Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Crispy Tofu with Honey-Sesame Glaze
Tender, caramelized Brussels sprouts with extra crispy tofu and brown rice, topped with an irresistible sweet-and-spicy glaze. Gluten free and easily vegan.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on January 2, 2025
You’re looking at roasted Brussels sprouts and crispy baked tofu over brown rice, drizzled with an irresistible honey-sesame glaze that brings it all together. This recipe features a few staple Asian ingredients, but it’s not one you’ll find on a takeout menu.
Have you made this recipe already, by chance? It’s one of my favorites from four years ago, but I was afraid the photos weren’t doing it justice. Over the weekend, it got some new beauty shots, and I’m sharing it again with some new notes!
This dish reminds me of one of the Annie’s frozen meals that I used to take into my office job when I was starting this blog, the broccoli teriyaki one. Maybe you know it. This is its homemade counterpart, which would coincidentally pack great for an office lunch.
While this recipe requires making several components, I love how the recipe comes together. You can bake the Brussels and the tofu in the oven at the same time, which might seem complicated at first glance, but it’s absolutely not! While those bake, the rice and glaze will be simmering on the stove. Then, it’s assembly time and dinner time.
In fact, I love this recipe so much that it inspired one of the recipes in my cookbook—the Roasted Broccoli, Bell Pepper, and Tofu Bowl with Peanut Sauce on page 175. I get hungry just looking at its photo. So good!
Change It Up
This recipe is quite versatile! I’d suggest making it as-is the first time, and then you can play around with these ideas.
- You can easily change up this recipe by choosing to use different vegetables (broccoli and bell pepper were fantastic in my cookbook recipe).
- You could also drizzle the recipe with peanut sauce instead of the honey-sesame glaze.
- Or, increase the sprouts to 2 pounds, omit the tofu and rice, and you’ll have an irresistible Brussels sprout side dish (better yet, follow my Kung Pao Brussels sprouts recipe).
Please let me know how the recipe turns out for you in the comments! I’m always so happy to hear from you.
Watch How to Make Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Crispy Baked Tofu with Honey-Sesame Glaze
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Crispy Baked Tofu with Honey-Sesame Glaze
Tender, caramelized brussels sprouts with extra crispy tofu and brown rice, topped with an irresistible sweet-and-spicy glaze. This meal requires some prep work, but once you’re ready, you can cook the rice, sprouts and tofu in about 30 minutes, while making the glaze in the meantime.
Ingredients
Brown rice
- 1 ¼ cup brown rice, preferably short grain
Roasted brussels sprouts
- 1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts
- 1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Fine grain sea salt
Extra crispy baked tofu
- 1 block (15 ounces) organic extra-firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari* or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch or cornstarch
Spicy honey-sesame glaze
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium tamari* or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 to 3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or sriracha (depending on how spicy you like it)
Garnish
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds but regular white are fine as well)
- Big handful fresh cilantro leaves, torn by hand
Instructions
- Prep work: Position your oven racks in the lower third and upper third of the oven.Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper for easy cleanup (and to prevent the tofu from sticking). Bring a large pot of water to boil for the rice. Rinse the rice in a fine mesh colander under running water and set aside.
- Drain the tofu and use your palms to gently squeeze out some of the water. Slice the tofu into thirds lengthwise so you have 3 even slabs. Stack the slabs on top of each other and slice through them lengthwise to make 3 even columns, then slice across to make 5 even rows (see photos).
- Line a cutting board with an absorbent lint-free tea towel or paper towels, then arrange the tofu in an even layer on the towel(s). Fold the towel(s) over the cubed tofu, then place something heavy on top (like another cutting board, topped with a cast iron pan or large cans of tomatoes) to help the tofu drain. Let the tofu rest for at least 10 minutes while you prep the Brussels sprouts.
- Trim the nubby ends and any discolored leaves off the Brussels sprouts, then cut the sprouts in halves lengthwise. Toss the sprouts with a light, even layer of olive oil. On a large baking sheet, arrange the sprouts in an even layer, flat sides down, and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Transfer the pressed tofu to one of your prepared baking sheets and drizzle with the olive oil and tamari. Toss to combine. Sprinkle the arrowroot starch over the tofu, and toss the tofu until the starch is evenly coated, so there are no powdery spots remaining. Arrange the tofu in an even layer across the pan.
- To cook the rice: Once the water is boiling, add the rice. Let the rice boil for 30 minutes, then remove from heat and drain the rice. Transfer the drained rice back to the cooking pot and cover for 5 minutes. Remove lid, add a dash of sea salt and use a fork to fluff the rice. Set aside, partially covered, until you’re ready to serve.
