Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets

These Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Tofu is frozen, thawed, sliced and soaked in a bath of zesty lemon pepper flavor. Then, they’re slow-baked to achieve that perfect meaty texture. Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner!


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These delightful little lemon pepper tofu cutlets have become lovingly known as “salad chicken” in our house.

This is mostly because they are delicious and wonderful and absolutely perfect when they are when diced up and thrown into salads, but also because they are actually getting me excited about the salads in the first place!

That’s right, friends. The pickiest eater I know (me) is actually enjoying the pants off some salads this summer, and these lemon pepper tofu cutlets play a HUGE part in that!

For as much as I go on and on about how I’m not a huge fan of salads or vegetables, that’s only partly true. 

Tofu Cutlet Inspiration

Before going vegan, one of my most favorite summer meals was a BIG salad (usually Caesar or at least some kind of creamy rich dressing) with fresh grilled chicken and croutons…ALWAYS croutons. I. LOVED. THAT. STUFF.

And these lemon pepper tofu cutlets have totally taken me back to those days!

The taste is exquisite and goes with almost any flavor combo. And thanks to a killer freeze + press method, this texture is meaty beyond belief. 

I’ve served these cutlets in a variety of ways and to a variety of people this summer (most weren’t vegan and a few were self-proclaimed tofu-haters) – ALL with stellar results.

Needless to say, I’m pretty pumped to be sharing this recipe with you today!

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Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner! #vegan #tofu #veganrecipe #plantbased #mealprep // plantpowercouple.com

The Tofu Freezing Method

Have you ever tried freezing tofu before cooking with it?

This is actually one of the first tricks I learned about tofu back in my vegetarian days, although I wasn’t skilled enough in the kitchen yet to really put it to good use.

 (These were the days when I could barely boil water, friends. Dark times.) 

In the past couple years though, I’ve been putting this to work on a wide variety of recipes (like our heavenly Chicken(less) Parm), and I have to say: The meaty, firm texture of the tofu is incredible when you follow this method.

It does take some time (not effort, just time), but trust me when I tell you it is worth it. This trick will change your life and relationship with tofu forever!

How to Freeze Tofu

Okay, enough about that; let’s talk about how you do it:

First, go to the store and buy extra firm tofu.

When you get home, place the tofu in the freezer.

Do not open the container. Just take it from your shopping bag and place it in the freezer and shut the door. Leave it there overnight. You got this. 

The next morning, remove the tofu from the freezer and place it in a shallow dish on your counter or in the fridge until it thaws completely.

From here, open and press your tofu as you normally would. You can also give it a gentle squeeze over the sink to get out even more liquid.

You’ll notice the tofu is tougher and more porous at this point, and that’s exactly what we want. This means it’s ready to soak up any marinade you want (like a CHAMP, I might add) and give you the meatiest possible texture.

That’s it! That’s the freeze + press method. And it’s magic.

These Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Frozen + thawed tofu is sliced and soaked in a bath of zesty lemon pepper flavor. Then, they’re slow-baked to achieve that perfect meaty texture. Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner!

How to Make Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets

To complete this particular recipe, you’ll take your pressed tofu and slice it into 8 cutlets. I do this by slicing the long rectangle in half, and then slicing those rectangles in half, and then slicing those rectangles in half.

Don’t be too worried if you don’t have perfectly equal cutlets though (warns the perfectionist). Just do the best you can!

Mix up a few ingredients for your marinade: a little lemon zest and juice, olive oil, black pepper, and our amazing chicken-style bouillon powder

Oil-Free Note: If you want to make these cutlets oil-free, you could sub water for the olive oil, but remember this will add liquid to the tofu and affect the overall texture. This could be remedied by adjusting the baking time, but keep that in mind!

These Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Frozen + thawed tofu is sliced and soaked in a bath of zesty lemon pepper flavor. Then, they’re slow-baked to achieve that perfect meaty texture. Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner!

