These spicy tofu noodle meal prep bowls are made with a sweet, savory and spicy sauce, whole-wheat spaghetti, zucchini noodles, and tofu! Make it ahead and enjoy for lunch through the week.
Pre-cooked meals are a go-to meal prep strategy in our home for easy lunches. These spicy tofu noodle meal prep bowls are a great plant-based option, and were inspired by these cold sesame noodle bowls.
These noodle bowls are all about the sauce! Tested till perfect - it is tangy, spicy, sweet, and savory. The sauce can be stored separately, then drizzled on before reheating and serving, making it perfect for meal prep.
Sneaking zucchini noodles into recipes is one of our favorite ways to pack in a ton of veggies, without really noticing that they are there. And, the zucchini noodles don't even require cooking - they will become tender and soak up a ton of flavor once reheated before serving. Best of all - you will have 4 delicious meals prepped in under 45 minutes!
Reasons you'll Love this recipe
- the sauce is sweet, spicy, tangy and savory with lots of flavor
- the zucchini noodles blend right in with the whole wheat pasta - you won't even notice these sneaky veggies
- everything holds up well for meal prep, including the tofu which tastest great even on day 4!
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped these noodle bowls. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
Ingredient notes
- Tofu - make sure to use extra-firm tofu. It will need to be pressed for 30 minutes to remove exess liquid (see directions in recipe card)
- Whole wheat spagetti - while we love whole wheat pasta, regular white spagetti noodles would also work. You could also change it up for gluten-free spagetti if needed, but we haven't tested. Soba noodles may also work in this recipe!
- Zucchini noodles - spiralize your own or use store-bought. We do not recommend frozen zucchini noodles for this recipe. See how to spiralize zucchini noodles and more on why we love them here. You could also use spiralized carrot.
- Sauce - reduce or omit the sriracha for less spice, and be sure look for gluten-free hoisin sauce and soy sauce if following a gluten free diet.
Step by step directions
Press Tofu
Remove tofu from package, draining extra liquid. Sandwich the tofu between two paper towels on a plate. Top with a second plate and place a heavy object, such as a 28 oz can, on top. Press for at least 30 minutes to remove extra liquid.
Read more- see all the wonderful ways you can enjoy tofu in how to cook tofu
Cube and Cook Tofu
When the time is up, discard the paper towels and cut the tofu into ½ inch cubes. Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper, and sautee for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tofu is lightly golden.
Cook pasta
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, cool slightly, then divide between meal prep containers.
Spiralize zucchini
Use a spiralizer to create zucchini noodles. Do not cook.
Sauce
Shake together sauce and portion out into small condiment containers (roughly 1.5 tablespoons per portion).
Tip - we love these condiment containers for portioning out
sauces and salad dressings for meal prep!
Portion
Divide the tofu, spaghetti, zucchini noodles between four 2-cup capacity meal prep containers, garnishing with sesame seeds, green onions and red pepper flakes if desired.
Store & reheat
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Serve cold, with sauce, or add the sauce and reheat in the microwave until steaming hot.
FAQ
Absolutely, you can swap it out for some chickpeas, or if you're not vegetarian, 4 oz of cooked chicken.
You could do either, but we heat ours up! Toss in the sauce first so it kind of absorbs into the pasta/zucchini noodles as it heats.
You might be able to freeze this meal prep without the zucchini, but we don't recommend freezing the zucchini noodles as they will be mushy once thawed.
You don't need to! They will soften up nicely once you reheat these meal prep bowls in the microwave. If you'd prefer a softer texture, you could sauté for 3-5 minutes with a little bit of olive oil.
Storage + reheating
- Fridge - Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store sauce seperately to ensure that the tofu doesn't go soggy.
- Freezer - this recipe is not freezer friendly.
- Reheat - Dress with the sauce, then heat meal prep bowls in the microwave until steaming hot. Enjoy!
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Spicy Tofu Noodles Meal Prep
Ingredients
Tofu
- 12 oz extra firm tofu note 1
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 zucchini spiralized (medium-sized); note 2
- 4 oz whole wheat pasta uncooked; note 3
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar note 4
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon sriracha more for spice
Instructions
Prepare the Tofu:
- Press tofu - Remove tofu from package, draining extra liquid. Sandwich the tofu between two paper towels on a plate. Top with a second plate and place a heavy object, such as a 28 oz can, on top. Press for at least 30 minutes to remove extra liquid.
