These Almond Crusted Baked Tofu Nuggets have a healthy almond breading, a umami-packed inside, and a creamy avocado dip. What’s not to love?
It’s been a week of revelations. My first revelation came as I watched Harry Potter with Dutch subtitles, and was horrified to see that in the Dutch version, “Professor Dumbledore” is “Professor Perkamentus” (among many other sinful name changes). A better revelation came with the discovery of magical berries that transforms sour tastes into sweets. And the best revelation of them all came when I discovered that you can use ground almonds as a breading for crunchy, filling, packed-with-protein baked tofu nuggets. So today, let’s talk about that third revelation.
I couldn’t think of a better name than Almond Crusted Tofu Nuggets. And I think the name might sound a little boring and bland, but I promise these are anything but! There are 3 pretty major things that make this meal so great.
#1: The almond crust. We’ll crush some almonds and combine them with salt, pepper, paprika, and nutritional yeast. Never heard of nutritional yeast? Well hop on board, friend, because this stuff is bangin’. It adds a cheesy/savory component while being totally vegan (and packed with vitamin B12, the little vitamin that vegetarians and vegans might not get enough of).
Reader rating
“I made these for dinner tonight, and they were a real success! I eat a lot of tofu, and it gets hard after a while to find new and interesting ways to cook it. Thanks for the inspiration!” —Bess
#2: The marinade. In a good recipe, every component should be tasty on it’s own, which is why we’ll briefly marinate our tofu for maximum tastiness. We’ll use soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic!
#3: The dip. What’s a good nugget without some dip? I suppose you could go the plain Jane ketchup route, but why ketchup when you could avocado? Our dipping sauce involves avocado, Greek yogurt, fresh herbs, and lime.
For a more conventional vegetarian nugget, try these panko coated tofu nuggets!
Ingredients
Tofu
- 1 16-oz block tofu 453 g
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil 15 mL
- 1 Tbsp olive oil 15 mL, or just 2 Tbsp olive oil if you don’t have sesame
- 2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce 30 mL
- 1 clove garlic minced
Breading
- ¼ cup flour 31 g, or all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 egg or 1 Tbsp ground flax seed + 3 Tbsp water for vegan, whisked
- 1 cup whole almonds 170 g
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Dipping Sauce
- 1 avocado
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt 142 g, or dairy-free alternative
- ½ cup fresh chopped parsley handful
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Juice of 1 lime
- Pinch each of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Drain tofu and slice into 1’’ x 1’’ x ½’’ blocks. Lay on a few layers of paper towel and gently press with more paper towels to remove excess moisture. Place tofu blocks in a deep dish (like a storage container).
- Combine sesame oil, olive oil, soy sauce, and minced garlic. Pour over tofu, cover, and let marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (the longer the better). Every once in a while, flip the container so all the tofu gets exposed to the tasty marinade.
- In a food processor or by hand, chop almonds until coarsely ground. Mix with nutritional yeast, salt, paprika, and black pepper.
- Prepare your breading station, placing the flour in one bowl, the whisked egg in another, and your almond mixture in the last, with a parchment paper-lined baking sheet at the end. Shake off excess marinade from the tofu blocks then, 1 or 2 at a time, coat each lightly in flour, then egg, then almond mix, and set on the baking sheet.
- Bake tofu nuggets at 400 degrees F (204 C) for 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown and toasted.
- While the nuggets cook, throw all the Dipping Sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve nuggets warm with dipping sauce!
Tips & Tricks
- Store leftovers covered in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- Almond crust inspired by Gimme Some Oven’s Almond-Crusted Chicken Nuggets.
sophie says
What kind of tofu and brand do you use? I would love to make this reciepe!
Sarah says
Hi Sophie! I just used a firm block of tofu. I live in Holland so my brand is probably different form yours, but any firm (not silken) tofu will do the trick! 🙂 I’d love to hear how it turns out! These are one of my favorite meals!
Bess says
I made these for dinner tonight, and they were a real success! I eat a lot of tofu, and it gets hard after a while to find new and interesting ways to cook it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Sarah says
You’re very welcome, Bess! These are one of my favorite recipes because they just totally revamp tofu. So happy they were a success for you! 😀
Emily says
Instead of grinding almonds in the food processor, can I just use almond flour instead? I already have almond flour on hand. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Sarah says
Hey Emily! You certainly can, though they’ll be less crispy without the coarse almonds 🙂
Sarah Jane says
I loved swapping out the soy for coconut aminos!
