Tools for Making Homemade Tofu

Everything you need to set yourself up for tofu-making success

Making tofu at home is easier—and more rewarding—than you might think. It saves money, cuts down on plastic waste, and results in the freshest, most delicious tofu you’ll ever taste. With just a few simple tools, you can turn soybeans into beautiful blocks of tofu right in your own kitchen. Don’t forget to give this article a like, comment, subscribe, or re-stack!

Photo credit Kamala Bright

The Benefits of Making Tofu At Home

A delicious, versatile, high-protein ancient food, tofu has been a staple for centuries.

I love tofu, and mastering homemade tofu (well, as much as a little grasshopper can master a 2,000-year-old tradition) was one of my highlights of 2020 — all the more thrilling because I had failed so many times before! The moment I discovered what had been hindering my success felt like a dam breaking. Since then, I’ve never looked back and now make tofu successfully a couple of times a week.

Did I mention I love tofu?

Is it worth making tofu at home? ABSOLUTELY! Why?

• Homemade tofu is so much less expensive than store-bought

• Homemade tofu eliminates plastic packaging (more about zero waste / low waste in A Year of Compassion)

• Homemade tofu is so fresh and delicious!

So, if you are ready to make it yourself and have a recipe from someone online or want my step-by-step instructions from my on-demand cooking class (with recipes and video instruction), I thought I would share with you the basic “equipment” needed to make your own tofu at home.

As you’ll see, some of the tools are things you probably already have on hand, while others may be new to you—and I’ve included links for purchase.

Tools You’ll Need for Homemade Tofu

Tofu Mold

First, you’ll need a mold. A mold is essential for shaping the tofu into a block. I prefer a wooden tofu mold, which I’ve had for years, but when I went looking for one to recommend, I found it hard to find a standalone option that wasn’t part of a full tofu-making kit. However, considering the fact that the kits provide you with everything you need, it may be worth it in the end. The kit I recommend is:

SoyaJoy Tofu Kit that comes with a wooden mold, nigari, and a cheesecloth (see below for details about each)

Because I wanted to ease you into the homemade tofu-making process, I also wanted to find an option for you to use a mold you may already have on hand without having to buy one just yet. While a “colander” would work (as some blogs suggest), you need more than just a colander…you need a colander/strainer that will also act as a mold (usually square but any shape will do). My favorite option for this is:

A small plastic basket — like those that strawberries come in. The fruit basket is actually the perfect size, and it creates / presses a pretty little design into the tofu block once it’s finished pressing.

Cheese Cloth

Whatever mold you use, you still need a cheesecloth, though, so just purchase some at a store near you, or buy some online; here’s one I like — it’s unbleached, you can cut it into whatever size you need, and you can wash it and use it again and again and again.

Nigari (Coagulant)

Nigari, the coagulant (the substance that curdles soy milk into tofu), comes in both crystal and liquid form. It’s available at most Japanese or Asian grocery stores or online. I use the crystallized form, which I dissolve in water—a single pound makes about 240 pounds of tofu, easily offsetting the small amount of plastic packaging. Buy:

crystals here and liquid here

Kitchen / Candy Thermometer

This is not necessarily required, but I like to know I’m at the right temperature when adding my coagulant, so I do use a simple thermometer to do so. Here is the one I have.

Tofu Tip from the Hip

The main thing I learned in terms of successfully making tofu was that the soy milk has to be made … from scratch. What do I mean by that?

1. You definitely can’t use store-bought commercial soy milk and try to make tofu

2. My failed attempts at making tofu came from using soy milk I first made in my favorite soy milk maker that I then tried to curdle, but it never worked. The only thing that worked was grinding the beans in a blender….

…well, I won’t bore you at this point. Because it would quite literally turn into a cooking lesson, which I already have for you in my on-demand class.

Learn How to Make Tofu

Get your hands on the most popular class I’ve ever taught: HOMEMADE TOFU AND SOY MILK. Save money, eliminate packaging, and increase your cooking skills! The video instruction + written instructions gives you everything you need for making homemade soy milk and tofu at home.

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Let me know if you have any questions. If you want more of my favorite cooking tools and appliances, check out this article: