How To Press Tofu (Without A Tofu Press) (2024)

This tutorial will show you how to press tofu to maximize flavor and texture. There is no need to purchase any fancy equipment. A thick bath towel, some large coffee table books, and one hour is all you need for perfectly pressed tofu!

Although I’ve already done a post on how to press tofu, I decided to do another one, but with a different angle. In this post, I wanted to compare towel-pressing tofuagainst the conventional way of pressing tofu, which typically involves wrapping the entire block in some paper towels and adding weight or using a tofu press.

Towel-pressed tofu uses equipment you already have at home, eliminating the need to buy a fancy tofu press.

Do You Have To Press Tofu Before Cooking It?

If you just want to remove some of the water from the tofu for something like a scramble or fried tofu, this method is perfectly fine. But if you want to marinate it in something, getting out all of the moisture from the tofu is key.

The problem with a tofu press or pressing with paper towels is that it doesn’t do well at all with pulling moisture from the center. The problem with this is:

• the tofu doesn’t soak up marinade well because it’s still wet, and
• it waters down whatever marinade you are placing it in.

The result? Tofu that is a lot less flavorful than it could be!

How To Press Tofu: The Best Method

To avoid these two things, I use this tofu-pressing method.

Cut The Tofu Into Four Or Eight Slabs

Cutting tofu into slabs allows for every inch of the tofu to be pressed, drawing out as much moisture as possible.

Use A Highly Absorbent Bath Towel

Using a thick bath towel is key for absorbing moisture from the tofu. Once it’s properly pressed, you’ll be surprised at how wet the towel is. Compare that to using a few paper towels, and it’s no contest.

This turns the tofu into virtual soy sponges that will greedily soak up marinades and maximize its flavor!

Use Large Coffee Table Books (About 10 Pounds)

Using large coffee table books is perfect for this method. Add them one at a time to avoid smashing. I’ve found that adding 10 pounds of books provides the right amount of pressure. Letting the tofu press for about an hour is the perfect amount of time to draw all of the moisture out.

What Is The Best Way To Press Tofu?

I’ve pressed to tofu this way for over a decade and found it’s the best way for tofu recipes that use a marinade. For any other tofu recipe, a little squeeze or using paper towels is fine for drawing out a little excess moisture.

How To Press Tofu Without A Tofu Press

To illustrate the difference with this method, I created two tofu guinea pigs, which I’ve called“Tofu A” and “Tofu B”. I pressed Tofu A using the paper towel method, and Tofu B using my towel-pressed method. Then I marinated them in a beet-colored marinade to show how much more moisture the towel-pressed method pulls out of the tofu.

Pressing Tofu Using Paper Towels

Tofu A: Place some weight over a block of tofu wrapped in paper towels.

Pressing Tofu Using Towels

Tofu B: Slice the tofu into 8 slabs and place onto a thick bath towel.

Fold the towel over the top of the tofu, ensuring that the top and bottom are covered evenly.

Add about 10 pounds of large coffee table books over the top for about an hour.

For Tofu A and Tofu B: Wait about 1 hour for the tofu to press.

Tofu A and Tofu B: A side-by-side comparison. Notice how more compact towel-pressed Tofu B (back) is than paper towel-pressed Tofu A (front)!

Check out the texture of Tofu B compared to Tofu A.

How Do I Press Tofu Correctly?

From the experiment above, you’ll see that towel-pressed tofu results in a much more compact and drier tofu than tofu pressed in paper towels. But how does it hold up when marinating? Let’s place them both into the same exact marinade (I used beet juice here just to illustrate the difference clearly) and see what happens!

Marinate The Pressed Tofu For An Hour

I placed Tofu A and Tofu B into the same marinade for about an hour, the same amount you would typically marinate tofu at the bare minimum.

The Result

See for yourself! Since Tofu B has all of the moisture pulled out, it was able to soak up the beet juice much more efficiently than Tofu A, the paper towel-pressed tofu.

Do You Need To Press Tofu?

Not all tofu needs to be pressed. A good rule of thumb is that if a recipe calls for marinating, then it should be pressed. Try this method the next time you are prepping tofu for a marinade and see for yourself how much of a difference this method makes!

Great Tofu Recipes That Use This Method

I love marinated tofu recipes because the possibilities for marinades are endless. Here are some of my favorite tofu recipes that use this towel-pressing method:

• This Sambal Tofu is a perfect weeknight dinner, and hits the spot if you love heat!
• I love making this Vegan Palak Paneer. The tofu cubes are so delicious and taste just like the paneer cubes I used to remember eat before I quit dairy.
• This Za’atar Tofu recipe is so flavorful and great paired with grains and a tahini sauce.
• Tofu Tikka Masala is such a flavorful dish, and so fun to make.
• This Black Pepper and Thyme Crusted Tofu is so good. It’s sweet, salty, and acidic. Perfect nestled up to a side of grains and vegetables.
• Sriracha and peanut butter come together to create this Sriracha and Peanut Butter Tofu recipe. It’s rich and spicy … my favorite combo!

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This post was last updated on March 3, 2024.