- Cook tofu - When the time is up, discard the paper towels and cut the tofu into ½ inch cubes. Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper, and sautee for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tofu is lightly golden. Set aside to cool.
- Pasta- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, cool slightly, then divide between meal prep containers.
- Spiralize zucchini - Use a spiralizer to create zucchini noodles. Do not cook.
- Sauce - Shake together sauce and portion out into small containers (roughly 1.5 tablespoons per portion).
- Portion- Divide the tofu, spaghetti, zucchini noodles between four 2-cup capacity meal prep containers, garnishing with sesame seeds, green onions and red pepper flakes if desired.
Tips:
- firm tofu may also work, but silken or soft should be avoided for this recipe
- spiralize the zucchini yourself or use store-bought; frozen zucchini noodles should be avoided
- you can swap for other types of pasta but spaghetti or longer noodles mix best in with the zucchini noodles
- we tend to use seasoned rice vinegar in our recipes; you may want to taste and adjust salt if you use unseasoned
Video
Nutrition Information
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Alena says
Hi, I'm planning on making this (for the first time) this weekend, do you think adding a hard boiled egg for more protein would be an okay addition? Thanks!
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Alena, you could absolutely add a hard-boiled egg! Other ideas to add some more protein would be edamame (shelled, thawed from frozen), or chickpeas! We hope you enjoy, please let us know how these meal prep bowls turn out when you make them!
Mandy says
I love this recipe and make it all the time for my lunches. When I have this for lunch their is a lot of lunch envy in the staff room.
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Mandy, we're so glad to hear that you enjoy this meal prep bowl in your lunches! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review!
Ashley says
What is a sauce equivalent I could buy at the store? I am too lazy to make the sauce homemade and do not want to buy all the extra ingredients. love this recipe idea and plan on trying it out next week!
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Ashley, great question! I would say a pre-made szechuan, hoisin or teriyaki sauce would be a good substitute for this homemade sauce. I hope you enjoy, please come back and leave a review after you make this recipe! Cheers!
Blythe says
Made this today and it was great. Used Edamame Pasta for a good boost of protein and baked the tofu since I do not have an air fryer. New to meal prepping and I find it tricky since I am plant based and allergic to nuts and tomatoes! This was perfect for a couple days of pre-made lunches for my husband and me.
Denise Bustard says
Hi Blythe! So happy to hear you enjoyed- edamame pasta sounds delicious! Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to come back and leave a review- I really appreciate it!
Ariel says
I am slowly starting to move away from using animal protein...so much so using the term 'vegetarian' still scares the sh*t out of me, so when I was looking for easy, health, flavorful lunches that would be filling and be...(deep breath)...vegetarian, this page and this recipe - popped up. Yesterday was prep day and was able to also enjoy this recipe.
I made two changes - i used pad thai-style rice noodles - because gluten free seems to work better on my digestive track (noodles are noodles, but these suckers definitely stick together more- I have in the past, run them under water to loosen them up before reheating, but definitely spaghetti is an easier noodle to work with- I would imagine a buckwheat, soba noodle would also be a good one). The other change I made was, I baked the tofu squares (because I admittedly, didt read the directions very well, lol). I'll be honest, they still came out nicely - i let them get to that pretty golden/brown color and boom - i felt healthier already.
real test came when it was time to eat this and it was great. The sauce is light and the texture of the different elements worked well. I also made three other recipes that I found and have fallen in love with (grilled bbq tofu with pineapple and mixed veg and the thai sweet potato soup - both are really really great and super simple - the real champion is the pan fried gnocchi with spinach and mushrooms.Im super impressed and will be pillaging through the rest of the site for other meals to make.
Dare I say, I think I might be able to do this whole...plant-based life with grace and ease if yI can continue gleaning great recipes from this page. 🙂
Maria says
What do you use for the little sauce containers?
Denise says
Hi Maria! They are these ones!