The invention of solar steam generation has high energy conversion efficiency and long-term service cycle, which is crucial for the actual desalination and sewage treatment. Herein, we first time report the fabrication of low-price, long-lasting, and durable-based carbonized tofu (CT) as photothermal materials for highly efficient solar steam generation. On account of super-hydrophilic wettability and abundant pore, CT shows good performance in transporting water rapidly, combined with its many characteristics such as high light absorption (90%), low heat conductivity (0.093 W m−1 K−1). CT fulfills a high rate of evaporation (1.65 kg m−2 h−1) and conversion efficiency of 87.26% under 1 sun irradiation. Importantly, after 25 days of salt tolerance test, although CT has crystallization on the surface, but can be reused after soaking in water. CT demonstrated excellent salt tolerance and robustness, which shows immeasurable application potential in seawater desalination and wastewater treatment. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd