Tofu ‘Chicken’ Nuggets

These vegan ‘chicken’ tofu nuggets are everything you love about classic nuggets— but made with tofu and a few simple ingredients. With a perfectly seasoned coating, crunchy coating and tender centre, they’re ideal for dipping, snacking, or serving as a quick weeknight meal.

This recipe transforms humble tofu into golden bites that are satisfying whether you’re cooking for kids or sharing with friends. No fancy equipment, no long prep—just straightforward, delicious food that happens to be vegan.

What you need

• extra firm tofu
• fresh breadcrumbs
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• mustard powder
• mixed herbs
• nutritional yeast
• cornflour

How to make tofu chicken nuggets

Start by draining and pressing the tofu thoroughly. This recipe works best with extra firm tofu to create that meaty texture. You can use a tofu press, or simply press between two plates and put something heavy on top. Chop into rectangular nugget shapes.

Then blend up your bread to make the breadcrumbs. This will be used for the coating.

In one bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, mixed herbs, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper.

In a second bowl, whisk together the cornnflour and water.

Dip each piece of tofu into the cornflour mixture first, then the breadcrumb mixture, coating on all sides. Use one hand for the wet mixture, one hand for the dry, to keep things clean. 

Then we can ready for deep frying! Heat up about 1/2 an inch of vegetable oil in a pan over high heat.

When all the tofu is coated, individually add to the pan. Cook on each side for around 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

When they’re fully cooked, remove the pan from the heat and the tofu from the pan. 

Alternatively these can be done in the air fryer by drizzling with a little oil and baking for 10-15 minutes until crispy and brown. 

Serve with chips, or by themselves as finger food with a side of ketchup or hot sauce.

Top tips!

Use two or three separate bowls for the breadcrumb mixture, to ensure it doesn’t become too wet when dipping the tofu from the cornflour mixture into the breadcrumbs. I do find that towards the end, the pieces of tofu have a hard time picking up the breadcrumb mixture as it starts to gets wetter.

Make sure the oil you’re using is vegetable oil, as this works perfectly for deep frying.

More tasty tofu recipes

• Tofu Satay Curry
• Tofu Breakfast Tacos
• Blueberry Tofu Smoothie
• Sweet & Sticky Tofu
• BBQ Tofu Quinoa Bowl

Did you make this tofu chicken nuggets recipe? Take a photo and hashtag it #MadeleineOlivia. I love seeing your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

And don’t forget to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you enjoyed them!

Tofu Chicken Nuggets

Recreating the classic childhood chicken nugget, without any lil' chickies getting harmed.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings 2

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

MetricUS Customary

Ingredients

• 400 g extra firm tofu (drained, and chopped into rectangular nugget shapes)
• 25 g fresh breadcrumbs (or gluten free breadcrumbs)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp mixed herbs
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 4 tbsp water
• vegetable oil

Instructions 

• In one bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, mixed herbs, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper.
• In a second bowl, whisk together the cornflour and water.
• Dip each piece of tofu into the cornflour mixture first, then the breadcrumb mixture, coating on all sides.
• Heat up about ½ an inch of vegetable oil in a pan over high heat.
• When all the tofu is coated, individually add to the pan. Cook on each side for around 5 minutes, or until golden brown.
• When they're fully cooked, remove the pan from the heat and the tofu from the pan. Use a tea towel you don't mind staining/getting dirty (I avoid using paper towels), and dab any excess oil off the tofu until dry.
• Serve with chips, or by themselves as finger food with a side of ketchup or hot sauce.

Video

Notes

• Use two or three separate bowls for the breadcrumb mixture, to ensure it doesn’t become too wet when dipping the tofu from the corflour mixture into the breadcrumbs. I do find that towards the end, the pieces of tofu have a hard time picking up the breadcrumb mixture as it starts to gets wetter.
• Switch up the spices, instead of mustard, add cayenne pepper and paprika, or Cajun seasoning , the sky’s the limit!
• Make sure the oil you’re using is vegetable oil or rapeseed oil,  as this works perfectly for deep frying.

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 201kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 18gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 215mgPotassium: 407mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 4mg

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