This Vegan BBQ Tofu Burger is a super easy, but insanely (and I mean it) delicious vegan burger recipe that’s perfect for grilling or Summer dinner. It has been approved by several boyfriends and husbands in my family who are all huge meat lovers (and they always ask for more ;-)). The crispy fried onions, the juicy BBQ tofu, the garlicky mayonnaise sauce and lettuce with tomatoes create an amazing harmony of flavors, that’s truly addicting.
Vegan BBQ Tofu Burger
For more tasty vegan recipes, check out our vegan dinner, vegan burger, vegan BBQ, vegan sandwiches and vegan wraps recipe roundups.
Alright. Let’s talk about this baby for a second. This burger is the mother of all vegan burgers. Not only because it’s so super easy to make (perfect for beginners, trust me 😉 ) but it’s SO ridiculously flavorful and J-U-I-C-Y. It’s also one of my favorite tofu recipes ever.
Ingredients for Vegan BBQ Tofu Burger
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this delicious hamburger:
- smoked tofu (extra firm): the smoked, extra firm variety works best for this recipe, since it will have a nice strong flavor and it won’t crumble or fall apart
- BBQ sauce: any type of BBQ sauce you prefer
- BBQ spice mix: any type of salted(!!!) spice mix you prefer to use for BBQ
- vegan mayonnaise: store-bought or homemade
- plant milk: any plant milk with a neutral flavor, I used oat milk
- garlic and onion: yellow onion works best
- flour: white flour ( can be gluten-free) works best for flavor
- burger buns: any burger buns you prefer (it can be sliced bread, too)
- vegan cheddar slices: or any type of vegan cheese you’d like to put in the burger
- lettuce
- tomato
- salt, pepper and oil: I used sunflower oil for frying the onions and tofu
How to Make a BBQ Tofu Burger
To make the BBQ tofu, first cut a 0.35 lbs (160 g) smoked(!) tofu block in half and poke little holes in them with a fork (helps with absorption). Cover the slices with the BBQ marinade/sauce (ingredients in the recipe card). Let the tofu sit for at least 10 minutes (up to 6-7 hours) then fry on both sides on medium heat until the slices are nice and crispy.
The end result should look like this:
How to Make Vegan Garlic Mayonnaise Sauce
To make the sauce, simply combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. That’s it!
How to make Fried onions
To create delicious fried onions, cut up 1 big onion into thin slices, dip them into plant milk, then flour, then hot oil. Fry them until they are golden brown. Add salt and/or pepper at the end to taste.
And now basically, all that’s left is to layer all the components into a hamburger.
How I did it: garlic mayonnaise sauce, lettuce, BBQ tofu, vegan cheddar cheese, tomato slices, garlic mayonnaise sauce and fried onions. Yumm!!!
A mouthwatering bite shot for the end. 😉
Enjoy!
Vegan BBQ Tofu Burger
Ingredients
BBQ Tofu
- 0.35 lbs firm smoked tofu halved
- 2 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 1 tbsp BBQ spice mix salted
- 2 tbsp oil
Garlic Mayonnaise Sauce
- 8 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
- 4 tbsp plant milk
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- black pepper
Fried Onions
- 1 big onion
- flour
- 1/2 cup plant milk
- salt
- oil for frying
For the burger
- 2 burger buns
- 2 vegan cheddar slices
- lettuce
- 4 tomato slices
Instructions
- Cover the halved tofu slices in the BBQ marinade and let them sit for 10 minutes. On medium heat fry the tofu.
- While the tofu is soaking in the sauce, fry the onions. Cut the onion into thin slices, then dip them into plant milk and flour then fry until they turn golden brown. (Should be around 3-4 minutes).
- To create the vegan garlick mayonnaise sauce, simply add the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. In each burger add 2 tablespoon of the sauce. 1 tbsp under the lettuce and 1 tbsp on top of the tomato slices.
- Layer all the ingredients as seen on the images to create the hamburger.
- Enjoy!
What to serve with your Vegan BBQ Tofu Burger:
More tasty vegan burger recipes:
Did you make this Vegan BBQ Tofu Burger?
Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
Wow, this looks amazing! Have you tried grilling the tofu directly on the grill grate? Or do you think I should lay down some foil first?
I can’t wait to try this now that the weather is warming up!
Hey Sarah,
You can absolutely grill the tofu on a grilling plate! 🙂
Personally, I prefer if the tofu is not too burnt, so I usually just make it in the oven.
Made this for dinner. Let me say yummy. My husband and 17 year old son love this as well as myself. I will be adding it to the dinner recipe book for sure. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Can you suggest a brand for smoked tofu? I can’t find it in my area. Where did you purchase yours? I have a Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market an hour away. Would they have it? Thanks, can’t wait to try this!
Angie
Hi Angie!
Whole Foods has a smoked tofu that I can recommend, but I’m sure you will find some at Trader Joe’s too 🙂
Best,
Mira