Grilled Buffalo Tofu Skewers

Tofu cubes are marinated in homemade vegan buffalo sauce, thread on skewers, and grilled until they get a crispy caramelized crust. If you want to enjoy an easy-to-make flavorful buffalo tofu dish, try making these. We give you tips on how to grill tofu in 4 ways: in a grill pan, in the oven, on a gas grill, and on a Blackstone.

You might think it is not easy to enjoy a flavorful tofu dish, but on the contrary, we have some super yummy recipes you can try. Our favorite tofu dishes are copycat Chipotle sofritas and crispy baked harissa tofu. Check out all of our vegan tofu recipes.

What to expect from this recipe?

In this recipe, we used a hot, piquant vegan buffalo sauce, which we have already perfected to make vegan buffalo chicken dip and vegan buffalo chicken wings. But this time we grilled marinated tofu skewers that are:

• Sweet and savory at the same time
• Hot and spicy
• Crispy caramelized crust
• Soft, but not dry inside

This tofu marinade is thick and heavy, which does not sweep all the way in the tofu, but rather sticks to it. Therefore, the marinating time is short and we recommend glazing it again after grilling or using the leftover vegan buffalo sauce for the full effect.

If you are interested, here are several flavorful tofu marinades we collected over the years.

Ingredients

First of all, you need to prepare the marinade. Here is the list of ingredients we used:

• Tofu -> We recommend using a firm or extra-firm tofu. Since it is a grilling recipe, you can also use smoked tofu, it would give an additional charcoaled taste for sure.
• Frank’s Red Hot Sauce -> This sauce is not only vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free as well.
• Vegetable broth
• Cashew nuts
• White wine vinegar -> While vinegar is usually gluten-free, be sure to check the label.
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Maple syrup -> apart from honey any other liquid sweeteners can be used.
• Soy sauce -> or choose from these 5 gluten-free soy sauce alternatives if you need a compliant substitute.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.

Instructions

Making the marinade

You can make a homemade vegan buffalo sauce in 5 minutes using a blender, immersion blender, or food processor. We have our trusted Vitamix*, which makes an extra smooth sauce.

Marinating the tofu

1. After you pressed the tofu cut them into cubes of approximately 0.5 * 1 * 1 inches (1 * 2 * 2 cm). If the cubes are too small, the skewer can split them. If the cubes are too large, they will remain too soft.
2. Take a shallow bowl and layer the tofu cubes in one layer (picture #1).
3. Pour the buffalo sauce on them and gently mix them. If you use a bowl with a lid, you can close the lid and shake the bowl gently.
4. Let the tofu marinate for 15 minutes (picture #2). You can use any remaining marinade for dipping sauce.

TOP TIP: Even if tofu appears to you as something spongy, it is usually quite wet. Hence the reason you need to press it. However, being wet, to begin with, means that thick marinades will not be soaked up completely. If you use a thin marinade like soy sauce, you can expect the tofu to be soaked through. However, with thicker marinades, like this Buffalo marinade, the trick is to cut the tofu small so that the marinade can surround it with every bite. That is why it is perfect to make tofu kebabs.

Which skewers to use?

Take your skewers and pierce the tofu cubes in the middle. Leave a bit of room in between them so they can be grilled from all sides. You have 3 options to choose from:

1. Wooden skewers* (or bamboo skewers) – You need to soak them in water for 10-20 minutes if you plan to use them on a gas grill. No soaking is needed for the oven or stovetop. 
2. Metal skewers* (usually made of stainless steel) – Zero waste alternative. 
3. Herb stems as skewers (rosemary is one of the sturdiest) – Tofu cubes can be quite heavy especially with a marinade on. These ones are better for soft veggies like cherry tomatoes or bell pepper. Not recommended for a gas grill at all!!!

Grilling tofu in 4 ways

In a grill pan

1. Heat the grill pan over medium heat and drizzle oil or dairy-free butter.
2. Place the tofu kebabs on it leaving a small space in between them.
3. Grill both sides for approx. 2-3 minutes.

Under the broiler

1. Pre-heat the oven on 400 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
2. Take a baking tray with a grill rack and spray or sprinkle the grids with a bit of oil.
3. Place the tofu kabobs on top. Leave some space in between.
4. Place the tray close to the broiler.
5. Grill them under the broiler for 8-10 minutes, turning them at half-time.

On a gas grill

1. Our little trick is to use aluminum foil drip pans* or grill mats*. This way you can be sure they don’t fall down even if you have large space between grids.
2. Spray or sprinkle the drip pans with a bit of oil. Grill mats are supposed to be non-stick.
3. Pre-heat your gas grill on 400 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and grill your tofu skewers for 8-10 minutes, turning them at half-time.

On a Blackstone or griddle

1. They can be super hot super quick as they have a completely flat surface, unlike the grill racks. So pre-heat your Blackstone on 300 Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius).
2. Spray or sprinkle it with a bit of oil. If you have a non-stick griddle, you don’t need to do that.
3. Grill your tofu kabobs for 4-5 minutes, turning them at half-time.

What else can you add?

You can see several grilled tofu kabob recipes with additional vegetables, but I think they are better stand-alone. If you want to add something, here you can find our detailed recipe for easy grilled vegetable kabobs.

In this recipe, we share all of our tips on how to grill the different veggies, which veggies are good to use in kabobs, and which ones are not. It will help you mix and match and decide what you want to add. However, we do believe that tofu-only kabobs are just perfect.

FAQs

How to store it?

If you want to make the marinated tofu ahead of time, let it sit in the marinade overnight and grill it the next day. Once grilled it can be stored in an airtight container in a fridge for up to 3-4 days at most.

Can you freeze it?

We don’t recommend freezing tofu after grilling or frying as the texture will completely change. If you want to use frozen tofu to make this recipe you can expect to be a more chewy, gummy texture. People who want the tofu to resemble meat like to freeze tofu before starting with any recipe.

Allergen info

This Tofu Skewers recipe is meat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free.

• Vegan – All ingredients are supposed to be vegan.
• Nut-free – We use cashew nuts to make the marinade really creamy. That is the best nut to do that. If you need a nut-free marinade, you can try using white beans (cannellini beans) or sunflower seeds. All ingredients are supposed to be nut-free but check for cross-contamination info on all packaging you need to use.
• WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) – All ingredients are oil-free even Frank’s Red Hot Sauce as it contains only cayenne peppers, vinegar, water, salt, and garlic powder. As for grilling, you need a non-stick griddle or other equipment to avoid adding oil.
• Gluten-free – Soy sauce is not gluten-free, so you need to use tamari, liquid aminos, or other substitutes. If you choose unseasoned tofu, then that should be gluten-free, but smoked and flavored tofu you should watch out for. All other ingredients are supposed to be gluten-free but always look for the certified label.
• Soy-free – Since tofu is the main ingredient in this recipe, you cannot really skip that to make it soy-free.

More vegan tofu recipes

More vegan grilling recipes

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UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in June 2021. More tips, info, and details have been added and it was republished in August 2022.