This nutritious tofu bok choy stir fry is super flavorful thanks to a homemade vegan stir fry sauce. It’s a quick and easy meal that takes 30 minutes or less to prepare on the stovetop – perfect for weeknight dinners! Crispy, golden brown tofu, tender bok choy, and meaty mushrooms are delicious served over rice, quinoa, noodles, or on their own.

tofu bok choy stir fry in a low bowl with a silver fork next to a bowl of white rice and a bok choy leaf

Do you have a meal or recipe you make once a week? For me, it’s a tofu stir fry!

As a Registered Dietitian, stir fries are one of my healthy meals because they’re loaded with nutritious veggies and protein.

This tofu bok choy stir fry is made on the stovetop in a wok or saute pan.

It features my vegan stir fry sauce with tahini, which adds tons of flavor and dimension to neutral-flavored tofu.

This recipe takes 30 minutes or less to prepare, and serves 3-4. It’s vegan, nut free, and dairy free.

tofu bok choy stir fry ingredients

Ingredients

Here is everything you need to make this healthy stir fry recipe:

  • Tofu: There are several types of tofu you can buy (read about the different types of tofu here). For stir fries, firm or extra firm tofu is best, because it holds it’s shape well when cut into cubes or slabs.
  • Bok choy: Boy choy is a type of chinese cabbage. It has a bulbous, crunchy end and wide, flat, green leaves. Bok choy has a flavor similar to spinach, but is slightly sweeter. Both the leaves and bulbous end are delicious when stir fried, and add different textures to this recipe. You can use full grown bok choy or several baby bok choy plants for this stir fry.
  • Mushrooms: I love to add mushrooms to vegan stir fries because they have a meaty texture and umami flavor profile. Feel free to use your favorite mushroom variety, such as cremini (pictured here), shitake, maitake, or oyster.
  • Cooking oil: Such as olive oil or avocado oil
  • Vegan stir fry sauce: To make the homemade sauce, you’ll need:
    • Soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free sauce)
    • Rice vinegar
    • Toasted sesame oil
    • Tahini
    • White miso paste
    • Maple syrup
    • Ginger
    • Garlic
    • Sriracha
    • Cornstarch

Kitchen equipment needed

  • Wok or saute pan
  • Cutting board
  • Chef’s knife, 6 or 8 inch
  • Wooden mixing spoon
  • Tongs
  • Small mixing bowl

Step-by-step instructions

Block of tofu wrapped in paper towel on a light blue plate
1. Drain tofu and wrap in paper towels. Press between two plates to remove excess water.
hands whisking up vegan stir fry sauce in a glass bowl
2. Prepare the vegan stir fry sauce by whisking all the ingredients together until smooth.

Recommended reading: If you are new to tofu, check out this comprehensive post on how to prepare different types of tofu for cooking. It has detailed instructions on how to press tofu!

bok choy leaves and stems separated on a teal cutting board
3. Prepare the bok choy: Remove the stalks from each other, and thoroughly wash and dry. Separate the thick stalks away from the leaves with a knife.
sliced bok choy stalks on a teal cutting board
4. Slice the bok choy stalks into half moon shapes.
Bok choy leaves torn up on a teal cutting board
5. Roughly tear the bok choy leaves into smaller pieces.
tofu cut into squares on a teal cutting board
6. Cut the pressed tofu into 1/4th inch thick square slabs. You can also cut the tofu into cubes or triangles.
Cooked tofu squares in a saute pan
7. In a saute pan heated with oil, cook the tofu until crispy and golden brown – 3-5 minutes each side.
cooked tofu squares on a light blue plate
8. Use tongs to remove the tofu to a plate, including any crispy bits that have stuck to the pan.
mushrooms and sliced bok choy stems cooked in a saute pan
9. In the same pan, cook the bok choy stems and mushrooms until tender.
bok choy and mushrooms stir fried in a saute pan
10. Add the bok choy leaves and cook until wilted.
tofu bok choy stir fry in a saute pan
11. Add the tofu back to the pan and pour in the stir fry sauce. Cook until the sauce has thickened up a little.

Serving suggestions: Serve tofu bok choy stir fry over rice, quinoa, noodles, or on it’s own!

Storage

You can keep leftover stir fry in the fridge for up to three days in an airtight container.

Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until heated through.

