A simple recipe for Jerk tofu BBQ skewers served with mango and black bean rice. The skewers can be cooked in the oven or grilled on the BBQ.
Looking for a hearty but healthy lunch?
Try this jerk tofu BBQ skewers recipe.
Cooked on the BBQ or in the oven, then can be served freshly made and hot or deconstructed and served cold in lunchboxes.
Made with a variety of vegetables and with added protein from the tofu, it's a good choice if you're trying to eat better.
Jump to:
- 🥦 My Vegan Year
- 📖 Why I love this book
- 🍄 What you need to make Tofu BBQ Skewers
- 👩🏻🍳 Bake or BBQ?
- 💭 Preparing tofu
- 💭 Pressing tofu
- 🌽 Which other vegetables would be good on skewers?
- 💭 Wooden skewers tip
- 🥗 Other ways to serve veg BBQ skewers
- 📋 Want new recipes delivered to your inbox?
- ⭐ Pin it for later
- 🥦 Living on the Veg
- 📖 Recipe
- Comments
🥦 My Vegan Year
This recipe comes from the book My Vegan Year by Niki Webster.
I was lucky enough to be sent a review copy and permission to share a recipe with you.
The book is subtitled as a young person's seasonal guide to going plant-based.
It's a fresh and colourful book with lots of information and tips as well as 50 quick and tasty recipes.
Here are a few things Niki covers in the book:
- Being vegan through the year
- The vegan shopping list
- Vegan in everyday life
- Eat with the seasons
- New Year revolutions
- Nutrition needs
- Grow your own tomatoes
- Veganism and health
- Make your own planters
- Making preserves
- Make your own jam and chutney
- Foraging in nature
- Get swapping
- Staying healthy in winter
- The perfect plant-based party
- Making festive presents
- Frequently asked questions
📖 Why I love this book
It's all done in a fun way and the recipes come with droolworthy photos.
It all looks so delicious.
It would be a great buy for a teenager to learn a bit more about being vegan or trying out a few recipes themselves, but to be honest I think it's a brilliant book for anyone wanting to try out a few vegan recipes or to be fully vegan.
Highly recommended!
- My Vegan Year - The Young Person's Guide to Going Plant-Based
- by Niki Webster
- (£14.99, Welbeck Children’s)
- Published 30th November 2021
On sale for £9.99 (at time of posting) on Amazon now. Go on, treat yourself!
Niki also writes the popular vegan food blog Rebel Recipes.
🍄 What you need to make Tofu BBQ Skewers
Here are the ingredients you need to make these jerk tofu skewers in the oven or on the BBQ.
Tofu skewers and marinade
- firm tofu
- red pepper
- courgette (zucchini)
- mushrooms
- jerk spice
- sugar
- salt
- paprika
- olive oil
Beans and rice
- black beans (tinned)
- cooked rice
- mango
- spring onions (scallions)
- fresh mint
- fresh coriander
Dressing
- lime
- olive oil
- maple syrup
- salt and pepper
Printable recipe card with full ingredient list and method can be found at the end of the post.
👩🏻🍳 Bake or BBQ?
Summer grilling? Then definitely make these skewers on the BBQ and share them with friends and family.
The BBQ will give them that wonderful smoky flavour.
Heck, everything tastes so good on the barbecue.
Not the weather for a BBQ?
Just bake it in the oven. It will still be utterly delicious.
💭 Preparing tofu
It is best to press tofu before marinating it.
Pressing it takes out a lot of the excess liquid.
The recipe doesn't call for pressing the tofu so I do wonder if Niki used extra firm tofu which is pre-pressed and can just be chopped and marinated without pressing.
💭 Pressing tofu
If you have standard firm tofu, here's how to press it.
- Remove from the package and pour out any excess liquid and pat dry the tofu with kitchen paper.
- Add to a tofu press and leave to press for half an hour
- Remove the pressed tofu and chop into large cubes.
- If you don't have a tofu press, wrap well in kitchen paper, then a clean tea towel and top with a few cookbooks for weight, or a cookbook topped with some cans of tomatoes or beans.
- Leave for half an hour, then unwrap and chop the tofu into cubes.
Love tofu, try these teriyaki tofu crumbles and add them to tacos and wraps or try this easy tofu fried rice.
🌽 Which other vegetables would be good on skewers?
Here are some of the veg I like to add to skewers.
- Broccoli - I know not your first though but I like it charred
- Red onion - it's sweeter, but white onion would be ok too
- Aubergine - also known as eggplant
- Corn on the cob - cut in slices
- Tomatoes - cherry tomatoes work well
💭 Wooden skewers tip
You need a bit of prep before using wooden skewers.
They have a tendency to burn, so pop them in a bowl of water for half an hour before you need them.
It will offer some protection from the BBQ or oven.
Of course, you could also use metal BBQ skewers instead.
🥗 Other ways to serve veg BBQ skewers
These jerk tofu and vegetable skewers are great served with rice and beans, but here are a few more ideas.
- Couscous - remove from skewers and serve with couscous and a drizzle of my easy Greek salad dressing.