Add the cutlets to a shallow dish or bowl and pour alll that marinade on top. Then, set them to soak up all that flavor in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.

These Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Frozen + thawed tofu is sliced and soaked in a bath of zesty lemon pepper flavor. Then, they’re slow-baked to achieve that perfect meaty texture. Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner!

Finally, after your cutlets soak up allll that delicious flavor, you’ll bake them until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

These Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Frozen + thawed tofu is sliced and soaked in a bath of zesty lemon pepper flavor. Then, they’re slow-baked to achieve that perfect meaty texture. Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner!

And, voila! You just made lemon pepper tofu cutlets which makes you pretty incredible in our book!

How to Freeze Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets

And for the truly ambitious meal-preppers out there, you can even freeze the cutlets IN the marinade. (Like, BEFORE you bake them.)

That way, you can make a big batch of these at the beginning of the month to make weekly meal prep easy AF.

What?! I know, I know. I get so nerd-ily excited about this stuff.

To use the cutlets after they’ve been frozen like this, simply remove them from the freezer and let them defrost in the fridge overnight. The next day, they’ll be ready to pick up with the recipe where you left off!

How to Use Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets

As previously stated, my FAVORITE way to use these tofu cutlets is to slice them up and throw them in a big vegan Caesar salad with homemade croutons and our favorite NZ Sauvignon Blanc. I crave this meal at least once a week in the warmer months!

But, I’ve also really loved serving the above salad in sandwich form. Like, long roll, meet tofu cutlet, meet lettuce + vegan Caesar dressing.

Oh! They also make a killer vegan chicken Caesar wrap. But OKAY, I’ll get off my Caesar salad kick (can you tell I’m the BIGGEST fan?).

These lemon pepper tofu cutlets also make a killer make-ahead lunch, paired with rice or couscous and seared green beans.

And last but certainly not least, these tofu cutlets are awesome served over pasta in a lemony (vegan) butter sauce and sautéed spinach! They’d even be great served atop our vegan alfredo. YUM.

There are so many uses for these marinated tofu cutlets which is why they’ve quickly become a go-to recipe in our home!

Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner! #vegan #tofu #veganrecipe #plantbased #mealprep // plantpowercouple.com

Other Tofu Recipes You’d Dig:

I honestly cannot wait to hear all the fun and creative ways you find to use these lemon pepper tofu cutlets!

They are a total meal prep staple in our house, and I really hope you and your family will love them as much as we do. 🙂

If and when you give the recipe a try, don’t forget to let us know!

You can rate the recipe and leave a comment below or tag us in your creative and delicious photos on Instagram! If you’re not already following along, we’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”. 

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Enjoy!

Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner! #vegan #tofu #veganrecipe #plantbased #mealprep // plantpowercouple.com

Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets

Brittany Roche
These Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Frozen + thawed tofu is sliced and soaked in a bath of zesty lemon pepper flavor. Then, they’re slow-baked to achieve that perfect meaty texture. Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner!
5 from 10 votes
Servings 8 cutlets

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • PREP THE TOFU: First, you’ll want to freeze your tofu. Place the whole container (do not open it) in the freezer overnight. In the morning, remove it from the freezer and set it in a shallow dish on your counter to thaw. This will take several hours. When the tofu is thawed, squeeze it gently over the sink and press it with a tofu press or on paper towels to remove any excess liquid.
  • MARINATE: Place your tofu on a cutting board and slice it into 8 equal “cutlets.” Use a fork to mix all the marinade ingredients in a large measuring cup. Place the cutlets in a shallow container and pour the marinade over them, making sure each cutlet is coated. Cover and place them in your fridge for at least an hour or overnight.*
  • BAKE: When you’re ready to bake your cutlets, preheat your oven to 350F and grab a large baking sheet. Place the cutlets on this baking sheet and bake them at 350F for 40 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Depending on the thickness / brand of tofu you’re using, you may want to flip and cook them another 10 - 20 minutes until they are browned and meaty. We end up cooking ours an extra 10 most times.
  • SERVE: Finally, let your cutlets cool slightly before slicing them up for all your salads or pasta or bowls throughout the week. They will firm a bit as they cool. You can store them in an air-tight container in the fridge or freeze them for up to 8 weeks!

