oil free tofu

Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and perfect for dipping. Make in the air fryer or in the oven at a high temperature.

Vegan Air-Fried Tofu Nuggets (oil-free)

block high protein tofu (or VERY firm pressed and drained)

tsp smoked paprika

tsp black pepper

tsp salt

garlic powder

ketchup

Cut the tofu into bite size cubes and then use a bowl or bag and shake it with the spices.

Add into the air fryer and cook for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees F, shaking halfway through. For the oven route, bake at 475 on a baking sheet with parchment for 15 minutes on each side or until desired crispiness.

Serve with dipping sauce and enjoy fresh!

Oil-free oven-baked tofu with a crunchy coating and chewy center.

Crispy Oven Baked Tofu

(14 ounces) extra firm tofu

soy sauce garlic

corn starch

Add the tofu, seasonings, and cornstarch to a bowl and lightly toss.

Place the tofu on a baking tray lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Bake for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Thank you for the detailed directions.  I tried for the first time tonight and it was really good with an Asian stir fry.  I will try again with other things.

Sweet, spicy, and sticky tofu is crispy on the outside and tender in the middle. This Asian-inspired dish is absolutely bursting with flavour and guaranteed to impress.

Asian Sticky Tofu

(340 grams) extra firm tofu

brown rice flour

onion powder

low sodium tamari (or soy sauce)

unrefined coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

water

rice vinegar

garlic (minced)

sriracha (or hot sauce of choice)

ginger

Vermicelli noodles rice

green onion or chives

sesame seeds

Cut your tofu into half-inch cubes. Then arrange some paper towels or a clean dish towel on a cutting board and place the tofu cubes in a single layer on top. Now add more paper towels on top of the cubes and place another cutting board, flat plate, or baking sheet on top. Finally, place something very heavy on top like a cast-iron skillet or a heavy book. Press like this for 15 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Press the tofu

Preheat the oven to 425°F/218°C convection bake and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Once the tofu is pressed, place the cubes in a medium mixing bowl with the 2 tablespoons of tamari and gently mix. Then add the 2 tablespoons of flour, and the onion and garlic powder. Mix gently to evenly coat the pieces.

Arrange the coated tofu cubes in a single layer on your baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between each piece. Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping once at the halfway point. NOTE: If you do not have a convection oven, it may take a little longer to reach desired crispiness.

For the tofu

While the tofu is baking, combine all the sticky tofu sauce ingredients in a medium pan. Whisk to combine and simmer for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Then turn off the heat.

Add the baked tofu to the pan with the sauce and gently toss to coat each piece.

Serve your sticky tofu with rice or noodles, and top with green onion or chives and sesame seeds.

For the sticky tofu sauce

<em>Learn how to make the best Crispy Tofu with this easy and yummy recipe! Made with only 3 ingredients, this Tofu is Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Oil-Free. </em>

The EASIEST Crispy Tofu Recipe

14 oz. block Extra Firm Tofu

tbsp Reduced-Sodium Tamari

tbsp Nutritional Yeast,

First, preheat the oven to 425F. Drain the liquid from the Tofu and &#8220;press&#8221; the extra liquid out by wrapping it in a clean dish towel, or by using a Tofu press. Try to get it as dry as possible!

Cut the Tofu into even cubes. I like to cut the block in half lengthwise, then cut each rectangle into 16 even cubes.  (Note: I like to lightly press the cubes with the dish towel if I have extra time/patience)

Add the cubed Tofu to a large bowl, then use a spatula to gently toss it with the Tamari, until evenly coated. Add the Nutritional Yeast, then gently mix until coated. Add more Nutritional Yeast or extra seasonings to taste, if desired.

Transfer the cubes to a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat, leaving space between the cubes. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 20 minutes, then carefully flip the cubes. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your tofu. The Tofu will also get slightly crispier as it cools. 

Serve as desired; leftovers will last in the fridge for up to one week.

