If ever an ingredient needed a PR makeover, it is tofu. The recipe for the job? Air Fryer Tofu. This tofu recipe is perfectly crispy outside, pleasantly firm inside, and infused with a savory soy maple marinade.
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This crispy tofu will make you a believer.
I am doggedly convinced that anyone who says they don’t like tofu hasn’t tried air fryer tofu yet.
If you count yourself among the tofu skeptics—I get it. Without the proper treatment, tofu is mushy and bland. Crispy tofu is where it’s at.
While you can use various techniques to make tofu crispy (I use freezing and boiling in this Crispy Tofu and pressing plus pan-frying in this reader favorite Tofu Stir Fry and Baked Tofu), the easiest method that I’ve found is using the air fryer.
A hungry sponge, tofu readily absorbs any flavors you add to it. With a few easy steps, your tofu will turn out firm, crispy, and delectable. PLUS! Since air fryer tofu uses very little oil to crisp, it’s much healthier than regular deep-fried tofu.
5 Star Review
“Wow… I never comment on recipes… this is sooooo good. I will probably have tofu a few times a week now. Thank you for the tips!”
— Cashmere —
My Tips for Perfect Air Fryer Tofu
- Press the Tofu. The first step for almost any tofu recipe is pressing it. This removes the liquid it soaks in, which makes it less mushy and gives it more room to absorb the marinade. After you press it, cut it and pat it dry. Now it’s ready to soak up all that deliciousness!
- Don’t Skip the Marinade. There’s a marinade included in the recipe below, but my Tofu Marinade is a delicious option too—it’s similar to the one for this air fryer tofu, but it has a more smoky flavor. (You can also use another marinade you like.)
- Toss the Tofu With Cornstarch. Get a nice, even coating on all sides of the tofu for the best texture. I tested this recipe both with and without cornstarch, and I found that tossing the marinated tofu in cornstarch prior to adding it to the air fryer made a remarkable difference.
- Coat Your Air Fryer Basket With Oil. This is ESPECIALLY important if it’s metal. It’s quite a challenge to remove tofu from a wire basket if it hasn’t been coated in oil or cooking spray! I like to use a paper towel to rub the basket with oil to make sure it’s really coated well.
My Favorite Ways to Use Air Fryer Tofu
The crispy tofu nuggets you can resist nibbling straight out of the air fryer basket can be used in a variety of ways.
- General Tso’s Air Fryer Tofu. Follow this General Tso’s Tofu recipe, but swap in this tofu instead.
- Salad. This Ramen Salad would be scrumptious with tofu.
- Peanut Tofu. Swap it for the chicken in these Asian Chicken Wraps with Thai Peanut Sauce, or drizzle it with the peanut sauce from this Chicken Satay.
- Tofu Buddha Bowl. Use it in this Roasted Veggie Buddha Bowl with Quinoa and Avocado.
- Vegetarian Beef and Broccoli. Swap the tofu for the beef in my favorite Healthy Beef and Broccoli recipe.
Air Fryer Tofu
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Ingredients
- 1 block extra-firm tofu (12 to 15 ounces) must be extra firm
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon Sriracha or hot sauce of choice
- 1 tablespoon corn starch or arrowroot starch
Instructions
- Remove the tofu from the package and drain. With your hands, gently squeeze out as much water as possible without breaking or crushing the block. Lay the tofu flat on a cutting board, so the longer edge is towards you, then cut it into four strips. Rotate the strips so that the wider (cut sides) are flat against the cutting board, and cut them in half again, so you have 8 strips total. Cut the strips crosswise into 1-inch cubes (I end up with 5 cubes per strip).
- Line a cutting board or large plate with a clean tea towel (or similar lint-free kitchen towel) or paper towels. Spread the tofu cubes onto it in one layer and lay a second towel on top. Press gently but firmly and change out the towel as needed. The idea is to remove as much water from the tofu as possible.
- In a small bowl or large liquid measuring cup, stir together the soy sauce, vinegar, syrup, oil, garlic powder, ginger, and hot sauce.
- Place the tofu in a shallow baking dish or medium mixing bowl. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the tofu, then with your hand, toss gently to combine. Let the tofu sit for 15 minutes, tossing it again halfway through. Don’t worry if a few bits crumble. Those will turn deliciously crispy.
- If you’d like to keep the tofu warm between batches, preheat your oven to 250°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F according to the manufacturer’s instructions (for my air fryer, that is 3 minutes of preheat time).
- Just before cooking, sprinkle the corn starch evenly over the top of the tofu and toss to coat.
- Coat the basket of the air fryer with nonstick spray. Add the tofu in one layer, leaving a little space around the cubes so they do not touch and the air can circulate. (Depending upon the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook it in two or three batches.)
- Cook the tofu for 9 minutes. Then slide the basket out, and shake it gently to toss the tofu. Continue to cook for 2 to 4 additional minutes, tossing and checking it each minute, until the tofu is crisp and dark golden. (The time will vary based on your air fryer; keep a close eye on it towards the end to ensure it doesn’t burn.) If desired, transfer the tofu to the baking sheet and keep it warm in the oven while you finish the rest.
- Repeat with remaining tofu, discarding any excess marinade (if you have some crumbled bits of tofu in the bottom of the bowl, you can air fry those too). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- TO MAKE GLUTEN FREE: Use tamari, coconut aminos, or liquid aminos in place of the soy sauce.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate tofu in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: Recrisp tofu in the air fryer at 375 degrees F. It will only take a few minutes, so check often to prevent burning.
