These crispy baked buffalo tofu wings are super easy to make and they taste SO GOOD! They're made by tearing pressed tofu into nuggets and tossing them in a slurry of buffalo sauce, parmesan cheese and cornstarch. After baking, they turn into crunchy, spicy and savory tofu buffalo wings! I like to serve them loaded with blue cheese, ranch and scallions but you could totally eat them plain, too!
Table of Contents
Backstory
My friend Aubrey from @thatswhatsheeats always posts about her buffalo tofu bites.
She's a personal chef to famous athletes here in Florida. And she also has a food blog!
Her version looks amazing and is completely vegan!
Each time she shares it, my stomach starts to growl just imagining how tasty they are!
So to feed my need, I decided to come up with a version that was inspired by her! But cheesy!
My take on buffalo tofu is just as simple and delicious.
But instead of serving them as-is, mine are loaded with blue cheese, ranch dressing and scallions... because you know, CHEESE.
Even my husband, who is not a tofu guy, couldn't get enough!
He devoured an entire plate of it while I was recipe testing!
So not only are they absolutely delicious, but they're easy to make, too!
Simply press tofu, toss in a seasoned slurry, bake, toss once more and add toppings. So simple and so delicious!
You'll love them!
Ingredients and alterations
**Looking for amounts? Scroll to the bottom for the exact recipe and printable recipe card!**
- Extra Firm Tofu - I recommend using extra firm tofu as it holds up best in this recipe. However, if you can't find it, semi firm will work too! The cornstarch actually works as a binder so do not worry if the tofu kind of crumbles apart.
- Buffalo Sauce - Sure you could make your own but I definitely don't have time to do that for a recipe like this! I adore Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce but you could totally use your favorite store brought brand, too.
- Parmesan Cheese - I think this adds the perfect umami punch in the tofu but you could also use asiago, pecorino or another harder, aged cheese. This ingredient could also be skipped if you're trying to be dairy-free!
- Cornstarch - this is the ingredient that will not only bind the tofu crumbles together but it will also crisp up into the perfectly crispy crust that leaves the inside moist and delish! You could substitute this for arrow root powder but you would need to do your own conversion as I've never worked with it before.
- Ranch Dressing - Don't get me wrong, I love making my own ranch dressing if I have a ton of herbs on hand... but since it's winter here and most of my herbs are dead, we are going to be using store bought ranch! I got mine at Aldi and it's really good!
- Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola - I think my favorite part about eating anything buffalo-flavored is the blue cheese! For this recipe, I'm using Roth's Buttermilk Blue Crumbles because they come in small serving individual packs that's perfect for dishes like this!
- Scallions - Not only do the scallions add the perfect pop of freshness but they bring a much needed blast of color do the dish!
How to make them
Making these tofu buffalo wings is super easy!
So the first thing you'll want to do is press your tofu. If you've never pressed tofu before and want to know how to do it, check out the next section for my tips!
While the excess water is being pulled from the tofu, begin to preheat your oven to 425F degrees.
While that's preheating, combine your hot sauce, cornstarch, and parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Whisk it together for at least 30 seconds to make sure that the cornstarch isn't clumpy.
Once the tofu is pressed, carefully tear apart the tofu into big bite sized nuggets. If it starts to crumble too much, don't worry -- it'll still work!
Add the tofu wings to the buffalo sauce mixture and toss everything together until each piece is evenly coated.
Place each piece on a greased parchment lined baking sheet spaced evenly apart.
And if you have a bunch of crumbles at the bottom of the bowl, simply scoop them up and shape them into a nugget.
Place the crumbled nuggets on the baking sheet just like you would a regular chunk -- the cornstarch will bind them and you'll never know the difference!
Now bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are super crispy and are beginning to get a little color on them.
Remove from oven and drizzle with the remaining buffalo sauce and gently toss once more.
Use a use a spatula to scoop up the pieces and place on your serving dish.
Top with a drizzle of ranch dressing, crumbled blue cheese and scallions.
Serve immediately.
Best way to press the tofu
Since we're using the entire block of tofu for this recipe, I recommend pressing it ahead of time to get the excess moisture out.
To do this, drain the tofu block from the package and pat dry.
Then place the tofu on a paper towel or kitchen towel and wrap it up.
At the beginning of the pressing stage, I gently press down on the block. Once the paper towels are soaked, i replace them and put the tofu on a plate with something heavy on top.
As the towel gets soaked through, I replace it until there's not much moisture left.
This process usually takes 15-30 minutes for me.
How to maximize crispiness
Let's be real, the crispy crust on these tofu buffalo wings is the most important part!
Since we're using a cornstarch, parmesan and buffalo sauce slurry to coat our tofu, the crust that develops will be extra crunchy.
However if you notice that it's not crispy enough after 30 minutes, simply leave them in the oven for a little longer until the crust develops.
I also recommend eating these buffalo tofu wings right away.
How to cook them in an air fryer
I love making buffalo tofu in the air fryer!
To do so, simply preheat your air fryer to 400 if it requires that. The one I use doesn't require a preheat but i know a lot of them do!
Next, line your air fryer basket with a piece of parchment paper then fill with the buffalo tofu nuggets. Be sure to allow about ½ inch between each one. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you could probably fit about ¼-1/2 of the yield at a time.
Once the buffalo tofu nuggets are in the basket, cook for 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway or until a crispy crust has developed.
Continue cooking until each batch is crispy and delicious!
What to pair them with
I love these with a side of my smoked mozzarella pasta salad!
And for dessert, I'd definitely make this no bake salted chocolate peanut butter pie!
If you'd like another dish similar to this one, try my favorite buffalo cauliflower tacos or these fully loaded buffalo fries!
Or try this Thai Basil Tofu Bowl if you love tofu!
Save the recipe for later
If you're looking to save this recipe for buffalo tofu nuggets for another day, then go for it!
That’s why I create these pretty pin-able images for your pinterest page!
And if you don’t already, feel free to follow me for more daily inspiration for tasty meals!
Video:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng5dtUhe_WE[/embedyt]
Recipe
Recipe
Buffalo Tofu Wings
Ingredients
- 1 14-16 oz block extra firm tofu pressed
- ½ cup buffalo sauce divided
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon ranch dressing
- 2 tablespoon blue cheese crumbled
- 1 tablespoon scallions finely chopped
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Press the tofu to release excess moisture.
- Preheat oven to 425F degrees.
- Thoroughly whisk together half of the buffalo sauce, all of the parmesan cheese, and all of the cornstarch to create a slurry.
- Tear tofu into nuggets and toss in the sauce until everything is coated. If crumbles are left at the bottom of the bowl, use your hands to form them into nugget shapes.
- Place the buffalo tofu bites on a greased parchment lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and cook for 30 minutes or until crispy.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and drizzle the bites with the remaining buffalo sauce and gently toss.
- Plate and toss with ranch, blue cheese, and scallions and serve immediately.
Jen
I did these in the air fryer and this method is so easy and SO good. I've done the whole breading/bake in the oven thing and this method is so much easier and turned out better.
I wanted this to be vegan so I just eliminated the cheese