Stir-frying leftover tofu is one of the simplest methods to use it up. You simply throw any tofu you have left in a pan with loads of veggies, herbs, and sauce, and you'll have a quick and nutritious supper in no time. Extra-firm tofu, as compared to soft or silky tofu, contains the least amount of moisture, making it great for stir-frying. When stir-fried, this type of tofu will have a crisp texture and a gorgeous golden hue. Even with extra firm tofu, it's best to press it first and get rid of as much of the liquid as possible because the lesser the moisture, the crisper your tofu will be.

The Minimalist Baker suggests adding one more step to your stir-fried tofu cooking if you want it to have even more flavor. Dry the tofu first, then bake it at a high temperature, remove it, and let it dry some more before stir-frying it. When these processes are added before stir-frying, the tofu becomes more porous, allowing it to absorb more sauce. This is the secret to giving tofu more flavor and a firmer, meat-like texture.

Blending leftover tofu into a smoothie is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of all the great ways you can use it. Although the exact quantity of protein in tofu varies depending on the variety, according to Healthline, a 3.5-ounce portion of firm tofu includes roughly 17 grams of protein. Adding tofu to a breakfast smoothie can also provide you with a protein boost in the morning, which may help you avoid hunger pangs and stay full until lunchtime.

Aside from its nutritional benefits, adding tofu to smoothies can improve the texture dramatically. Because you're mixing tofu with so many other fruits and veggies in your smoothie, the taste of tofu won't even be noticeable (via The Endless Meal). Instead, the smoothie will take on the flavor of the fruits you choose, with the tofu adding only a mild nutty flavor and making it creamier. The creaminess of a tofu smoothie is even compared to soft-serve ice cream by The Endless Meal. Smoothies are best made using soft or dessert tofu that has been left over. These have the mildest flavor, but medium, firm, or extra-firm tofu has a deeper flavor, making it more suitable for cooking.

Desserts are not just a creative way to use up leftover tofu, but there are several reasons why you should start including tofu in all of your desserts immediately. Tofu can be used as the main component in a dessert as well as a plant-based dairy substitute in vegan dishes, according to Wise Geek. It's also a great low-fat and low-cholesterol dessert ingredient.

Tofu can be used in a variety of desserts depending on the sort of tofu you have in your refrigerator. Silken tofu is perfect for sweets, despite its delicate nature. Silken tofu lends a smooth and creamy texture to desserts, and because it doesn't have a strong flavor of its own, no one will notice that it's there! Tofu can be used in place of cream cheese in cheesecakes, and it's also a terrific ingredient for making non-dairy ice creams using dairy-free milk and flavorings.

Tofu can be used to replace certain dairy-based ingredients in sweets, but it can also be used to replace eggs, particularly in baking. That small piece of leftover silken tofu from last night is your salvation if you're trying to create an egg-free batch of brownies or are out of eggs at the last minute.

Although tofu does not fluff up like an egg, its texture makes it a perfect substitute for the latter in any dish that calls for numerous eggs, such as custards and quiches, according to PETA. Also, The Pioneer Woman endorses this substitution, stating that tofu can be used as a source of moisture or as a binder in baked items that already have a binding agent (baking soda or baking powder).

Only a quarter cup of pureed tofu is needed to replace each egg. According to the YouTube channel Make It Dairy Free, the sole exception is that you should only use tofu as an egg substitute if you have unflavored silken tofu leftover. Tofu, according to Real Simple, tends to make baked goods denser, so it's best utilized in dense items like bread, brownies, and cookies.

Tofu has a terrible reputation for being a tough protein to grill because it sticks to the grates, but that's not an issue that can't be solved with a few kitchen tricks. According to Serious Eats, the grill, not the tofu, is the culprit in the tofu-stuck-to-the-grill situation. If your tofu isn't obtaining those nice char marks, it's probably because you didn't clean your grill properly or didn't oil it before cooking.

Another thing to bear in mind is that tofu should not be grilled like meat. Cook tofu covered and on the colder part of the grill for crisp and tasty results. This acts as a sort of oven, drying off the tofu and making it crispier. You should care to spray the tofu with a marinade both before and after grilling to give it extra flavor. You may consume the remaining grilled tofu as a quick snack or serve it on a tray with other grilled vegetables. After all, who knows, you might end up buying tofu packs expressly for grilling the next time you throw a BBQ.