Tofu nutrition benefits

Made from soybeans, tofu is highly nutritious. It’s rich in plant-based protein: a 3 ounce serving has 8 grams!

Tofu is considered a complete protein, because soy has all nine essential amino acids.

In addition, 3 ounces of tofu also provides:

  • 1 gram of dietary fiber
  • 200 mg calcium (15% of your daily needs)
  • 1.44 mg iron (8% of your daily needs)

Tofu is high in beneficical plant compounds called soy isoflavones.

Soy isoflavones have consistently been shown to have many health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, breast cancer, and reduced inflammation (1,2).

tofu bok choy stir fry in a low bowl with a silver fork next to a bowl of white rice and a bok choy leaf

Bok choy nutrition benefits

Bok choy is a nutritious vegetable to include in your diet. 1 cup of bok choy provides:

  • 156.1 mcg vitamin A (17% of your daily needs)
  • 46.2 mg folate (12% of your daily needs)
  • 31.5 mg vitamin C (35% of your daily needs)
  • 31.9 mcg vitamin K (27% of your daily needs)

Bok choy is part of the cruciferous vegetable family, along with broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage.

Cruciferous vegetables (including bok choy) have beneficial plant compounds called glucosinolates.

These compounds have been shown to lower the risk of certain types of cancer (3).

Let me know if you love this post by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!

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tofu bok choy stir fry in a low bowl with a silver fork next to a bowl of white rice and a bok choy leaf

30-Minute Vegan Tofu Bok Choy Stir Fry

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  • Author: Alex Aldeborgh, RD
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: serves 3
  • Category: main dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Asian-inspired
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

This nutritious tofu bok choy stir fry is super flavorful thanks to a homemade vegan stir fry sauce. It’s a quick and easy meal that takes 30 minutes or less to prepare on the stovetop – perfect for weeknight dinners! Crispy, golden brown tofu, tender bok choy, and meaty mushrooms are delicious served over rice, quinoa, noodles, or on their own.

Ingredients

Scale

Tofu Bok Choy Stir Fry

  • 2–3 tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
  • 1 block tofu, firm or extra firm
  • 1 large bunch bok choy, or 7–10 baby bok choys
  • 1/2 pound mushrooms, such as cremini, shitake, or maitake, sliced
  • Optional: cooked rice, quinoa, or noodles, for serving

Vegan Stir Fry Sauce

  • 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 2 tbsp white miso paste
  • 1 clove garlic, grated or finely minced
  • 1 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and grated or finely minced
  • 2 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Prep the tofu for cooking: Drain the tofu and wrap between paper towels or a clean tea towel. Press between two plates (with a can of food on top if you have it), to drain out the excess water.
  2. Separate the bok choy leaves from each other and wash well, making sure there is no dirt built up in the stalks.
  3. Use a chef’s knife to cut the stalks away from the leaves.
  4. Slice the bok choy stalks into half moon shapes, and roughy tear up the leaves into smaller pieces. Keep the stalks and leaves separated. 
  5. Prepare the stir fry sauce: Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small mixing bowl. You can grate the garlic and ginger directly into the bowl. Use a small whisk or a fork to mix everything together until smooth with no lumps. Set aside. 
  6. Cut the tofu into 1/4th inch thick squares. You can also cube the tofu, if desired.
  7. Cook the tofu: Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a wok or saute pan. Add the tofu and cook on one side for 3-5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Flip and repeat on the other side. Make sure not to crowd the pan with overlapping pieces of tofu – you may need to cook it in two batches if you have a small pan.
  8. Remove the tofu from the pan to a plate, including any crispy bits that got stuck to the pan.
  9. Add a touch more oil to the same pan, then cook the bok choy stalks and mushrooms for 3-5 minutes, until mushrooms are deeply browned and bok choy stalks are fork tender.
  10. Stir in the bok choy leaves and cook until they are wilted, about 2 minutes.
  11. Add the tofu back to the pan, reduce heat to low.
  12. Pour the stir fry sauce over all the ingredients. You may not use the entire batch of sauce – add as much or as little as you like.
  13. Cook for about 1 minute until the sauce begins to thicken up a bit.
  14. Serve over rice, quinoa, noodles, or by itself.

Notes

Storage

You can keep leftover stir fry in the fridge for up to three days in an airtight container.

Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until heated through.

Keywords: tofu bok choy stir fry, bok choy tofu stir fry, vegan stir fry recipe, healthy stir fry recipe