I Made My Own Homemade Red Lentil Tofu

I love experimenting with unconventional recipes and learning new and interesting ways to prepare food.

I’ve never been a huge tofu/soy person, but it IS a great source of protein so I always felt it would be good if it worked for us.

My daughter is also allergic to soy though, so it’s been a no go for us.

A few years ago, I came across a “Burmese tofu” recipe and was intrigued. It was made with chickpea flour, and looked interesting…but I never got around to trying it.

Recently, I came back around to looking at homemade tofu recipes and found this red lentil version. The recipe looked easy and straightforward, and only has one ingredient other than water.

Recipes like this are perfect for me because although I enjoy cooking, I don’t like making elaborate recipes unless I have the kitchen to myself to really concentrate and take my time (aka never – #momlife #wifelife).

Here’s the short version of how I made it:

• Rinse lentils and add them to my NutriBullet pitcher along with boiling water.
• Let sit for 20 minutes then process until completely smooth and liquified.
• Pour into a saucepan with more water and whisk until it gets really thick, around 7 minutes.
• Pour into an 8×8 glass dish and allow to sit overnight in the fridge.

Done!

After it sat overnight, I cut it in cubes and followed these directions to sear it on the stovetop. I tossed it with extra virgin olive oil, nutritional yeast, and tapioca flour, then cooked it in a cast iron skillet until browned, flipping halfway through.

I wasn’t sure how the texture would hold up, and if it would be soft and mushy, but it isn’t. It has a similar texture to tofu, and you can adjust the amount of water you use to get the level of firmness you like.

It’s surprisingly good on its own, and can be used in place of regular tofu in many recipes. I read that if a dish is saucy or liquidy its better to pan cook it first then add it right before you serve it.

You can add flavorings to the tofu such as liquid smoke, nutritional yeast, or spices before blending to add additional flavor, but it also has a nice flavor without anything added.

I want to try baking slices and using in sandwiches, or in bigger chunks like “nuggets” and making a dipping sauce.

My husband and daughter liked it too!

If you want more high protein, versatile, and soy free plant based options, this is a great recipe to try.

Would you try making your own tofu?

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