Cubed Tofu Is Perfect For Bulking Up Homemade Veggie Pizza

A global favorite, pizza has proven its versatility. Not only is the type of sauce, crust, or cheese customizable, but pizza is also open to even the most eclectic toppings. From pineapple and Canadian bacon in the U.S. to pickled ginger and squid ink in South and East Asia, almost any topping is welcome on pizza. While you may associate cubed tofu with stir fries and curries, it'll also make the perfect plant-based protein topping for your next homemade veggie pizza.

Tofu is even more versatile than pizza, with a tasteless and highly absorbent constitution that you can transform to fit any flavor profile. Cubed tofu is firm, chewy, and hardy, providing a satisfying heft that many vegetarian pizzas lack. Since it's used instead of ground meat in tacos, halloumi in Greek pitas, and paneer in Indian saag dishes, it has a penchant for substituting meat and dairy proteins. While tofu is technically cooked and ready to eat fresh out of its water-packed packaging, you'll want to saute, bake, or fry cubed tofu before using it as a pizza topper to bolster its texture and remove excess water. Let cubed tofu marinade in your favorite sauce or oily spice blend to create a topping that is as robust in flavor as it is in texture and nutrition.

While marinating tofu might sound like a tedious step, it's a simple and passive procedure that doesn't require much effort. You can toss the cubes with your favorite bottle of barbecue sauce, salad dressing, or a few drizzles of soy and sesame oil before placing them in a sealable container to sit overnight in the fridge. The marinade you choose opens up countless possibilities for pizza topping combinations. Barbecue marinated tofu would taste delicious on a barbecue sauce-based pizza with cheddar and jack cheese, red onions, and chopped cilantro. If you're a fan of Mexican ingredients, use a spicy chipotle, cumin, brown sugar, and garlic marinade for your tofu on a red pizza with corn, jalapeños, black olives, and pickled red onions.

You can easily add tofu to a grilled veggie and pesto pizza, as you can throw the cubes of tofu in with the raw veggies to marinate and grill alongside the pizza crust. If you don't have time for grilling, you can still get that smoky taste and meaty umami flavor from a marinade with liquid smoke, tamari, and cider vinegar. Smoky tofu would be a good substitute for bacon on a white pizza with cashew ricotta, thin slices of pear, arugula, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. You can also transform it into fresh mozzarella by marinating it in lemon juice, miso, coconut milk, and red wine vinegar for a vegan margherita pizza.