Chef Bryant Terry created ripples in kitchens all across the world a couple of years ago when he published an incredible recipe in his cookbook. The recipe in question was asparagus with a lemon pepper marinade. So what's so surprising here you ask? Well, Terry used a little bit of silken tofu as the base for his marinade. Epicurious discovered that adding tofu to Terry's lemon-vinegar-mustard marinade gave the bright and pungent recipe a creamy texture and a characteristic similar to ranch dressing. Terry says you may use medium or firm tofu in place of silky tofu in his marinade as long as you blend it well and only use an eighth of the silken tofu that has to be replaced.

The cheese-like creamy texture of the pesto sauce in this tofu pesto pasta is also due to tofu. Another example comes from cookbook author Elizabeth Andoh, who told Serious Eats that she loves to add a bit of miso paste to her tofu dressing to disguise the raw soy flavor. Serious Eats also discovered that depending on whether you use soft or firm tofu, you can make the sauce either a smooth spread or a thicker dipping sauce.

Leftover tofu is an excellent opportunity to make a nourishing batch of soup for dinner. While both firm and silken tofu can be used in soups, the type of tofu you use will determine the sort of soup you produce. Soft and silken tofu, according to Leaf, absorb tastes better than their stiffer cousins and hence perform well in broths with more complex flavors. They're also more fragile, necessitating more gentle stirring unless you want to end up with shards of tofu floating around. Firm and extra-firm varieties of tofu, on the other hand, tend to hold their shape much better and you could use them as a protein-rich substitute for noodles in soups like chicken noodle soup.

There's also the option of tasting one of the many tofu-based traditional Korean stews. Kimchi soondubu jjigae, made with kimchi, sliced pork, and soft tofu, and haemul soondubu jjigae, made with soft tofu and seafood, are also available. These stews, on the other hand, call for a lot more tofu and are best made when you have a lot of leftovers. If not, you can always make a hot and sour soup with a cup of soft tofu!

Did you know you can make cream cheese or a savory spread out of leftover tofu scraps? That's right, you can put that nutrient-dense tofu on your bagels for a quick and healthy dairy-free breakfast. Tofu may be mixed into smooth cream cheese in a food processor and eaten simple or seasoned with mix-ins, according to The Full Helping. You won't miss the cheesiness of traditional dairy-based cream cheese with the inclusion of nutritional yeast. You don't have to stop there; tofu can be combined with veggies and spices to form a nutritious spread that you can spread over sandwiches and wraps (Via: Plant-Based Jess).

If you have extra-firm tofu leftover, it's preferable to use it for spreads and cream cheese. While silken tofu is great for smoothies and desserts, its high water content means that spreads like cream cheese will be runnier than usual. Tofubud also emphasizes the importance of removing as much water from the tofu as possible in order to make the spread rich and creamy.

Mapo Tofu, a fiery dish from China's Sichuan province, has the potential to convert meat-lovers to tofu devotees. Mandy Lee uses the flavors of mapo tofu to make a creamy hummus in her cookbook "The Art of Escapism Cooking: A Survival Story, with Intensely Good Flavors" (via Food52). This dish, suitably termed tofummus, transforms "the least popular" of all tofu variations into a smooth and spicy hummus, according to Lee. A layer of spicy mapo sauce made from Sichuan peppercorns, doubanjiang, gochugaru, Shaoxing wine or sherry, and ground pork or beef is layered on top of firm tofu, which is mixed to a velvety consistency.

While Lee's recipe calls for a pound of tofu, it's supposed to serve four people as an appetizer. You may easily adjust the recipe to produce a smaller portion of tofummus based on the amount of tofu you have leftover. Vaimomatskuu believes that using entirely firm tofu in Lee's recipe can make the hummus too thick, and instead recommends a mix of half silken and half firm tofu. If you have some leftover tofu from both types, this tofummus is a terrific way to use it up in one hot meal!

Even though there are vegetarian and vegan sushi options, it's difficult to picture Japanese cuisine without seafood. Thrillist even goes so far as to say that sushi should, by definition, contain fish. However, thanks to the rising popularity of vegetarian and vegan diets, that scrap of tofu you couldn't fit into last night's supper can now be transformed into sushi!

You might prepare ahead and marinate firm tofu in a miso-sake-mirin sauce overnight for a punch of flavor, depending on how much time and work you're ready to put into your sushi. All Recipes also recommends frying tofu to mimic the crunchy texture of tempura in sushi or pan-searing it if you like a more creamy texture. Tofubud recommends only using firm or extra firm tofu in this recipe because these varieties are less fragile and won't fall apart while rolling your sushi. Chefs also told Thrillist that because tofu is soft, you need offer a contrast of texture to the sushi by using crisp veggies and salty and sour pickles.