Making your own tofu scramble from scratch can be a bit of a faff, right? It isn’t as simple as cracking two eggs into a pan and giving them a good stir. No, because you’ve got to mash it up first to make it look ‘scrambled’.
That’s why products like Tofoo Scrambled are so exciting. They can help make dishes like scrambled tofu that bit more accessible and hopefully more convenient than using non-vegan ingredients.
However, this product hasn’t been racking up as many positive reviews online as the brand’s plain tofu does. So I had to try it out for myself to see what all the negative crack is about! Find out for yourself in my honest Tofoo Scrambled review.
Tofoo Scrambled review summary
This pre-made scrambled tofu product is definitely a lot more convenient than if you were to make it from scratch. I can’t deny the fact that it saved me a lot of time and faff. Plus it really looked the part on top of my toast. However, it all goes downhill when you take your first bite. That’s because the taste and texture are all wrong. I’d rather make tofu scramble from scratch.
Brand: The Tofoo Co
My rating: 2/5
What is Tofoo?
Tofoo is one of the biggest brands of tofu in the UK. All of their tofu comes pre-pressed and is made using traditional Japanese methods.
They sell a few different types, including firm tofu and silken tofu. Within their firm tofu range they offer a few different flavoured options as well as a scrambled tofu mix, called Scrambled. It is their Scrambled tofu that I am reviewing today.
How do you cook Tofoo Scrambled?
The beauty of Tofoo Scrambled tofu is that it is prepped and ready to cook (or eat).
- Fry it: Simply heat a few teaspoons of oil in a frying pan and decant the Tofoo Scrambled mix into the frying pan. Cook it for about 4 minutes and make sure to stir the mix regularly so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Serve it with toast and some tasty fake meat for a vegan fry-up.
- Eat it cold: Simply decant the Tofoo Scrambled mix into a bowl and mix in some vegan mayonnaise. Use this to fill a wrap or a sandwich.
My experience: The pros
There are a few things that I enjoyed when cooking and eating Tofoo’s scrambled tofu.
Quick to cook
The best thing about Tofoo Scrambled is the convenience. They have already ‘scrambled’ the tofu so all you have to do is cook it in your frying pan or mix it in cold with some mayo.
This means you can have scrambled tofu or a vegan egg mayo sandwich filler ready in just a matter of minutes.
This is a lot quicker than if you were to prep the tofu yourself for scrambled tofu. This usually involves pressing the tofu before mashing or finely chopping it up, adding flavourings and then cooking the tofu.
Tofoo Scrambled could save you about 10 minutes of prep work. This is great if you are strapped for time or you just hate the faff of prepping scrambled tofu.
Looks eggy
The scrambled tofu mix definitely looks the part. It has a lovely bright vibrant colour that is similar to a scrambled egg.
I know the looks shouldn’t matter too much, but well, they kinda do. I’ve made rather pale-looking tofu scrambles in the past when I’ve had little to no flavourings to hand, and it just hasn’t looked right on my plate.
The fact that it looks eggy may help any newbie vegans who are looking for a realistic-looking egg alternative or for anyone cooking for non-vegans.
My experience: The cons
Find out what I didn’t enjoy about Tofoo’s scrambled tofu product.
Crumbly & grainy texture
The cooked Tofoo Scrambled mix is way too grainy to pass as scrambled egg, which is a lot softer and squidgier in texture.
The small chunks of tofu are really dry and crumbly so you’ll also find it really difficult to put any of the stuff on your fork to eat.
I have achieved much smoother textures when cooking scrambled tofu from scratch. So it is definitely possible for them to create a more realistic texture.
The issue could be in packaging a pre ‘scrambled’ tofu mix, which may dry out in the packaging. Or it could be that they’ve got their recipe wrong.
Either way, if you are looking for a realistic scrambled egg texture, you won’t get it from Tofoo Scrambled. Instead, you may want to try out making scrambled tofu yourself (use a mix of silken and firm tofu for a smoother consistency), or you can try out Ogg’s scrambled egg mix instead.
Tastes bland
I expected a lot more flavour from a pre-made scrambled tofu mix. However, I had to add a lot of my own flavourings to it to make the mix palatable.
When you look at the ingredients list you will notice that they have added nutritional yeast, garlic powder, paprika, turmeric, onion powder, sea salt and black salt. Yet I couldn’t taste any of it.
I have seen opposing opinions on this when browsing other Tofoo Scrambled reviews on the internet. Some people enjoyed the flavour whilst others thought it was lacking. So maybe they have got the mix just right to suit a larger number of people.
My verdict: I’d rather make it myself
I can understand why people would want to buy a product like this because it is really convenient and quick to cook. Plus, if it was well-flavoured, it would be the perfect alternative for less confident vegan cooks.
However, the texture isn’t right and the flavour is pretty much non-existent.
Unless they revised the recipe and upped the flavouring, I wouldn’t bother buying this again. Even though it is convenient. You can buy a larger block of plain tofu for about 50 pence less and simply make it yourself with your own flavours.
Your cooking time may go from 5 minutes to 15, but it will be well worth it. Because you’ll have a scrambled tofu that is flavoured well and with a more egg-like texture. Try out my foolproof scrambled tofu recipe below.
- Taste: 5/10
- Quality: 5/10
- Cost: 6/10
- Convenience: 8/10
Foolproof scrambled tofu recipe
Makes: 4 portions
Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients: 1 tbsp rapeseed oil, 280g pressed firm tofu, 300g silken tofu, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black salt, ¼ tsp ground turmeric, and ¼ tsp ground black pepper.
Method: Pour the contents of your silken tofu packet into a blender along with all the flavourings. Blend until smooth and set aside. Drain your firm tofu and cut it into chunks before mashing it with a potato masher or the back of a fork. Heat up your oil in a frying pan before adding your mashed firm tofu. Fry it off for about 5 minutes until it starts to brown, making sure to stir regularly. Pour in your silken tofu mix and cook through for another 5 minutes until the mix has gone gloopy and egg-like. Serve.
Where can you buy Tofoo Scrambled?
The Tofoo Co products can be bought at most supermarkets. However, their Scrambled product can only be found at a few outlets, Tesco and Ocado:
Leave a Reply