This tofu avocado salad is a no-cook, vegan, healthy recipe with a tangy Asian dressing that can be customized to your liking!
An Excuse Not to Cook!
This may surprise you to hear, but even us food bloggers get tired of cooking every now and then.
I find that this is especially true when it’s hot out, and I’m looking to avoid heating up the kitchen with the stove or oven.
Quick recipes like this tofu avocado salad are quick and easy, and require no cooking at all! Not to mention the fact that it’s healthy (with protein and healthy fats) and can easily be made totally vegan. I love it as a side dish, or as a light meal with steamed rice.
Customizing the Dressing
You can follow the recipe as written here. Or you can feel free to customize it according to your own taste preferences and what you have on hand.
Here’s how:
- Choose your “tangy” element of choice: I used Chinese black vinegar, but you could also use rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, lemon, lime, or yuzu.
- Change the “umami” element: Instead of (or in addition to) soy sauce, you can branch out with fish sauce, miso paste, oyster sauce, or Sha Cha sauce. Just be sure to stay mindful of your salt levels!
- Use different toppings: I just used scallions here, but you could also add toasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, roasted seaweed (laver), pork sung, chili oil, etc.
I hope you give this quick recipe a try! Enjoy!
Tofu Avocado Salad Recipe Instructions
Start by thinly slicing your silken tofu into small squares. Also cut your avocado in half. Thinly slice it crosswise so you get pieces similarly sized to the tofu slices.
Arrange alternating slices of silken tofu and avocado on a serving platter.
In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic and ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar, white pepper, water, and salt to taste.
Mix well to combine.
Drizzle over the tofu and avocado slices.
Chop your scallions…
Sprinkle them on top of the dish, and serve!
Tofu Avocado Salad
Ingredients
- 7 ounces silken tofu (200g, or about half a package)
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 cloves garlic (grated)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar (can substitute rice wine vinegar, lime juice, yuzu, etc.)
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 teaspoons water
- salt (to taste; you may not need any)
- 1 scallion (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Start by thinly slicing your silken tofu into small squares. Also cut your avocado in half. Thinly slice it crosswise so you get pieces similarly sized to the tofu slices. Arrange alternating slices of silken tofu and avocado on a serving platter.
- In a small bowl, combine the minced garlic and ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar, white pepper, water, and salt to taste. Mix well to combine, and drizzle over the tofu and avocado.
- Garnish with chopped scallions and serve.
nutrition facts
Can you make this with firm tofu? It’s all I have right now
Sure you can. you can also slice the tofu thinner to lessen its firmness :-)
Oh my goodness! This was delicious and I have requests to make it again very soon. I served it with sliced cucumber as well which added a nice crunch. Thank you for sharing your creations 😊
You are so welcome, Hannah.
Koreans have a very similar dish (minus the avocado) — very easy, delicious, and simple! My presentation looked like a Pinterest fail, however… with an overly ripe avocado and a lot of mush (feeding it to my baby who isn’t complaining). Will have to work on more careful knife skills.
It’s all good…we are not complaining either :-)
C’est très bon. J’ai suivi les conseils de Judy, pour réussir la présentation. Chris 06
Good job, Chris!
I’ve made this several times for dinner–serving it over short-grain brown rice. It’s wayyy too delicious for how easy it is to make! Magic!
How awesome is that! Love it.
I’m gonna be honest and say I was skeptical. I never really eat tofu that hasn’t been sauteed, baked, fried, etc. I know it’s technically not raw (my mom says it’s been steamed to look like that), but still hesitant. It turned out great though! I did the rice wine vinegar substitute (I usually cook Japanese style foods, so I wanted to use what I had). It was quick and easy, which was important since I worked 2 jobs today. Like how the avocado helped tone down the sauce a bit with its creaminess (been consuming too much salty foods lately >_<).
That’s awesome, Rin, and thank you for the 5-Star rating :-)
I was planning a dinner party and at the last minute found out that some guests had recently become vegetarian and were thinking about not coming. Nonsense! I told them and threw away my menu and crafted a new dinner menu. When I saw this recipe I was skeptical: tofu AND avocado? Isn’t that a lot of mush? But I trusted the dressing and Judy. It was a huge hit. Even the carnivores at the party inhaled their servings and asked for the recipe.
I’ve made it several time since and every time it gets compliments and requests for more.
Loved your comment, Steven, and thank you for your trust :-)
Wow, you’re a really good friend too!!
Hi Judy!
This is amazing! I’ve made it twice this week.
Question though– How in the heck did you guys get it to look like that??? Mines ended up looking like avocado congee …wahhhh :’-(
Hi David, my trick is arranging the plate as I cut 1 piece of tofu, then 1 piece of avocado, and repeat. Don’t cut them all, then arrange the plate :-)
So quick and easy when you’re feeling hot and droopy! And very delicious too!
Lovely!