10-Minute Curry Tofu Salad (High Protein!)

This Curry Tofu Salad comes together in less than 15-minutes, doesn’t require any cooking, and very minimal chopping! It’s high protein and packed with veggies, making it the perfect easy lunch or dinner recipe that makes great meal prep.

Friends… I think I’ve just made the perfect 15-minute, no cook, high protein recipe. And the best part? It actually tastes AMAZING.

This Curry Tofu Salad comes together almost shockingly quickly, like, I felt like I discovered some sort of hack. It’s such an easy, healthy meal, and the fact that it requires no cooking whatsoever means it’s such a great option if you’re looking for a super easy meal prep recipe. It’s making my Registered Dietitian self very happy!

Plus, this recipe is so flavourful from the curry powder, vegan mayo, lemon, celery, red onion and cilantro! Think a delicious chicken salad sandwich, but with tofu. I love having this as an easy lunch or snack recipe, especially because it’s so easy to pack and take with you to work or school!

Now, you might be skeptical about eating tofu cold without cooking it, which I totally understand! But did you know that tofu is already pre-cooked? So you can definitely enjoy it straight from the package, which means no cooking required.

Why I Love Tofu

• It’s super high in plant-based protein, with 1/4 of a package of extra firm tofu having a whopping 14 grams.
• It’s also a great source of iron and calcium.
• It’s so versatile! You can use it in everything from Sheet Pan Meals to my 20-Minute Best Ever Tofu Scramble.
• It takes on the flavor of whatever you mix it with, which is why it’s so perfect for this Curry Tofu Salad!
• Despite what you might think, eating tofu (and other traditional soy foods!) has been shown to reduce risk of developing breast cancer and heart disease.

On a tofu kick? Try my 30-Minute Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry or Apple Radicchio Salad with Rosemary Thyme Tofu next!

Main Ingredients and Substitutions

This curry tofu salad uses less than 10 ingredients that you probably already have on hand!

Extra Firm Tofu: The base of the curry tofu salad! We use extra firm tofu in this recipe since it has the lowest water content and highest amount of protein per block. With that being said, if you prefer firm or medium firm tofu, those would work, too!

Celery & Red Onion: For a boost of veggies and flavor! To me, these are the perfect veggies in this recipe to add volume, color and fiber, but feel free to replace them with a different veggie of your choosing.

Fresh Cilantro: This adds such a delicious pop of flavor to the curry salad! But if cilantro tastes like soap to you, you can sub with fresh parsley instead or omit altogether!

Vegan Mayo: For creaminess! If you’re not vegan, regular mayo works just fine. Or, plain greek yogurt would also be a great high-protein substitution here.

Dijon Mustard: For lots of flavor! If you’re not a huge fan of dijon mustard, replacing with regular yellow mustard would likely work well, or you can omit it altogether.

Lemon Juice: For a little tanginess! Fun fact, adding lemon juice boosts the vitamin C in this recipe, which helps to increase the absorption of the plant-based iron from the tofu! If you don’t have any fresh lemons on hand, bottled lemon juice or apple cider vinegar would both work well.

Curry Powder: The star of the show! I used a mild curry powder in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever you prefer.

Garlic Powder: For extra flavor! I like using garlic powder rather than fresh garlic in recipes like this since it mixes in better, but you could replace this with one clove of minced garlic instead.

Salt & Pepper: Super important for adding extra flavor to the tofu, since it can be pretty bland on its own. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount to taste.

How to Make This Curry Tofu Salad

1. Start by chopping your celery, red onion and cilantro and set aside.
2. Remove your tofu from the packaging, drain the excess water, and wrap the tofu in paper towel and lightly press to remove excess water.
3. Crumble the tofu with your hands in a large bowl.
4. Add the chopped celery, red onion and cilantro, vegan mayo, dijon mustard, lemon juice, curry powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir well to combine. Taste the curry tofu salad and adjust the seasonings to suit your preferences.
5. Serve on toast, in lettuce boats, in a salad, or with crackers and enjoy!

Ways to Eat This Tofu Salad

There are so many ways to eat this tofu salad that it’s hard to pick just one! You can enjoy it:

• On toast with some crunchy romaine lettuce underneath
• Scooped into lettuce boats
• On a bed of salad
• With your favorite crackers

Storing Leftovers

I highly recommend making a big batch of this and storing it as leftovers for meal prep, since it only gets better as the days go on and the flavors really meld together.

You can refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Connect with Lauren

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! If you try it, let me know what you think by leaving a rating and a review in the comments below. You can also find 60 other delicious, easy plant-based recipes in my cookbook, The Simple Vegan Kitchen! 

Also, be sure to take a photo and tag me at @tastingtothrive_rd so I can re-share on my stories! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest so you never miss a new recipe or nutrition post.

Did you try this recipe? Make sure to leave a review, take a photo and tag me on Instagram at @tastingtothrive_rd so I can see!