- TO FREEZE: The texture of the tofu may change once frozen and thawed, but the flavor will remain delicious. Place tofu cubes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until solid. Freeze the frozen tofu in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
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It’s very confusing and powdery
I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe, Emma. I know it can be so disappointing to try a new recipe and it does not turn out for you. It has worked well for myself (and others) and I wished it would have been a hit for you too.
I really enjoyed making (super simple)this recipe. The tofu came out flavorful and cripy. My only change would be to cut the tofu up in smaller chucks so that they are more on the crisper side. This is definitely going to be my go to recipe for tofu. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it Dayle!
I love the recipe but have one question. After I soak the tofu, do I remove the liquid before tossing with the cornstarch. I’m assuming I toss it in the bowl rather than in the air fryer which is preheated and hot. After I tossed it with the cornstarch, the moisture from the marinade made the cornstarch disappear and melt in so I wasn’t sure if the tofu was getting the full benefit to make it crunchy. Can you explain your technique here-I feel it makes a difference.
No need to remove the liquid before tossing. Enjoy!
I’m new to the air fryer and this recipe was perfect for my tofu. I removed the marinade before tossing with the cornstarch but I see I should have kept it. Will do it that way next week.
Glad you enjoyed it, Jc!
Followed recipe, super easy. Turned out great! Thank you
Thank you Jan!
I have made this a few times and nothing needs changing. Sure, you can make a more complex recipe with fresher ingredients, but I find the ease of this to be perfectly delightful. It’s the kind of recipe that makes me actually want to cook. I will. make it again and again. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks for the feedback, Gilda!
Hello,
I recommend using a plastic bag for marinating and then add cornstarch and shake.
You could but this method works well too. Enjoy!
I just started with an air fryer and enjoying new recipes. This was very good and smelled fantastic! My problem, and this is not just this recipe, is dryness. I see I folks asking in other comments if they should remove the remaining liquid before tossing in the cornstarch-my issue is that my marinade gets absorbed so fast I don’t think it distributes well. I assume I am pressing out too much liquid beforehand? Do you have any guidelines for pressing out just the right amount of water? Thanks!
Hi Sherri, glad you enjoyed it. I don’t have any specific guide on how much water to press out of the tofu but maybe just try doing it lightly next time, or not at all and see if you get the desired texture that you are looking for.
This was my first attempt at working with tofu- and it was a success!! The recipe was easy to follow, and it turned out delicious. I’m excited to bring tofu into my regular rotation for some extra protein. Thanks!
Yay! Thank you Sara!
Can I substitute minced garlic?
Hi! That should work. It would be 2 teaspoon minced garlic. If you test it out, let me know how it goes!
Can I substitute the maple syrup for honey?
Hi Carla! I haven’t tried it, but I think it could work. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes!
I just made this and omg, anyone else get chicken nugget vibes?? Especially the crunchy pieces! That was a total surprise! I broke out all different sauces and killed the whole block in one go lol I followed the recipe but left out ground ginger bc I didn’t have it. A total fan of this recipe! Thanks for sharing!!
Love it! Thank you LH!
I LOVE this recipe! Before this, I haven’t really found a recipe that makes the tofu crispy but “tender” on the inside. This is IT! Love your website and am excited to try your other recipes. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much Gina!
What a great way to cook tofu, hardly anything to clean up and it tasted 10 times better than the way I’ve always cooked it, in a frying pan! Thank you for helping me to embrace our Air Fryer!
So glad you enjoyed it, Emily! Make sure to check out all of our other air fryer recipes! https://www.wellplated.com/category/recipes-by-type/air-fryer/
This is brilliant. I had no idea about pat drying the tofu. I always just ate it as it is and was underwhelmed. This makes all the difference, and the air fryer works like a charm. THANK YOU!
Yay! Love to hear that you enjoyed it, Leila!
Hi Erin! I made this and it was a hit! I will use your recipe many times from now on. I have always hesitated to use the air fryer on anything that has drippy marinade on it (I don’t know why, because we have done marinated chicken wings no problem in the AF) but for tofu I’ve always just used a saute pan with a smidge of olive oil. The tofu wasn’t drippy at all (just moist) because it soaked up most of the marinade. I did make a mistake because I didn’t read the instructions all the way (oopsie) and actually mixed in the corn starch into the marinade ingredients :-(. Forged ahead and used a parchment liner. It turned out great. It’s not as pretty as yours but it was slightly crispy and we enjoyed it. Thank you for increasing my confidence in air frying tofu and the wonderful recipe. Terri in Dripping Springs, TX
So glad it still worked out well for you, Terri! Looks great! Thank you for sharing!
Really kind of gummy inside and under seasoned.
I’m sorry to hear that you had trouble with the recipe, Jr. The amounts, flavorings and timing have worked well for myself (and others) so I wished it would have been a hit for you too! I know it can be so disappointing to try a new recipe and it does not turn out for you.
I have two tips about pressing tofu. First of all, tofu that has been frozen and thawed is more likely to stand up to pressing. Second, try gently pressing the block of tofu between two plastic plates. You can press out most of the water this way, and if you’re careful, the block will remain intact, especially if you’re using tofu that has been frozen and thawed.
Thanks Bill!
Excellent & delicious, please Spanish? Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it, Sara! Sorry I’m not able to translate everything into Spanish but if you use Google it should allow you to use the translate button on the browser! Hope this helps!