- To bake the sprouts and tofu: Transfer the pan of Brussels sprouts to the lower oven rack, and the pan of tofu to the top rack. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing the contents of each pan halfway through cooking, until the sprouts and tofu are deeply golden on the edges.
- To make the glaze: In a small saucepan, whisk together the glaze ingredients (start with 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce or sriracha and add more to taste). Bring the glaze to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring often and reducing heat as necessary. Simmer until the glaze is reduced by about half (about 5 to 10 minutes; it’s about done when it starts bubbling up substantially). Remove the glaze from the heat and set aside.
- To assemble: Divide the rice onto four plates. Top each plate with sprouts and tofu and drizzle with glaze. Finish each plate with a very generous sprinkling of sesame seeds and a small handful of chopped cilantro.
Notes
Tofu adapted from The Kitchn.
*Tamari note: Definitely use reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce. Otherwise, this dish will taste too salty.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Make it gluten free: This dish is gluten free as long as you use gluten-free tamari, which is a variety of soy sauce that is usually (but not always, check the label) gluten free. I always use tamari instead of soy sauce because I prefer the flavor of it! Look for tamari next to the soy sauce in the Asian aisle of the grocery store.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes! I made this today and my husband, who has not eaten brussel sprouts for 20 years and said he would ‘give it a try but will have something else for dinner’ ended up asking for seconds!
We are very gradually becoming vegans and advice like yours really help to learn about new approaches to cooking and the fact vegan food can taste even better than a carnivorous diet. I’m trying your brownie recipe next :)
Thanks, Kate! So glad you both enjoyed this dish. It’s one of my favorites!
Hey Kate!
Made this tonight and my glaze was runny! Any ideas why? I followed the recipe to a T!
Was still delicious, nonetheless. :)
Uh oh, sorry to hear that! Maybe your temperature was a little lower than mine and your glaze needed longer to cook down?
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe. I love our photos and great directions. I just moved into a new place, and it is crazy cold in the NE, so I wanted to use the oven tonight. I had tofu and brussels I picked up yesterday, and even though I was short a couple ingredients, I was determined to make it work (without going to the store). Subbed a little flour as I’m out of corn starch; no sesame oil on hand, but I had natural peanut butter, the kind that separates, so I skimmed a couple teaspoons of the peanut oil of the top instead. I used the maple syrup as no honey. I had some fresh ginger, so I grated about a half a TBSp into the glaze/sauce–yum. Everything came out really well–my hubby had seconds and so did I. Amazing dish for a cold winter night! Thanks again!
Thanks Kristen! So glad you both enjoyed this dish. I never would have thought to skim oil from peanut butter—brilliant!
oops, forgot to rate in my last comment–4 stars for sure!
I’m going to make this tonight and share it with my boyfriend. It sounds like the perfect meal for the time of year and weather we’ve been having. I’m in the Canadian prairies where temperatures are usually -30 celcius, but it’s been hovering around 0 celcius (freezing point) for the last 5 days or so – extremely mild temperatures. So I don’t feel like making a big batch of hearty soup, but I don’t feel like making a light salad either. This will be perfect!
Hope you two stay warm, Shannon! I think you’re right, this dish should do the trick!
Had this bookmarked to make for a while, finally made it today. My husband loved it and didn’t even miss meat!! The glaze was delicious. Thank you so much!
Awesome! Thanks, Sammi!
I made this last night and it was delicious. This was actually the first time I’ve ever made tofu, and it was a great introduction. I’ll definitely be making this again (soon)!
Hooray! Thanks, Janet! This is my favorite way to prepare tofu. Glad you found it!
This is my first time working with tofu, and my first time on your blog. You have won me over. AhhhMAZING recipe!
Thanks, Amy! Welcome to my blog, hope you enjoy the other recipes just as much!
I’m pretty sure Brussels sprouts are made of magic – they are SO DELICIOUS. Made this for dinner tonight – was a HUGE hit with the hubs. I actually thought it was really easy to make – a little time-consuming, but the prep was a cinch. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Thank you, Rachel! So glad you guys enjoyed it.
I made this for dinner last night. What an absolute winner! The slightly charred and bitter sprouts balanced perfectly with the sweet sauce (that is delicious!) and the nutty rice tied into the sesame seeds.
Super tasty and amazingly put together dish.
Thanks!
Thanks Kath! So glad you enjoyed it.
My friend shared your blog with me last week and I made this dish yesterday. Never in my life did I think I would actually want to eat tofu because it tasted good! I will definitely be making this again. I did leave the tofu in the oven for 35ish mins, but it wasn’t crispy at all. I am guessing I didn’t drain it enough! Is there anyway you can include nutritional information on your recipes? That would be very helpful!
