Vegan Crock Pot Barbecue Tofu Recipe

Like most slow cooker recipes, this crock pot vegan barbecue tofu recipe is very easy. The only things required are to press your tofu, mix all of the ingredients, and turn on your crock-pot. Rich in flavor and very filling, this barbecue tofu makes an excellent and nutritious dinner. Served on rice, quinoa, or a grain salad, or used as the filling for sandwiches or wraps, these delicious cubes of goodness are perfect with any side dish that you like or that you already have at hand. Potatoes, noodles, tortilla chips, or just a salad or roasted vegetables complement the tangy and sweet flavor of the tofu well. Prep at lunchtime and come back to serve dinner, it's that simple!

Tofu is a wonderful source of nutrition and not many home cooks, unless vegan or vegetarian, rely on it to make nutritious meals. Tofu is coagulated soy milk that is pressed into blocks. It is found in different textures, from silken tofu, ideal for sauces and smoothies, to firm, extra firm, and sometimes super firm, ideal textures to stir-fry, fry, roast, grill, or stew. Tofu has high protein content with relatively low calories compared with an equal serving size of an animal protein. A 3-ounce serving of firm tofu has 63 calories and close to 8 grams of protein, but only 2.8 grams of fat. Compare that to the same serving size of ground beef with 168 calories, 15.7 grams of protein, and 10.8 grams of fat.

For best results, if you have the time, press your tofu in advance. Many commercial tofu presses are available, but unless you consume tofu on a weekly basis you might not need one. Instead, remove the tofu block from the package and drain, place it on a plate, and use a heavy wooden cutting board on top to give it a good squeeze. Discard the liquid and leave the block under the cutting board, placing a heavy object like a cast-iron pot or pan to help press it further. After around 20 to 30 minutes, you can remove the heavy pan and discard all the liquid. If you can, do this the night before and leave the tofu pressing overnight so it will have a much firmer texture. In either case, the recipe will turn out wonderful, but it's a matter of personal preference how much you want to press your tofu.