Air Fryer Tofu Wings
Welcome to the vegan answer to chicken wings! We’ve served these Air Fryer Tofu Wings for many occasions (to both vegans and non-vegans, young and old!) and they are a crowd-favorite every single time. With a crispy dairy-free buttermilk breading, sauce and serve these plant-based wings any way you like. If you haven’t tried air frying frozen tofu, you’re really in for a treat! This post is sponsored by our friends at Salton and their awesome 3-in-1 Flip and Cook Air Fryer, Grill & Dehydrator.
Equipment
Ingredients
For the wings/marinade:
- 1 16-oz package extra firm tofu
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp veggie bouillon powder
For the breading:
- 3/4 cup vegan seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 1/4 cup plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ⅓ - 1 cup sauce of choice see notes
Instructions
First, prep the tofu.
- Freeze and defrost your tofu. Place the whole container (do not open it) in the freezer overnight.
- In the morning, remove it from the freezer and set it in a shallow dish on your counter to thaw. This will take several hours.
- When the tofu is thawed, squeeze it gently over the sink and press it with a tofu press or on paper towels to remove any excess liquid.
Next, marinate the tofu.
- Place your tofu on a cutting board and use your hands to gently rip wing-shaped pieces off of it. Alternatively, you can also slice the tofu into sticks, triangles, or flat rectangles for other shape options.
- Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and pour this over your tofu wings, making sure they are all nice and coated. Place them in your fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
Then, set up the breading station.
- Remove the tofu from the marinade and place it on a plate or cutting board or the lid of the container.
- To the container where the tofu was marinating, add the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Swish the mixture gently to combine.
- Get out two shallow bowls or pie plates. To one, add the starch. To the other, add the breadcrumbs.
Now, bread the tofu wings.
- Dip each tofu wing in the starch, then in the marinade/plant milk mix, then in the bread crumb mixture. Be sure to coat the tofu completely during each phase. Repeat for each wing.
It's time to air fry the vegan wings.
- Add tofu wings to the air fryer basket, enough to fill the bottom but not so many that they’re on top of each other. We find we can comfortably fit 1 block of tofu in our Salton Flip and Cook Air Fryer.
- Air fry for 10 minutes at 350F. Stop to shake gently, just enough to loosen the pieces from the bottom of the basket, and air fry another 10 minutes. Then, stop to shake gently again and air fry for a final 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Finally, bring it together.
- Add the cooked tofu wings to a large mixing bowl and drizzle on half your sauce of choice (see notes for options).
- Toss to coat all the wings evenly. Then, drizzle the remaining sauce over the tofu and continue tossing to coat.
- Serve these air fryer tofu wings immediately on a platter with your favorite dipping sauces and veggie sticks!
Notes
Wing Sauce Options
The great thing about this recipe is you can switch up the sauces to make different versions. Wing sauce recipes are often easily veganized using vegan butter, so you can really have fun with this part! Note: You’ll be making 1 lb of tofu wings per tofu block you use, so make sure you adjust the wing sauce you’re using for 1 lb of chicken wings. Here are some various wing sauce variations we’ve tried:- Vegan Buffalo Wings
- Hot Sauce Tofu Wings
- Pineapple Teriyaki Tofu Wings
- BBQ Tofu Wings
- Vegan Lemon Pepper Wet Wings
- Vegan Garlic Parmesan Wings
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25the recipeCalories: 271kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 9gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gSodium: 885mgPotassium: 182mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 46IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!