Tofu Piccata

Pan seared crispy tofu in a butter lemon caper sauce, served over mashed potatoes for a cozy, plant-based main dish.

I love a plant-based dinner that’s fancy and cozy, without the meat. This tofu piccata is the kind of meal that you can serve at a dinner party and no one will miss the meat.

The key in this tofu piccata is boiling the tofu before searing it in a pan, and using both olive oil and butter to create the lemon caper sauce.

Why I love this Tofu Piccata

Typically, piccata is made with chicken that is breaded and pan-fried, then served with a lemon butter sauce and garnished with capers and parsley.

This sauce along is drinkable, especially over the pan fried tofu and creamy mashed potatoes. I make my own mashed potatoes to go alongside this tofu piccata, and I think it’s worth the extra effort. Once you learn how to make mashed potatoes, you realize that aren’t that difficult to make– simply peel, rice and mix with salt, warmed butter and milk.

Ingredient Notes

• Extra-Firm Tofu: You’ll need a firm enough tofu to hold up to boiling and pan-frying. I prefer extra-firm tofu or sprouted tofu, if you can find it. I grab extra-firm tofu at Trader Joe’s and Aldi’s, but you can find it at most grocery stores in the produce aisle.
• Lemon: Fresh lemon juice makes the sauce! It’s a must to use fresh lemon juice, not bottled lemon juice.
• Vegetable Broth: I strongly believe that good vegetable broth makes or breaks soup and recommend tasting your broth to make sure it’s a good brand that you like. I use this vegetable base most of the time. Some are better than others. I think that Walmart’s organic vegetable broth is a good, affordable brand, and I also really like Whole Foods 365 vegetable broth. I’m not a fan of Trader Joe’s vegetable broth.
• Butter: You can use regular or plant-based butter for this; I’ve tested it with both regular butter and Earth Balance and both work, you’ll just need less salt if you use the salted plant-based butter.
• Potatoes: I prefer Yukon Gold potatoes for the best mashed potatoes in my opinion, but russet or other potatoes will work.
• Milk: I prefer whole milk if not making this tofu piccata plant-based, but if you want to keep it dairy-free then I recommend a neutral unsweetened milk like soy or oat.
• Capers: The capers make the piccata sauce! Don’t skip it. Even if you don’t think you like capers, they are a must in this sauce along with the fresh parsley.
• Poultry Seasoning: This gives the tofu such a nice meaty flavor and no, it doesn’t contain and chicken! If you don’t have poultry seasoning, then substitute ½ teaspoon dried sage, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, and ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary.

How to Make this Tofu Piccata

Step 1: Boil the Tofu

Remove the tofu from the packaging and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the tofu. Cook for 3 minutes, then drain, taking care not to rip the tofu. Pat dry and set aside.

Step 2: Boil the Potatoes

Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water and salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. I test their doneness by inserting a small paring knife into one of the potato cubes. If it comes out easily, it’s done.

Step 3: Dredge the Tofu

Place the flour, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and add the boiled tofu. Cover the tofu in the flour, making sure to cover all sides, then shake to remove excess flour.

Step 4: Pan Fry the Tofu

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons each of the butter and olive oil. Add the floured tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown.

Step 5: Rice the Potatoes

While the tofu is cooking, place the cooked potatoes into a ricer and press through, putting into the same pot that you just used to cook the potatoes. You can use a potato masher if you’d like, but I find that a ricer is key for producing perfectly creamy potatoes.

Step 6: Make the Piccata Sauce

Remove the tofu from the skillet and add the remaining butter and olive oil to the skillet along with the broth, lemon juice and capers. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter has melted and the milk is warm. Place the milk and butter mixture in the riced potato pot and stir until creamy. Add in the salt and taste, adding more salt/butter as desired to taste.

Step 7: Assemble

Divide the mashed potatoes into bowls and top with the tofu and sauce, garnishing with extra parsley.

Chef Tips for Success

In so many of my recipes I call for pressing your tofu first, but not here. A quick simmer in boiling, salted water helps to firm the proteins on the surface of the tofu and push out extra water.

This makes for a drier, sturdier tofu which means it browns better and won’t crumble when pan fried. Boiling the tofu also helps to mellow out the natural soybean flavor, removing any beany flavor.

Make sure to pan fry the tofu on both sides until golden and slightly crispy on the outside. Adding in the poultry seasoning adds such a nice flavor to this tofu piccata, giving it a meaty taste that’s very similar to chicken.

More Tofu Recipes

• Peanut Tofu Buddha Bowl
• Tofu Scramble
• Air Fryer Bang Bang Tofu Bowls
• Kung Pao Tofu
• Tofu Gyros
• Vietnamese Tofu Spring Rolls
• Crispy Tofu Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema
• Vegan Thai Larb Lettuce Wraps

If you try this tofu piccata recipe, make sure to come back to leave a comment and a rating. Seeing you make my recipes makes my day and your feedback helps other followers!

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Tofu Piccata Recipe

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5 from 4 votes

Pan seared crispy tofu in a butter lemon caper sauce, served over mashed potatoes for a cozy, plant-based main dish.

Servings: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Equipment

• Sauté Pan
• Stock Pot
• Ricer

Ingredients 

For the Tofu Piccata

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided , dairy-free butter for vegan version
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 16 ounce package extra firm tofu, sliced into 1/2" inch thick slices
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Mashed Potatoes

• 1 pound Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
• water
• ¾ cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter, plus more for serving

Instructions

For the Tofu Piccata

• Drain tofu. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, then add the tofu slices. Cook for 3 minutes, then drain, pat dry and set aside.
• Put the flour, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper into a shallow bowl. Place the tofu into the flour, coating all sides and tapping off any excess. Place on a plate and set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu, in batches, and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes. Set aside but do not drain the oil/butter from the skillet.
• Into the pan, add in the remaining tablespoon of both butter and olive oil along with the lemon juice, broth and capers. Return to stove and bring to simmer, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Cook for at least 5 minutes; the sauce will thicken slightly as it cooks. Add the tofu pack into the skillet and stir in the parsley.
• To serve, place tofu on top of the mashed potatoes and pour sauce to coat. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

For the Mashed Potatoes

• Place the potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the pot to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and cooked through. I test this by taking my paring knife into one of the potatoes, if it slips easily into the knife, they are tender.) Drain well in a colander or sieve.
•  In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the 4 tablespoons of butter and ¾ cup milk until warm and melted, but not boiled. Set aside.  
• Add a small amount of potatoes in a ricer and in batcher, rice the potatoes into the same pot you used to cook the potatoes. Add in the warm milk and butter mixture into the potatoes, stirring with a wooden spoon until creamy.
• Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt (and pepper, if desired) Taste, adding more salt/pepper as desired. For creamier potatoes, add in another few tablespoons of melted butter or milk, but I like this slightly firmer potatoes to hold up to the piccata sauce.

Notes

For timing, I boil the tofu and potatoes at the same time. Then, while the tofu is searing, I make the milk and butter mixture. While I’m making my piccata sauce, I rice the potatoes and then stir in the butter/milk mixture to the potatoes right before serving. 

If you don’t have poultry seasoning, sub in ½ teaspoon dried sage, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme and ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary

Nutrition

Serving: 4servingsCalories: 512kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 14gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 965mgPotassium: 770mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 774IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 122mgIron: 3mg

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian Inspired, Plant-Based

Author: Alexandra Caspero