Delicious Japanese Tofu Pizza uses crispy pan-fried tofu slices as a replacement for pizza dough. Add your favorite toppings and mozzarella cheese, then set it under the broiler until melted and bubbly. This easy meal was among my favorite tofu dishes growing up!
When the word “Tofu Pizza” is used in the U.S., it often refers to the healthy pizza dough made out of tofu. However, in Japan, we have this quick and easy tofu dish called Tofu Pizza (豆腐のピザ) which we use the tofu as the replacement of pizza dough.
Tofu plays a huge part in everyday Japanese food, and there are some creative and unique ways to enjoy tofu including tofu dessert, Tofu Blancmange. Tofu Pizza was one of my favorite tofu dishes growing up and if you like tofu, you’ll love this quick easy meal!
How to Make Tofu Pizza
For this dish, we will use a “firm” tofu. The key to firm tofu is to drain it very well so the water doesn’t come out when the dish is being cooked or after it’s cooked. You wouldn’t want soggy pizza, right?
The ingredients for toppings are all up to you. If you want to make it vegetarian or vegan, you can choose ingredients that work for your diet. For today’s recipe, I made a Tofu Pizza with things we already have in the refrigerator. Nothing fancy, just basic ingredients. Those of you who love bell pepper can cut in rounds, and the color will make this dish look really pretty, but I can’t digest bell pepper well so I skipped it for my recipe. 😀
Since pizza sauce is not a common condiment that we usually have in Japan, most people use ketchup to season. You can definitely substitute the ketchup with homemade or canned pizza sauce. If you like it to be spicy, add hot sauce or Sriracha sauce! My recipe here is the kids-friendly recipe as my family usually enjoys the food together right after we photograph for the blog.
Enjoy Tofu Pizza Anytime!
Since this dish only takes a bit of prep time and you can be creative with the ingredients you already have in the fridge, it’s a really simple dish that you can enjoy for lunch, snack time, or dinner! I was surprised at how much my family enjoyed it when I made it for them, especially my son since tofu is his favorite food. This tofu dish might be a bit unusual for you, but I hope you will give it a try and enjoy it as much as we do!
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Tofu Pizza
Video
Ingredients
- 1 block firm tofu
- 3 slices ham (skip for vegetarian)
- 2 mushrooms
- 1 tomato
- ¼ cup potato starch or cornstarch (or substitute flour)
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2–3 Tbsp ketchup
- 2–4 leaves basil
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
For the Garnish
- parsley (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Slice 1 block firm tofu in half to make 2 thin, flat slabs. Wrap with a paper towel. Place a plate and a heavy object on top of the tofu and set aside for 15 minutes. This process will help the tofu drain faster.
- Slice 3 slices ham into thin strips.
- Thinly slice 2 mushrooms and 1 tomato.
- Season ¼ cup potato starch or cornstarch or flour with ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Coat all sides of the tofu with the potato starch or flour. This step helps the tofu retain moisture.
- Heat some neutral oil over medium-high heat in an oven-safe skillet (or regular nonstick frying pan). Cook the tofu until the bottom is crispy and golden brown. Flip and brown the other side. If your frying pan is not oven safe, transfer the tofu to a baking dish lined with parchment paper later on.
- Divide 2–3 Tbsp ketchup on top of the cooked tofu. Then, top with slices of tomato and 2–4 leaves basil.
- Put the sliced ham and sliced mushrooms on top.
- Divide and sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Then, place the pan in the oven and broil for 5–7 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Top with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Hi, Nami! I can’t wait to make this tofu pizaa, it looks delicius! But in the article you said the tofu has to be “firm”. When can I be sure that the tofu is girm enough? Thanks!
Hi Ashlynn! Medium-firm or firm would work great. The package says how soft/hard it is. 🙂
[…] Tofu Pizza […]
I love love love pizza, but this is a surprisingly delicious and simple healthier alternative!
Hi Jessie! I’m glad you liked this recipe! My mom would be happy to hear that you enjoyed it, since it’s her recipe. 🙂 xo
A tofu pizza! Looks healthy and so good.
It’s easy to make too. 🙂
Hi! I just made this and it came out tasting great. Thank you for this recipe. One thing though, since I didn’t have a frying pan that I can use in the oven, I used parchment paper in a cookie sheet as you suggested and broiled it on high.
Good thing I checked on it quickly because the parchment paper was burnt up. Maybe aluminum foil might be better?
