The easiest, crispy tofu you can make in the air fryer or oven. Add these tofu bites to salads, soups, pasta, or eat them just as snacks! They are savory, flavorful and high-protein. The best part is that you’ll only need 4 ingredients to make this recipe.
Crispy Tofu Air Fried (Or oven-baked)
This crispy air fryer tofu will convert the tofu haters into tofu lovers or at least, tofu “likers” haha. I think I’ve made this recipe for almost everyone I know and I can say with confidence that even the people that thought they hated tofu ended up loving it. Even the kiddos will love it if you introduce them as nuggets, or as I like to call them, “nuggies”.
If you make them and love them, make sure to leave a review and let me know what you think.
Ingredients
Extra firm tofu: I like to use high protein tofu for this recipe. High protein tofu is the best texture for this recipe and it’s also easier to prep as it does not need to be pressed.
Soy Sauce or Tamari (low sodium): This adds a great umami flavor. You can also use coconut aminos or liquid aminos.
Nutritional Yeast: AKA “nooch”. The star of the show! Nooch is flavorful, nutty, cheesy, and incredibly addicting. I recommend buying it at Trader joe’s if you have one nearby as it is the most affordable.
Garlic powder: What can I say, you gotta have garlic for added flavor. I don’t recommend using fresh garlic for this recipe. Garlic granules or garlic powder.
Tips for the Best Crispy Tofu Air Fryer
- Marinade tofu in a sauce for 30 minutes to an hour so it can soak up the flavor. 5-10 minutes also works! You will still get some good flavor. In this recipe we soak the tofu in liquid aminos which gives is a delicious umami flavor! Substitutes for liquid aminos: Low sodium tamari or soy sauce.
- Drizzle or dip in sauces! My favorite sauce to add to this crispy tofu recipe is teriyaki. I also love adding sweet chili sauce, sriracha, barbecue and sometimes even ketchup. You can also check out my super popular peanut sauce and savory/sweet tofu sauce. Use sauces as a drizzle or dip after serving.
- Freeze packaged tofu and fully defrost before cooking. This texture is unreal and pretty similar to chicken. Make sure to press your tofu after defrosting or buy high protein tofu. Trader Joe’s has a great high protein tofu for $2.50. You can press your tofu after it has defrosted fully to make sure you get all excess liquid out.
- Air fried tofu is the best tofu! Air fry at 390 F for 16-22 minutes (depending on how crispy you like it). Flip/mix every 7-8 minutes to cook evenly. Don’t have an air-fryer? I highly recommend you get one! Click here to buy the one I use almost daily! You can also bake in the oven at 400 for 22-25 minutes also flipping every 7-8 minutes for best results.
- PRO TIP: If you’re baking it use a silicone mat! This will help you achieve an ultimate level of crisp that you can normally only get using an air fryer. I have linked the one I have.
More Tofu Recipes:
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Crispy Tofu Air Fryer
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The easiest, crispy tofu you can making in the air fryer or oven. Add these tofu bites to salads, soups, pasta, or eat them just as snacks! They are savory, flavorful and high-protein.
Ingredients
- 1 block of extra firm tofu
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce or Tamari (low sodium)
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
Instructions
- Freeze and defrost tofu for best results (optional).
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Open tofu packets and press tofu with a clean dish towel to make as dry as possible. Dice tofu into even pieces, make them no bigger than about 3/4 of an inch big.
- Add garlic powder, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper into mixing bowl. Combine together. Briefly dunk tofu in a small bowl of soy sauce/tamari and then dunk tofu pieces into mixing bowl and mix gently until fully covered in nutritional yeast/garlic powder mix. If not using soy sauce or Tamari you can also dunk in plant-based milk before adding the coating.
- Place your silicone baking sheets on top of your baking trays and begin adding tofu to trays. Avoid having tofu pieces too close to each other.
- Bake for about 15 minutes and then flip the tofu cubes. Bake for about another 25 minutes depending on how crunchy you’d like it.
- Follow steps above and instead of baking, air fry at 350 F for 12-16 minutes depending on how crispy you want it. Move them around every 7-8 minutes to help them cook evenly.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Tofu
- Method: Air Fryer, Oven