Sarah says
I haven’t tried that before but heard it’s a great substitute! Guess I better order myself a bottle online 😀
Kim says
These are so good, a new favorite in my house!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Sarah says
So happy to hear, Kim! They’re a little bit of work but SO worth it 😀
Grace says
How many nuggets are per serving?? Great recipe!
Sarah says
Hi Grace, about 9 or 10! 🙂
Reinaldo says
I was sick of tofu stir fry so i made these for dinner tonight. THEY WERE A HIT!! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah says
Yay, so happy to hear Reinaldo!! These are one of my favorites! And aren’t they SO filling? 😀
nuggest234 says
do you cook the nuggets for 10 minutes flip then another 10 minutes? mine didnt seem to be cooked after only 10 minutes
Sarah says
Hi there! Yep, you should just need to cook for 10 minutes total, but everyone’s oven is a bit different. There’s no harm in cooking them longer until they reach the golden brown crispiness that you want 🙂
Nancy says
I got 12 out of them and they were probably too large for me so next time I would cut them into 16 cubes. I cut the big block in half (2 fillets) then down the middle lengthwise and 2 more cuts width wise so that each “fillet” half gave me 6 cubes.
I did like them and they were sooo filling, my son could only eat 2 large ones and I was full with 3 but maganed to stuff 2 more .
Sarah says
I like to make them about “chicken nugget size” (though smaller is also nice because it means you get more of the almond crust!) And they are sooo filling, aren’t they? But I also always manage to squeeze in a few more 😀
Rita says
I made these last night for a girls night and they were a big hit. Thanks so much for a great recipe. I did 16 pieces. Changes I would make for next time – I only needed half the almond mixture and 1.5 times the egg (I used a flax egg) and half the dipping sauce.
Sarah says
Thanks for the suggestions, Rita!! And so happy you liked them 😀
JoAnn M Lakes says
I’m wondering about air frying. Any thought’s?
Sarah says
Ah why have I not thought to try this yet?! I think it would definitely work! 😀
Milina says
Hi Sarah, through the photos I find them delicious nuggets, but is it recommended for sports? when?
Sarah says
Hi Milina! Happy to hear you like the looks of them! These are rather high in protein, so they would be a good post-workout meal 😀
Tiffany Rudd says
LOVING these!
Even though I’ve been vegetarian for about 14+ years now (or more, I lose count haha), I’m still pretty weird about tofu. The texture can be a bit too chewy sometimes, sort of like a balloon or a piece of fat, and that’s a huge turnoff. But at the same time, I WANT to like tofu! So, when I saw this little recipe, I had to give it a go.
Once again I dragged my partner into the kitchen and we churned these out pretty quick. The breading goes a lot quicker with more hands since my fingers kept getting coated as well. Since we were careful to sift our breading at the end, we kept what was leftover to use later on, which is always a plus for me.
They baked up really well and the taste almost reminds me of chicken nuggets, if my memory is to be trusted after all these years. My partner, who eats meat, loved them and said she really wants to make them more often since they are a protein filled dish that is easy to transport. When it comes to refrigerating them, they actually hold up well. Just pop them in your toaster oven and they’ll be crispy and delicious all over again.
As a HUGE plus for me, the coating actually stays on! Far too often I see recipes where, when I make them, the coating sloughs off. But not here!
Sarah says
YAY! This is one of my favorites that I think people are too scared to try, but I’m glad you did (and even more so that you also liked em!) For the cakey fingers problem, try using one hand for wets and one hand for dries. I’ve found it helps to prevent the breading from caking on my fingers 😀
Kiki Polglase says
We’ll definitely try this ❣️👍
Laura says
Thank you! This was a huge hit today. It was simple to put together and beautiful on the plate. Even my tofu-avoiding husband ate it. The sauce is fantastic and we’ll use it again. Next time, I’ll slice the tofu chunks thinner and make less dipping sauce because we had a lot left over.
Rachel says
I would advise only making this recipe if you already have most of the ingredients on hand. We made it as an experiment and no one in the house enjoyed it except the dog. I feel horrible wasting so much food and so much money.
Sarah Bond says
Sorry to hear that, Rachel! This is actually one of our favorites, so we’d love to hear what you didn’t like about it to help us improve!
Carmen says
How many nuggets in a portion?
Sarah Bond says
About 7 to 8! 😀
Caitlin says
Can you freeze these nuggets?
Sarah Bond says
Yes, these should do well frozen!
Linda says
Simple and delicious. I made the full amount of almond mixture, but since I only made enough tofu for me I had lots of the almond mixture left over. I froze the left over almond mixture for the next time I make this tasty tofu.