Otis’ Tofu Nuggets

Credit for this recipe goes entirely to my kids, especially chef Otis. He found a vegan cookbook in the library and made these tofu nuggets in the air fryer all by himself. Pretty impressive for an eight-year-old! I wish I remembered the name of the cookbook to both give credit and thanks to the author for inspiring the next generation of curious eaters. This tofu nugget recipe is so simple Otis made it once with the cookbook, and we’ve been able to make it from memory since.

How to Make Tofu Nuggets

These tasty tofu bites are doused in soy sauce and then coated with nutritional yeast. No breading, and no gluten as long as you use a gluten-free soy sauce. Plus, it’s a great kid activity to dip the tofu chunks into soy sauce and then press each side of the tofu into the nutritional yeast. Those messy little fingers will have so much fun. Once these are heavily coated with nutritional yeast, it’s time to fire up the air fryer. In about 10 minutes the nuggets are ready. These are so tasty they are not just for kids, adult-approved too! These are also great in a wrap, try adding them to hummus wraps or this tasty apple salad with pasta.

All About Tamari

Tamari is a close cousin of soy sauce. Unlike soy sauce that contains wheat, tamari is only fermented soy beans. It is known to taste less salty and more umami than soy sauce. The best part is tamari is gluten free. There is wheat hiding in so many sneaky ways in our foods. Who would have thought there was wheat in soy sauce? San-J is my go-to tamari and it is readily available in most grocery stores these days.

Nutritional What?

Nutritional yeast is a vegan staple, made from inactivated brewers’ yeast that has a delicious cheesy umami flavor. According to WebMD 2 teaspoons of fortified nutritional yeast contains the following:

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Tofu Nuggets

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Tasty meatless tofu nuggets are kid-approved and easy to make in the air fryer. Use tamari to make these gluten free!

• Author: Erica
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 16 small nuggets
• Category: Plant based
• Method: Healthy
• Cuisine: Vegan
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

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• 14oz pack of extra firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons of tamari (or soy sauce)
• 3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

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Instructions

1. Open the pack of tofu and press it between two towels to get rid of the excess liquid.
2. Cut the tofu into bite size cubes.
3. Add the tamari to a bowl and the nutritional yeast to a separate bowl. First coat a tofu chunk in the tamari and then coat it in the nutritional yeast. Be sure to turn each tofu chunk over to get nutritional yeast on each side.
4. Once all the tofu is has been dipped in tamari and coated in nutritional yeast, preheat the air fryer.
5. Once preheated, add the tofu to the air fryer. Try not to let the tofu nuggets touch in the air fryer, so they don’t stick together. You may need to do two batches for all the tofu. Cook for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. No need to turn the tofu during cooking. That’s it, time to enjoy! Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.