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I read that draining extra firm tofu then freezing it gives it a more meat-like texture when thawed. Any insights?

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Dan Marek - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Recorded

This event was on September 15, 2026

Join Chef Dan Marek in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to course-specific questions, to how to turn your cooking passion into profit or simply hearing the perspective of a professional chef, Chef Dan is ready to answer them all.

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Question

Coila Ash

I read that draining extra firm tofu then freezing it gives it a more meat-like texture when thawed. Any insights?

Answer

But freezing tofu absolutely gives more of a meat-like texture. It's kind of like a chicken-like texture. You just basically want to drain it off. I like to press it beforehand, and then you can freeze it. And then once you freeze it, it changes the texture of that tofu quite a bit. Then you'll be able to kind of pull it apart like a chicken-like texture instead and still be able to use it just the same way you would other tofu. So it's definitely a trick that works. Use it often, and it's great for different fillings for tacos or when you need to be able to have that tofu hold up just a little bit more.

Dan Marek

Director of Plant-Based Culinary & Dev

*Dan Marek* is a chef educator who has been teaching vegan and vegetarian cooking for over 15 years. At Rouxbe, he is our Director of Plant-Based Culinary and Development where he helps develop content, classes and builds courses for many of our partners. Dan is a board member of Slow Food Austin, the Institute of Child Nutrition, and Conscious Capitalism. He has earned his BA in Journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and holds certificates in Nutrition from Cornell University. Prior to his role with Rouxbe, Dan worked with Whole Kids Foundation training teachers and food service at schools across the country on nutrition and culinary best practices. He also worked as a Healthy Eating Educator at Whole Foods Market’s flagship store in Austin, TX, was a personal chef for some of Austin’s elite business people, taught classes in culinary techniques at Austin Community College, The Natural Epicurean, and Le Cordon Bleu. Dan also regularly volunteers cooking or speaking about nutrition for the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Marathon Kids, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin and Central Texas.