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With almost twenty 5-star reviews, you can be sure these almond-crusted baked tofu nuggets will be a hit with the whole family! Instead of a wheat-based breading, we’re using a healthy almond-based breading and pairing it with a creamy avocado dip. What’s not to love?
save this recipe!Chicken nuggets always have that crispy breading that people either love or hate. If they hate it, it’s usually because the breading is too thick and there isn’t enough filling.
But with these almond-crusted tofu nuggets, that’s not an issue because we’ve got a big chunk of umami-packed tofu and a light but crispy almond breading. Let’s cook!
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
Key ingredients
Jump to the recipe card for the quantities.
- Tofu: We’re going to make this by marinating firm tofu with sesame oil, olive oil, soy sauce, and garlic. Opt for reduced-sodium soy sauce.
- Breading Basics: You just need all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour) and an egg to get the crust to stick.
- Almonds: I prefer to pulverize whole almonds as opposed to using almond meal because the larger texture adds more crunch.
- Seasoning: Nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and paprika keep the spices simple but flavorful.
- Dipping Sauce: Just blend up avocado, Greek yogurt, parsley, garlic, lime juice, and a bit of salt and pepper.
how to make almond-crusted tofu nuggets
These are very simple to put together. Here’s a quick overview. Jump to the recipe card for the full instructions.
- Prep the tofu by draining it and pressing it dry. Then, marinate it in the sauce.
- Make the breading by pulsing everything in a food processor.
- Bread the tofu nuggets in the egg wash and breading.
- Bake, flipping halfway through.
- Make the sauce, then enjoy together!
make it vegan
You can easily swap the egg with a flax egg and the Greek yogurt in the sauce for a vegan mayo. Then it’s totally plant-based too!
more family-friendly dinners to try
Almond Crusted Baked 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!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!P.S. Love vegetarian nuggets? Try my chickpea nuggets next time, or these classic tofu nuggets.
We are not vegan or vegetarian, but my husband has kidney issues that encourage me to want to try more vegetarian dishes. What can we use instead of the yeast? His big issues are salt and potassium
You can simply omit it! Or replace with parmesan cheese if you eat that.
Just curious. I saw the comment below about how some are afraid to try this recipe because they are afraid the breading won’t stick. That’s me. I know there is a trick with meat that you can use where you put the meat in the refrigerator after breading and the breading will bind with the meat. I started doing that with meat and it was a game changer. I wonder, does it work the same way with tofu?
Yes it works the same here!
I really liked the tofu almond nuggets. I was impressed with how well the breading sticks to the tofu. Amazing. The tofu was super delicious right out of the oven, plain without the sauce.
We opted to spread the dipping sauce on hearty bread with tomato slices.
I will make the tofu again and possibly omit making the dipping sauce next time.
Yay, so glad it was a hit Irene!