Easy Air Fryer Tofu
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This Easy Air Fryer Tofu is made with simple pantry ingredients, ready in about 25 minutes, and a great source of plant-based protein! It’s golden brown and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and can be eaten with a dipping sauce like tofu nuggets or added to other dishes!
About This Recipe
I’m adding a new protein staple to my air fryer proteins collection on the blog! This Easy Air Fryer Tofu is quick and simple to make and full of delicious flavors!
It’s nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. And it is incredibly addictive!
All you need to do is make a simple marinade in a bowl, rip up a block of well-drained tofu into chunks and coat them with the marinade, then air-fry until golden brown, crispy and yummy!
You can toss it into other dishes like this Air Fryer Tofu Fried Rice (coming soon!), curries, enjoy in rice bowls or with noodles. Or dunk them in your favorite sauce and eat them like tofu nuggets!
Why I Love Air Fryer Tofu
- Made with simple pantry ingredients.
- Minimal effort and only takes about 25 minutes!
- Crispy outside and perfect flavor and texture on the inside! Tearing the tofu into chunks allows the marinade to better permeate and flavor the inside of the tofu.
- Versatile and multiple ways to eat and use it! Add to rice bowls, stir-fries, fried rice or stir-fried noodles, curries, sandwiches, or enjoy it as tofu nuggets with a dipping sauce of your choice!
- Great source of plant-based protein and satiating!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Extra Firm Tofu: A tofu block that’s anywhere from 12-14 ounces (340-400 grams) will work. The firmer your tofu, the higher in protein it’ll be and the more crispy it will get in your air fryer.
- Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce: Low sodium is best here because you can add more for volume in the marinade to make it more mixable without making the tofu too salty.
- Peanut Oil: Helps to get that desired crispy texture and golden brown exterior. Feel free to use your preferred cooking oil. Some options I recommend are olive oil (not extra virgin), canola oil, and refined avocado oil (has a high smoke point like peanut oil).
- Corn Starch: It’ll coat the tofu in the marinade and crisp up the outside of the pieces nicely.
- Fine Sea Salt: Do not use coarse kosher salt as you want the marinade to be smooth.
- White Pepper: Or use ground black pepper if preferred.
- Garlic Powder: For a savory garlicky flavor!
Easy Air Fryer Tofu
This Easy Air Fryer Tofu is made with simple pantry ingredients, ready in about 25 minutes, and a great source of plant-based protein! It’s golden brown and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and can be eaten with a dipping sauce like tofu nuggets or added to other dishes!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 14
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Air Fry
- Cuisine: Asian-inspired
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 12-ounce block / 340 grams Extra Firm Tofu (anywhere from 12–14 ounces will work)
- 2 tablespoons / 30ml Low Sodium Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Peanut Oil (or your preferred cooking oil)
- 1.75 tablespoons / 15 grams Corn Starch
- ¼ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground White Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Drain the tofu. Drain the water from the package of tofu. Gently squeeze the tofu block over the sink so that excess water drips out. Wrap the block with a kitchen paper towel and gently squeeze again so that the paper towel absorbs any remaining water.
Tip: If you have extra time, you can also place the wrapped tofu block on a cutting board and place a plate and heavy object like a book or skillet on top to also help drain out more moisture. Set aside for 30 minutes. Then come back and drain off the excess water before proceeding with the recipe. You want the tofu to be as dry as possible so that it becomes crispier. - Make the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the low sodium light soy sauce, peanut oil, corn starch, sea salt, white pepper and garlic powder. Using a rubber spatula, mix well until thoroughly combined and a paste like mixture forms. It will be a little thick but still mixable.
- Coat the tofu: Tear the tofu into chunks and add to the marinade bowl. (It doesn’t need to be perfect or evenly sized pieces but aim to tear into larger chunks as some will break when mixing to coat.) Gently mix to coat the tofu pieces with the marinade using the rubber spatula.
- Air-fry: Preheat your air fryer at 400°F/200°C for 3 minutes (or according to manufacturer’s instructions) if needed for your specific model. Place the marinated tofu chunks in an even layer in the air fryer basket without overlapping (they can touch though). You may need to air fry in batches depending on the size of your air fryer basket in order to avoid overcrowding. Air fry for 12-14 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
Notes
- Be sure to check out the full article below for ingredients notes/substitutions, tips, variations, storage instructions, and more!
- Ways to serve air fryer tofu: Eat them like tofu nuggets with a dipping sauce of your choice – I highly recommend my Kebab Shop Garlic Sauce and Creamy Cilantro and Mint Sauce! Or serve with warm steamed rice and veggies for a complete meal. Or add them to a fried rice or stir-fried noodles. More ideas are in the article below!
- Recipe inspired by and adapted from The Woks of Life.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/3 of recipe
- Calories: 152
- Sugar: 0g
- Sodium: 324.3mg
- Fat: 7.5g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 11.7g
- Fiber: 1.2g
- Protein: 10.6g
- Cholesterol: 5.7mg
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Cook’s Tips and Variations
- Tear the tofu into large chunks. Some will break into smaller pieces when you gently mix to coat in the marinade. It’s best to start with bigger pieces for this reason.
