Silken tofu and I have had a sordid past. I knew that all my “healthy” friends ate tofu, but this white block looked foreign to me. I never ate tofu growing up in my southern neighborhood. With everything revolving around fried food, it’s no wonder that tofu didn’t make our menu.
In fact, just recently my grandma had tofu for the first time, and she wasn’t a fan. Considering that I didn’t have a positive introduction to tofu, it’s taken my own curiosity to try this food out. Thankfully, I’ve come to enjoy tofu, whether silken or pressed, and I’ve found interesting ways to include silken tofu recipes into my diet.
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What is Silken Tofu?
At first glance, it may seem like all tofu is the same, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Silken tofu is undrained and unprocessed tofu. This tofu has the highest amount of water content, compared to other types of tofu. Tofu is made from soy milk, and provides a high amount of protein to your diet. You can choose soft, medium firm, firm, or extra-firm consistency when you select your silken tofu.
Silken tofu is made without pressing and separating the soy curds, which is the process with regular tofu. So, silken tofu is always going to be softer than regular tofu. Also, you don’t have to press the water out of silken tofu. Instead, you drain the water out of the package and pat the tofu dry.
Silken tofu feels like custard or a pudding, and it has a light texture. You can’t use this silken tofu in place of regular tofu, so you need to use specific recipes. Silken tofu is fragile, so it won’t keep its shape through extensive cooking. You can freeze tofu to make it slightly chewier, but it’s still going to be delicate.
What to Do With Silken Tofu?
Although silken tofu is fragile, you can use it for many different types of recipes. You can eat silken tofu hot or cold, and you can cook it or you can eat it raw. Silken tofu is the perfect substitute for eggs, or you can blend it into dips, smoothies, and many other meals. You also get the added health benefit of increased protein in your meals when you use silken tofu.
Best Silken Tofu Recipes for Dinner
When people think of silken tofu they automatically think of dinner options. Below are some of the ways you can introduce silken tofu to your family’s diets.
Recommended reading: Everything You Need to Know Before Cooking Your Tofu
1. Veggie Burgers
One of the best uses for silken tofu is incorporated into a veggie burger. You can mix up a package of silken tofu, beans, and spices to make the perfect veggie burger. You can also use this same recipe to create meatloaf or meatballs. The consistency isn’t as firm as meat, so you must cook these meals longer at a lower temperature.
2. Vegan Lasagna
You can use silken tofu as a replacement for ricotta cheese in this recipe. You can even cook your lasagna in the crock pot during the day, so it’s easy and convenient.
3. Tofu Alfredo
Use silken tofu as the base for your alfredo sauce in this recipe. You can serve the alfredo with meat, or without. By using the silken tofu you’ll decrease the fat in this recipe making it a healthy option.
Top Silken Tofu Dishes for Lunch
Now that we’ve talked about adding silken tofu to your dinner plans, let’s look at lunch. Tofu is filling, low calorie, and can help you get through your day! Just check out these interesting recipes:
1. Salad with Tofu Dressing
To make a healthier, and protein-rich dressing, you can use silken tofu as the base. You can use silken tofu to make a creamy ranch dressing, or any other “cream” based dressings. You can still include meat in your salad, it’s up to your preferences!
2. Quiche
You can substitute silken tofu for eggs in many different recipes. Generally, ¼ cup of silken tofu is the equivalent of one egg. So, you can substitute the silken tofu in for eggs in your favorite quiche recipe. By including tofu in your recipe, you will lower the cholesterol in your quiche servings.
3. Soups
Silken tofu is the perfect addition to numerous types of soup. You can blend silken tofu and puree it with vegetables to add texture to your soup. Or, you can make a broth and add chunks of tofu into your soup base. Tofu takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with, so if you put tofu in a broth for a few hours it will soak up all those delicious layers of flavor.
Interesting Silken Tofu Ideas for Breakfast
Yes, it is possible to have delicious silken tofu for any meal, including breakfast. Below you’ll see some easy ways to cook silken tofu first thing in the morning. Or, you can scramble up some silken tofu to have breakfast for dinner!
1. Tofu Scramble
We talked about silken tofu being an egg substitute, so it’s only natural to cook tofu like you would cook eggs. You can scramble tofu in a pan with your favorite herbs, onions, bell peppers mushrooms, and whatever else you’d like to add. To step up this scramble, put the entire mixture inside a tortilla. Now, you have a tofu breakfast burrito!
2. Tofu Smoothie
Tofu doesn’t have a taste on its own, so adding it to your favorite smoothie gives you a velvet consistency. The next time you’re making a breakfast smoothie, skip the protein powder and replace it with a cup of tofu.
3. Pancakes
Silken tofu is the perfect substitute for ricotta cheese, and tofu adds the same density to batter. So, reduce the fat in your pancakes, by adding tofu into your batter.
Silken Tofu for Dessert!
Even though desert may not be your first thought, tofu is a good substitute for many ingredients in your favorite deserts. By using silken tofu, you still get delicious desserts that are healthy and almost guilt-free.
1. Chocolate Mousse
This vegan mousse is easy to make with tofu, chocolate chips, and coconut milk. You can use regular dairy if you want, but most recipes are vegan that include silken tofu. This recipe is easy, and is much healthier than a mousse made with heavy cream!
2. Fudge Popsicles
Like the mousse recipe, you use chocolate tofu and honey to create this recipe. Once you whip the mixture together, you can freeze the fudge mixture in popsicle molds. After a few hours, you’re enjoying tofu fudge popsicles, and unless you tell your family they won’t notice the difference.
3. Cheesecake
Silken tofu is a great alternative for most kinds of cheese, including cream cheese. So, you can use tofu as a replacement for cream cheese in your favorite cheesecake recipes. You can also make mini versions of your favorite cheesecakes in muffin tins.
Let’s Cook Your Skilken Tofu!
