Crispy Tofu Tenders

If you’re looking for a simple way to make tofu delicious, kid-friendly (!!), and just plain fun, these crispy tofu tenders are it! Quick and straightforward to make plus delightful to eat!

Lightly breaded in cornmeal and potato starch (read: naturally gluten-free!) and jazzed up with a few simple spices, these pan-fried tenders take just a few minutes in a frying pan to develop a delectably golden, crispy crust…while remaining tender-chewy on the inside!

Snack on them straight out of the pan or serve with a dipping sauce—either way, these light and crunchy tenders are the lowest-effort way to make tofu pure fun.

Fun fact

I guess you could say I was a tad overzealous when writing my cookbook, Big Vegan Flavor, because I ended up having to cut a bunch of recipes so my manuscript wouldn’t be 1,000 pages (literally 😅).

These crispy tofu tenders were in the “tragically cut from the final draft” category (like these two recipes), so I’m glad I finally get to share them with you!

Ingredient notes

• Super firm tofu: Its low water content makes it the ideal tofu variety to use here—it’s chewy, a little meaty (the same qualities that make it perfect in my Thai Laab with Tofu), and on the sturdier side. In other words, it holds up great in the dredging process and feels most chicken-adjacent. 

Substitute: You can use extra firm tofu, but you’ll want to press it for 15 to 20 minutes first, ideally replacing the towels halfway through, to remove as much moisture as possible.

Plant-based “buttermilk”: AKA soy milk + apple cider vinegar! The vinegar curdles the soy milk to create a tangy flavor and thick texture. The thick liquid better coats the tofu, helping the dry batter adhere to all surfaces of the tenders.

Optional (but recommended): I add a bit of Better than Bouillon “no chicken base” (or an alternative brand like this) to the milk prior to mixing it with vinegar, which infuses it with a dose of salty umami. 

If using this ingredient, you’ll need to warm up the milk first so the concentrate can dissolve. Wait until the milk mixture cools, then stir in the vinegar (the milk curdles better at room temperature).

Cornmeal: I love using a stone-ground cornmeal to add a subtle crunchy texture. Bob’s Red Mill medium-grind cornmeal is a great option that’s widely available. I don’t recommend fine cornmeal, as it won’t add much texture (its flavor is also muted, as it’s typically produced with heavy industrial machinery). 

Potato starch: Just like in my simple baked tofu recipe, we use potato starch to achieve a crispy coating on the tofu tenders! Please note potato starch is NOT the same as potato flour. 

Substitute: Potato starch is the ideal starch here, as it tolerates high heat, yields a nice crispy texture, and has a neutral flavor. In contrast, in my rounds of testing, I could taste the chalkiness of cornstarch (though I may be sensitive to this), and arrowroot did not produce a crispy coating. 

Seasonings: We keep it simple with a few staples: nutritional yeast, garlic powder, dried oregano, onion powder, and smoked paprika (plus cayenne pepper, if it floats your boat). A little bit of cane sugar balances the flavor profile and helps the tenders brown to a mouth-watering hue. 

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Step by Step Instructions

1. Prepare the batter: If using the Better than Bouillon, heat the soy milk in the microwave until warm, then whisk in the Better than Bouillon until dissolved. Cool to room temp.

2. Once cool, stir the vinegar into the milk, and set aside to curdle.

3. Prepare the tofu: Slice the tofu block in half crosswise.

4. Flip each half onto its taller side and slice downwards to create 3 even planks.

5. You should have six planks like this.

6. Slice the planks in half (or into 1” thick batons). Dab each with a paper towel to remove any moisture.

7. In a shallow bowl, combine the cornmeal, potato starch, nutritional yeast, sugar, spices, and salt.

8. Whisk well to eliminate clumps.

9. One by one, dip each tofu slab into the milk mixture, getting each side coated.

10. Dredge in the cornmeal batter, coating all sides thoroughly—no wet spots! Transfer each slab to a cutting board or plate.

11. Heat a 12-inch frying pan over medium-high with the oil. Add the slabs in a single layer and reduce the heat to medium. Cook undisturbed for 3½ to 4½ minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown.

12. Use an offset spatula or other small spatula to flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes on the second side. 

13. Flip onto each of the thinner sides and cook for 1 minute (or less) until golden brown all over.

14. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes.

Tips for making crispy tofu tenders

Minimize the mess

The dredging process is, by nature, a little bit messy. If mess = stress in your kitchen, here are my top tips for minimizing both:

1. Set up for success: Line up your stations so you’ve got the milk mixture next to the cornmeal mixture next to an empty plate where the battered and breaded tofu tenders will go.
2. Assign one hand to each task: Pick one hand to be your milk-dunking hand and let the other be your dredging hand, and confine each to its job. Your hands are going to get messy—but at least they’ll be messy in orderly, designated ways.

