20 Min Healthy Mapo Tofu Recipe

Do you like Mapo Tofu?

Mapo tofu is a spicy, slightly numbing (more on that!), tofu and ground meat dish. Traditionally, it’s made with ground pork and soft tofu. It’s like a tofu stew. It’s very commonly served at Chinese restaurants as a main dish. 

I took the authentic tastes but made it healthier! And best is that you can’t tell the difference because it’s a flavor-packed dish.

AND….it only takes 20 minutes to make and it’s a 1-pot dish!

How did I make it healthier than traditional mapo tofu?

I used ground turkey. As mentioned, ground pork is usually used to make mapo tofu but you can use ground turkey or chicken to significantly reduce calories and saturated fat. I always use ground turkey as a replacement for ground beef and pork and almost always, you can’t tell the difference. Plus, this dish has so much flavor that you can’t tell the difference between ground poultry or pork. 

Secondly, I used significantly less oil. At a restaurant mapo tofu has a layer of oil at the surface. You can make it with less oil and still be tasty!

This easy, 20 minute dish also make A LOT! It was enough for leftover for a few meals.

1/6 of the recipe is only 270 calories and offers 26g protein. It’s so delicious over hot rice and a side of 3 minute spicy cucumber salad or green veggies like steamed bok choy.

The star of this recipe is ground Sichuan peppercorn. It gives a citrus, floral, flavor and slightly numbing sensation- it’s an enjoyable taste and sensation!! It adds a lot of depth, especially to this dish.

You can buy ground Sichuan peppercorn in the spice aisle at Chinese grocery stores. 

Another star in this recipe is chili bean paste. It’s fermented soy and broad beans, mixed with chilis. It’s savory, add umami, and slightly spicy. Lee Kum Kee makes their own and you can buy it at a Chinese grocery store, condiment aisle.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think in the comments below!