Hi Christine! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Parchment paper helps the food not stick, but aliminum foil tends to stick. You can grease the aluminum foil with oil which should help. If you cut the parchment paper exactly same side as your baking sheet, it should not burn (it might get darker though). Only when the excess paper is coming out and get close to the heat source, it might caught on fire. 🙂
Thank you so much for replying. I made it again and cut off as much of the excess paper I could. That was better. I decided that I’m just going to buy a pan that I can use in the oven instead because I plan to make this a lot more. Any suggestions on a good brand?
Hi Christine! Mine is Le Creuset. I think that or Lodge cast iron pan is pretty useful in general. 🙂
I use a pizza stone. No paper waste, and a stone works wonders with the crispy texture. Just pop the stone in the oven during the preheat and it’ll be ready to go for the pizza transfer. But I wouldn’t recommend taking the stone or until completely cool. Great reusable option.
Hi Robert! Thank you so much for sharing your tip with us! Hope you enjoyed it! 🙂
Ooo I have pizza stone! Will try it with preparing my tofu pizza 🙂
I found working with tofu a little difficult, but the recipe smells delightful. If all goes well this treat may make it onto the family shopping list on a regular basis!
The only problem I’ve found is that half of the 1 serving was a bit filling. I found it more filling than a bacon cheeseburger. But overall: Keeping the recipe to have again.
Hi Julienne! I think the tofu brands matters because the texture is different. Try with different brand next time? Also it comes in different sizes so you might want to experiment. 🙂
what’s the temp you use to boil the tofu pizza?
Hi Karen! Broil setting doesn’t have specific temp (my oven has High and Low) and usually high is 500F. 🙂
I cooked this for my roommate and I for a healthy alternative for pizza, and now, we don’t ever want to eat regular pizza again! This was an amazing idea and recipe.
I used regular marinara sauce instead of ketchup, and forgot to buy tomatoes, but it still turned out awesome.
Suuuuuuper easy to make and super delicious too.
Thank you for the amazing recipie 🙂
Hi Wendy! I’m so happy to hear you and your roommate enjoyed this dish! Don’t worry about not using ketchup. It’s very typical condiment in Japan as we don’t really have marinara sauce available here. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback, Wendy!
You recipes for Japanese and others look very interesting and yummy. I will try to cook for myself.
Thank you so much for your generosity.
Regards,
Siriveena
Thank you for your kind comment, Siriveena! I hope you enjoy my recipes! 🙂
Hi Nami
I’ve known this blog recently and i love it ! I want to try this recipe but i don’t know what degrees to broil it? Thanks you so much
Hi Huy! I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes and thank you for reading my blog! Broil setting doesn’t show temperature (in my oven) but it’s usually 500F degrees. Hope this helps! 🙂
Looks delicious! What kind of skillet do you use on this video? Thanks!
Hi Susan! It’s from Le Creuset (http://amzn.to/1EdVgfr). 🙂
Just wanted to say that I think your blog is great! I am interested in Japan, Japanese cuisine as well and I’ve found here so many recipes I want to (and will) try. Also, could you give me some tips? Which vegetables are good for nimono and do you maybe know which fish doesn’t smell so much while frying or cooking?
Hi Z! Aww thank you so much for leaving your kind comment! For Nimono, as we simmer the ingredients, we usually put root vegetables instead of leafy vegetables. For example, carrot, potato, onion, gobo, lotus root, and if green vegetables, we tend to put it at the end or just decorate at the end (overcooking them will not be good for texture). For cooking/frying fish, hmm that’s a good and difficult question. Simmering fish can be less smell if you put the lid on, but frying creates more smell for sure. I can’t think of any fish that has “less” smell… Sprinkling sake reduces fishy smell but I don’t think you’re talking about that smell… Sorry I wish I can help, but I am not sure which fish has less fishy smell during cooking…
Anyone who read this comment maybe help us?
Anyway, thank you for replying
Tried it tonight! It’s awesome! So glad to have this healthy option for pizza.. Ingenious! Thank you so much!
Hi Alana! Thanks so much for trying this recipe already! I’m really happy to hear you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂
What a cleaver way to cook tofu! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Thank you so much, Kim! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Dear Nami,
So lovely that you using toufu to make pizza, you know I love pizza very much, but I afraid of fat… I think your pizza is lower fat, I”ll try it one day, thanks have a great day!
You know how to make bake rice as well?
Hi Alice! I hope you enjoy this recipe! I’m not sure what Bake Rice is… is it American dish? If you refer to a Japanese dish, then it can be Doria? If it’s not, I’m sorry I’m not sure what it is. 🙂
Doria recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/meat-doria/