Air Fryer Tofu

5 from 24 votes

This Air Fryer Tofu recipe makes for tasty jagged seasoned chunks that—no joke—taste like chicken nuggets! The texture and flavor combination is absolutely addictive!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Tofu

Cuisine: Asian American Fusion

Servings:

Calories: 160kcal

Author: Kaitlin

Ingredients

1 block extra firm tofu (anywhere from 14-16 oz. is fine, as tofu blocks vary)
2½ tablespoons cornstarch
2½ tablespoons nutritional yeast
2½ tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oil (such as canola, vegetable, avocado, or olive oil)
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

Remove the block of tofu from the package. Over the sink or a bowl, gently squeeze it between your palms a few times until no more water drips out of it. Next, gently press it between a folded clean kitchen towel to reduce the remaining moisture.
If desired, you can press the tofu on a plate with another plate on top, held down with a frying pan. This will get even more water out of it. You can leave it like this for as little as 30 minutes up to overnight (in the refrigerator), and it will help nicely in yielding crispier results.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, oil, white pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. It should resemble a wet paste.
Into the same bowl, use your hands to break up the tofu into 1½-inch chunks. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You can start larger knowing that as you toss the tofu, a few pieces will get broken up.
Use a rubber spatula to gently toss the tofu pieces and coat them in the seasoning paste.
Air fry at 400°F/200°C for 12-14 minutes, shaking the air fryer basket once midway through to flip the pieces around, until golden and crisp at the edges!

Nutrition

Air Fryer Tofu by The Woks of Life. Recipe URL: https://body-goals.fit/air-fryer-tofu/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-83850":{"type":"food","name":"Air Fryer Tofu","slug":"wprm-air-fryer-tofu","image_url":"https:\/\/thewoksoflife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/air-fryer-tofu-16.jpg","rating":{"count":24,"total":120,"average":5,"type":{"comment":24,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":1,"amount":"1","unit":"block","name":"extra firm tofu","notes":"(anywhere from 14-16 oz. is fine, as tofu blocks vary)","unit_id":5683,"id":3181,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"block","timestamp":1774150691000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"block","unitParsed":"block"}}},{"uid":2,"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","name":"cornstarch","notes":"","unit_id":5259,"id":267,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1774150691000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","name":"nutritional yeast","notes":"","unit_id":5259,"id":4938,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1774150691000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":4,"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","name":"soy sauce","notes":"","unit_id":5259,"id":265,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1774150691000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2\u00bd","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","name":"oil","notes":"(such as canola, vegetable, avocado, or olive oil)","unit_id":5259,"id":268,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","timestamp":1774150691000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":6,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","name":"white pepper","notes":"","unit_id":5268,"id":314,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774150691000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","name":"garlic powder","notes":"","unit_id":5268,"id":417,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774150691000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":8,"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","name":"smoked paprika","notes":"","unit_id":5268,"id":426,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","timestamp":1774150691000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"\u00bc","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}}],"originalServings":"4","originalServingsParsed":4,"currentServings":"4","currentServingsParsed":4,"currentServingsFormatted":"4","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}