Baked Tofu Nuggets Nutritional Yeast

Crispy tofu nuggets are easy to make. Season, leave plain, coat with sesame seeds or breadcrumbs and cook in your oven or air fryer. They are a healthy vegetarian snack that even kids love dipped in a sauce. (affiliate links present)

Baked Tofu Nuggets no Breadcrumbs

If you need a gluten free option for still that crispy outside but without the bread we have an answer. You can use any type of flour you’d like with nutritional yeast that gives each bite a TON of flavor.

Why add nutritional yeast to tofu?

If you have never used this powder it is amazing. It gives anything you add it to some depth and deeper flavors. If you wanted to skip the flour entirely you could add more of this to thicken the batter.

Can you use nutritional yeast as a breading?

You can, we will show you how to do just that here. Not only does it provide a nice coating that can get crispy but adds nutrition and a cheesy flavor that everyone just loves.

Is it better to pan fry or bake tofu?

Baking is by far better, or you can air fry it too. Both methods will get the crisp texture on the outside you really want. In a pan on your stovetop will certainly warm it and best if it were marinated like our sweet and sour tofu recipe. Just don’t expect it to get as golden brown on the outside as this way.

What should you do to tofu before cooking?

This plant based protein made from coagulated soy milk curds pressed into blocks has a lot of liquid in it. If you just sliced it and threw it into a pan it will soon fill up with what looked like water. So…you need to press a lot of that out before you cook it.

The best way to reduce liquid in tofu

You should wrap it in a cheesecloth or a few paper towels. Gently press the tofu or it will fall apart. On the top place a book on it for about 5 minutes. Or use a light palm to very gently press down and absorb a lot of that water.

After you’ve drained the tofu and it’s unwrapped you can slice it into any shape or size you want. You will notice the difference if you did this to one piece and not to another. The smaller the pieces the faster they will cook and crispier the outside will become.

1×1″ would be the smallest size I’d do. if you are going to dredge in egg in order for the seasoned breadcrumbs to stick you want the least amount of moisture on the outside too.

We are going to dip each piece in a tasty sauce of sorts that will add flavor and allow the seeds of choice to stick on the outside too. It’s made up of nutritional yeast, rice flour, milk and seasonings. Just salt and pepper were added here.

Can you make tofu nuggets with tempura?

As far as the outside you could opt for everything bagel seasoning instead of sesames. Or make Tempura Nuggets instead where you would need to deep fry in hot oil instead of bake but another way to get that crispy outside.

If you did use something else I would not add any other seasonings as most already have some sodium in them and you wouldn’t want to overwhelm your nuggets of tofu with salt. Especially if you are serving these with dipping sauces like soy sauce you want to wrap the tofu with mild ingredients.

If you have ever made homemade chicken nuggets in air fryer it is kinda’ similar to making those. Dipping the main ingredient in some sort of liquid or batter in order for the bread crumbs or coating to stick nicely. Get your baking sheet ready with a piece of parchment paper on top so they don’t stick while you’re preparing the rest.

Not only do you not want to create a mess, or have them stick but after a few minutes flip them over and with some type of non stick surface that makes everything easier. If you wanted to make a more breaded tofu treat you’d follow the same recipe but use Panko breadcrumbs instead of seeds like we did.

When you’re done with this you can pop them in your mouth as a snack, or make tofu lettuce wraps out of them with a bit of sauce!

How to Bake Tofu Nuggets in the Oven

• Start by preheating your oven to 350 F. Prepare a baking tray / cookie sheet with a drizzle of oil or parchment.
  • Whisk together nutritional yeast, flour, salt and milk in a small bowl.
• Lay tofu in middle of cheesecloth or a few paper towels, fold over and gently press down to remove moisture.
• Unwrap and place tofu on a cutting board. Cut into bite size pieces. One at a time dip pieces into the batter you made.
• Place the sesame seeds or breading in another small bowl.
• Roll each piece around in the bowl until they stick on all sides.
• Spread the tofu nuggets on to the prepared baking tray.
• Bake them for 5 minutes, move them around and bake them for another 5-8 minutes until the outside browns.

Air Fryer Tofu Nuggets

If you want more of a deep fried outside you can follow the same directions but then follow our air fryer tofu temperature and cook timing instead.

• Follow recipe as directed
• Preheat machine to 400 F. for 5 minutes
• Lay in a single layer and cook for about 8-10 minutes (turning halfway) or until crispy

Sprinkle with seasonings like salt and/or garlic powder at the end if you think you needs it. We’d rather dip into some of our spicy sriracha mayo, a homemade fry sauce or homemade teriyaki sauce instead.

Same with our pork bites, the exact cook timing will depend on how large your pieces are, how browned and crispy you want the outsides to be, and what rack you use. I always place in the middle but ovens do vary very slightly so I say 5-8 minutes at the end. Keep an eye on them after minute 5 to see which is best for y’all.

How do you store leftover tofu

First off, only make what you think you’ll eat that day. It doesn’t save well in the fridge with the “breading” on the outside as in a bag it will get wet and kinda’ yucky that way. Instead, keep the coating and everything else separate. Then make from fresh again the next day or whenever.

The flour batter can be saved in a container and thinned out a bit if it gets too thick to use again. Now on to the container itself. Once you open the sealed top you’ll want to leave the remainder in the liquid. Then use some cling wrap, press and seal is best, to reseal the top so no air gets in. Always keep it in the refrigerator up to 3 more days.

How to Reheat Tofu Bites

If you do make it earlier in the day and don’t finish you could warm again in the air fryer (ideally). 380 degrees F for about 3 minutes should do it. Beyond that it will dry out though so I wouldn’t warm again more than once. Give them a whirl. Even if your kids are picky I bet they might try these because they are “cute”.

With a variety of fun sauces too they are more likely to think it’s a fun snack. Mine as teens will now make these and chicken bites themselves with different coatings and dips. A great recipe to pop into the oven after school that take less than 30 minutes to done.