You will love this easy air fryer tofu! It’s packed with flavor and it’s incredibly crispy while being so much lower in fat than deep-fried tofu. And it’s ready in only 20 minutes!
It’s a great addition to salads, wraps, and soups. Or just enjoy it by itself with a bit of vegan mayonnaise or aioli like we did.
Why This Recipe Works
“How do I make crispy tofu?” I’ve heard this question so many times. Here’s the answer: Use your air fryer!
It’s such an easy and quick way to make crispy tofu with just a little bit of oil. It’s not only incredibly easy to make but it’s also much healthier than deep-fried tofu.
Before putting the tofu cubes in the air fryer I marinated them using a simple tofu marinade, which gives the tofu a lot of flavor.
Pressing the excess water out of the tofu before cutting it up also helps to make the tofu super crispy.
What Goes Into This Recipe
- Soy sauce – use tamari for a gluten-free version
- Maple sryup – you can replace it with agave if you want
- Tofu – make sure to use extra-firm tofu. The recipe doesn’t work with soft or silken tofu
- Sesame oil – it gives the tofu a very nice flavor, but you could also replace it with olive oil
- Garlic and ginger – I like fresh best for my tofu marinade, but garlic and ginger powder also works
How To Make This Recipe
1. Step: Cut the tofu into cubes.
2. Step: Make the tofu marinade. In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients for the marinade and stir well.
3. Step: Add the tofu cubes and stir well.
4. Step: If you’ve got enough time, let the tofu marinade for about 10-20 minutes for a deeper flavor. If you’re short on time, just let it marinade for a minute and then move on to the next step.
5. Step: Set your air fryer to 350 °F and air fry the tofu for 12-15 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally to promote even cooking.
Step 6: Serve the air fryed tofu immediately with vegan mayonnaise or aioli or with a salad.
Recipe Tips
- Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, the tofu lasts about 3-4 days. Just pop it back into the air fryer for about 5 minutes to reheat it.
- It’s very important to use extra-firm tofu for this recipe as it has more water squeezed out than soft tofu or silken tofu. The less water the tofu has the crispier it will get.
- For even crispier tofu, press the tofu for 30 minutes before cutting it up. Place the tofu between two sheets of paper towels and two plates. Then place a heavy object (a large can or a stack of cookbooks) on top of the plate. Alternatively, you could also use a tofu press. Check out my post on how to cook tofu for more information.
Related Tofu Recipes:
- Baked Buffalo Tofu Sticks
- Easy Tofu Marinade
- Tofu Scramble with Tomatoes and Chives
- The 20 Best Tofu Recipes
- Tofu Stir Fry
I Love To Hear From You Guys!
I hope you like this vegan air fryer tofu as much as we do around here.
If you give it a try, I’d love to know what you think about it. Just leave me a comment and a star rating below. Your comments really make my day! You might also like these 10 vegan air fryer recipes that are ready in no time.
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Sina
Air Fryer Tofu
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- 21 oz extra-firm tofu
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cut the tofu into cubes.
- Make the tofu marinade. In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients for the marinade and stir well.
- Add the tofu cubes and stir well.
- If you've got enough time, let the tofu marinade for about 10-20 minutes for a deeper flavor. If you're short on time, just let it marinade for a minute and then move on to the next step.
- Set your air fryer to 350 °F and air fry the tofu for 12-15 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally to promote even cooking.
- Serve the air fryed tofu immediately with vegan mayonnaise or aioli or with a salad.
Notes
- Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, the tofu lasts about 3-4 days. Just pop it back into the air fryer for about 5 minutes to reheat it.
- Make sure to use extra-firm tofu for this recipe. The less water the tofu has the crispier it will get.
- For even crispier tofu, press the tofu for 30 minutes before cutting it up.
Ashok
I was looking for Tofu recepie. This one is perfect for me