Tofu Tikka Masala

Tofu Tikka Masala is creamy tomato sauce with Indian spices, tofu & spinach is Indian comfort food! Perfect for meatless Monday! Weight Watcher friendly recipe- 3 SmartPoints!

My Tofu Tikka Masala is too good to be true Indian food made at home.  Creamy tomato sauce with Indian spices, mixed with crispy tofu, fresh baby spinach, and served over basmati rice.  Decadent, comforting, too delicious for words, and healthy!  This is a Weight Watcher friendly recipe and each serving is 4 SmartPoints.

As my husband would say “I love me some Indian food”.  I have already expressed my love for this specific cuisine when I posted my recipes for Indian Chickpea Stew and Chicken Potato Curry.  The spices in Indian food are not hot spicy, they are more aromatic.  This is why I like Indian food.  Unique flavors that I don’t eat every day.  Years ago when I first started to eat Indian food I NEVER thought I would be able to make classic Indian dishes at home.  But my Weight Watcher and cooking journey helped change that.  Without Weight Watchers, I would never have become healthy or a home cook.  I’m forever grateful.

My husband’s favorite Indian dish is Chicken Tikka Masala.  He orders it every single time we go out to eat for Indian food.  Hey, if you find a good thing, no need to change it right?  I, on the other hand, cannot pick my favorite Indian dish because every time I go to an Indian restaurant, I order something different.  A while back I was craving tikka masala but needed a break from eating (and making) meat.

My Tofu Tikka Masala was the perfect fix for my craving.  All the familiar flavors of tikka masala but with less fat and truly vegetarian.  Don’t worry y’all, if you are really craving some meat, try my Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala.  If you are nervous about tofu, don’t be… just give it a try!  It totally works with this dish because the tofu is crispy and coated in a delicious creamy tomato sauce.  As I prepared for writing this post, I reviewed all the pictures I took back when I made this dish.  The pictures literally made me hungry!  Hopefully you agree when you look at the pictures :).

This recipe is fairly low maintenance to make and takes under an hour to cook.  Start with roasting the tofu in the oven; I always recommend getting extra firm tofu if you are going to add tofu to stews, soups, noodle dishes, and such.  Before roasting in the oven, I recommend placing the tofu on a plate with a paper towel on top and place a heavy object on top.  This helps to release any excess liquid from the tofu so that when it’s roasting in the oven, it gets a little crispy.  And I like crispy!

While the tofu is roasting, you can make the tomato (tikka) sauce.  In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté onion, bell pepper, and garlic for a few minutes then add tomato paste and the spices.  Let the spices cook for a few minutes; cooking the spices before adding the liquid helps to open up the spices so that the dish is full of amazing flavor. After the spices have cooked, add whole canned tomatoes, some water and let boil for about 10 minutes.  You can use canned diced tomatoes, but I prefer to use whole tomatoes because I like to have bigger chunks of tomato in the sauce, plus it’s fun to break up the tomatoes.

Once the tomatoes have boiled, break them up a bit with a big wooden spoon to your desired preference.  Add fresh baby spinach, lite coconut milk, Greek yogurt, and the roasted tofu.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes then it’s ready to eat!

Tofu Tikka Masala is the perfect meal to make when you crave Indian food.  Creamy tomato sauce with Indian spices, mixed with crispy tofu and spinach is Indian comfort food in a bowl.  Decadent flavors and healthy.  Perfect for meatless Monday!  I like to serve this over basmati rice with a slice of my Whole Wheat Skillet Naan.  Weight Watchers friendly and 3 SmartPoints per serving!

I hope you enjoy these bites of flavor!

Tofu Tikka Masala

Tofu Tikka Masala is the perfect meal to make when you crave Indian food.  Creamy tomato sauce with Indian spices, mixed with crispy tofu and spinach is Indian comfort food in a bowl.  Decadent flavors and healthy. 

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 14 Ounces Firm Tofu
• ½ Medium White Onion
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, Seeds Removed
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Teaspoon Ginger Paste
• 1 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1 Teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Ground Coriander
• 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, (Omit to make less spicy)
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
• 28 Ounces Canned Whole Peeled Tomatoes
• ½ Cup Water
• 2 Cups Fresh Baby Spinach
• 1 Cup Canned Light Coconut Milk
• ½ Cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt
• Chopped Cilantro, For garnish

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Lay tofu on a plate and place paper towels on top.
• Place heavy pot on top of paper towel to squeeze out excess liquid from tofu. Let sit 10 minutes.
• Dice onion, bell pepper, and garlic and set aside.
• Dice tofu into ½ inch cubes.
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spread tofu in even layer on sheet.
• Bake in oven for 25 minutes.
• While tofu is baking, heat large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add oil.
• Sauté diced onion and bell pepper for 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute.
• Add tomato paste, ginger paste, garam masala, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and salt. Mix will and cook for 4 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Break up the tomatoes a bit with a large wooden spoon to your desired thickness.
• Add spinach and cook for a few minutes until spinach has wilted.
• Add in coconut milk, yogurt, and tofu. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve over basmati or brown rice.

Notes

Rice is not include in the nutrition or Weight Watchers SmartPoints calculation.

Nutrition is based on the Weight Watchers Freestyle Program guidelines. Nutrition calculated using Weight Watchers calculator.

NUTRITION: Serves 4, 1 Cup Per Serving- (3 SmartPoints Per Serving) CALORIES: 51 FAT: 3.5 SATURATED FAT: 2 CARBS: 5 FIBER: 0 SUGARS: 3.7 PROTEIN: 0.4

Looking for more Indian Inspired Recipes?  Click here to find all the delicious-ness!

Helpful kitchen tools to make this recipe:

• Baking Sheet
• Cutting Board
• Knives
• Cast Iron Dutch Oven

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