- Add nutritional yeast. It’ll help create a crispier exterior texture for the tofu chunks as well as add a savory cheesy flavor. Nutritional yeast is also great for adding extra protein and B vitamins. I recommend using 1 tablespoon corn starch instead of 1.75 tablespoons and adding 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast. If the marinade mixture looks too thick, add ½ to 1 tablespoon of low sodium light soy sauce and mix until it is smooth and fluid again.
- Remove as much water from the tofu as possible. Dryer tofu will yield a crispier texture on the outside.
- Use a vacuum sealed package of extra firm tofu. These packages don’t have any added water to keep the tofu fresh and are ready to use. Only minimal pat-drying of the tofu block is needed and no pressing is required. This will save you both on prep time and effort!
- Double the recipe. Follow the same method but double the ingredient amounts and air fry in batches.
Dietary Modifications
- Vegan. This recipe is vegan as written.
- Gluten-free. Use a gluten-free soy sauce, coconut aminos or tamari instead of the low sodium light soy sauce.
How to Make Air Fryer Tofu Nuggets – Step-by-Step
Drain the water from the package of tofu. Gently squeeze the tofu block over the sink so that excess water drips out. Wrap the block with a kitchen paper towel and gently squeeze again so that the paper towel absorbs any remaining water.
Tip: If you have extra time, you can also place the wrapped tofu block on a cutting board and place a plate and heavy object like a book or frying pan to press it and help drain out more water. Set aside for 30 minutes. Then come back and drain off the excess water before proceeding with the recipe.
In a large bowl, combine the low sodium light soy sauce, peanut oil, corn starch, sea salt, white pepper and garlic powder. Using a rubber spatula, mix well until thoroughly combined and a mixable paste-like mixture forms (image 1).
Tear the tofu into chunks and add to the marinade bowl (image 2). (Don’t worry about being perfect here with evenly sized pieces.) Use a rubber spatula to gently mix to coat the tofu pieces (image 3).
Preheat your air fryer at 400°F/200°C if needed for your specific model. Place the marinated tofu chunks in the air fryer basket. Air fry for 12-14 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through, until golden brown and crisp on the outside (image 4).
Transfer to a plate and wait for a few minutes for the tofu to crisp up further (it’ll still be a little soft when it’s done air frying). Then enjoy!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Storing: Store leftovers in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: Reheat in the air fryer at 375° to 400°F/190°C to 200°C for 3-5 minutes, shaking the basket or flipping the pieces halfway through, until the tofu is hot and crispy. As with most air-fried foods, it may not be as crispy as when you first made it since it’s been refrigerated. But it’ll still taste good!
Ways to Serve Air Fryer Tofu
- Add to rice bowls. Use it as a protein source in a rice bowl with some veggies. Think Mexican-style rice bowl with black beans, corn, avocado, rice and these crispy golden nuggets of tofu!
- Add to stir-fries, fried rice, or stir-fried noodles. Check out my Air Fryer Tofu Fried Rice (coming soon!).
- Use in curries. Toss it into my Thai Yellow Egg Curry! It won’t be as crispy but will still taste fantastic in curries and sauces.
- Sandwiches. Think tofu burger with a large slice of beef tomato, butter or Bibb lettuce, and my Kebab Shop Garlic Sauce. Or use it instead of the chicken shish in these Chicken Shish Kebab Rolls!
- Add to salads. Drizzle with a Japanese sesame or miso dressing for a delicious high protein lunch!
- With a dipping sauce. Enjoy it as tofu nuggets with a dipping sauce of your choice! I highly recommend my Kebab Shop Garlic Sauce but even Bibigo Gochujang Sauce would be fantastic with its addictive sweet and spicy flavor profile!
FAQs
It’s not necessary as the squeezing and paper towel method works quite well to rid the tofu of excess water as does the homemade plate and book press method described in the recipe. However, if you have a tofu press and want to use it, go for it!
I recommend extra firm or super firm tofu so that the tofu chunks can crisp up nicely and hold their shape. If you are in Asia, some Korean brands of tofu available at supermarkets that are for pan frying will work too if it is firm. Silken tofu won’t work for this recipe and is better suited for wok recipes like Sichuan mapo tofu or blended into sauces for noodles and pasta like in this Creamy Mapo Tofu Udon Noodles.
Yes! Spread out the tofu pieces on a parchment paper lined baking sheet pan and bake at 400°F/200°C for 15-20 minutes, flipping the pieces around the 10-minute mark, until crispy and golden brown.
Anywhere from 12-14 ounces (340-400 grams) will work for the specified ingredient amounts. If using a 16-ounce (454 grams) tofu block, change the marinade ingredient amounts to the following.
2.5 tablespoons / 45ml low sodium light soy sauce
1.5-2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons / 17 grams cornstarch
¼ + ⅛ teaspoon fine sea Salt
¼ + ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ + ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
Arrowroot starch or potato starch would both work well.
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