Home » Recipes » Mains » Zucchini Stir Fry With Tofu (Vegan)
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4.74 from 23 votes
by Carrie Walderlast updated October 11, 2023
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This zucchini stir fry is made with carrots, bell peppers, tofu, and Asian-inspired seasonings. Easy, healthy, and great for meal prep! Option to make a non-vegan version and serve with shrimp or chicken, instead.
Got plenty of zucchini on hand? This zucchini stir fry is a great way to use it up! It’s quick and easy to make – perfect for a healthy dinner or your weekly meal prep.
As a dietitian, stir fries are one of my favourite ways to pack in a ton of nutrients in one pan. This stir fry with zucchini is filled will fiber-rich veggies, quality protein, and healthy fats.
Like many of my recipes, this one can easily be modified based on what you have on hands or different veggies/proteins that you enjoy.
I’ve included a bunch of recipe modification ideas for you, as well as tips for cooking zucchini, and ideas for what to serve it with. Enjoy!
Want more meal prep ideas for lunch or dinner? Check out my roundup of healthy make-ahead dinners for more inspiration!
Recipe Ingredients & Possible Swaps
All you need to make this zucchini stir fry recipe are 12 simple ingredients:
- cooking oil or spray – I love using avocado oil spray for this
- zucchini
- bell pepper
- carrots – feel free to swap carrots + bell peppers for other veggies, like broccoli, mushrooms, snap peas, eggplant, spinach, etc!
- shallot – or you can swap with onion
- garlic
- tofu (firm or extra firm) – if you’d prefer to serve this with another protein, you can use shrimp, chicken, or beef
- toasted sesame oil
- soy sauce or tamari
- ginger (ground or fresh)
- rice wine vinegar
- cornstarch – or other thickening starch, like arrowroot powder
- optional: green onions (to garnish)
Full ingredient measurements and detailed instructions are located in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you peel zucchini before cooking?
There is no need to peel zucchini before cooking it. In fact, the skin of fruits and vegetables often hold a lot of the micronutrients and fiber, so I’d hate to throw that away!
How do you cut zucchini for stir fry?
For this stir fry recipe, simply:
- remove the hard ends off the zucchini
- lie zucchini on its side and slice down the middle, lengthwise
- then take each half and place it on your cutting board, face-side down
- cut along the zucchini in half-inch segments – the pieces should resemble little half-moon shapes!
How do you cook zucchini without making it soggy?
When sautéing or frying zucchini, I recommend holding off on the salt until after the zucchini is cooked.
In this recipe, all the veggies are cooked first and then we add the sauce (which contains salt) at the end. This results in veggies that still have some firmness to them!
Salt draws the water out of the vegetable, and can make everything in your pan a little soggy.
What To Serve With Zucchini Stir Fry
This recipe is a great source of veggies, protein, and healthy fats and can be enjoyed on its own if desired.
That said, I love serving it over a starch to round out the meal! Some ideas:
- brown or white rice (as I’ve done in these pictures)
- other whole grains, like quinoa, millet, or farro
- your favourite noodles (I love these brown rice ones!)
Zucchini Nutrition Benefits
Zucchini is rich in manymicronutrients, like:
- vitamin A
- vitamin C
- vitamin K
- vitaminB6
- folate
- manganese
- magnesium
- potassium
- copper
This summer squash is also a great source ofdietary fibre, with one medium zucchini providing 2 grams or 8% of your daily fibre needs.
Like other fruits and veggies, zucchini is also a great source ofantioxidants, especially carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin.
More Zucchini Recipes
- Raw Zucchini Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette
- Vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Creamy Zucchini Pesto (Vegan)
- Creamy Zucchini Potato Soup (Vegan)
- Zucchini Bread Steel Cut Oatmeal
Did you give thisZucchini Stir Fry Recipea try? Let me know by leaving a comment and recipe rating below!
If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me onInstagramorPinterest– seeing your creations always makes my day. You can alsosubscribe to my email listto never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!
Get the Recipe:Zucchini Stir Fry With Tofu (Vegan)
This zucchini stir fry is made with carrots, bell peppers, tofu, and Asian-inspired seasonings. Easy, healthy, and great for meal prep! Option to make a non-vegan version and serve with shrimp or chicken, instead.
