Vegan Tofu Nuggets
These super delicious and Crunchy Vegan Tofu Nuggets are seasoned to perfection! Made with Tofu, they are still meaty and made for dipping!
Vegan Fried Chicken is one of my favorite things to make and eat! And tofu is one of my favorite plant-based proteins, so these Vegan Nuggets are one of my favorite foods of all time!
This is very similar to my Tofu Fried Chicken Sandwich, but smaller of course!
Should you marinate tofu before frying?
Most recipes for Fried Tofu “Chicken” seem to just call for breading and frying plain tofu. And that’s fine, but I thought, why not infuse more flavor into the tofu?
So I marinated them in a savory sauce and then grilled them up. They are already good at this point, but obviously breading and frying them will make them even better!
What’s the best tofu for Vegan Tofu Nuggets?
I highly recommend Super Firm Tofu as I found it had the best texture and was the easiest to work with. You can try pressing Extra Firm but your mileage may vary!
Super Firm is vacuum sealed and doesn’t require any pressing so it’s really the easiest and quickest choice.
ingredients for Vegan Tofu Nuggets
- Marinade – To infuse more flavor, we’ll be marinating and grilling the tofu before dredging / breading. The marinade is a pretty basic concoction of soy sauce, nutritional yeast, and some pantry staple seasonings.
- Seasoned Flour – This will be a pretty typical seasoned flour mixture. Season the flour how you like (though I provide a detailed recipe below). Don’t skip the baking powder as this is gonna help us get those big craggy bits!
- Vegan Buttermilk – use unsweetened plant milk along with some apple cider vinegar, hot sauce and then a little flour to help get it nice and thick so it sticks to the fillets.
how to make Vegan Tofu Nuggets
The process is quite simple! First we’ll slice our block of tofu into fillets, make them as thick as you want your nuggets. Then carve them into nugget shapes. Use the scraps for another meal or snack on them!
Whip up the marinade, I recommend blending for a better emulsion.
Marinade the nuggets for 30 minutes or overnight.
Get a pan up to medium high heat, add a little oil and then grill the nuggets for about 2-3 minutes per side. I recommend brushing the leftover marinade before and after you flip them. Feel free to flip as many times as you like, just don’t burn ’em!
Dredge the tofu! (Also forgive me, I only have footage of when I dredged my Tenders, so just pretend they are nugget shaped in the photos below!)
After that we just need to gently lower our piece of tofu into some hot oil and fry until golden brown! Let them rest on a cooling rack lined baking sheet to drain the excess oil.
storage
Most fried foods are best eaten fresh as the breading can go soggy the longer it rests, so I don’t really advise storing this if you can avoid it. That said, air frying to reheat is your best bet! I would reheat at 375 F for about 4-5 minutes or until heated and crispy again.
You can also marinade and grill the tofu and prepare the dry and wet dredging mixtures and store them in the fridge for later. Then just dredge the tofu filets whenever you want vegan fried chicken and you should be golden!
can i air-fry or bake these?
For less oil, yes you can use the Air Fryer! Check out my Air Fry Vegan Chick’n Recipe! Just make them smaller and nugget shaped!
TIPS FOR Tofu Vegan Nuggets
- Use a heavy bottomed pot (Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Carbon Steel etc)
- I highly recommend a Deep Fry Thermometer to monitor the oil temp.
- Use a neutral tasting, high smoke point oil (Canola, Vegetable, Peanut etc.)
- Make sure to use UNSWEETENED plant milk. I like RIPPLE the best.
- Add flour as needed to thicken the vegan buttermilk mixture.
- Shake off the excess flour and batter when you dredge.
- Fry a test nugget to test the seasoning and adjust as needed.
- Let the nuggets rest on a Wire Rack after frying to prevent soggy chick’n.
SAFETY TIPS FOR DEEP FRYING
- Don’t leave the pot unattended.
- Keep children away from the pot.
- Don’t fill the pot more than halfway with oil. Don’t overcrowd it as well.
- Turn the handles of the pot away from you to avoid accidental spills.
- Keep a lid nearby so you can cover the pot if it catches fire.
- Never use water to put out an oil fire.
- Get a Fire Extinguisher just to be extra safe. This isn’t just good for deep frying, but for having in the house in general!
DEEP FRY ALTERNATIVES
If you want to see about alternatives to deep frying, check out my BEST WAYS TO FRY VEGAN CHICKEN post!
What should I serve Vegan Tofu Nuggets with?
I have a ton of dipping sauces! From BBQ Sauce, to Ranch, to Honey Mustard, to Cane’s Sauce! You have a bunch of options!
other recipes you’ll dig!
- Popeyes Chick’n Sandwich
- Buffalo Cauliflower
- Buffalo Sauce
- Filet O Fish
- Vegan Fried Chicken
- Air Fried Tofu
Handy dandy Video Here!
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, please leave a rating & review! It really helps out the blog and it makes my day, thank you!
Vegan Tofu Nuggets
Ingredients
- 16 oz. Super Firm Tofu
Marinade
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 Tbsp Sriracha
- 1 tsp Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Neutral Oil
- 1 Tbsp Water
Dry Dredge
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/2 cup Cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1/8 tsp White Pepper
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 – 1 tsp Salt
Wet Dredge (Vegan Buttermilk)
- 1 cup Plant Milk (Unsweetened)
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Hot Sauce
- 3 – 4 Tbsp Flour
Instructions
- Cut the block of tofu into 4 filets. Cut into nugget shapes, or just break the pieces off into bite sized chunks.
- Make the marinade, then marinate the nuggets for about 30 minutes or up to overnight.
- In a pan over medium heat, grill the nuggets for about 3 – 4 minutes per side. Brush on excess marinade when flipping. Remove from the heat and let them cool.
- Prepare the dry and wet dredges by mixing all the ingredients respectively in separate bowls / containers.
- Fill up a dutch oven or large skillet with a neutral high smoke point oil (such as peanut, canola or vegetable). You just need enough oil to cover the nuggets, so about 2 – 3 inches worth. Heat to 375 F (I highly recommend using a thermometer).
- Dredge each nugget first in the dry mixture, then wet, and then back into the dry. Shake off the excess each time you dredge it and make sure you thoroughly coat it. If you want to double dredge for a thicker breading, start in the wet, then they dry, and then repeat. You may need to adjust and increase the wet mixture if you go this route!
- Protip: Fry up one nugget before you fry the rest to test out the seasoning of the breading and adjust if needed!
- Once the nuggets are coated and the oil is up to temperature, carefully add them to the pot. Don't overcrowd, I would say do around 8 – 10 at a time maximum. The oil temperature will drop but as long as it stays above 350 F you should be fine.
- Fry them for about 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and beautiful. Let them rest on a wire rack to cool for a couple minutes, and then enjoy with any dipping sauces you like!
