This delicious crispy nuggets are super simple to make, don’t require breadcrumbs and are totally oil free. Coated in a tasty crunchy crumb, this is one of those recipes that makes tofu taste great. If chicken nuggets were one of your favourite recipes growing up as a child and then you went vegan, this is the recipe for you!

Recipe notes and adaptions

One of the best things about this recipe is how adaptable it is.

Tofu can be swapped for tempeh, just chop it up into similar sized pieces
Coconut flour can be swapped for corn starch or ground almonds
Lemon juice can be swapped for lime
Cornflakes can be swapped out for Panko breadcrumbs
Herbs and spices: depending on your spice / heat tolerance feel free to adjust this

However if you are using tofu, you want to make sure you get your hands on the extra firm variety. If you can only find firm tofu, you are just going to have to allow extra time to press it to reduce its water content. The best way to do this is with a tofu press, but if you don’t have one of these you can get a similar effect by placing the tofu block on a plate between two pieces of paper towel, weighing it down with a heavy pan. You then want to pop it in the fridge overnight to drain.

The coating method

Coating your nuggets can become a messy business (but totally worth it)! To help reduce the mess you can to adopt a technique where you use one hand to dip the nuggets in the wet mixture and the other hand to dip it into the dry mixture. This way you’ll minimise the claggy mess you end up in.

What if I don’t have an air fryer?

You can absolutely make these nuggets in the oven, you might just find that they don’t crisp up quite as much (depending on your oven type) and they will take a little longer.

Preheat a fan assisted oven to 180^oc and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown.

More vegan snack ideas:

Why not give these other vegan snack ideas a try?

Healthy Tofu Nuggets

Course: Main dish, Snack, SidesCuisine: American, EnglishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking Time

minutes

Calories

231

kcal

Simple and delicious crispy tofu nuggets with a fail safe crunchy crumb. No need for breadcrumbs and totally oil free, these are the perfect healthy plant based twist on a popular classic.

Ingredients

280g Extra firm tofu
2 tbsp Soy sauce / tamari
1/2 tbsp Lemon juice
30g Cornflakes
1 tbsp Coconut flour
1/4 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp Chilli powder
1 tsp Smoked paprika
Salt & pepper to season

Directions

Using a couple of paper towels, lightly press the block of tofu to remove as much water as possible whilst still retaining its shape.
Break the block of tofu into chunky pieces that should kind of resemble the chicken part of chicken nuggets.
In a small bowl mix together the soy sauce and lemon juice, set aside.
In another larger bowl mix together the cornflakes, coconut flour, garlic powder, chilli powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
To coat the tofu, first dip each piece in the soy sauce with one hand, tap to remove any excess liquid. Then place each piece in the second bowl and cover in the cornflake crumb with the other hand.
Place each piece in the air fryer basket and continue until all pieces are coated.
Air fry at 190^oc for 18 minutes or until crispy. (See oven bake method in the notes above).
Once cooked, serve immediately with your favourite dipping sauce

Notes

PER SERVING KCAL: 231 F: 9.7g C: 18.5g F: 18.8g

I can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe so please leave a comment below and tag me in your wonderful creations! I’m @fortheutterloveoffood on Instagram and use the hashtag #theutterloveoffood. I’m also on Facebook – please say hello!