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Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice, garlic, red bell pepper, and carrots.

A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal!

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

These sweet chili tofu bowls are my lunch for the week and I am so excited to share!

As a busy work at home mom, I almost never take time to make myself a nutritious lunch.

One of my goals lately has been to really crack down on my eating and try to make it more clean and nutritious.

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

Lunch is one of my downfalls in this area.

When the baby is fussing and throwing food at me and I have a million things on my to do list, it usually just ends up being a sandwich in chips.

Not the most unhealthy meal, but also not the greatest nutritionally.

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

Enter meal prep!

I got these super cute 3 cup pyrex dishes last weekend to make 4 prepped ahead lunches each week.

This will not only save me time, but money too.

I plan to share what I’m eating each week for other vegans or vegetarians who struggle with lunch as well.

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

These sweet chili tofu bowls are PACKED full of flavor.

Crispy tofu, sweet bell pepper and carrots, and heart healthy brown rice in a sweet chili sauce.

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

I am still playing around with which store bought sweet chili sauce is my favorite, so if you have one that you love please let me know your recommendations in the comments below!

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

After you press the tofu, you will pan fry it until crispy.

I normally oven bake my tofu (see this recipe), but pan frying was a nice change of pace this time.

Honestly I love it both ways (I love tofu!)

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

I went with bell peppers and carrots for the veggies in this recipe.

Carrots might sound like an odd choice, but it works!

They’re also super affordable and one of my absolute favorite vegetables for their versatility.

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

This recipe made exactly 4 perfect servings.

Robbie tasted a bite and loved it, so I will be planning to make it for us for dinner one night in the next few weeks.

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

If you don’t have a rice cooker, I highly recommend the investment.

I’ve used my $40 rice cooker 2 times this week already.

Once I got the hang of the cook times and the difference between white and brown rice it has been such a time saver!

I use it to easily make my Enchilada Tofu Burrito BowlsVegetarian Mexican Rice Casserole, Sweet Potato Brown Rice Casserole, and more.

Do you meal prep? Tell me your favorite meal prep recipes in the comments below!

Pin these Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls:

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice and vegetables. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal! #vegan #vegetarian #veganmealprep #tofu

Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Meal Prep Sweet Chili Tofu Bowls with brown rice, garlic, red bell pepper, and carrots. A delicious vegan or vegetarian meal!

Ingredients

  • 14 oz extra firm tofu
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 lb carrots (around 5 medium sized), peeled and diced
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  • 2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
  • Sweet Chili Sauce
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Drain tofu and place in between a kitchen towel. Place a heavy object on top (such as a cast iron skillet) and leave to press for 30 minutes
  2. Cook rice according to package instructions (I used a rice cooker)
  3. Heat a medium sized skillet with 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil
  4. Add diced carrots and ½ teaspoon of salt
  5. Saute carrots on medium high heat for 10 minutes, or until slightly cooked but not yet soft
  6. Add bell peppers and garlic and saute an additional 5-7 minutes, until soft
  7. Remove from heat and stir in ⅛ cup of sweet chili sauce. Add more to taste if desired
  8. Once tofu has pressed, dice it up into small chunks and toss with ½ teaspoon of salt and 2 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch until well coated
  9. Heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  10. Once skillet is hot, add in tofu and pan fry until crispy on all sides (around 10-15 minutes)
  11. Add in ⅓ cup of sweet chili sauce and toss to coat
  12. Assemble bowls with tofu, vegetables, and brown rice.
  13. Add additional sweet chili sauce to taste, or pour some over the brown rice if desired
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 385Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 220mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 8gSugar: 8gProtein: 16g

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Deb

Thursday 12th of January 2023

I wanna see if I can figure out a way to do this with baked tofu. I really hate frying tofu. But the recipe worked out so well for me! I LOVED the end result. Thank you!!

Joy Shull

Friday 5th of May 2023

I have baked and air fried tofu with success! If you bake it, I would recommend coating in corn starch and olive oil, then placing on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 420. Flip it every 5-10 minutes, until crispy.

Nicole

Monday 25th of May 2020

I made this today and it’s delicious!!! That’s not surprising though as we have yet to not love one of your recipes. We definitely struggle with lunch meal prep as well so this is perfect. Thank you so much for all your hard work, creating and sharing your amazing recipes! P.S. would any other vegan protein sources work for this recipe? Although I love tofu, my husband isn’t a huge fan. Would lentils work?

Joy Shull

Saturday 6th of June 2020

I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe Nicole! lentils might work! You could also try roasting chickpeas too! Do you have an air fryer? I have found I love tofu in the air fryer too, it gets even crispier than in the skillet I have found!

Julia

Monday 23rd of April 2018

How many calories is this meal per serving?

Katherine

Wednesday 27th of September 2017

You have the most delicious recipes!!! I appreciate you and your talents and willingness to help us all toward better health. I definitely need to find the 3-cup pyrex bowls. That would help me so much as I like to cook for the week!!

I haven't tried this yet but I'm going to soon. I also love tofu!

I recently cooked polenta in my rice cooker on the white rice setting and it turned out perfect! Give it a try!

Joy Shull

Thursday 28th of September 2017

Hi Katherine,

Thanks so much! I found my pyrex dishes at Walmart! Polenta in the rice cooker sounds amazing, I will have to try that!

- Joy

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