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Sooner or later I had to jump into the air frying madness, fashionably late of course. At this point if you don't have an air fryer, you're the strange one, right? I can't keep up, usually.
Putting our focus once again on tofu! This amazing, protein packed, block of goodness is even perfect just plain and air fried! It's so easy to have a quick protein to pair with everything, including my sesame peanut sauce!
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Why you'll love it:
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Super quick and easy to make
- An inexpensive treat
- Packed with protein
I have actually had an air fryer for a while but I've spent a majority of this time learning how it works and testing things (and not testing things, I'm not always working).
What are you doing? Get an air fryer!
Tofu is, admittedly, one that took me a while to get the hang of and perfect. Well guess what y'all? I did it! And now I am going to share this with you and pretend that there's not several other recipes out there for this exact thing.
🍲Ingredients
📃Notes
Make sure to use medium firm/firm tofu. Do not use silken.
Feel free to try potato starch or tapioca starch as a replacement.
🔪Prepare
Step 1: Place the cornstarch into a generous sized bowl. You want a bowl big enough to work around comfortably, and I say this as someone who constantly gets bowls that are too small for what I need.
Step 2: If you haven't already, break up the tofu into equal sized chunks. You could also just cut it into even squares if you want.
🌡️Frying
Place the tofu in the air fryer and try not to crowd it! If you have a smaller air fryer, like I do, you may need to work in batches.
Set the air fryer to 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Depending on your specific air fryer, times and temps may vary. If you are using parchment paper, I suggest checking half way and flipping the tofu around so that it gets cooked evenly on all sides.
💡Tips & Information
- Make sure you drain and press the tofu for at least 30 minutes. Even patting dry after pressing. This is the secret to making sure the tofu is crispy.
- When coating in corn starch, be sure to shake off any extra. While you'll still be able to see some of the cornstarch after air frying, it will be unnoticeable once you've paired your tofu with some sauce!
- You can add any seasonings to the cornstarch if you want. Common seasonings include but are not limited to: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, sage, cumin, and chili powder. Oh, and of course, nutritional yeast!
- Do not crowd your tofu in the air fryer. If you have a smaller air fryer like I do, you may need to work in batches.
📝Serving Suggestions
- Plain - Seriously, add a little bit of salt to your cornstarch and eating this air fried tofu is perfect as is!
- Sauteed in a delicious sesame peanut sauce.
- Dip your tofu pieces in sweet chili sauce!
- An added protein to any salad.
- Stir fried with vegetables.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
The secret is making sure you have a dry block of tofu! Drain and press the tofu for 30 minutes and then pat dry with a clean towel afterwards. This will ensure super crispy tofu every time!
Nope! You can cut your tofu into desired sized pieces and place it directly into the air fryer. It will give a different result visually, but you'll still get crispy and cooked tofu assuming you drained and pressed well.
Well, I imagine it will just be mush in the air fryer but I have never tried to cook undrained tofu in an air fryer. I don't think I would recommend it.
📖 Recipe
Easy Air fried Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 block firm tofu
- ½ cup cornstarch*
- pinch of salt - optional
Instructions
- Drain your tofu super well and pat dry and then cut or break into even, bite-sized pieces.1 block firm tofu
- In a medium bowl add the cornstarch (and salt if using) and mix together, then add in the tofu and coat each piece evenly.½ cup cornstarch*,pinch of salt
- Shake off any excess cornstarch and place into your air fryer. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may or may not be able to fit all pieces in.1 block firm tofu,½ cup cornstarch*,pinch of salt
- Air fry on 400 F for 10 minutes. If using parchment or foil, flip the tofu half way through.
Notes
- Vegan
- Gluten-Free
- Substitute for tofu - While I have not used pumpkin seed tofu (pumfu), I'm sure it would work just as well like this. Another option would be Chickpea Tofu.
- Drain Well - Make sure you drain and press for at least 30 minutes, and then pat dry with a towel afterwards.
- Different Air Fryer - Your air fryer probably differs from mine, if you are not familiar with your air fryer, go with 5 minute increments on 400 degress F/200 degrees C until desired doneness.
- Add ons - Absolutely play around with other seasonings in the cornstarch. I recommend things such as: cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.
Nutrition
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Asher
Made sure to try this with your peanut sauce. You saved our dinner plans!
Bree
Wonderful!