This crispy baked tofu is one of our staple easy tofu recipes! Pair it with any of your favorite sauces and veggies to make a delicious crispy tofu stir fry. Try it with my sweet and spicy Gochujang Sauce!
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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.
Table of Contents
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.
- Potato starch: This makes the tofu extra crispy. You can use another starch such as cornstarch or arrowroot starch instead as well.
- 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 potato starch 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 starch 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 Notes 📝
- 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 a tofu 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.
Ways to Enjoy Crispy Baked Tofu
Since tofu is so versatile, there are so many fun ways to use your baked tofu!
- Toss them in buffalo sauce and serve with a side of plant-based ranch dressing. This is a quicker version of my baked Buffalo tofu. Enjoy as a snack or add it to a wrap or salad extra protein.
- Once the tofu is crispy, turn the heat down and add in your favorite store-bought sauce, whether it’s sweet chili sauce, teriyaki sauce, or BBQ sauce.
- Turn your crispy tofu into one of our many takeout-inspired dishes:
- Sesame Tofu – This nostalgic dish is better than getting takeout!
- Orange Tofu – Another takeout-style dish: sweet and tangy orange tofu.
- Gochujang Tofu – Crispy tofu chunks tossed in a spicy, Korean-inspired gochujang sauce.
Crispy Baked Tofu
This crispy baked tofu is one of our staple easy tofu recipes! Pair it with any of your favorite sauces and veggies to make a delicious crispy tofu stir fry. Try it with my sweet and spicy Gochujang Sauce!
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Servings: 5 servings
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Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- baking tray
- parchment or silicone baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 (14 to 16 oz) block firm or extra-firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch, arrowroot starch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder optional
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder optional
Instructions
Press the Tofu
- Drain the block of tofu and use your favorite method to press it for about 10-15 minutes. I like to use a tofu press for the best results, but if you don't have one, you can simply wrap it in a clean, lint-free kitchen towel and carefully weigh it down with a flat object like a small cutting board.
- Once your tofu has been pressed, cut it into roughly 1" cubes, or tear it into bite-sized pieces. (I prefer to tear mine, because the irregular pieces develop a nice crispy, craggy texture that holds sauce even better.)
Season the Tofu
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking tray with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Transfer the pressed tofu to a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle on the onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss until evenly coated. Try to be gentle with the tofu so that the cubes stay intact. I find using a big rubber spatula helps. (Or, if you have a container with a lid, you can simply give everything a gentle shake to coat.)
- Sprinkle the starch over the seasoned tofu. Again, gently toss or shake until tofu is evenly coated, with no dry starch left at the bottom of the bowl.
Bake the Tofu
- Arrange the tofu on your prepared baking sheet so that the pieces aren't touching.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then give the pieces a flip. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until the tofu is golden brown and crispy. The time will vary a little depending on how thoroughly you pressed your tofu.
- Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite sauce.
Notes
- Tofu: This recipe can also be made with medium-firm tofu, but you’ll need to be a bit more gentle while pressing and coating it. You may also need to add a few extra minutes to the cook time as medium-firm tofu contains more water.
- Other seasonings: Feel free to get creative and add your favorite spices. Some ideas are: curry powder, taco seasoning, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, or nutritional yeast. You can also drizzle in a tablespoon of soy sauce (in step 3) for extra umami. Reduce the salt by half if you do.
- Air Fryer: If you’d prefer to cook your tofu in the air fryer, check out our Easy Crispy Air Fryer Tofu recipe.
Did you make this recipe?We’d love for you to leave a review on the website! You can also share a photo on IG and tag @sarahsvegankitchen_ or #sarahsvegankitchen.
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Have you ever tried batch prepping and freezing the tofu? If yes, did you fry before the freeze or after?
Fantastic. I added all spices except nutritional yeast which I ran out of recently. I will add these to my black bean burritos. Thanks.
Hi, I don’ always get a well written recipe, so thank you very much!
I never tore at tofu, but I love the texture. I’m still baking my first batch, but tasted a few little pieces, yummy!
I will use them in salads, like croutons and in other ways. Thank you so much for this recipe.