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These Vegan Tofu Nuggets are baked and not fried and taste just like Southern fried chikin with my secret marinade & spice mix! Nutfree Glutenfree. Your whole family will love these!
Stop what you’re doing and go marinate some tofu NOW because you don’t want to miss out on these Crispy Baked Vegan Tofu Nuggets! They are my new favorite vegan party snack – well, along with my Baked General Tso Cauliflower!
I use the spices used for southern fried chicken and add them to the coating and the marinade. Together they add so much amazing flavor. These are perfectly crispy on the outside and wonderfully meaty on the inside – seriously the best texture and flavor thanks to some key tips and a delicious tofu marinade. Seriously, if you know someone who dislikes tofu, give them these Tofu Nuggets and their minds will be changed forever.
Now there are two things that are super important for making the perfect Tofu Nuggets.
Number one: you need to press your tofu! For most of my tofu recipes, I recommend pressing your tofu, and this is no exception. Squeeze all that excess water out of your tofu. This will give you much better tofu and will prepare it for my tofu nuggets. Use extra firm tofu so that you don’t end up with squishy bites.
tip #2 Marinate your tofu. Let the pressed tofu sit in the marinade a minimum of 5 minutes. We really want the marinade to soak up into the insides of the tofu, making the texture even better. You can marinate your tofu for 30 minutes, or even overnight.
More vegan party food:
Everything Bagel seasoning Tofu
Baked Tofu Nuggets
Ingredients
- 14 ounce extra firm tofu pressed for at least 20 minutes
For the marinade:
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce, or tamari for gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 2 teaspoons oil
For spice coating
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Ground sage
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon celery seeds or use ½ teaspoon celery salt and use only ¼ salt earlier
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- A generous pinch each of cinnamon,, nutmeg and allspice
- 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning or mix of 1/8 teaspoons each of sage,, thyme, rosemary
- 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, or tapioca starch
To serve
- vegan barbeque or vegan ranch or hot sauce or dips of choice
- Garnish cilantro or green onion
Instructions
- Press the tofu if you haven’t already, then break into bite size pieces using your hands. Keep them at least 1 inch in size, add to a bowl.
- Marinate: Then add the marinade ingredients to the bowl and toss well to coat, let the tofu sit for 5 minutes(or longer in the fridge till ready to bake)
- Spice coating: In another small bowl add all of the coating ingredients and 1 ½ tablespoons of corn starch and mix really well.
- The marinade should have gotten absorbed in the tofu, there shouldn’t be any liquid left. Sprinkle all of the spice coating mixture over the tofu and toss well to coat. If the tofu is too wet then add some more cornstarch, 1 teaspoon at a time. Then spread this tofu on parchment lined baking sheet and keep at least ½ inch distance between all the pieces.
- Bake at 400F(205c) for 20-25 minutes or until the tofu is crisp to preference
- Depending on the brand of tofu, if it’s a good extra firm tofu then the coating will get crisp around 23-24 minutes and if the tofu is a bit softer then the outside will get crisp, but tofu might be somewhat soft in the middle.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven then let it cool for a few minutes before plating it and serving it with dips of choice. You can also use this tofu to add to wraps or tacos or serve it as a side.
Video
Notes
- Tear your tofu instead of slicing it into cubes. Tearing your tofu means there are more rough edges for not only the marinade to soak into, but for the cornstarch spice mix to coat the tofu.
- For extra crispy tofu: use 1/4 -1/3 cup breadcrumbs instead of cornstarch
- To make this soy free, use 12-14 oz seitan or use cauliflower florets. Use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce
- Variation: use (6-7 oz)dry soycurls, then rehydrate in warm stock, squeeze out excess stock and proceed.
