Maybe you’re planning to go vegan, or just want to incorporate tofu in your diet, but can’t find it in the grocery store? Finding tofu at grocery stores can be a difficult task. There are just so many types of tofu, and they’re not all kept in the same place. Neither is every grocery store layout the same, but let us walk you through a basic guide so you can find it easily the next time you go grocery shopping.
Where To Find Tofu in Grocery Store?
Every grocery store is different, so going through a general guideline first will be more helpful. This way, you can navigate any grocery store, big or small, and find what you were looking for. Nowadays, you can find tofu in any regular grocery store such as Whole Foods, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, etc. There are mainly three types of tofu. There is silken tofu, which is more moist and jiggly than regular tofu. Silken tofu comes in three types, soft, firm, and extra firm. Then there is extra firm tofu and medium firm tofu, which are both classified as regular tofu. Lastly, there is marinated tofu that is easy to cook and delicious too.
Apart from these, there are tofu puddings or flavored tofu that can be eaten straight from the pack. All of these are found either in the produce aisle or in the refrigerator section. In the produce aisle, you can see tofu being kept in boxes, labeled as firm or silken. Most of the time, tofu does need to be refrigerated. You can look for it near the cheeses, if there’s vegan cheese then tofu will be there too. You can also look for it in the organic section, where you can find organic tofu. It will be slightly more expensive than regular tofu because it is organic.
Which Stores In Particular Always Have Tofu?
Most big grocery chains like the ones mentioned above usually have tofu. So, if you are a regular customer in any of these stores, you can look for it there itself. You can also go to a health food store, or Asian grocery stores, as they have a good stock of tofu. If you go to a vegan grocery store, you are sure to find it as well. Only if there is an unprecedented event like the beginning of the pandemic, grocery stores may have run out of stock.
Which Stores To Avoid?
Referring specifically to their tofu availability, small convenience stores, party stores or gas stations might not have tofu. They stock ready to eat, packaged food and tofu does not come under that category. Dollar stores or local grocery stores might not have tofu either.
Specific Places To Find Tofu
- There is a very high chance of finding tofu in the produce section. Look for the edges of the produce section. If there is a section with packed greens, salads, and veggies, tofu will be there too. If there is a refrigerated section around there, look around for tofu. It usually will be in labeled plastic or cardboard boxes.
- Look for tofu in the meatless section. It will be right along with the vegan cheese, vegan meat substitutes, vegan mayonnaise. You will not find tofu in the frozen aisle, so do not look for it where the frozen vegan meat substitutes are. Look thoroughly around the refrigerated section.
- If there is a healthy or vegan section in the grocery store, tofu should be there too. In these sections, if there is a refrigerated shelf, look for boxes there, and you should find the tofu. If you find things like seitan, which is also a soybean meat alternative for vegans, tofu should be close by.
- If there is an Asian section in the grocery store, look for tofu there. It should be there right beside the kimchi and sauerkraut. Tofu is used widely in Asian dishes, so it has to be available there unless it’s sold out, which is always a possibility. You could also just go to an Asian grocery store, like a Korean grocery store if it is closer to you. You will need to check once for it because these stores are usually on the outskirts of town.
- You can check for the freezers once, though they are unlikely to have tofu. Tofu is not usually eaten frozen. If you’re looking for frozen dishes that have tofu in them, they will be available in these refrigerators. You can look for these in the vegan or meatless freezers, where you get fake meat like Beyond Burgers.
Conclusion
It should be easy to find your tofu now – look for the refrigerators and in the produce section. It is usually labeled pretty clearly, so it is easy to find once you know where to look. If you still do not find it, do not hesitate to ask the store attendants for help. Make sure you pronounce tofu clearly, and that they understand you. Happy Shopping!