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Servings: 4
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4.74 from 23 votes
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Ingredients
- 1 block tofu (firm or extra firm)
- Avocado oil spray (or other cooking spray/oil)
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups zucchini, chopped into 1/2-inch half moons (approx. 2 medium-large zucchini)
- 3 cups carrots, peeled + chopped (about 4 regular carrots)
- 1 large bell pepper, cored + chopped (I used red)
- Salt + pepper, to taste
- Optional garnish: chopped green onion, chopped parsley, toasted sesame seeds
Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tsp freshly grated)
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp cornstarch (or other thickening starch)
Instructions
Prep Tofu: Drain tofu and wrap with a paper towel. Gently squeeze to remove excess liquid, then place under something heavy (like a couple cookbooks) while you prep the veggies and sauce.
Mix cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water in a small ramekin, until a slurry forms. Then, make the sauce by whisking all sauce ingredients (including the cornstarch slurry) in a small bowl. Set aside.
Unwrap tofu from paper towel and cut into cubes of desired size.
Heat cooking spray in a large pan over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add tofu and season with salt + pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, undisturbed. Then flip each piece and cook for an additional 5 minutes, finishing with a quick toss of the pan at the end. Remove and set tofu aside in a clean bowl.
In the same pan, cook shallots and garlic for a couple minutes until lightly browned and fragrant.
Then, add chopped zucchini, carrots, and bell peppers to the pan. Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. TIP: you can add additional cooking oil or spray as needed here. Do not salt veggies yet, to prevent zucchini from getting soggy!
Once veggies are mostly cooked, add tofu back in along with sauce. Toss together and cook for an additional 3 minutes. The sauce should thicken slightly and coat everything.
Serve stir fry on its own or over some cooked grains or noodles (see notes for ideas). Add garnish as desired and season with additional salt + pepper, if needed. Enjoy hot!
Notes
*SERVE WITH: This recipe is a great source of veggies, protein, and healthy fats and can be enjoyed on its own if desired. That said, I love serving it over a starch to round out the meal! Some ideas:
- brown or white rice (as I’ve done in these pictures)
- other whole grains, like quinoa, millet, or farro
- your favourite noodles (I love these brown rice ones!)
*RECIPE MODIFICATIONS & SWAPS:
- Feel free to play around with the veggies here and use any that you like. I think this would go well with ones like broccoli, mushrooms, snap peas, eggplants, spinach, etc. It’s a great way to use up what’s in the fridge!
- Instead of tofu, you could serve this with another protein. It would taste good with tempeh, shrimp, chicken, or beef! Just note that cooking times will vary, but you just need to cook the protein first and then add it into the veggies at the end 🙂
- Shallot can be swapped with diced onion.
- Ginger can be ground or fresh.
- Cornstarch can be swapped for another thickening starch or flour, like arrowroot powder.
- I love chopped green onions and sesame seeds for garnish, but you can leave these out. If you have some parsley in the fridge, you can add that in here too!
- If you follow a gluten-free diet, ensure that you use a certified gluten-free version of tamari, rice vinegar, and cornstarch.
*LEFTOVERS: Leftovers of this recipe will keep for 3-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Nutrition
As a dietitian, I create recipes with whole food ingredients that provide the nutrients needed for optimal health. My nutrition philosophy does not focus on numbers; however, I understand that this information can be helpful.
Do note that the nutrition info provided is an estimate and I cannot guarantee correctness of the displayed values. These numbers will differ depending on brands used, recipe modifications, and amount eaten. If you require specific nutrition information due to medical reasons, please consult with your dietitian or physician.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword: bell peppers, carrots, tofu, zucchini
Author: Carrie Walder
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originally published June 15, 2022 — last updated October 11, 2023
33 comments Leave a Comment »
4.74 from 23 votes (10 ratings without comment)
Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe
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Kelly — Reply
I’m not usually a big tofu eater but this looked so good I had to try it. My husband and I both really enjoyed it! It was pretty simply to make – I added mushrooms to it too. I’ll definitely be making it on the regular and be more on the lookout for other tofu recipes! I also really appreciated the prep and cooking tips — thanks Carrie!!-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Kelly! So happy you enjoyed this one!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
If you’re looking to make more tofu recipes, some of my most popular are this honey garlic tofu, miso maple tofu, and this tofu tomato pasta. I’d love to know if you try any others!!
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Kelly —
Thanks!! I’ll try that next time!
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Michael Cialone — Reply
Looks excellent! I love these healthy recipies.-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Thank you so much, Michael! So happy to hear you enjoy them 🙂
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Holly — Reply
Great recipe for using up summer squash from my late summer garden! I used all peppers and yellow squash for my veggies with tofu for the protein. Easy and delicious! I loved that it was flavorful but not overly salty.-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Holly! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review – it’s so appreciated. I’m so glad you enjoyed this one!! I LOVE that you used summer squash from your own garden! My apartment-dwelling self is jealous haha 🙂
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Dan — Reply
I love tofu and I appreciate additional stir fry recipes. This recipe was well detailed and very scrumptious, It had the right balance of salty and sweet. It is well worth repeating with variations in the fresh vegetables. I am a certified diabetes educator and (physician) nutrition specialist. I recommend tofu to many of my patients. Sadly, most are not familiar with all its benefits. Thanks Carrie.-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Dan! Thank you so much for the kind words and for taking the time to leave a review. I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this one!
