Vegan Chicken Parmesan Recipe | Baked Tofu Parm with Pasta (2024)

Vegan Chicken Marinade

• 350 grams extra firm tofu
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 teaspoon dry basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Vegan Chicken Breading

• ¼ cup starch
• ¼ cup plant-based milk
• ¾ cup panko
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1 teaspoon dry basil
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• oil spray

Vegan Chicken Parmesan Sauce

• 3 cups strained tomatoes
• 155 mililitres tomato paste (5.5 oz can)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves (or ½ teaspoon dry basil)
• salt (to taste; about ¼ teaspoon)

To Assemble

• ½ cup vegan mozzarella-style cheese shreds
• cooked pasta
• vegan Parmesan cheese
• fresh basil , extra (optional)

Vegan Chicken: Marinade

• Slice the tofu into 8 thin square pieces (or whatever shape/ thickness you want).

  350 grams extra firm tofu

• Place the tofu into a container with a lid (that seals well) and add marinade ingredients.

  1 cup vegetable broth, 1 teaspoon dry oregano, 1 teaspoon dry basil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

• Place lid on container and shake to coat the tofu in marinade. Make sure the marinade coats all layers of tofu.

• Marinate for at least 1 hour (best to marinate overnight if possible).

Vegan Chicken Parmesan: Sauce

• Mince some garlic.

  3-4 cloves garlic

• Heat olive oil in a sauce pot. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until the garlic starts to soften and is fragrant.

  2 tablespoons olive oil

• Pour strained tomatoes into the pot and allow to simmer for ~10 minutes (may need to increase heat to medium-high to achieve a simmer).

  3 cups strained tomatoes

• Add tomato paste, sliced fresh basil leaves and salt to taste. Stir well and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes.

  155 mililitres tomato paste, ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, salt

• You may want to simmer for longer to help the sauce thicken (depends on how thin your strained tomatoes are).

• Set sauce aside while you bread and bake the tofu.

Vegan Chicken: Breading

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

• Set up 2 plates and 1 bowl for breading the marinated tofu.

• On one plate, pour about ¾ of the starch (save some dry starch for the end to add to the plate as needed).

  ¼ cup starch

• On the second plate, mix panko breadcrumbs with spices.

  ¾ cup panko, 1 teaspoon dry oregano, 1 teaspoon dry basil, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon salt

• In the bowl, pour in plant-based milk.

  ¼ cup plant-based milk

• Take a piece of tofu and lightly coat in starch; brush off excess.

• Coat starch-covered tofu with the plant-based milk, then place into breadcrumbs. Lightly press breadcrumb mixture onto each side of the tofu. Repeat for all 8 tofu pieces.

• Place breaded tofu on a parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly spray the tofu with oil then bake for 12 minutes.

  oil spray

• Take tray out of the oven, flip each tofu piece, spray other side of the breaded tofu with oil, then bake for another 12 minutes or until both sides of the tofu are nicely browned and crispy.

Vegan Chicken Parmesan Assembly:

• Place tomato sauce onto each piece of breaded and cooked tofu. Top the sauce with vegan mozzarella cheese shreds.

  ½ cup vegan mozzarella-style cheese shreds

• Turn the oven broiler to 450 °F and broil the breaded tofu until the cheese is melted, about 2-3 minutes (this can start to burn within seconds so keep a very close eye on it – depending on the brand of vegan cheese you use, it may not melt very well).

• Optional to top the tofu with extra fresh basil.

  fresh basil

• Serve with a side of cooked pasta and top everything with extra sauce and a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese.

  vegan Parmesan cheese, cooked pasta

Prep and cook time do not include time for marinating the tofu.

Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.

Nutrient analysis does not include serving with pasta, Parmesan cheese or fresh basil (just includes marinated breaded tofu, full batch of tomato sauce and vegan Mozzarella cheese).