You’ve never had nuggets like these. These Tofu Nuggets taste more like popcorn chicken than popcorn chicken itself. They are super crispy and flavorful on the outside and squishy, soft on the inside. Insane!
‘UGH, tofu.. it tastes like nothing’ and this is absolutely true… if you don’t season it.
And sometimes it can be hard to get the seasoning sticking to the tofu so that it will be a flavorful meal in the end. But you will never have this problem with these tofu nuggets because we are FREEZING the tofu and DEFROSTING it and therefore it is getting a completely different texture. You can see that all in the photos below in the step by step instructions.
By freezing and defrosting, the tofu is getting this porous texture which makes it spongy (you can even squeeze out excess water with your hands) and it will soak up any flavorful liquids (I used pickle brine – which I love). It’s really insane.
It’s one of the coolest dishes I’ve made and I’m really proud of it. I actually love this recipe so much, that I make sure that I always have frozen tofu in the freezer. And I hope you will love it too!
How to make Tofu Nuggets
The Ingredients
You will need:
- tofu – I am using a very fine (whereas some tofu brands are grainier) medium to firm natural (not smoked) tofu.
- all-purpose flour
- panko flakes (you can sub panko flakes for fine breadcrumbs and vice versa, but a combination of both is giving a better texture and is making sure they are nicely coated)
- fine breadcrumbs
- pickle juice/brine or alternatively caper juice/brine
- salt
- sesame seeds (optional)
- sriracha sauce (optional)
- frying oil
The basic steps
These Tofu Nuggets are amazingly good on their own, dipped in ketchup, BBQ sauce, or mayo; or you can serve them with oven-baked potato slices – like I did.
More vegan tofu recipes
- 15+ Easy and Delicious Tofu Recipes
- Vegan Palak Tofu Paneer
- Mediterranean Tofu Scramble
- Vegan Coconut Curry with Crispy Tofu
- Tofu & Rice Noodle Bowl with Peanut Sauce
Love it? Rate it!
I hope you enjoy these vegan Tofu Nuggets as much as I do! Let me know if you give them a try!
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Cheers, Bianca
Tofu Nuggets (Popcorn Chicken Style)
Ingredients
- 1 block tofu (medium to firm)
- frying oil
- 1/4 cup pickle juice /brine
Ingredients for the batter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup pickle juice /brine
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce
Ingredients for the breading
- 1/2 cup panko flakes *
- 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs *
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Remove the tofu from the packaging, pack it in a freezer bag, and freeze it overnight. Then defrost the tofu at room temperature (4-5 hours) over a slotted spatula in a bowl so that the water can drip off and collect at the bottom of the bowl. Carefully squeeze out excess water.
- Break the defrosted tofu into chunks – you can make them smaller or larger – whatever you like. Pour 1/4 cup of pickle brine over the chunks, the tofu will soak it up very quickly.
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the batter.
- In another bowl, combine the ingredients for the breading.
- Toss the tofu chunks into the batter first.
- Then coat them in the breading.
- Heat a pot or small wok with frying oil. Carefully fry the breaded tofu nuggets in batches until they are crispy and brown. This took 10 minutes for me – per batch.
- Place the fried tofu nuggets on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
- And done! Let them cool off a bit and enjoy them like they are or with oven-baked potato slices!
Lois
Friday 27th of August 2021
Could you bake the nuggets in the oven or use an air fryer? If so, how would you recommend doing that.
Kris G
Monday 4th of January 2021
I am so going to try this tomorrow. Do you squeeze the water out of it before freezing? I keep half gallon jars of English cucumbers as refrigerator pickles and that will make an incredible brine, esp with the hot chili pepper that is in there.
Bianca
Monday 4th of January 2021
You don't have to squeeze the tofu before freezing. Squeeze out the water after defrosting - it's much easier because the tofu is like a sponge afterward. Yes, that will work perfectly! I hope you'll enjoy! Let me know how it turns out for you :)