuce Wrap Tacos:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. You will need 14-16 ounces of extra firm tofu, which has to be frozen and thawed to use in this recipe. Cut the thawed tofu into two slices.
2. Then press the tofu to remove most of the water (we used a heavy cast-iron pan to press out the water.)
3. Crumble the pressed tofu, and mix together the softened peanut butter, soy sauce or Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (affiliate link), ground cumin (affiliate link), garlic powder, ground Ancho chile (affiliate link), and Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link).
4. Put the crumbled tofu into the bowl with the sauce and stir until all the tofu is coated.
5. Brush a baking sheet with oil, spread out the crumbled seasoned tofu, and bake about 50 minutes (or slightly longer if you’re using a small baking sheet to fit into a toaster oven like I was. I recommend using a large baking sheet!) You can see how the tofu gets darker as it bakes.
6. While the tofu bakes, combine avocado, lime juice, diced tomato, green onions, olive oil and a pinch of ground cumin to make the avocado-tomato salsa.
7. Prepare the lettuce cups.
8. Fill lettuce cup with a scoop of the tofu mixture and top with the salsa.

Jake and I gobbled these up at the end of a long day of recipe testing when we weren’t even that hungry! For more tasty dinners with lettuce wraps, check out Low-Carb Lettuce Wraps.

More Delicious Recipes with Tofu from Kalyn, Donna, and Anne:

Spicy Vegan Peanut Butter Tofu with Sriracha ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Tamarind Glazed Grilled Tofu ~ Apron Strings
Easy Baked Tofu with Sesame and Soy Sauce ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Eggless Low-Carb Tofu Scramble ~ Apron Strings
Vegan Red Cabbage Bowl with Tofu and Peanut-Sriracha Sauce ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Tofu au Vin ~ Apron Strings

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Tofu Lettuce Wrap Tacos

Yield 6 lettuce wrap tacos

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Tofu is pressed, crumbled, and baked with spices to become the filling in these Tofu Lettuce Wrap Tacos and they're served with delicious tomato-avocado salsa.

Ingredients

Ground Tofu Filling Ingredients:

• 16 oz. extra firm tofu, frozen and thawed (see notes)
• 1 T creamy peanut butter (see notes)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. ground Ancho chile (see notes)
• 2 tsp. Cholula Hot Sauce (see notes)
• olive oil, for brushing baking sheet

Taco and Avocado-Tomato Salsa Ingredients:

• 2 heads iceberg lettuce
• 2 small avocados
• 2 T lime juice. divided
• 1 cup diced cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Instructions

1. Tofu must be frozen and thawed for this recipe, so plan ahead for that.
2. Cut the thawed tofu crosswise into 2 thin pieces, arrange tofu pieces on several layers of paper towel, top with more towels, and put something heavy on the towel to press out the water.
3. You might need to do this more than once if the tofu is pretty wet. (Here’s more about How to Press Tofu if you haven’t done it.)
4. While tofu is pressing preheat oven to 350F/175C.
5. Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil.
6. Put the peanut butter into a medium-sized bowl and microwave for a few seconds to soften, then stir in the soy sauce, ground cumin, garlic powder, ground Ancho chile or chili powder, and Cholula or other hot sauce (if using).
7. When the tofu is mostly dry from being pressed, crumble into pieces with your fingers and mix with the sauce.
8. Spread out the seasoned tofu crumbles on the baking sheet and bake 20 minutes, then turn tofu over and spread out again.
9. Bake 20 minutes more, then turn tofu again.
10. Bake 10-20 minutes more, or until all the liquid has evaporated and the tofu is slightly browned.
11. While tofu bakes, remove core from lettuce and cut heads in half, then peel off several layers at a time to make large cups to fill with the tofu mixture.
12. Chop the avocado into small chunks, put in a small bowl, and toss with 1 T lime juice.
13. Add the diced tomato, sliced green onion, other 1 T lime juice, olive oil, and ground cumin and gently stir together to make the salsa.
14. When tofu is dried out and slightly browned, fill each lettuce cup with a scoop of the tofu mixture, top with a scoop of salsa, and serve.

Notes

Some packages of tofu are 14 oz, that will be fine for this recipe. I like Adams 100% Natural Peanut Butter (affiliate link) which is low in sugar. If you don't have ground Ancho chile (affiliate link) use any ground chile or chili powder you have on hand. If you don't have Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link) use any hot sauce you have on hand. You can skip the hot sauce if you want it to be less spicy.

This ground tofu filling recipe is from 101 Things to do with Tofu (affiliate link), written by my friend Donna and her daughter Anne.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 267Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 667mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 8gSugar: 6gProtein: 12g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Tofu is a good Low-Carb choice that’s recommended for all phases of the South Beach Diet and Spicy Tofu Lettuce Wrap Tacos should be suitable for most low-carb eating plans.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Lettuce Wraps to find more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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