Baked Vegan Tofu Nuggets (Oil-Free)

The tofu recipe calls for making a paste from nutritional yeast, cornstarch, tamari, water, and seasonings.  The tofu is then broken into bite-size pieces (not cubed) to make nooks and crannies for the paste to stick to.  It’s vegan, oil-free, and an easy recipe for tofu nuggets.  

Super firm tofu is my preferred style of tofu for this recipe.  It doesn’t need to be pressed and is firmer than extra-firm tofu.  Extra-firm will need to be drained, pressed, and patted with paper towels to remove moisture.

Dip the nuggets in vegan honey mustard (no mayo), oil-free vegan ranch dressing, or substitute them for the chickpeas in a vegan rice salad with a dairy-free ranch. The nuggets can also be tossed with buffalo sauce to make buffalo tofu nuggets, then add them to a buffalo tofu bowl. For more tofu recipes, try ground tofu meat, marinated tofu, or oil-free crispy oven-baked tofu.

Recipe features

• Easy to make!
• The recipe is vegan/vegetarian!
• Plant-based and oil-free!
• Versatile to use in a variety of dishes or dip them in your favorite sauce!
• If you use super firm tofu there’s no need to press it! 

Ingredient notes and substitutions

The recipe for vegan nuggets uses simple ingredients, but please see the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and exact measurements.

Super firm tofu - Super firm tofu is usually vacuum-packed and doesn’t need to be pressed.  It’s much firmer than extra firm.  If you want to substitute with extra firm, it will need to be pressed for 20-30 minutes and then patted with paper towels to remove excess moisture. 

For more details on how to press tofu, check out my post on oil-free crispy baked tofu. For extra firm tofu, I would also reduce the water in the recipe to 1 tablespoon of water and reduce the nutritional yeast to 2 tablespoons.  Firm tofu doesn’t work well for this recipe and don’t use silken tofu.

Nutritional yeast - This adds a nutty savory flavor to the tofu nuggets.  There’s not a good substitution for this.

Cornstarch - This helps give the tofu a crispy coating, but arrowroot powder can be used instead.

Soy sauce - Tamari or low-sodium soy sauce can be used.  If you use regular soy sauce, you may want to reduce the salt.

Garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika - Added for flavor!

Tips

• The salt can be reduced if you don’t want the nuggets to be as salty.
• This is an oil-free recipe, so a silicone mat or parchment paper is needed to prevent excessive sticking.
• Parchment paper holds moisture more than a silicone mat, so you may need to cook the tofu a little longer.
• Be careful flipping the tofu halfway through, the nuggets may stick a little.  If you choose not to flip, the bottoms of the tofu pieces that touch the pan do get browner and some pieces of coating may not have set and parts might still be wet. (But it's much easier to not flip).
• Breaking the tofu into bite-sized chunks instead of cubes makes little nooks and crannies to hold onto the sauce, so break the tofu off instead of slicing.
• Make the tofu chunks roughly the same size but there’s no need to be precise, some bites will be softer and others will be firmer.
• The sauce needs to be thin enough to coat the tofu easily, but thick enough to stay on the tofu.  The consistency of a thicker dressing but not a vinaigrette.
• Be careful coating the tofu with the sauce (especially extra firm tofu), a silicone stirring spatula works well to fold the tofu and the sauce.
• If you have a thinner paste, don’t pour any residual paste onto a baking sheet since it might burn.
• Make sure the tofu isn’t touching so it crisps up.
• If the paste is too thin, add a little more cornstarch.  If the paste is too thick, add a little more water.

Variations

Enjoy the tofu nugget recipe as is or try a different variation.

• Add ½ teaspoon of poultry seasoning.
• Use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika.
• Enjoy the nuggets with buffalo sauce for a buffalo tofu version.

Tips for using frozen tofu

Freezing tofu creates ice pockets inside the tofu and when it thaws it leaves tiny little holes giving it a different texture.  There are several ways to freeze tofu.  The method I used for testing was freezing the tofu in its container, not drained and not pressed before freezing.  Then I thawed it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, then drained it, and squeezed out the excess liquid.