- Salad - remove from skewers and serve with a green salad and my easy vegan ranch dressing.
- Pizza - remove from skewers and top a pizza, try my easy sesame bagel pizzas.
- Pitta - serve in a pitta pocket with salad leaves and drizzle with my creamy Russian dressing.
- Pasta - remove from skewers and toss through freshly cooked pasta with some of my vegan cashew pesto.
📋 Want new recipes delivered to your inbox?
Sign up for my Vegan Lunch Box newsletter and I'll send the latest recipe straight to your inbox as soon as it is published.
Also, sign up for my Tinned Tomatoes newsletter for a selection of recipes delivered to your inbox each week or sign up for my email updates and don't miss out on the latest recipe.
Check your spam folder they don't arrive, I share a new recipe on each of my blogs every week.
⭐ Pin it for later
Follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
🥦 Living on the Veg
Once you've signed up for my newsletters and followed me on social media, why not join my Facebook group Living on the Veg?
Such a friendly community with lots of recipes and chat. I'm in there every day chatting. It's such a nice place to spend time.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Tofu BBQ Skewers
Ingredients
Skewers & Marinade
- 3 teaspoons jerk spice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons paprika
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 300 g firm tofu pressed and cut into large cubes
- 1 red pepper
- 1 courgette (zucchini)
- 12 mushrooms
Beans & Rice
- 240 g tinned black beans (drained weight)
- 250 g cooked rice (microwave rice is good to save time)
- 1 ripe mango
- 2 spring onions (also known as scallions)
- 1 handful fresh coriander (also known as cilantro)
- 1 handful fresh mint
Dressing
- 1 lime (juice only)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
Marinade
- Mix the marinade spices in a jar with the olive oil and sugar.
Skewers
- Cut the courgette, pepper and tofu into cubes. If the mushrooms are large, but them in half.
- Put the veg in one tub and tofu in another. Cover both with marinade and mix carefully until it is all coated.
- Cover and leave to marinade for half an hour.
- Soak your wooden skewers for half an hour too, this will stop them burning.
- When ready to cook, add the tofu and veg to skewers and cook in the oven or on the BBQ.
To bake skewers
- Preheat oven to 180c/160c fan/350f/gas mark 4.
- Line a large baking sheet with foil, place the skewers on it and bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
On the BBQ
- Carefully place the skewers onto a hot BBQ and cook for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally.
To make the rice
- Peel, then cut the mango into cubes and slice the spring onions.
- Add all the rice ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
- Add all the dressing ingredients to a jar and mix to combine.
- Mix the dressing through the rice.
To serve
- Serve the skewers with the rice and finish with a squeeze of lime juice.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If you buy extra-firm tofu, it won't need to be pressed.
- Microwave rice is a quick option for the rice. You could cook it at the last minute if you'd prefer to serve it hot.
- Cooled (quickly in another dish) rice and the veg and tofu from the skewers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days and served in lunch boxes.
Nutrition
Disclosure - I was sent a review copy of this cookbook and given permission to use photos and a recipe. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed were my own.
Hayley Dhanecha says
So good! I love to use tofu in my cooking but never used jerk seasoning with tofu! I will absolutely make these so soon. I love that you incorporated some vegetables too in this recipe!! So nutritional.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Adding extra veg is always such a good idea.
Casey says
SO MUCH flavor on one plate!!!!! Super fresh and healthy!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I know, the rice adds another element and a lot of flavour. A winner.
Rika says
I love tofu, my go-to vegetarian protein. The jerk seasoning sounds delicious.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh yes me too and such a lot of flavour in this one. Do check the book out.
Tara says
Such absolutely wonderful flavors paired with this tofu! I love all that spice and how the meal can be served cold in lunchboxes. Yum!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
It's always good to shake things up at lunch time. Well worth making an extra portion just for lunches.
Pat says
Oh I will look for this book and I am definitely making these skewers!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
It's a great wee book and such gorgeous but really accessible recipes.
Jill says
Those look amazing Jacquiline. I am adding the ingredients to my list now. Jill
Jacqueline Meldrum says
You will love it Jill I am sure.
Alison says
This Jerk Tofu is super flavorful and has a great texture. It's a truly special meal for any occasion when served with the mango and black bean rice!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh yes so tasty! I do love tofu when it's cooked right with lots of flavour.
Claudia Lamascolo says
Wow what a great taste to fool everyone no one knew it was tofu delicious!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Tofu is so good if well flavored and cooked properly.
Katherine says
I love jerk seasoning and can't wait to give these a try!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I'm sure you'll enjoy it then Katherine.
Beth Sachs says
ooo I have some super firm tofu in my fridge leftover from another recipe, and a new jar of Jark seasoning! It was obviously meant to be!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
It was definitely meant to be. Enjoy it Beth.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
These have such great flavour and really satisfying too. My family can't wait for me to make this.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I am sure it will be very popular with your family.
Toni says
This was so good! I love the idea of serving it with mango and black beans! So perfect!
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and yes it's a good combo.