Crispy Baked Tofu (2024)

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This crispy baked tofu recipe is a total staple in our dinner rotation! We love fried tofu, and this oven-baked version offers all that crispy goodness while being much lighter and easier to prepare. If you’re anything like me, you might find yourself snacking on this delicious tofu straight off the baking tray!

It’s delicious, high in protein, and gluten-free. It’s also budget-friendly, and super quick and easy to prepare with just a few simple ingredients.

Ingredients for Crispy Baked Tofu

• Tofu: Firm or extra-firm tofu are easiest to work with in this crispy baked tofu recipe. Medium and soft varieties can technically be used, but they will crumble much more when mixing the ingredients together so you’ll need to be more gentle with them. You may also need to add extra baking time for the softer varieties since they contain more water.
• Oil: Any neutral vegetable oil works. I usually use olive oil or peanut oil.
• Cornstarch: This makes the tofu extra crispy. Potato starch works too.
• Salt and pepper: You can also add additional seasonings like garlic and onion powder, paprika, nutritional yeast, etc. Use this recipe as a guideline and add what you like!

How to Make Crispy Baked Tofu

Step 1 — Drain, cut, and press the tofu. Drain the tofu use your favorite method to press it for about 10-15 minutes to press out the excess moisture. This will allow the tofu to crisp up faster. Then tear or cut it into bite-sized pieces.

Step 2 — Add oil, seasonings, and cornstarch to tofu. In a large bowl, toss the cubed tofu with oil and seasonings to coat. If you have a container with a lid, you can speed things up by giving everything a shake to coat. Sprinkle cornstarch over the tofu and give it another gentle toss to coat.

Step 3 — Bake tofu. Arrange the tofu on a lined baking tray and bake in a preheated 425°F oven until crispy and golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Give the tofu a toss around the halfway mark to help it cook evenly.

Sarah’s Recipe Tips

• Don’t skip pressing your tofu.To achieve a nice crispy coating on your tofu pieces, pressing out excess moisture is key! If you cook tofu often, I highly recommend investing in atofu press(this one by Tofuture has been my favorite for years). It not only presses out extra moisture but also condenses it for a firmer texture.
• Adjust time as needed based on your oven.Every oven performs a bit differently. Keep an eye on the tofu the first time you give this recipe a try and feel free to adjust the cook time as needed to achieve perfectly crispy, golden-brown tofu nuggets. If you find the tofu is getting too dark in your oven, you may wish to cook it on a lower rack.
• Mix it up with your favorite spices.You’re not limited to just onion and garlic powder! Feel free to try taco spice, jerk seasoning, curry powder, or mala spice.

How to Serve Crispy Baked Tofu

One of my favorite ways to enjoy this crispy tofu is when making homemade takeout-style recipes like Orange Tofu, Sweet & Sour Tofu, Sesame Tofu, or General Tso’s Tofu.

I also love to toss the crispy tofu nuggets in buffalo or barbecue sauce. It can be added to salads or wraps to boost the protein content, or dipped in ranch for a tasty snack on game days.

More Tofu Recipes

• Gochujang Tofu
• Baked Tofu with Peanut Sauce
• Crispy Sesame Crusted Tofu
• Grilled Tofu Skewers with Balsamic Marinade
• Sesame Red Pepper Tofu
• Vegan Egg Salad

3 Comments

1. Pingback: What I Eat in a Day (vegan comfort food) Dublin - Justgrocerys.com

2. 

   Sarah Lipinski

   November 21, 2023 at 8:19 am ·Reply

   Have you ever tried batch prepping and freezing the tofu? If yes, did you fry before the freeze or after?

3. 

   Robin

   April 21, 2024 at 5:20 pm ·Reply

   
   Fantastic. I added all spices except nutritional yeast which I ran out of recently. I will add these to my black bean burritos. Thanks.