Enjoy delicious plant-based nuggets made with tofu. To make these air fryer nuggets extra crispy, we use rice flour, cornstarch, and some spices to give them a fantastic taste. Serve with our famous peanut dipping sauce, and enjoy!
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Tofu is one of those things that you'll always find in our fridge. We love adding tofu to different dishes such as pasta sauces, salads, or stir-fries as our main protein.
I think we can all agree that tofu is quite plain on its own, so what really makes tofu a great protein for your recipes is the texture and how well it absorbs the different flavors. For this recipe, we use some spices to give our tofu a flavorful coating, and we serve the nuggets with a mouthwatering peanut and tahini sauce. Seriously addictive!
Ingredients
Tofu Nuggets
Tofu block. Choose a firm or extra-firm tofu for this recipe, as it's easier to cook without breaking or crumbling into smaller pieces. If you want to make this recipe soy-free, you can check out our Red Lentil Tofu Recipe.
Rice flour. Our favorite vegan restaurant always gives us little tips on how to cook just like they do, and adding rice flour to your coatings to make them extra crispy was one of their advice; it makes such a great difference! No rice flour? You can use tapioca or cornflour.
Cornstarch. Cornstarch is our second secret ingredient to make our nuggets extra crispy.
Spice mix. For our tofu nuggets, we use nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, turmeric, white pepper, and a pinch of salt.
Peanut and Tahini Sauce
Peanut butter. We prefer using smooth peanut butter to make our dipping sauce, but you could use crunchy butter to add more texture.
Tahini. Tahini or sesame paste adds creaminess to this dipping sauce.
Maple syrup. This ingredient is optional.
Soy sauce. You can use tamari as a gluten-free option.
Rice Vinegar. Adding a little bit of rice vinegar adds umami to your dipping sauce.
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Cooking Method for our Air Fryer Tofu Nuggets
First, combine all the flours and spices for the tofu: rice flour, cornflour, spice mix, and salt. Whisk until the mixture is uniform.
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Drain the excess water from your tofu using paper towels or apply some pressure using a heavy item such as a plate or a pan. Once drained, crumble the tofu into bite-size nuggets and coat with the spice mixture. If it makes the whole process easier, coat the tofu with your hands to make sure the nuggets are evenly seasoned.
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Place the tofu nuggets in the air fryer basket, drizzle with some olive oil, and air fry for about 17-20 minutes at 400F (200C), or until golden and crispy.
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While the tofu is cooking, prepare the peanut sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients and whisking until you have a smooth dipping sauce.
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Serve the nuggets on a plate with some chopped coriander and the dipping sauce. You can add a pinch of sea salt while hot, and enjoy!
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Air Fryer Tofu Nuggets
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon rice flour
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 block firm tofu drained**
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Peanut Sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon peanut butter smooth or crunchy
- 2 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon rice vinegar optinal
- 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- First, combine all the flours and spices for the tofu: rice flour, cornflour, spice mix, and salt. Whisk until the mixture is uniform.
- Drain the excess water from your tofu using paper towels or apply some pressure using a heavy item such as a plate or a pan.
- Once drained, crumble the tofu into bite-size nuggets and coat with the spice mixture. If it makes the whole process easier, coat the tofu with your hands to make sure the nuggets are evenly seasoned.
- Place the tofu nuggets in the air fryer, drizzle with some olive oil, and air fry for about 17-20 minutes at 400F (200C), or until golden and crispy.
- While the tofu is cooking, prepare the peanut sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients and whisking until you have a smooth dipping sauce.
- Serve the nuggets on a plate with some chopped coriander and the dipping sauce. You can add a pinch of sea salt while hot, and enjoy!
Nutrition
FAQ
Yes, you can bake or pan-fry your tofu nuggets. To bake the nuggets, place them on a silicon mat to ensure they don't stick while cooking, and cook until golden crispy (about 30 minutes), turning them halfway. For pan frying, add enough oil; when the oil is hot, add the tofu nuggets, flip them halfway through to ensure even cooking, and cook until crispy. Place on a paper towel to release excess oil.
Our coating for the tofu nuggets is gluten-free, and we use rice flour and cornstart. For the peanut sauce, you can use tamari instead of soy sauce.
To make the tofu nuggets spicy, you can add chili powder with the rest of the seasoning ingredients. For the sauce, we like adding some chili sesame oil to add a spicy kick.
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Serving Suggestions
These tofu nuggets are normally served as an appetizer at home. We like serving them to start our regular ramen night with a Thai curry or a warm noodle soup.
You can also use these nuggets to top your salads or curries or as a snack.
Change the dipping sauce to your taste; sometimes, we add different dipping sauces so people can choose a few options. Some other popular choices are our Chinese dipping sauce, our Bravas sauce if we are making something more Mediterranean, or this easy gyoza dipping sauce.
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Other Appetizers You May Like
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