This is an AMAZING recipe!! Incredible! Problem - it's so addictive I ate most of the tofu before I could add it to the pad thai I was making it for. I have a vintage gas oven and am at 5600' elevation, so I found my cooking times to be a little shorter - 20 mins on the first side, and then definitely plenty crunchy by 15 mins on the other side. I cut the block of tofu into four flattish pieces and pressed those with paper towels several times (since I didn't want to dirty a dish towel and dont have a tofu press), and that seemed to work well. After further cutting into cubes, they absorbed the tamari right away and I even added a dash more to make sure each was coated before tossing in the amazing "nooch"! Thank you for this recipe!

I make a lot of Caitlin's recipes but this is hands down my favorite. In the last 2 years (it has been published 2 years ago) I make this crispy tofu at least once a week. My 3 year old eats this tofu like candy. I think is his favorite food besides avocado. If you don't like tofu try this recipe and you might start loving it.

Seriously, this recipe is perfect! And it couldn’t be easier. It’s so delicious, not much is leftover by the time it cools! This is a weekly staple for me. I make it with liquid aminos instead of tamari or soy sauce. This tofu is good in just about anything. 

Thank you for another amazing, healthy recipe, Caitlin!

I added garlic &amp; onion powder, salt and pepper and air fried them at 390 for 13 minutes - PERFECTION! Thank you for sharing, I never used or honestly heard of nutritional yeast and it made a huge difference in the texture, wow!

I love making this for lunch for me and my kiddos!  I pop them into the air fryer and they’re just perfect!

WOOOOOOOOOW. I’ve made tofu for YEARS. Finally used this recipe and wow, this was my best outcome thus far. Thank you Caitlin!!! The only downside is that I ate the tofu before the rest of my meal was ready! :D :D

Hi Caitlin,
Loved this recipe!! (And....your book as well!)
For this recipe I used Nasoya organic super firm tofu (16 oz) and prepared as written.  Added a bit more tamari and NOOCH.   Was going to bake in oven on a silpat, but decided to try it in my Ninja air fryer. 
Decided on 375° for 15 minutes.  Checked it a few times to rearrange the tofu, ensuring that each piece had a fair chance at getting crispy.  (There was tofu shrinkage....😉)
Shut air fryer off at 14 minutes because the crispy cheesy tofu looked perfect.
Was planning on using the tofu for tonight’s dinner, but we ate is this afternoon!
Thank you for this quick &amp; easy recipe!!!🥰
Have a peaceful evening,
Denise

Newbie to tofu here... and recent convert to vegan. And this was literally the very first time I ever had tofu. I was skeptical but willing to try it to get some protein. I REALLY enjoyed it. Kind of reminded me of potato on the inside, but with a great crunch on the outside. Served it with quinoa and red bell peppers - color me happy :) I was surprised how much tofu shrinks when cooked, guess I'll just have to buy more! Thanks for a great intro to this protein source.

Wow, this is DELICIOUS. I wish I had come across this years ago! i was skeptical because i have tried other recipes that only have a few ingredients and they were terrible. But THIS is just great. I am making a second batch now after loving the first one. Thank you!

This is the recipe that made me crave tofu! We’ve created so many variations over the years:
Add lime juice if using in pad Thai 
Add garlic for extra zing 
Add hot sauce in Mexican inspired dishes 
Add lemon juice if using in risottos or pastas 
I have to make multiple blocks of tofu whenever I make it because we eat it so fast!!

Truly the best tofu recipe I've tried. This one gets the tofu perfectly crispy on the outside yet nice and tender on the inside. The healthy addition of nutritional yeast is a huge plus. I love that I can add more spices to this to make it more flavorful if I want to eat it plain or saute it in some sauce after baking. Thanks for a great recipe!

Oh my goodness thank you so much for this recipe!  They taste very much like the tofu at Whole Foods on their food bar!  I was also baking french fries and put the tofu on the parchment paper pan instead of my silicone mat, but they still came out wonderful!  I will be making them often.

