Baked Chili Miso Tofu Bites

This is a spicy miso-glazed tofu recipe with an 8-ingredient chili miso marinade. The best part is tearing tofu to create these uneven bite-size pieces, which turn perfectly crispy after baking them in the oven.

If you are looking for the most flavorful marinated tofu recipes, look no further. This recipe is also included and many more like teriyaki fried tofu, spicy tofu steak, harissa tofu, or braised tofu (aka sofritas). Or browse through our vegan tofu recipes gallery.

What to expect from this recipe?

What is miso paste? Ever heard of it before? No idea what miso taste like? To be honest, I haven’t heard of it before, only after started eating tofu instead of meat.

Miso paste is a widely used Japanese ingredient, which is actually fermented soybeans basically. There are other grains are added like wheat, barley, or gluten-free grains. (Please note that not all miso pastes are gluten-free, so check the packaging for certified products!) There are 3 types: white (shiromiso), red (akamiso), and mixed (awasemiso).

What does it taste like? Umami aka flavor enhancer. It is savory and quite salty. I can taste that is made of soybean. And the fact that it is fermented it tastes tangy too. It is best if combined with strong spices and seasoning as it will deepen their flavor. It is similar to soy sauce but milder and not as potent.

With the combination of chili paste and the other spices, it will give you miso tofu that

• has spicy and savory taste,
• has crispy texture,
• is flavorful, and
• is easy to make.

Ingredients

This miso tofu marinade is simple, with only a handful of ingredients. It is a thin marinade so the tofu will soak it up all the way through. And this makes for delicious tofu bites.

• Tofu -> If you want crispy baked tofu at the end, definitely choose firm or extra firm tofu. We usually use the firm one as they soak up marinade better than extra firm or super firm, but it is still easy to make the tofu crispy at the end.
• Miso paste -> We use this gluten-free white miso that contains soybeans, rice, water, salt, and alcohol only.
• Soy sauce -> Choose a gluten-free alternative like tamari, since soy sauce is not compliant with a GF diet
• Spicy chili paste -> We used sriracha in this recipe, but you can use any of your favorites from around the world may it be sambal oelek, peri peri, gochujang, or harissa.
• White rice vinegar -> It is usually gluten-free, but you can read more about it in our “is vinegar gluten-free?” article.
• Sunflower oil
• Sesame oil
• Garlic powder -> Powders stick better to tofu compared to raw minced garlic.
• Onion powder -> Same goes for onion. It is just easier to work with a powder.

🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Instructions

A quick tip: If you buy pressed tofu, you can skip this step as its water content is already minimal.

Marinating tofu

You can cut tofu in different ways. You can choose to cut them into tofu cubes, triangles, or small slices, or leave them whole. But to make cute spicy tofu bites we tore them with our fingers.

1. After pressing a 12-oz block of tofu (approx. 340g), use your fingers and tear the tofu slowly and gently. You can tear them first in half or tear off larger pieces, then create bite-size tofu at the end.
2. Take a glass bowl and layer the tofu bites in one layer if possible.
3. Mix the ingredients of spicy miso marinade in a small bowl with a spoon (white miso paste, tamari, sriracha, onion powder, garlic powder, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sunflower oil). No need to blend it.
4. Pour the marinade over the torn tofu pieces and gently mix them. We use a silicone brush to make sure it is thoroughly covered.
5. Let the tofu marinate for at least 15 minutes. You can see from the below picture that the tofu soaked up all the sauce nicely.

Baking tofu

1. Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
2. Place the marinated tofu slices on a non-stick baking sheet/mat or parchment paper in a baking tray.
3. Bake them in the oven for 15 minutes.
4. Take it out, flip and brush the other side as well.
5. Bake them in the oven for another 15 minutes.

What to serve with it?

If you make this miso-baked tofu recipe, then you’ll get an absolutely delicious, crispy, and spicy tofu dish that you can serve with many sides. Here is our recommendation if you want to mix and match.

• Stir-fried or sautéed vegetables: eggplant, asparagus, mushroom, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onion, snow peas or snap peas.
• Grains: steamed, cooked, or fried white rice, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, or a combination of them. If you need to eat gluten-free, please make sure you use gluten-free grains. (Please note couscous is not gluten-free.)
• Noodles: we actually served it with these tahini miso soba noodles (see below photo) – (Please note not all noodles are gluten-free.)
• Riced veggies: cauliflower rice or sweet potato “rice”
• Light salads: it could be perfect to add to this Thai glass noodle salad.

FAQs and substitutions

Can you fry them instead of baking them?

Yes, you can use the instructions in our teriyaki tofu stir-fry recipe as a guide. In short, after marinating the tofu bites, fry them for approx. 10-15 minutes. Flip them occasionally. You probably will need a bit more oil to avoid sticking.

Can you make them in an air fryer?

I don’t have an air fryer, but I think you can air fry them without any problem. Try to shake the basket at least 1-2 times to avoid sticking if you don’t want to use an oil spray. If you do try it, let us know in the comments how it went.

Allergen info

This Baked Chili Miso Tofu Bites recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. 

• Vegan – All ingredients are supposed to be vegan.
• Nut-free – As far as I know, none of the ingredients should include any nuts. Check for cross-contamination issues in any products you buy including miso paste, vinegar, soy sauce, and chili paste.
• WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) – It is not a compliant recipe since we use oil to marinate the tofu bites. You can try maybe our harissa tofu marinade or our buffalo tofu marinade. Both of them are oil-free.
• Gluten-free – Soy sauce is not gluten-free, so use substitutes like tamari or liquid aminos. All other ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free, but always check the packaging for cross-contamination info.
• Soy-free – It is a miso tofu recipe so sadly it is indeed not soy-free. If you plan to use that marinade for something else maybe for seitan or vegetable kabobs, please use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. All other ingredients of the marinade should be soy-free.

More vegan tofu recipes

Check out the most flavorful tofu marinade recipes, or browse through our vegan tofu recipes:

THANK YOU so much for visiting our website. Please comment below if you have tried this recipe. We LOVE hearing from you! If you loved the recipe, please don’t forget to give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ RATING. We appreciate all of our readers.