- To make this without onion garlic, omit them and add 1/8 teaspoon asafetida(hing) or 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek powder. If you don’t have these, add a teaspoon of miso to the marinade and add 1/2 teaspoon a oregano to the spice mix
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- for this recipe, we need extra firm tofu pressed for at least 20 minutes
- For the spicy marinade, we blend soy sauce with hot sauce and a small amount of oil
- for the spice coating, we blend nutritional yeast with salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, sage, paprika, celery seeds, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice
- cornstarch is used as a coating to crisp up
Tips:
- Tear your tofu instead of slicing it into cubes. Tearing your tofu means there are more rough edges for not only the marinade to soak into, but for the cornstarch spice mix to coat the tofu.
- After adding the spiced mixture to the marinated tofu, you should go with your gut. If the tofu still feels a bit too wet then add some more cornstarch, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- Depending on the brand of tofu, you might have slightly different textures. I recommend you invest in a good extra firm tofu
- Instead of the celery salt, you can use ½ teaspoon celery salt and use only ¼ salt earlier
How to make Crispy Baked Tofu Nuggets
Press the tofu if you haven’t already, then break into bite-size pieces using your hands. Keep them at least 1 inch in size, add to a bowl.
Then add the marinade ingredients and toss well to coat, let the tofu sit for 5 minutes.
In another small bowl add all of the coating ingredients and 1 ½ tablespoons of corn starch and mix really well.
The marinade should have gotten absorbed in the tofu, there shouldn’t be any liquid left.
Sprinkle all of the spiced coating mixture over the tofu and toss well to coat. After adding the spiced mixture, if the tofu is too wet then add some more cornstarch, 1 teaspoon at a time.
then spread this tofu on a parchment line baking sheet and keep at least ½ inch distance between all the pieces.
Then bake at 400F (205c) for 20-25 minutes or until the tofu is crisp to preference
Depending on the brand of tofu, if it’s good extra firm tofu then the coating will get crisp around 23-24 minutes and if the tofu is a bit softer then the outside will get crisp, but tofu might be somewhat soft in the middle.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven then let it cool for a few minutes before plating it and serving it!.
Serve
Serve these immediately with dips of choice. These are best served right out of the oven. The pieces will tend to soften after sitting for an hour or so. They will still taste amazing though!
You can also use this tofu to add it to lettuce or tortilla wraps or tacos! You can also serve it as a side.
Awesome in the air fryer! Will make again!!
Yay
Looks delicious!!
🙂
Nice recipe!
Thank you!
We loved it! Husband thought it was the best thing ever. Next time, I’ll try the Panko crumbs. Thank you!!
I have a guest who is very sensitive to spiciness. Can you recommend a non-spicy sub for the hot sauce?
Frank’s RedHot does have a Mild sauce variety. For a completely non-spiced dish I would recommend leaving out entirely, or subbing with a ketchup or BBQ sauce. Note that the flavor will be very different from this recipe.
In my fridge I have some Tabasco, some Chuhula, and some Siracha…
I am excited to make your recipe, and wondering which one of these I should use, or if I should pick up some Frank’s Hot Sauce…?
Tabasco
These were very tasty! Thank You!
Yay!
I made these this morning, a double batch. I know they are best right from the oven, I just like having extras for another meal. These are so amazing and flavorful! I can’t stop sneaking a one, just one more, another one and that’s it. 😏 I will make a noodle bowl and if there is enough will make a salad for another meal. I am sure I’ll have to make another batch if I want that salad.
Thank you,
Trina
If there’s enough left 😆
Such a delicious crunch and magnificent dipped into some ranch dressing (I used your seasoning mix, which is also fab). We had these tofu nuggets, ranch dip, corn on the cob and a big green salad for a great meal. Thank you for all the awesome recipes you share with your readers!
Awesome
Don’t have a tofu press? Throw it in the microwave for a few minutes! Works like a charm, they’re designed for evaporation by exciting water molecules. Also, when marinating tofu, toss it all in the freezer. That extra bit of cold will cause more of the marinade to be absorbed and give tofu a much ‘meatier’ texture.
interesting!
Looks outstanding! I’ve shared this with gf friends. Thanks Richa.
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