Absolutely fabulous tofu! Love it so much it so much that it's become a staple around our house. Thanks for sharing such deliciousness! As a new subscriber, I look forward to finding more great recipes.

This is my go to crispy tofu recipe! It is easy and tasty. It is very versatile too. I have spooned on BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes of cooking and it worked out super. I also add this on top of stir fries, to salads, and yup just plain eat it as is. Oh, when making this, always increase the amount you make because you will find it disappears fast!

This recipe is definitely IT! We've moved significantly to vegetarian meals and while I thought I was pretty capable @ working up tofu, I spent too much time on maintaining the crunch crust. The yeast w/tamari (Ihad to use soy for my first try - and it was perfect). The pile of crunchy cubes with tender inside dip wonderfully for any meal. Great with seafood salad etc. Thank you hugely!

Every crispy tofu recipe I've ever tried calls for oil. This was an absolute revelation! No oil, and it ended up being the best, crispiest, most delicious tofu I've ever made!

Amazing recipe!!! Made it with roasted veggies and served it with a lemon tahini dressing from the Simply Delicious cookbook:)

Loved this! Thank you for sharing Caitlin 😊

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/s1YRRnzh.mp4

Learn how to make the best Crispy Tofu with this easy and yummy recipe! Made with only 3 ingredients, this Tofu is Vegan, Gluten-Free, and Oil-Free.

Crispy Baked Tofu

These crispy vegan air fryer tofu nuggets are tossed in a sweet and smoky BBQ maple glaze, making them the ultimate oil-free comfort food. Made with simple ingredients, packed with flavor, and ready in under 25 minutes. It's the perfect easy weeknight dinner, snack, or party appetizer.

Crispy Air Fryer Tofu Nuggets with Sticky BBQ Maple Glaze

(14 oz) extra-firm or super-firm tofu, drained & pressed

chickpea flour

yeast

½ tsp smoked paprika

salt & pepper

Tbsp of plant-based BBQ sauce

Tbsp maple syrup

Drain and press tofu 10–15 minutes to remove excess water. Cut or tear into 1-inch pieces.

In a bowl, whisk chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.

Toss the tofu cubes in the dry mix until they are evenly coated.

Preheat the air fryer to 380°F (195°C). Place the tofu in a single layer and cook for 12–14 minutes, shaking halfway through, until golden and crispy.

Mix BBQ sauce and maple syrup in a bowl. Add cooked tofu and toss gently to coat.

Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce or extra glaze.

Optional

Top with chopped green onion or sesame seed for extra crunch.

These crispy vegan air fryer tofu nuggets are tossed in a sweet and smoky BBQ maple glaze, making them the ultimate oil-free comfort food. Made with simple ingredients, packed with flavor, and ready in under 25 minutes. It’s the perfect easy weeknight dinner, snack, or party appetizer.

Made these yesterday and they are amazing! Followed recipe exactly, but then after mixing them with the glaze I popped them back in the airfryer until they were blackened. Put a bit more glaze on them and Holy Moly!! Tasted like the burnt ends people rave about at bbq joints. Very addictive. Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes, I've made a ton of them over the years and never been disappointed.

Top 5 oil free tofu recipes from across the web

The most viewed oil free tofu recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Vegan Air-Fried Tofu Nuggets (oil-f...

Crispy Oven Baked Tofu

Asian Sticky Tofu

The EASIEST Crispy Tofu Recipe

Crispy Air Fryer Tofu Nuggets with ...

Top 5 oil free tofu recipes from across the web

The most viewed oil free tofu recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Vegan Air-Fried Tofu Nuggets (oil-f...

Crispy Oven Baked Tofu

Asian Sticky Tofu

The EASIEST Crispy Tofu Recipe

Crispy Air Fryer Tofu Nuggets with ...

The most viewed oil free tofu recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine