Name: Crispy Sesame Tofu with Zucchini Noodle (Vegetarian Meal Prep)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 Portions
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Peanut butter; 2 tablespoons Sesame Oil; 1/4 cup Light low sodium Soy Sauce; 1/4 cup Rice Vinegar; 1 teaspoon Chilli Flakes; 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup (or Honey); 2-3 Garlic Cloves (roughly chopped); 1 knob Ginger (peeled and roughly chopped); 1 tablespoon Oil; 350 gms Firm Tofu (cut into small pieces); Zucchinis (spiralized); Sesame Seeds and Green Onions (for topping)

Crispy Sesame Tofu with Zucchini Noodles (Vegetarian Meal Prep)

Crispy sesame tofu with zucchini noodles is the perfect healthy, vegetarian meal prep. It’s low carb, vegan, and gluten free too! These meal prep lunches are served with crispy sesame tofu on a bed of zucchini noodles and a delicious

Serves 4 Portions

Prep 10 minutes

Cook 20 minutes

Total 30 minutes

Jump to the recipe

Crispy Sesame Tofu with Zucchini Noodles (Vegetarian Meal Prep)

If one of your goals for 2024 is to meal prep more, then this cripsy sesame tofu with zucchini noodles is just perfect! It’s light, it’s filling, it’s healthy, and absolutely delicious! And my favourite part about eating this dish is that there is absolutely no post-lunch sleepiness – a problem I often struggle with after a heavy meal.

I often prepare a large batch of this crispy sesame tofu with zucchini noodles over the weekend, especially when I know I am going to have a hectic week, and it’s easily one of my favorite meal prep recipes ever.

Peanut Sauce

The sauce is a very important part of this recipe. It’s a super easy blender sauce made with peanut butter, vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, maple syrup and water. This sauce is incredibly delicious and versatile, and I love using it in my salads and bowls. In fact, I have permanent space set aside for this sauce in the refrigerator now.

How to make zucchini noodles

Even though zucchini noodles are available at stores now, they aren’t always the easiest to find. Plus using store-bought noodles can be expensive. Therefore, I find making my own noodles so much easier. Apart from it being cheaper, making it at home ensures it’s fresher. I use my good, old mandoline to make zucchini noodles at home. It’s the most convenient option in my opinion, but it’s not the only way. Here are 5 different ways you can make fresh zucchini noodles at home.

crispy sesame tofu in a pan with crispy bits of caramelised sauce

Top Tips To Make The Best Crispy Sesame Tofu with Zucchini Noodles

You can store the sauce in these little sauce container, and the zucchini noodles in these glass meal prep containers and you are good to go!
Make sure to store the sauce separately and pour it over right before eating. This will keep the noodles crunchy till you are ready to eat.

How to eat crispy sesame tofu with zucchini noodle meal prep lunches

You can either eat this cold like a salad. I basically toss everything in the sauce and eat it straight from the refrigerator, This way the zucchini noodles stay crunchy and its great for afternoons
Or you can pour the sauce over the tofu and microwave the meal prep container. Toss everything and it’s a delicious hot meal. The zucchini noodles do leave a little water when you microwave, and when you toss everything together, it gets a little soupy but still stays crunchy and delicious.

Crispy Sesame Tofu Zucchini Noodles in four meal prep containers

Once you make this, you’ll realise that weekday lunching has never been this easy or this delicious! Even though this meal is vegan, you can easily replace the tofu with the tofu with protein of your choice like paneer or chicken.

More Yummy Meal Prep Ideas

The recipe

Crispy Sesame Tofu with Zucchini Noodle (Vegetarian Meal Prep)

Crispy sesame tofu with zucchini noodles is the perfect healthy, vegetarian meal prep that is low carb, vegan and gluten free too. These meal prep lunches are served with crispy sesame tofu on a bed of zucchini noodles and a delicious peanut sauce to go with!

Serves 4 Portions
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 30 minutes

Ingredients

Sesame Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup Peanut butter
2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
1/4 cup Light low sodium Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1 teaspoon Chilli Flakes
2 tablespoons Maple Syrup (or Honey)
2-3 Garlic Cloves (roughly chopped)
1 knob Ginger (peeled and roughly chopped)

Other Ingredients

1 tablespoon Oil
350 gms Firm Tofu (cut into small pieces)
Zucchinis (spiralized)
Sesame Seeds and Green Onions (for topping)

Method

1
In a blender or add all the ingredients for the sauce along with a splash of water and blend till smooth. Set aside 1/4 cup sauce and divide the rest in the mini sauce containers. You might be left with a little extra sauce which you can reserve for later – it works really well as a salad dressing!
2
Heat oil in a pan and add the tofu. As soon as the tofu is a very light brown, add 1/4 cup sauce to the pan and toss the tofu in it. Cook everything on low heat. In some time, the sauce will start to evaporate and slowly it will start turning into golden brown and sticking to the pan and tofu. Things will become crispy and you finally you'll be left with crispy browned bits of tofu in the pan.
3
To assemble the meal prep containers, divide zucchini noodles in the containers. Divide the tofu amongst the containers and place the mini sauce containers on one side. Place the lid and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Notes

Two ways to eat: You can either eat these cold like a salad. I basically toss everything in the sauce and eat it straight from the refrigerator, This way the zucchini noodles stay crunchy and its great for afternoons Or you can pour the sauce over the tofu and microwave the meal prep container. Toss everything and it’s a delicious hot meal. The zucchini noodles do leave a little water when you microwave, and when you toss everything together, it gets a little soupy but still stays crunchy and delicious. It’s best to store the sauce separately till you are ready to eat so that the zoodles stay crunchy. You can easily swap the zoodles for noodles if you like because these taste great both ways!