The Best Vegan Tofu Nuggets

OMG you guys. I am so excited to share this with you all (jumps around excitedly)!!

I love love LOVE crispy, fried food (err, who doesn’t?) and it can be hard to satisfy those cravings at home sometimes. Without reaching for a bag of chips.

Because that’s not real food. Lol.

I know…who am I to say potato chips are bad when I’m about to give you a recipe for unhealthy fried food. But hey, I’d like to think that my vegan tofu nuggets are more nutritious at least?

It doesn’t help that I’m too broke to buy those pre-made vegan chicken nuggets thingies off the shelves either. Can you believe it? I’ve never had those Gardein/Beyond Meat stuff before 🙁

Then again, I’m lazy as hell when it comes to cooking.

I need something that’s easy and quick. Bonus points if it doesn’t involve a lot of dish-washing action.

Sigh, I know. First world problems.

I thought I would never be able to create a super delicious vegan fried food thing (that is not fries lol) because of my own laziness.

But you know what? I told myself, I’m gonna try and make this happen. What, am I going to deny myself epic homemade fried food FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE?! DAMN IT. I’M GOING TO FIND A WAY TO DO IT.

And of course, I did 😉 (smug face)

Or else this post wouldn’t exist and I’ll hide somewhere in shame.

I rarely dare to use “the best” to describe anything, but damn, I’m so proud of this. It’s everything I wanted in a fried nugget and more.

It’s easy, quick and cheap. You only need a few ingredients, like seriously the main ingredients are just tofu, panko breadcrumbs and cornstarch. BAM. INSANELY GOOD VEGAN TOFU NUGGETS!

Plus it’s full of protein and you only need one pan. Ugh this is too perfect.

Ever since I had my first bite of this I’ve been constantly craving it. No kidding.

Not sure if this has saved me or ruined me, actually. Lol.

You must try it if you can!

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Vegan + GF Option + No Onion No Garlic

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

The Best Vegan Tofu Nuggets

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Western

Servings: 1 people

Ingredients

• 1/2 block extra firm tofu
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon basil flakes optional
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

• Mix 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs with 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon basil flakes if you have it.
• Mix 2 teaspoons cornstarch (packed) with 2 teaspoons of water. You will get a relatively thick slurry.
• Pat dry with a paper towel 1/2 block of tofu and chop into bite-sized pieces. I go for rectangle blocks but you can do cubes as well. Heat up some vegetable oil in a frying pan as you're doing this.
• Dip the tofu chunks into the cornstarch slurry - no need to try and achieve a "thick" layer. As long as it's coated it is fine! After that dip it in the breadcrumbs mixture. After that, place the tofu into the pan/fryer. Repeat this for all the tofu chunks you have.
• I do a shallow fry and use approximately 1/4 cup vegetable oil. Do adjust the amount of oil if you need to! Deep frying would probably give the best or most even frying results but I don't like deep frying at home.
• Fry the tofu over medium heat until golden brown (you'll need to probably flip it around if you're shallow frying). 
• When done, remove the tofu nuggets from the pan and let it rest on a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. Serve after a minute or two! 

Notes

1/2 block of extra firm tofu can serve 1-2 people, depending on what other snacks/dishes you serve it with. 

For a gluten-free version, you can use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs.