Vegan Tropical Tofu Skewer with Avocado and Mango Recipe
Heat up the grill to make these vegan tropical tofu skewers with avocado and mango! They're easy to make and perfect for summer grilling. Swap in whatever vegetables and fruit you like, or, instead of this meatless version, make these with chicken, shrimp or pork!
Hope y'all had a fantastic weekend! Since I was in NOLA last week for a Tri-Lamb event and heading up to Vermont this week for Blog Brulee, I basically stayed in most of the weekend and worked. Boo, I know. I even skipped a Clemson home game and gave my tickets to the hubs 13-year-old stepbrother. Y'all know if I'm willing to miss a football game I've got a lot of s*** to do.
Since the hubs and I aren't going to see each other for a week, decided to cook a fun meal together outside, disconnect from the outside world, and connect with each other. These easy vegan tropical tofu skewers were what I came up with. This time of year, when it's still summery out, but the mosquitoes aren't quite so brutal, is my favorite time to grill. We enjoyed them over brown rice with a cold glass of rose! To give these tofu skewers a tropical flare, I added mango and avocado, along with a spritz of lime juice and smoked chili flakes to finish.
Tips for Making Vegan Tropical Tofu Skewers
When I make tofu skewers (or any skewers!), I usually like to put each ingredient on its own skewer. Because different foods cook at different times - especially true with these, where the tofu, avocado and mango cook rather quickly, and the onions, mushrooms and peppers take a bit more time.
To keep everything from sticking, it’s important to oil the grill really well. I like to use a neutral flavored oil, like canola or avocado. It’s also helpful to toss the vegetables with a little bit of olive oil too, which also adds flavor, and helps the salt and pepper stick to it.
Vegan Tropical Tofu Skewers Recipe Adaptions
To make these tofu skewers, I whipped up a quick lime marinade, with a bit of soy sauce added for umami. What’s great about using tofu is that it soaks up all the yummy marinade! Feel free to use other dressings or marinades in the recipe. For example, a store bought jerk, mojo, or citrus marinade would also be tasty here!
You could also make these with different proteins, like chicken, pork or shrimp. If using chicken or pork, you might want to marinate a bit longer, but if you’re using shrimp, don’t marinate for more than a few minutes, as the citrus will “cook” the shrimp and turn it into ceviche.
Tropical Tofu Kebabs with Avocado and Mango
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Tofu:
1 16-ounce block of tofu, pressed dry
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Kebabs:
Mini sweet peppers
8 ounces baby bella mushrooms
1 red onion, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1 mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lime juice
Chili powder, for garnish
Directions
Cut tofu into chunks. Whisk together lime juice, soy sauce and olive oil in a medium bowl. Add tofu, toss to combine, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.
Toss peppers, mushrooms, red onion, avocado, and mango with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Skewer tofu, peppers, mushrooms, red onion, avocado and mango onto wooden or metal skewers. I like to skewer each ingredient individually (vs. mixed kebabs) to better control the cooking time, since the avocado and mango cook pretty fast.
When ready to make kebabs, oil grates of the grill and heat to medium-high heat. Place skewers on the grill, and cook until grill marked and tender. The avocado, mango, and tofu will take just a couple minutes per side, while the onion, peppers, and mushrooms will take about 4-5 minutes per side.
Before serving, spritz skewers with lime juice and sprinkle with chili powder.
If you like this tropical tofu skewers recipe, you might also like these warm weather grilling recipes:
Grilled Naan Pizza with Kale Pesto, Burrata and Heirloom Tomatoes
Grilled Zucchini and Green Onion Pita Pizza
Grilled Spring Vegetables with Miso-Lime Dressing