Notes

*Since these cutlets are such a staple in our kitchen, I will usually marinate a large batch of them at a time, separate them into several containers and freeze them in the marinade BEFORE baking. This makes it easy for me to defrost and pop a batch in the oven for salads each week, AND I’ve found it gives them an even better texture. Highly recommend this method!
FOR OIL-FREE: You can replace some or all of the oil with water, but remember this adds more moisture to the tofu which will affect the texture. Your baking time might need to be adjusted as well.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Pin this tofu recipe for later:

Lemon Pepper Tofu Cutlets are the perfect meal prep staple! Slice ‘em up for salads, use them for sandwiches, or serve ‘em over a mountain of rice for a filling and easy vegan dinner! #vegan #tofu #veganrecipe #plantbased #mealprep

Watch our Vegan Lemon Pepper Chicken web story!

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43 Comments

  1. I like to cut the lemon pepper tofu into cubes and toss them with a fresh, colorful salad. Yum.

    5 stars

  2. I LOVE this recipe! It’s quickly become just about the only way I’ll eat tofu. However I am making the transition to an oil free vegan diet. Is there a way to make this marinade without the oil?
    1. Hi, Tori! So glad you dig the recipe. :) I would start by subbing some or all of the oil with more water or veg broth and maybe upping the bouillon powder a bit. Would love to know how it goes if you try it!
  3. Hi! This looks delicious. I was curious, we bought the Better than Bouillion Vegetable base (not powder). Can this be used instead of powder with the marinade? If so, how much should we use?
    1. Hi, Melanie! Thanks so much. :) In this case, I would half the amount of bouillon you use and increase it slowly if you need more flavor. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
  4. Thank you so much for sharing this!!! Hubby & I decided to go plant based a little over a month ago & the only difficult part was finding a replacement for our chicken dishes. Our experience with tofu wasn’t the greatest initially, so I was hesitant to try this, but boy am I glad I did!! This has now become a staple of our weekly meal preps & I even used your method but with Italian spices rather than lemon pepper & it turned out amazing as well! Thanks again for helping make our transition to plant based that much easier!!!!
    1. Hi, Liz! You don't HAVE to, but frozen-and-thawed tofu will yield the meatiest possible texture. If you do choose not to freeze them, you may want to bake a little longer.
  5. I made these cutlets today. The only change I made was to bread them with the breading from your chicken parm tofu cutlet recipe. After baking, I made a lemon sauce and voila, chicken franchise! It was a huge hit, thank you for this recipe!

    5 stars

  6. I accidentally bought the bouillon cubes and not powder, is there a way to use this instead? Thanks! Looking forward to making this.
    1. Hi, Sara! You'll have to dissolve the bouillon cubes. I'd use one cube in 1/4 cup of super hot water. Let it dissolve then add that to the marinade. You'll have a little more liquid, but it should work just fine!
  7. Delighted! When freezing in marinade, do you let them soak up the marinade first or just put them straight into the freezer?

    5 stars

    1. We are absolutely delighted you're delighted, Karen!! I would definitely give them a little time in the fridge to soak up the marinade before freezing. (Also, cooling any food in the fridge before transferring it to the freezer will help cut down on the formation of ice crystals during the freezing process. Particularly helpful when freezing fresh berries/fruit.)
  8. Made these and they are great! Would like to make ahead and freeze...so do you freeze, thaw, press, marinate, then re-freeze? Or do you skip the first freeze and just freeze once while marinating?
  9. You are a genius for creating this recipe and the bouillon powder recipe. Absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much from a brand-new vegan.
    1. Thank you so much, Debbie! I'm very glad to hear you liked them! And welcome aboard! lol! Let us know if you're looking for anything in particular or recipes you'd like to see.
  10. You have revolutionized how I cook with tofu! I love this recipe and make it often. I usually make it with vegan yellow rice (basmati rice with bouillon and turmeric) and roasted broccoli and it comes together as a perfect easy comforting weeknight dinner. I just tried your tequila lime tofu too and am so impressed by the delicious flavor. I was also reluctant to try the tofu freezing method because it seemed cumbersome, but eventually I gave in and now I can never go back! The texture is soo good and the tofu soaks up the flavor of the marinade much better. I was going to ask where you buy vegetable bouillon powder because I haven't been able to find it in stores for years - but I see that you have a homemade recipe. Time to try that out!

