Let’s talk tofu, shall we? I know tofu is all the rage among healthy eaters like myself, but I was honestly a very hesitant tofu eater. I’d had some health concerns about soy products in the past (the fuzzy link with soy, estrogen and breast-cancer, which you can read about all over the internet), but mostly, I just never really cared to try it. I mean, a block of white mushy goo just never really looks all the appetizing, does it? But a few years back, when we decided to start eating more meatless meals, it became obvious that we needed to find a replacement for the quick-and-easy meat meal. You know the one. You defrost a chicken breast, slap on some grill seasoning, and grill it with some veggies. Dinner done in 15 minutes. We struggled staying meatless on nights when we didn’t have time to make some elaborate vegetarian feast.
Enter tofu. Tofu became our meatless quick meal go-to. Sure, it was almost entirely flavorless on its own and when cooked improperly, it had that mushy goo feeling to it, but with a little bit of trial and error, we were able to become tofu masters. And a big part of that was finding the right tofu.
We’ve tried a lot of different tofu brands. We’ve tried local, we’ve tried store brand, we’ve tried the most expensive stuff on the shelf, but our favorite so far (especially for grilling) has been this Wildwood Super Firm Tofu. This is a sponsored post, they are paying me to write about their tofu, but even if they weren’t, I would happily say that this is my favorite tofu I’ve ever eaten. We literally drive 45 minutes out of the way just to pick up this tofu from a specialty store in Louisville. Not only did it stay firm and solid on the grill (without sticking!) but the texture was neither rubbery or mushy—two pretty common tofu issues. It was tender, meaty, and light. Perfect for burger night!
It also made me warm and fuzzy to see how much attention Wildwood pays to the important things in my world. They are certified organic, non-GMO and stick to an even higher standard—their eight “Genuinely Natural” principles. I love it when companies go above and beyond what the government requires of them, and Wildwood is doing just that!
The other night, we pulled out a couple blocks of Wildwood’s sprouted tofu (with 14g of protein per serving!) and went to making a common dinner in our house—tofu burgers. We tend to do all kinds of crazy things with tofu burgers here, but this night we were mimicking a burger Craig had at my birthday dinner a few months back. A burger topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions, then sprinkled with blue cheese and topped with a dollop of barbecue sauce. It sounds like a weird combo, but the mixture of flavors and textures is spot on! Especially if you get a nice and sweet barbecue sauce. C’est magnifique!
While the burgers were totally delicious, my favorite part is that they are ready from start-to-finish in about 15 minutes. Because Wildwood’s sprouted tofu isn’t water-packed, you don’t have to press it like most other tofu. It comes out of the package dry and ready to use, which is a great time-saver!
I’m a Wildwood tofu fan for life. (I just wish it was available a little bit closer to us!) And these burgers are definitely going to be a staple in our menu rotation. Want to find out if you can snag Wildwood tofu (and other meat alternatives, dips and spreads) in your area? Check out their website. Enjoy!
Grilled Tofu Burgers with Mushrooms & Blue Cheese
These vegetarian burgers are ready in 15 minutes, start to finish!
Ingredients
- 2 blocks of super firm tofu, drained and pressed (if necessary)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Barbecue Spice Rub
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 4 hamburger buns
- 4 ounces blue cheese
- Barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the grill over high heat. While the grill is heating, slice the tofu into burger-sized planks, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with spice rub. Set aside.
- In a medium skillet over high heat, melt the butter. Add in the mushrooms and onions and continue to cook over high heat until the veggies are soft and beginning to brown. Set aside.
- When the grill is heated up, place the tofu on the grill grates, close lid and sear for 2-3 minutes, or until the tofu is browned. Flip and repeat on the other side. If you’re using good firm tofu, you don’t need to “cook” it as much as just warm it up and sear it. Remove from the grill.
- To assemble the burgers, stack a tofu slice on the bottom of a bun, top with 1/4 of the mushroom mixture, 1/4 of the blue cheese and a big dollop of barbecue sauce. Place top of bun on and serve with plenty of napkins.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 burgers Serving Size: 1 burgerAmount Per Serving: Calories: 455Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 695mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 4gSugar: 10gProtein: 24g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
Giveaway
The really awesome folks at Wildwood and BlogHer have offered to give away a $100 Visa Gift Card to one lucky Wholefully reader. That’ll buy you a whole lot of tofu! For a chance to win, all you have to do is answer the question: What would be your ideal dinner recipe when using Wildwood products? Good luck!
Sweepstakes Rules:
- No duplicate comments.
- You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
- Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
- Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
- Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
- For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
- This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
- The Official Rules are available here.
- This sweepstakes runs from 10/1/2013-10/31/2013.
Be sure to visit the Wildwood brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
