Air Fryer Tofu – Crispy & Flavorful!
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Super crispy and flavorful, this Air Fryer Tofu is worth getting an air fryer for! The tofu pieces get incredibly crispy as if they were deep fried, with just a smidge of oil. No more tofu sticking to an oily pan!
The air fryer is one of the most used appliances in our kitchen, maybe even more than our trusty Vitamix blender!
We use it to make french fries, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower as well as making frozen tator tots, spring rolls and vegan nuggets.
The other food we use our air fryer for? TOFU! Mostly because it makes delicious, crispy and flavorful tofu with no fuss.
No more tofu sticking to an oily pan, or carefully flipping over every piece on a baking sheet. With the air fryer, you simply shake it here and there. It seriously couldn’t be easier!
How to press tofu fast
You can always use a tofu press if you have one, which lets you press a block of tofu in under 15 minutes. But if you don’t have a press, this is the next fastest way to do it.
To press it very quickly, remove the tofu from the water pack and cut into cubes. Place the cubed tofu on a flat surface like a cutting board, lined with paper towels (or a clean tea towel.)
Cover with more paper towels, a baking sheet, and then place something heavy on top like a cast iron skillet. This way, you only need to let it press for about 15 minutes while you make the marinade.
Want to avoid pressing tofu altogether? Buy the super-firm tofu in a vacuum pack, and there is no need to press.
How to make air fryer tofu
While the tofu is pressing, whisk your simple marinade ingredients in a bowl.
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (or use tamari for gluten free)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
That’s it. There really is no need to add cornstarch here, but if you wanted to, you could (add a tablespoon of cornstarch for extra crispiness, if desired.) The tofu gets plenty crispy in my opinion without it. Toss the tofu cubes with the marinade to coat, and let them sit for about 15 minutes, or longer.
After 15 minutes, place the tofu cubes in your air fryer in a single layer, so they do not touch. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do this in 2 batches.
Cook it at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally after 10 minutes. The tofu is done when it is golden, even a little blackened in places but not burnt. The pieces should be nice and crispy!
What to serve with air fryer tofu
You can eat it plain, throw it in salads or serve it over rice or mashed potatoes with a delicious sauce such as peanut sauce, barbecue sauce or bang bang sauce.
Or use it in a vegetable tofu stir fry! The possibilities are endless.
Do you love tofu as much as I do?
Try any one of these amazing recipes featuring tofu, one of my favorite foods in the world! Any one of these could be cooked in an air fryer.
- Cornflake Tofu (Vegan Chicken Nuggets)
- Marinated Tofu (the best tofu ever!)
- Crispy Sesame Tofu
- Orange Tofu – Vegan Orange Chicken!
- Vegan Butter Chicken (actually made with tofu)
Air Fryer Tofu - Crispy & Flavorful!
Ingredients
- 14- ounce block extra-firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Quick press the tofu: Cut the tofu into cubes. Place them evenly on a flat surface such as a cutting board lined with paper towels or a clean towel. Cover with a layer of paper towels, set a baking sheet on top and then something heavy, like a large book or cast iron skillet. Press like this for 15 minutes. Or use a tofu press.
- In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil.
- Add the pressed tofu cubes to a bowl and drizzle the marinade over them. Toss gently to coat the pieces. Let the tofu marinate for about 15 minutes, longer if desired (up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.)
- Place the tofu cubes in the air fryer, in a single layer, so the pieces don't touch. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook half the tofu at a time. Cook at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally after 10 minutes. Cook until the tofu is golden and crispy, but not burned.
Notes
- Gluten free? Use tamari instead of soy sauce.
- May use olive oil instead of sesame oil, but I love the flavor sesame oil adds. For oil free, you may omit it but it may not get as crispy.
- May add a tablespoon of cornstarch to the marinade if desired for a little extra crispiness.
- If you have leftover tofu, simply re-heat in the air fryer for 5 minutes to re-crisp!
Nutrition
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40 Comments on “Air Fryer Tofu – Crispy & Flavorful!”
Giving it 5 stars because it’s easy and super delicious, although I had to tweak it a bit!
I found that next time I would use less rice vinegar and continue to add more spices, herbs, and sauces.
This was made for my boyfriend, an omnivore. He LOVED it. He ate what I gave him–half the dish (half tofu made, half rice and veggies), and he was stuffed and satisfied!
1. To the tofu, I added:
*a little of the Kikkoman teriyaki sauce (it’s the thin consistency one, similar to soy sauce),
*black pepper, minced garlic (in the jar), a little garlic powder, sesame seeds, dry rosemary, and a hint of sweet chili sauce.
2. My air fryer is pretty powerful and only cooked it between 6-8 minutes. It turned out great. Just the right amount of crispiness on the outside and tons of flavor and a little softer on the inside!
3. To mix with the tofu, I heated ready-to-heat white rice w/ veggies and used half of the container for his serving.
For the rice, I added: teriyaki sauce, a tiny bit of pink Himalayan salt, parsley, black pepper, AND some leftover cooked veggies I made previously (onions, chickpeas, red roasted peppers).