Tips for frying the tofu tenders 

1. After you add the oil, don’t forget to reduce the heat to medium, as the coating will burn otherwise. 
2. If you start to notice significant charring during the cooking process, lower the heat a touch more (light charring in spots is okay). 
3. The easiest way to flip the tenders is to use an offset spatula like this along with another smaller spatula or turner.

Sauce ‘em up!

Let me be clear—these tofu tenders are delicious straight out of the frying pan.

But  they’re even more fun with a great sauce for dipping! Try these tenders with:

• Personal favorite: my vegan ranch dressing. The herby creaminess is a divine pairing. 
• Creamy but grown up: this creamy, garlicky vegan aioli. 
• Cooling, creamy, and gorgeously green: this 5-minute avocado crema
• For a sweeter option: You can’t go wrong with my homemade BBQ sauce (or keep things quick with your fave store-bought option). 
• For a slightly spicy option: Make this simple Sriracha Mayo—mix together ¼ cup (56g) vegan mayo + 2 ½ teaspoons Sriracha + ½ teaspoon lime juice (more or less Sriracha or lime to taste!)

Frequently Asked Questions

Hope you (and your kiddos) love these tofu tenders! If so, please leave a rating and review below—it means the world to me!

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Crispy Tofu Tenders

By Nisha Vora

Prep: 18 minutes mins

Cook: 12 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4

5 from 5 votes

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These crispy tofu tenders are tofu at its most fun (and kid-friendly)! Simple to make—just dredge super-firm tofu planks in vegan buttermilk + a spiced gluten-free breading, then give them a few minutes in a hot pan to crisp up to golden-edged perfection. Snack on them plain or dunk in your favorite dipping sauce!

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Ingredients

• ▢ ⅓ cup (80 mL) soy milk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon “no chicken base” (optional)
• ▢ 1 ¼ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 16 oz (454g) super-firm tofu, drained
• ▢ 3 ½ tablespoons (34g) medium-grind or coarse-grind cornmeal
• ▢ 4 ½ tablespoons (45g) potato starch (see Note 1)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
• ▢ 2 teaspoons organic cane sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ Heaping ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ Heaping ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for a mild kick)
• ▢ Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) and freshly cracked black pepper
• ▢ 2 ½ to 3 tablespoons (35 to 42g) avocado oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)

Instructions 

• If using the Better than Bouillon “no chicken base”: Add the soy milk to a small-medium bowl and heat in the microwave until hot, about 45 seconds. Whisk the Better Than Bouillon into the milk until completely dissolved.

  Cool to room temperature (place in the fridge to speed this up). In the meantime, work on steps 3 and 4.

  When the mixture has cooled to room temp, stir in the vinegar and set aside to curdle.
• If not using the Better than Bouillon “no chicken base”: In a small-medium bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar; set aside for a few minutes until curdled.
• Slice the tofu block in half crosswise, then flip each half onto its taller side. Slice downward to get 3 evenly-sized planks. From here, halve the planks lengthwise into 1” thick batons, so you have 6 batons per half, 12 total. Gently press down on each with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
• In a shallow bowl or pie plate, combine the cornmeal, potato starch, nutritional yeast, sugar, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, paprika, cayenne if using, several twists of black pepper, and 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (¾ tsp if using sea salt/table salt). Whisk very well to remove clumps of potato starch.
• Arrange your work station: cooled milk mixture, cornmeal breading, and a cutting board or large plate. When battering and breading, to minimize mess, reserve one hand for the milk and one hand for the breading.
• Working with one tofu slab at a time, use one hand to dip all sides of it into the milk, then use your other hand to dredge each side into the cornmeal batter, coating well. Set aside on the large plate. Repeat with the remaining tofu slabs, taking care to coat each piece individually.
• If you have leftover cornmeal batter, dredge the tofu again, focusing on any spots of the tofu that aren’t well coated.
• Heat a 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes, then add the oil. Once shimmering, arrange the slabs in a single layer. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 3 ½ to 4 ½ minutes, or until the bottoms are golden brown.
• Flip and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on the second side, or until golden brown, lowering the heat as needed to prevent burning (light charring is okay). Finally, cook for 1 minute or less on each of the thinner sides of the slabs until those are browned too.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes, then enjoy plain or serve with your favorite dip.

Notes

1. While you can technically substitute with arrowroot powder or cornstarch (use 4½ tablespoons / 36g), potato starch works best. Personally, I can taste a the slight chalkiness when using cornstarch. And when using arrowroot powder, the coating didn’t get very crispy. 

Nutrition

Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 18.4g | Saturated Fat: 3.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.49g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.35g | Sodium: 442.1mg | Potassium: 154.4mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 220IU | Calcium: 89.5mg | Iron: 4.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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