Easy BBQ Shredded Tofu Lunch Wrap with Vegan Slaw

You'll love this shredded tofu lunch wrap. A tasty high-protein lunch wrap full of chewy BBQ tofu shreds with creamy slaw & tangy pickles.

Shredded tofu makes a great filling for wraps or tacos and I think you'll love this tasty lunchtime wrap made with shredded tofu flavoured with spices and finished with a tangy barbecue sauce.

The BBQ shredded tofu is teamed with salad, creamy coleslaw and piquant pickled cabbage.

The perfect protein-packed lunch that's filled with big flavours.

Jump to:

• 💭 What is shredded tofu?
• 💭 Which type of tofu do you need?
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Pressing tofu
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Shredding the tofu
• 📋 What you need to make BBQ shredded tofu wraps
• 🥣 Other sauces for shredded tofu
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Meal prep the tofu
• 🥗 What to serve with your wrap
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Related recipes - easy vegan lunch wraps
• ⭐ Save your recipes for free!
• 👩🏻‍🍳 How to make easy BBQ shredded tofu lunch wrap
• 📖 Recipe
• Comments

💭 What is shredded tofu?

Shredded tofu is an excellent way of sharing tofu with the tofu virgin, the tofu fearful or the tofu hater.

It's a great beginner's recipe as it's simple to make and the texture of the tofu is very pleasing as it's develops a meaty, chewy finish and is full of flavour.

The pressed tofu is patted dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen roll (kitchen paper), then grated with the coarse side of a box grater (cheese grater).

It's tossed in spices and a little oil and baked on a lined sheet pan (baking sheet) in the oven or an air fryer until chewy and starting to crisp at the edges.

Then it is stirred into a sticky sauce before it is served hot or cold.

💭 Which type of tofu do you need?

When making shredded tofu, you need a firm or extra firm tofu.

The firm tofu will need to be pressed to remove as much liquid as possible, but the extra firm tofu is ready-pressed, so that saves time.

Of course, ready-pressed tofu is usually more expensive, but you can weigh up if time or money is your key factor.

👩🏻‍🍳 Pressing tofu

The extra-firm tofu, just needs to be patted dry with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel, but the firm tofu will need to be pressed.

Here's how:

• Tofu press - simply add the tofu to the press, secure firmly and leave it half an hour, so the liquids have time to drain off as it's pressed (in my photo above the pressed tofu is sliced, however we won't do that as we are grating the tofu).
• Homemade tofu press - wrap the tofu in kitchen paper, then a clean tea towel and stack heavy cookbooks (or other heavy objects) on top or a heavy book and cans for half an hour.

👩🏻‍🍳 Shredding the tofu

The shredding part is real easy.

After the tofu is pressed, grate it on the coarse side of a box grater, then it's simply a case of adding lots of wonderful flavours.

You can change up those flavours every time you make it.

📋 What you need to make BBQ shredded tofu wraps

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make these shredded tofu lunch wraps, the ultimate summer sandwich (or any other time of year for that matter).

For the tofu

• Firm or extra-firm tofu - remember you have to press firm tofu, but not extra-firm tofu
• Ground cumin - for warmth
• Paprika - mild or hot depending on which you prefer
• Garlic powder - or garlic granules
• Chilli powder - or chilli flakes
• Salt & black pepper - to season
• BBQ sauce - homemade BBQ sauce or ready-made

For the wraps

• Flour tortilla wraps - any soft tortilla wraps
• Mayo - I mixed vegan mayo and dijon mustard or vegan ranch dressing would be good
• Salad leaves
• Coleslaw - homemade slaw or shop-bought coleslaw from your local grocery store or supermarket
• Pickled cabbage - shop-bought or try this quick pickled red cabbage, or quick pickled red onions would be good too

See the full printable recipe card below for quantities, method, notes and nutritional information.

🥣 Other sauces for shredded tofu

Once the spiced tofu is baked in the oven (or air fryer), it's a good idea to finish it with a sauce to give it a good flavour and texture, so it's not dry.

For this recipe we are using a BBQ sauce, but here are some alternative ideas.

• Sweet chilli sauce
• Harissa paste - mixed with tomato puree and some maple syrup or agave syrup
• Soy sauce - with maple syrup, peanut butter and gochujang sauce
• Sweet & sour sauce
• Buffalo sauce - try my easy homemade buffalo sauce
• Hot harissa sauce - another favourite of mine

That's just a few, there are so many different sauces you could use.

👩🏻‍🍳 Meal prep the tofu

Make batches of the shredded tofu minus the final sauce ahead of time and keep some in the fridge in an airtight container.

You can store it for 4-5 days.

The tofu shreds can be used in wraps, tofu tacos. burritos or even salad bowls (buddha bowls).

The meaty texture means it's also good used as a meat substitute in pasta sauces like ragu or bolognese or added to chilli with beans.

This recipe makes a small portion, which is enough for 3 wraps. but you can make a double quantity and bake it on two large sheet pans (baking trays).

🥗 What to serve with your wrap

Here are a few ideas of what to serve on the side with your tofu lunch wrap.

• Tortilla chips - make homemade paprika tortilla chips
• Crisps - chips in America
• Sweet potato fries
• French fries
• Green salad
• Chopped salad - try this Mexican corn chopped salad
• Potato salad - try this dill potato salad

To make it a heartier meal for dinner serve your shredded tofu lunch wrap with a bowl of soup or why not serve it with potato wedges and corn (corn on the cob)?

Have I tempted you?

👩🏻‍🍳 Related recipes - easy vegan lunch wraps

Looking for more tasty lunch wraps like this? Try these next:

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👩🏻‍🍳 How to make easy BBQ shredded tofu lunch wrap

These step-by-step photos will show you how to make this baked tofu wrap for a satisfying lunch or quick weeknight dinner.

Step 1

• Pat the block of tofu (extra firm tofu) dry with a clean tea towel (if you're using firm tofu, press it first to remove as much liquid as possible.
• Grate the tofu with the coarse side of a box grater.
• Add the grated tofu to a medium bowl (mixing bowl).
• Then add the spices, salt and pepper and a little oil and toss well to combine, so the tofu shreds are well coated.

Step 2

• Spread the spiced tofu out in an even layer on a big baking tray and cook in a preheated oven. Stir halfway through.
• Pour the shredded tofu back in the mixing bowl, add the BBQ sauce and mix well to coat.

Step 3

• Now assemble your shredded tofu lunch wrap.
• Spread each wrap with mayo (you can mix it with mustard as I did if you like) in the centre of the large soft tortilla wrap
• Top with a thin layer or pickled cabbage or pickled red onions (my husband says to tell you not too much)
• Add a layer of salad leaves.

Step 4

• Pile on the BBQ tofu crumbles (shredded tofu).
• Finally top with slaw, then wrap firmly, tucking in the filling and the sides as you roll it.
• Do the same for the other wraps.
• Enjoy!

📖 Recipe