Marinated and baked tofu nuggets with a gently spiced, crispy breadcrumb crust – easy and delicious!

I know that tofu isn’t for everyone – vegan or otherwise.  It inherently has quite a unique texture and that everyone is after the ultimate crispy tofu rather than the boingy, rubbery stuff that we can end up with.  Personally I love the stuff.  I love how it just soaks up the flavours round it and that it’s versatile enough to be baked, scrambled, stir fried or even put in a sweet vegan chocolate pie.  And these baked tofu nuggets are just about crispy enough to make you forget about that unique texture.

Proof:  Phil’s not a fan of tofu because of the texture.  I think I say “Phil’s not a fan of” a lot.  You’re gonna start thinking I make food I KNOW he won’t eat just so I don’t have to share.  BUT – the first time I made these I intended them to be for my dinner only but I shared a few and he asked me to make them again.  And include him in the meal plan 😉

I normally eat tofu at least weekly.  In fact I plan on having this Teriyaki Tofu again this week – adding it to some whole wheat noodles and stir fried veg.  Tofu has a pretty good nutritional profile being low in saturated fat and calories but reasonably high in protein.

Where do vegans get their protein?

It’s an age old question and I’ve answered it here.  It’s actually pretty easy, especially with things like tofu and all the other amazing products and ingredients that are becoming more and more readily available.

How to make crispy Baked Tofu Nuggets

Breading anything vegan is still a very similar process to non-vegan.  You need something that helps stick the coating (panko breadcrumbs in this case) to the filling.  And for these tofu nuggets I thought I’d try and combine the marinade with the ‘glue’ in a similar process I used for the Teriyaki Tofu. Whisking together the liquid aminos (or soy sauce) with the spices and gram flour (also known as chickpea flour) gave a really good base for the breadcrumbs to stick to.

• I used gram flour because it’s really fine and easy to whisk into a liquid without just creating loads of lumps!
• And I used panko breadcrumbs because they give a really crisp and crunchy coating to practically anything you want to fry or bake!

Feel free to vary the spices in your maridade.  Or even add some herbs to the breadcrumb mixture.  These baked tofu nuggets are VERY amenable to your own favourite flavours!

As for how to serve – our favourite is a big bowl of salad mixed with roasted veggies and a sprinkle of nuggets.  The soft roasted veg and mild salad flavours are an absolutely delicious contrast to the spicy, salty and ultimately crispy baked tofu!

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