Use this Crispy Air Fryer Tofu to make perfect, crispy, seasoned air fried tofu. Serve this crispy tofu with a savory peanut sauce.
Quick
Air fryer fast
You’ll Learn: How to turn tofu into golden, craveable bites
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: A tip for keeping the tofu crispy all week long
Why You’ll Love this recipe
- Perfectly crispy tofu – Even people who swear they hate tofu will love this recipe. By cooking the tofu in the air fryer, you get amazingly crispy tofu that everyone will love.
- Easy Weeknight Eating – In less than a total time of 20 minutes a block of extra firm tofu can go from boring and bland to crispy and flavorful with minimal prep time. Serve it with your favorite sides and enjoy.
- Great for meal prep – I love making a batch of this air fried tofu for the week. They heat up perfectly in the air fryer for delicious lunches all week long.
Serving suggestions
There are many ways to serve this vegan air fried tofu. In this recipe I share a delicious savory peanut sauce that you can drizzle over the cooked tofu. This dish is also so tasty dipped in roasted garlic aioli.
I like to serve the crispy tofu with brown rice or quinoa for a bit of fiber, fresh veggies and lots of that creamy peanut sauce. The peanut sauce is also perfect with roasted veggies and the crispy tofu cubes.
I love using leftovers in place of chicken for the protein in this chicken fried rice recipe, or in cauliflower rice breakfast stir fry.
You could also serve this crispy tofu on a salad with a homemade ranch dressing. Or use them in place of chicken for this buffalo bites recipe.
Tofu ingredients
- Extra firm tofu – make sure to press your tofu for the best results. Pressing will make sure you get as much moisture as possible out of the tofu
- Corn starch – the cornstarch helps get the tofu beautifully crispy by helping to draw out excess liquid. You can also use arrowroot starch or potato starch for this.
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika – this spice blend is perfect for your tofu, but feel free to mix it up with different spices
Peanut sauce ingredients
- Peanut butter – use your favorite peanut butter to make the base of your peanut sauce
- Lime juice – the lime juice adds a little citrus to brighten up your sauce
- Sesame oil – toasted sesame oil is best because it adds a nutty flavor
- Rice vinegar – if you do not have rice vinegar, you can also use white vinegar
- Sriracha – I love adding sriracha for a garlicky kick in the sauce
- Soy sauce or coconut aminos – either option works great in this recipe to bring the peanut sauce together. You could also use tamari instead of 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
Firm vs. extra firm Tofu
The difference between firm tofu and extra firm is the amount of water in the final product. The more firm the tofu is, the lower the water content.
Extra firm tofu is best for this crispy air fryer tofu recipe. The lower water content allows it to crisp up faster.
Ingredient Substitutions
This recipe is pretty straightforward, but there are some changes you can make! To make this recipe completely gluten free, be sure to use coconut aminos in place of soy sauce and arrowroot starch instead of cornstarch.
You can swap the dried seasonings listed here for any seasoning blend you like. Feel free to use something like a curry powder, Greek seasoning blend or Italian seasoning blend depending on the flavor profile you are looking for.
How to make Air Fryer Tofu
Step 1: Press tofu, cube and season
To begin, drain package of extra firm tofu and press tofu for 20 minutes. You can do this in a tofu press or wrap tofu in a clean towel and place under a heavy weight like books or a large pan.
Once it is pressed, cut the tofu into 1″ cubes. Then, combine arrowroot starch, teaspoon salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika in a small bowl (Image 1).
Toss cubed tofu in this mixture until each cube is evenly coated (Image 2).
Step 2: Air fry tofu
Then, place seasoned tofu in an air fryer basket in a single layer (Image 3). Spray tofu on all sides with an avocado oil cooking spray. Preheat air fryer to 400F.
Next, place tofu in air fryer and cook at 400F for 8 minutes. Remove tray from air fryer and toss shaking the basket until the tofu has rotated. Return tofu to air fryer and cook for an additional 7 minutes. The cooking time may vary depending on your air fryer (Image 4).
Step 3: Prepare peanut sauce and serve
While the tofu cooks, prepare the peanut sauce. Whisk together peanut butter, lime juice, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sriracha, water and coconut aminos.
When the tofu is done, I like to put it on a plate lined with a paper towel to keep it crispy.
Finally, serve crispy air fried tofu with quinoa or brown rice, fresh veggies, peanut sauce, green onions and sesame seeds.
Storage and reheating
Once cooled, transfer cooked crispy tofu to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in an air fryer or convection oven for a few minutes until warmed through.
Store the peanut sauce in the fridge separate from cooked tofu to keep the tofu crispy. Reheat the tofu in the air fryer, oven or toaster oven.
If you’re looking for another tofu recipe, try this flavorful marinated baked tofu. If you prefer the texture of tempeh, this tempeh stir fry is the perfect weeknight dinner.
Check out these other crispy air fryer recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Crispy Air Fryer Tofu
Ingredients
Air Fryer Tofu
- 1 block of extra firm tofu
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- Spray oil – I use avocado
Peanut Sauce
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Drain package of extra firm tofu and press tofu for 20 minutes. You can do this in a tofu press or wrap tofu in a clean towel and place under a heavy weight like books or a large pan. When tofu is pressed cut into 1″ cubes.
- Combine arrowroot starch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Toss cubed tofu in this mixture until each cube is evenly coated.
- Place seasoned tofu in an air fryer basket. Spray tofu on all sides with a spray oil. Preheat air fryer to 400F.
- Place tofu in air fryer and cook at 400F for 8 minutes. Remove tray from air fryer and toss. Return tofu to air fryer and cook for an additional 7 minutes.
- While the tofu cooks prepare the peanut sauce by whisking together peanut butter, lime juice, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sriracha, water and coconut aminos
- Serve crispy air fryer tofu with quinoa or brown rice, fresh veggies, peanut sauce and green onions
Recipe Notes
- Store leftover tofu in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days – re-crisp in the air fryer before serving again.
- Store sauce separately from tofu. Refresh sauce with a bit of warm water each time you serve
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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