Hmm, yes, I suspect there was still too much water in your tofu! Draining tofu is one of my least favorite things to do, ugh. I’m sorry, I don’t include nutrition information because it really varies depending on your ingredients and serving sizes. I don’t want to include inaccurate information!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KATE, LOVE YOUR RECIPES.
Thank you, Marion!
This recipe was delicious- even the leftovers were really good. My tofu wasn’t as crispy as I think it should have been, but it wasn’t easy removing all of that liquid. I would definitely make this again.
Thank you, Rachel! Glad to hear it. Draining tofu is one of my least favorite things. :(
Delish! This has been on my list for awhile, so I’m so glad I finally made it! Tastes amazing, easy to make, and simple ingredients.
Thanks, Scarlett! Happy to hear it!
Hi, I only recently came across your website!
Just made this recipe tonight and oh my! Me and hubby loved it! Delicious!
Will make it many more times.
Looking forward to trying many more of your beutiful recipes. Please keep it up:)
Thank you, Emma! So glad you enjoyed this one! Yay! Hope you like my other recipes just as much. :)
This recipe is so flavorful! It’s a bit unexpected; how well brussel sprouts, tofu, soy sauce, honey and cilantro go together but they really do complement each other beautifully. This is a new favorite! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Tanya! Happy to hear it!
Hi Kate! I am new to your website, and relatively new to both the vegetarian world and cooking in general (I am the type of person that can “burn water”). Thanks to your detailed instructions and photos, I successfully made this dish and both my boyfriend and I absolutely loved it. The flavors were incredible. I look forward to trying more recipes from your site! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for saying hello, Catie! So glad this one turned out well for you! Hope you love the others, too. :)
This is a great recipe!! Super delicious!! I love the way you bake the tofu because its so easy and it comes out crispy with a great texture.
Thank you!
Thank you, Hilary!
Dear Kate,
I must confess that I had never actually cooked Brussel Sprouts before finding this recipe… and I love it so much that every time I get Brussel Sprouts, I can’t help but make it again instead of trying new ones… Thank you so much :-)
Natasha
I love that! Thank you, Natasha!
This was really delicious! Even my daughter loved it and she never loves my forays into vegan cooking! I will definitely make this again.
Thank you, Tali! That’s great to hear!
Ahhhh….This was SO good. Pro tip: if you have an Asian grocery store nearby, they sell toasted sesame seeds in bulk. I have a large shaker container on hand to use. So much more affordable than the small containers of sesame seeds you find at the regular grocery store.
Yes! So glad you enjoyed it, Beth. Great tip on the sesame seeds!!!
OMG. Just made this and it was DELICIOUS. Another great brussels sprouts recipe is frying them in a pan with halloumi, a ton of garlic and some walnuts. Season with salt, honey and lemon.
Thanks, Johanna! Your other Brussels sprouts recipe sounds amazing. I want to try it soon!
Holy crap, this recipe came out SOOO good. I mean, I figured it’d be good, but not absurdly delicious and simple to make.
I did have to cook the tofu a for more like 50 minutes, and the sauce took about 25 minutes to really get down to the right consistency. I didn’t have cilantro so I substituted green onions. Definitely a keeper, especially the sauce!
Oh, and I added some garlic to the brussels sprouts!
Thank you, Sonia! I’m glad you loved this one.
Hi, Kate, stumbled across thus recipe and made it tonight. I happened to have shredded Brussels (which really confused the kids). Absolutely delicious!
Thank you, Lori! Shredded roasted Brussels sounds awesome to me. :)
This was fantastic !! The glaze is awesome. I tried it on roasted eggplant, also wonderful!
Thank you, Joann!
This was so incredibly delicious! Thank you for the recipe, Kate! Will definitely be making it many times to come. My husband and I loved it. Also, my kitty, Pinto, says hi to Cookie! :) (PS – took a photo and tagged on Instagram!)
Thank you, Dina! I think I saw your photo tonight—lovely!!
Really an awesome tofu recipe! I added 2tbs of orange juice to the sauce and put it on all the roasted veggies we made. Definitely will make again! Thank you
Thank you, Liz! That’s a great idea!
Hi Kate,
New to your website, have made a few recipes now including this one, which I loved. Thanks so much, you are helping me to eat gluten free (finally time to pay attention to that allergy I’ve been ignoring – only because I love pasta and bread so much :) I really love that I can search for seasonal/vegan + gluten free too. So thank you!!
This was so amazing! My boyfriend loved it too. Best dinner we had in months! mmm
Very good! I never would have thought to pair Brussels sprouts and tofu!