That’s so awesome you’re a CDE and physician nutrition specialist. I too love tofu and its benefits :). If you ever need any easy, nutritious tofu recipes to recommend to your patients, I’ve got a handful of them on the blog HERE that they can explore!
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Kelly — Reply
How much does the sauce recipe make? I was going to sub this for pre-made soy sauce and was not sure how much to add to the recipe. This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try!
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Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Kelly! Thanks so much for your question. There are roughly 1.5 cups of sauce here 🙂
I’m not sure if you meant a pre-made sauce made from soy sauce and other ingredients, or if you want to add just soy sauce (from the bottle). If it’s the latter, I would not add 1.5 cups of it as that would be very salty!! Just a heads up in case! I hope you enjoy!
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Stephanie — Reply
When do you add the cornstarch mixture? Do you toss it with the tofu before frying?
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Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Stephanie – thanks for your question! The cornstarch comes in at step #2 in the recipe card. It’s mixed with the rest of the sauce ingredients to help thicken it. I hope that helps 🙂
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Jim — Reply
Not a lot of flavor and took way longer to make than 40 minutes. Make sure to cook the tofu in a non stick pan or else all the coating will stick to the bottom of the pan and will be soggy-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Sorry to hear you didn’t like this one as much as myself and others have, Jim!
Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to estimate exactly how long a recipe will take someone as we all have different circ*mstances and speeds in the kitchen, but the recipe only requires the ingredients to be chopped and then about 25 minutes of active cooking time. Sautéed vegetables and tofu don’t require a very long cooking time. Again, sorry to hear this recipe wasn’t for you!
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Gloria Williams — Reply
Love this recipe! I made it with shrimp and added in radishes with all the veggies. I also made a side of brown rice to help round out the meal. I love this as an easy, cheap, and super healthy meal.-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Gloria! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review – it’s so appreciated! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this one!! With shrimp + brown rice sounds soo delicious, I need to make this with shrimp next time 🙂
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Ian — Reply
Just learning to cook with tofu, tried this recipe and it turned out excellent. I skipped the peppers and went with mushrooms-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Ian! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this one! If you’re looking for more ways to cook with tofu, feel free to check out my tofu recipe roundup HERE. This honey garlic tofu and this tofu tomato pasta are some of the most popular recipes on the blog 🙂
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Debbie Westfall — Reply
This was delicious!-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Thank you so much, Debbie!! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
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Nona Anderson — Reply
Oh my gosh, this was a fabulous dish. I was so glad I had so much zucchini to be used. I just made it again, this time I sautéed all the veggies that needed to be used up and made the sauce separate, then we will use it as we please. This will last several days; not sad about that.-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Nona! Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. Such a great way to use up all that end-of-summer zucchini 🙂
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Karen Elyse — Reply
Had a little trouble with the tofu since I’ve never cooked that before and prep took a little more time than I anticipated. Along the way, I thought this recipe was not going to turn out great. But even with my messing up along the way, it turned out fabulous. Really delicious!
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Carrie Walder — Reply
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Karen! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it and that it ended up being a good experience cooking tofu for the first time!!
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Pepper — Reply
I’m kind of.a disaster in the kitchen, but this turned out fabulous!-
Carrie Walder — Reply
I’m so happy to hear it worked out for you, Pepper!! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a kind review 🙂
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Rita — Reply
I’d like to print this recipe-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Hi Rita! There is a print button right under the picture in the recipe card (as with all my recipes)! If you’re having trouble finding it, feel free to email me and I can send you a screenshot 🙂
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Shelby — Reply
Very good! I used a high protein tofu and coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. I also used fresh grated ginger. Great recipe to have on hand!-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Thank you so much for the kind words, Shelby!! Love your modifications and I’m so glad you enjoyed this one 🙂
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Kelly — Reply
Good recipe! Personally though, it was a bit too vinegar-y for me so I think I might even entirely omit the vinegar next time.. But! I liked how saucy it was and how I was able to use all of my leftover veggies!-
Carrie Walder — Reply
Thanks so much, Kelly!! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe :). To offset the vinegar, perhaps you could add a touch of honey or maple syrup next time!!
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