Some people enjoy the texture of tofu from freezing, so I tested the recipe using frozen and then thawed varieties of super firm tofu and extra firm tofu. Freezing the tofu absorbs a lot of liquid and then expels a lot of liquid when pressed, so an issue in adapting the recipe is how much liquid to squeeze out.  The recipe is written using both super firm (which doesn’t need to be pressed) and extra firm (which does need to be pressed).  In both types, even if pressed there will still be some liquid with the tofu that will contribute to the paste.  

When I tested with both types being frozen and then thawed, I squeezed the water out with my hands instead of pressing, but I found that too much liquid could easily be squeezed out if you tried to get most of the liquid out of the tofu.  Quite frankly it would be difficult to describe when to stop squeezing, so here are some tips on how to troubleshoot if there’s not enough liquid if you use the freeze and thaw method.

• You can press the extra firm tofu after it has thawed, but it was quicker to squeeze the water out with my hands.
• If the paste is not covering well and looks like it needs more moisture to thin out, add a tablespoon at a time to thin out so it coats the tofu.
• The cooking time may need to be adjusted based on how much water was pressed out of super firm and extra firm tofu that was previously frozen.  Start to check the tofu at 25 minutes.  You’re looking for the tofu to have firmed up, but not be too dried out.  The coating should be set.
• Frozen and then thawed extra firm tofu crumbled a lot more than super firm tofu when trying to coat it with the paste.  So stir carefully.
• I didn’t notice much of a texture difference when comparing frozen and thawed super-firm tofu versus not freezing it before cooking.  It does soak up liquid during the freeze/thaw method so you will need to squeeze out the liquid, otherwise, it will have too much for the paste.  During cooking it becomes much drier, you may need to add more water to the paste if isn’t coating well, and shorten the cooking time.

How to make tofu nuggets

Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat to prevent the tofu from sticking to the tray.

In a large bowl, combine the nutritional yeast, cornstarch, tamari, water, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt.  Mix to form a paste.  You want the mixture to be thin enough to coat the tofu but thick enough that it will cling to the pieces.

For super firm tofu, drain the tofu, break off bite-size pieces from the block of tofu, and add them to the paste.  The pieces don’t need to be uniform.  Breaking the tofu off instead of slicing it into cubes gives the tofu nooks and crannies to hold on to the sauce. Extra firm tofu will need to be pressed, the nutritional yeast reduced to 2 tablespoons, and the water reduced to 1 tablespoon.

Gently stir the tofu and the paste, I like to use a silicone scraping spatula to almost fold the tofu and paste to help prevent the tofu from crumbling.  Extra firm tofu is softer than super firm so be careful when stirring.

Spread the tofu out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.  Ensure the tofu nuggets aren’t touching each other so they crisp up. If you have excess paste, don’t pour it on the baking sheet.

Cook for 30-35 minutes or until the tofu nuggets have turned golden brown.  If you want to flip halfway through, be careful, they may stick a little.  If you choose not to flip the bottoms that touch the pan, do get browner, and some pieces of coating may not have set. I don't find it necessary to flip.

Serving suggestions

Enjoy the tofu bites with a sauce or in a Buddha bowl.

• Vegan honey mustard
• Ketchup
• Barbecue sauce
• Dipped in vegan ranch
• Tossed in buffalo sauce
• Add to honey mustard power bowl: tofu nuggets, cooked rice, cooked broccoli, and thinned-out vegan honey mustard as a dressing
• Enjoy in a wrap with vegan ranch, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and sliced cucumbers
• Try them in a taco with vegan chipotle sauce
• Add it to a curry

Storage

Store leftover nuggets in an airtight container for about 5 days in the refrigerator.  Reheat the leftovers in the microwave or in the oven until warmed through.  They do lose some of their crispiness after being stored.

They can be frozen in an airtight container for about 3 months.  Once thawed and reheated they were drier than freshly made.

Frequently asked questions

Related recipes

• Oil-free crispy oven-baked tofu
• Spicy tofu tacos
• Hatch green chile tofu scramble 
• Buffalo tofu nuggets

I hope you enjoy the tofu bite recipe! If you did feel free to rate it and leave a comment.