I gave him hot sauce to dip it in as well. Awesome recipe! I hope the tweaks I gave helps for anyone who loves a lot of seasoning!
Thank you for sharing your review, ideas, and comments! I’m glad your boyfriend loved the tofu!
I love the ease of this recipe! I have a different marinade that I will use next time for a bit more flavor but overall I am very happy with how this turned out. This will definitely be my new go to way of cooking tofu. So much better than cooking in the oven.
Thank you for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad the air fryer tofu is a winner for you! Happy cooking!
So easy! Thank you. I threw in a little nutritional yeast, too.
Thanks for sharing your great review! I’m glad you like the tofu!
perfect recipe. I think I will be making batches of these and saving for the week. Can add to salads, stir fry broccoli, or even as a snack. Easy and delicious!
Hi Shirley. What great ideas! This is one of my mother-in-law’s favorite tofu recipes! Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! It’s so easy, quick, and delicious. I’m looking forward to playing around with this and making other kinds of tofu recipes with this as the base.
Hi Mimi. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. My mother-in-law loves this recipe as well! Thank you!
Love this recipe. Only thing I added for my own taste was fish sauce and a spritz of olive oil. Just added this to a dinner salad and my boyfriend Loved it! Thank you kindly for the recipe. Simply tasty.
You’re welcome!
I am new to cooking tofu and air frying it is the only way to go in my opinion! I also like to toss the cubes in corn starch to get an extra crunch. After air frying, I’ll normally toss them in an orange glaze, buffalo, or even bbq sauce. So easy and delicious!
I’m so excited. These nuggets came out just like the fried tofu snack I had in Indonesia. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Now I just need to find some tamarind dipping sauce.
Thx for this recipe.
You’re welcome!
I added Korean chili garlic sauce to marinade. Delicious!!!
Sounds yummy!
better than I have ever had it turn out in oven!
That’s great!
I have used your “best marinated tofu ever” recipe a few times now and my family and I LOVE it. I have a batch marinating in the refrigerator as we speak. I want to try it in the air fryer tonight instead of pan frying. I have a question. I know it’s crispy on the outside. Is it tender on the inside?
Yes, it is, as long as you don’t overcook the tofu. Hope that helps! I’m glad you enjoy the marinated tofu!
I’m new to air frying and was hesitant to try tofu. It turned out perfect! Even my “meat and potatoes” husband had seconds, and it has been added to the rotation. Always looking for something new because he says we eat the same thing over and over. Not true and I write the menu on the calendar to keep track. Thanks for a new recipe. Served it with brown rice.
This was my first making tofu so I was a little nervous/hesitant, but this recipe was easy and delicious! I did have to cook it in batches in my 4 Qt. Ninja Air Fryer, but it only took about 20-25 minutes total, so probably was the same amount of time as baking in one batch, or potentially faster. After I air fried it, I tossed it a skillet with your Sticky Sriracha sauce and served with brown rice and sugar snap peas. Looking forward to making this again, it seems like it’ll be super versatile too. Thanks so much!
You’re so welcome!!
Just as stated. Best ever! Son has been vegan for about 5 years years now and he agrees! He literally said, “OMG. This is the best tofu ever”! Superful flavorful. Great texture. Nice and crisp! Thank you for literally the Best Tofu Ever!
You’re so welcome!! I’m so glad you like it!
I can’t believe how good this is and such a great meat alternative. My 24 year old loves it, the 15 y.o picky did not. This is a new favorite!
So good!
You listed this recipe as having 76 calories in one serving. What is the serving size? It was a delicious and easy way to make tofu.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! 1 serving is simply 1/4th of the entire recipe.
So simple and so good…..no more tofu crusted wok!!!
I have made this recipe several times and adore it. I was nervous about eating tofu and using an air fryer beforehand. Many thanks!
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoy this recipe!
This recipe looks amazing. I have questions regarding prep: Is there a reason to cut the tofu prior to pressing? I have a tofu press and cutting first would be problematic, it seems. I ask because I have varying success with tofu. Does size of cubes matter in air fryer particularly, as I used long thinner rectangles before and it never crisped.
Thank you. I trust your recipes as a fledgling vegan quite often!
You can definitely use a tofu press if you have one. Cutting the tofu before pressing just cuts down on the time needed to press it, but of course you can’t do that with a tofu press. Smaller cubes are good instead of long thin rectangles, I think anyhow, because they will get nice and crispy all around easier. Try smaller pieces. Hope you enjoy!
Great recipe! The texture is amazing & it’s easy to modify the marinade as you wish.
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Made this tonight and absolutely loved it. I had a hard time finding a recipe that didn’t coat the tofu in cornstarch before air frying. This did it! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe.
You’re welcome! So glad you liked it.
What is leftover tofu? Ha ha. We always gobble this up in one sitting.
Wow, I can’t believe how simple and DELICIOUS this is! Thank you.