    5 stars

    1. Thank you for all the very kind words, Sarah! I'm so glad you like it so much! We were also a little hesitant at first, but once we realized just how good this method is, we had to share it! You'll have to let me know what you think of the bouillon! Thanks again!
  11. I made these with the intention of putting them in an orzo pasta dish and knew in advance, the tofu I use and have frozen is a bit crumbly when thawed. So I cut/broke it into smaller pieces. I baked it up in late afternoon and left it to cool (after sampling way too many pieces). It was so yummy that I decided to take a small dish of the pieces to share with our neighbors during happy hour. And it was such a hit we ended up going back home and taking the whole batch back to the party. Needless to say, I’m going to make this again! Maybe next time it will actually last long enough for me to make that orzo pasta dish. 🙂
    1. That is such a fantastic story, and I am so happy you shared it with us! I also love the fact they were such a big hit! That orzo dish sounds like a great idea, and I can't wait to hear how it comes out. Thank you again for reaching out, it totally made my day.
  12. Sorry, I forgot to rate this but it’s a winner! My neighbor asked me to send her the link. Thank you for a fantastic recipe!

    5 stars

  13. I made this tonite and wow! It was terrific, with tons of flavour and simply great texture and colour. I added some raw cashews in the oven for the last 15 minutes for a bit of crunch. I cooled the cutlets as directed, then cut into slices and topped the tofu on a big bed of dressed greens. Really satisfying, meaty and soooo delicious. Thanks for this - the best way I've prepared tofu!
  14. This was SO good! I was a little apprehensive about the tofu really absorbing the flavour, but gosh did it ever. And the texture! I'm very particular about the texture of my tofu and this was perfect. I never thought about using an oil-based marinade before and it had a nice, crisp outside and meaty inside. I can't wait to make this again.

    5 stars

    1. I am SO glad you liked it, E!! And I understand what you mean about the tofu texture: we're a little particular about that too! LOL! Thank you so much for taking the time out to give us such nice compliments, and again, I'm really happy you enjoyed it! (It's one of my favorites too.)
  15. Absolutely love this recipe and make them all the time. My kids even gobble them up. This is a game changer!

    5 stars

  16. Delicious recipe but I did not want to do the extra step of freezing tofu. It came out ok. Maybe next time I will try freezing method of prep.

    5 stars

  17. I made the lemon cutlets last night and had a very hard time pushing my plate away to stop eating them. So delicious and taste like chicken. I used some of the left overs in my salad today. I just heated them up in my air fryer. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes
    1. I'm so happy you enjoyed them so much, Judy! Thank you so much for reaching out, and it is our pleasure to share these recipes with you. Responses like yours are what makes it so worthwhile.
  18. good morning, love your recipes. reason I am writing, you need to fix your website. Not all recipes have JUMP TO RECIPE and then some don't have PRINT choice (blacked out, on my computer). Example: Pineapple Teriyaki no print choice. Example: Tofu lemon pepper, print page is messed up, take a look. fyi
    1. Hi there, Susan! Thanks for reaching out. We're currently updating the site so all the recipes will have a "jump to" button. And the blacked out print button is a formatting issue we're trying to fix. The print option is actually still there if you click the black box, but I get it. It's confusing. Thanks again.

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