Crispy Air Fried Tofu

Crunchy tofu with a crispy outside and soft inside, without all the oil! This is restaurant-quality fried tofu that is just perfect for a stir-fry, added to salads, dipped in a sauce, or anything else you want easy crispy tofu for!

We love tofu, and we love our air fryer, and, seriously, this crispy air fried tofu is so easy and yummy its worth buying an air fryer just to make it.

As you can see in our air fryer post these appliances are easy to use and perfect for so many items, even stuff that you usually bake in your oven. We keep our’s outside on our patio so it doesn’t heat up the kitchen. But, then again, we live in Florida USA. If you live somewhere that you get cold weather then by all means, heat up the kitchen! lol!

So, warm up the air fryer, get out a block of extra firm tofu and read on!

First, Press Your Tofu

This step is KEY. Removing excess water will make the crunch better. We use a handy tofu press and love this one. But, it works just as well to take a clean dish towel (or several layers of paper towels), wrap up the tofu block, and then place a heavy pan on top (we used to use a large cast iron skillet). Just leave the pan and let it’s weight do the work – don’t press it down. You aren’t flattening the tofu, just coaxing the fluid out.

Second, Cut into Cubes

Remove the tofu from the press, or unwrap from the towel and slice up into conveniently sized cubes. We like to make them about the size of a crouton because the yield from a standard block is really good. But this is 100% up to you! We sometimes cut them into strips if we’re going to dip them into a sauce, or add to a spring roll.

Tofu Cubes on Cutting Board — How we like our tofu cubes: about crouton size

Third, Coat With Spray Oil

This is essential and you only need a little bit. Drop the cubes into a mixing bowl and lightly spray with grape seed oil, or olive oil – whatever you have handy or prefer. Toss them gently and then spray a little more. The idea is a light coating on all the surfaces. This is also the time to add any spices if you’d like that. Garlic or onion powder is nice as are certain flavoring mixes – or just a little salt. We usually don’t use anything at all.

Into The Air Fryer

Place the coated tofu cubes into the air fryer basket. The photo below is one full block of tofu in our medium-size air fryer basket. Cook them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, shaking the basket after about 10 minutes.

When they are nicely golden, they’re done! Remove them from the basket and add them to a stir fry just before serving, or let them cool a little and add to a salad. Its up to you!