A key regulator of tissue morphogenesis is material phase transitions, where tissues switch between deformable fluid-like states and non-deformable solid-like states. Theory predicts that such transitions occur at critical points in certain cellular parameters, which are either passive, like cell density and connectivity, or active, like cell shape and cell-cell contact fluctuations. However, if passive (equilibrium) vs active (non-equilibrium) material phase transitions serve distinct biological functions is yet unknown. Here, we theoretically derive critical points in passive and active cell parameters and experimentally test their relevance in developing embryonic tissues. Using jamming, rigidity percolation and surface tension theoretical frameworks we uncouple passive (density-dependent) from active (contact surface tension-dependent) material phase transitions. In combination with genetics, optogenetics, pharmacological perturbations, quantitative imaging, biophysical measurements and vertebrate embryology, we bioengineer zebrafish embryonic tissues with precise cell density and contact surface tension values, and uncover that the latter is the major determinant of the in vivo tissue material state. Crucially, we observe that although in pluripotent embryonic tissues both types of transitions are coupled, by differentially tuning them, we can instruct the formation of precursors of the primary tissue types, including mesenchymal, epithelial and lumens, as evaluated by both quantitative morphological and gene expression analyses. All in all, we reveal that the type of material phase transition a naïve tissue employs can steer its morphogenetic trajectory.