Made this last night and it was awesome. I really like how the glaze seeps in between the brussel sprout layers. I did not follow the draining instructions and instead blotted water from the tofu cubes with paper towels, which worked fine.
Thank you for all the great recipes.
I recently became vegetarian after a bowel resection surgery that made it impossible for me to digest meat. I happened upon your site and I tried this recipe tonight. Holy deliciousness!!!! I plan to include this into my rotation. Thank you for this and for your site! You are making my new journey inspired.
Thank you for your note, Elizabeth! So glad you found my site. :)
I made this the other week and it was DELICIOUS! I have been craving it ever since and am making it again this weekend. Is the only thing keeping it from being vegan the honey??
My husband and I cook so many of your recipes but this one is his favorite! He requested it on his birthday. I can’t wait for your cookbook.
I made this Brussels Sprouts and Tofu recipe today, but I used farro instead of rice. It was excellent! Thank you for sharing this!
This was, without a doubt, absolutely delicious! The spicy honey-sesame glaze was to die for but my tofu had a texture I wasn’t crazy about. The outside was sticky/chewy/dry. Do you know what I mean? How do I fix that? I’m trying to remember if I marinated the tofu and I think I did while I prepared everything else. I’m trying to find ways my husband and daughter wouldn’t mind eatting tofu. This came VERY close. They really liked the sauce, too.
Thanks, Erin! I don’t know why your tofu would be sticky. Did you use your own marinade? This recipe doesn’t call for one, and tofu isn’t actually very good at absorbing flavors from a marinade. It’s best to add them after it’s cooking. You might try using a little less arrowroot/cornstarch next time, and perhaps bake it a few minutes shorter.
Looks yummy! I love a good tofu dish, and I’ve recently discovered that I do in fact like Brussels sprouts…roasted, cooked on soups, and even raw! I usually dry-fry my tofu in a non-stick pan, but I’ll give this baked tofu a try.
My absolute favorite dish is Kung Pao (I linked here from your Kung Pao Brussels sprouts recipe). I think I’ll try a tofu/Brussels sprouts Kung Pao and see how it is.
This is an amazing recipe! Nutritious, delicious, economical and easy to prepare. Wow. And above all that, amazing flavours blend together for an exceptional at-home dining experience that rivals many restaurant meals I’ve had. I generally make this once a week now, and had rarely eaten tofu before.
Hi, I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for a while and finally did it last night. It was super easy & delicious. I came home after a weekend away and the only thing in my fridge was tofu & brussels sprouts. It was kismet!
Love the idea of extra crispy tofu and roasted brussels spouts. I pilled my dish on bed cauliflower rice, so yummy!
Thanks, Maria! That’s a great idea!
Wow! I just made the roasted Brussels sprouts with crispy baked tofu and honey sesame glaze and it is Dee- licious! I’ve tried tofu with mixed to horrible results before but the crispy baked recipe is the greatest! Definitely adding to my favorites list! Thanks!
Thank you, Mary Kay! That’s the only way I cook tofu these days!
Oh man this looks good! I love Brussels sprouts
Nirvana!!! Make this! I’d leave a picture of an empty plate if you want. Make this!
Hi!
I first tested this recipe last week and it turned out great. So I made a bigger batch for an office potluck. Everyone loved. And now thanks to you, I love Brussels sprouts:-)
This was fantastic. Such appealing flavors and textures and colors. Yummy! I will definitely make it again.
Hi Kate
I used this recipe tonight and really enjoyed it. The ingredients all go together well and it made a very tasty meal. It will become one of my regulars. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Have a great festive season.
Made this for dinner. Delicious!! SO much flavor. I added ginger and garlic to the glaze about half way through reducing it. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Thank you for another winner!
YES! Glad this came out well for you, Melanie.
I made this tonight. It was delicious. Normally, I freeze tofu to get the texture I like, but your approach worked beautifully to get a crisp and chewy outside. I only baked the sprouts for about 15 minutes (I don’t like them too soft). Will definitely be making this again!
I’m glad this worked as a good alternative to the freezing process, Cara. Thanks for the comment!
i know this is a really old post, but i just made this tonight and it was amazing and easy! i usually like my sprouts pan fried in bacon fat, and i’ve had a hard time finding an easy & tasty way to prepare tofu, but this was incredible! i think i have officially found my go-to food blog.
This is definitely a much healthier alternative, and I don’t think it sacrifices *any* of the flavor. Happy to have you here, Carrie!
This meal was absolutely delicious! We made it tonight after purchasing a tofu press. The crispy tofu was PERFECT after using our new tool. We just love your food. Thanks, Kate!
YES this is great, Lauren! Love that it worked with your new gadget :)