Another air-fryer recipe: Air-Fried Tofu Balls!
These air-fried tofu balls are
- made with tofu and a few other basic ingredients
- super easy to put together since you can leave the rest to your air-fryer or oven to cook down
- great as a finger food or snack with your dipping sauce of choice or as a hearty main paired with rice.
You can also turn this into Sweet Chili Tofu Balls (recipe here) that are great with rice!
Sweet Chili Tofu Balls version:
THE TOFU BALLS MIXTURE
- extra firm tofu
- carrot
- spring onion or scallion
- salt
- soy sauce
- black pepper
- quick cook oatmeal (crushed) or panko/Japanese bread crumbs
- all purpose flour or other flour of choice
- Press the tofu to drain excess liquid. I like to wrap mine in a towel and place a heavy weighted surface on top (such as a chopping board).
- Mash the tofu in a bowl. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to mix it well until combined. To test if the mixture holds up well, get a scoop and roll it into a ball. It should hold up well and not break apart. If it breaks apart, you can add 1-2 tbsp more flour if needed to absorb any excess moisture and help it hold together better.
- Shape the mixture into small balls or other shape of your choice.
AIR FRY THE TOFU BALLS
- Place the balls in your air-fryer. Brush or spray some oil on the balls.
- Air-fry for 20-25 minutes at 200C/395F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, flip halfway if needed.
- Remove the meatballs from the air-frying and serve with your favourite dipping sauce or sauce of choice.
What if I don’t have an air-fryer?
You can bake, pan fry, or even deep fry these too!
- For pan frying, it might be easier to shape these into small patties instead of balls especially if you’re not using much oil so you could get these nice and crisp on both sides.
- For baking, 180C would be good and would most likely take longer than an air-fryer. So possibly around 35-40 minutes. I recommend to flip it halfway through baking.
- For deep frying, be sure to heat your oil well before adding the balls so they get nice, golden brown, and crisp without absorbing the oil.
FOR A SAUCE/GLAZED VERSION: MAKE SWEET CHILI TOFU BALLS!
These tofu balls are great with any dipping sauce of your choice but I prefer these with a delicious sauce or glaze to coat the balls! You can check out my Sweet Chili Tofu Balls recipe here. These are so good with rice!
Check out my other vegan tofu recipes here or down below:
Check out my tips on how to store tofu!
- Orange Tofu
- Pan-Fried Tofu Cakes
- Tofu ‘McNuggets’
- Black Pepper Tofu Steaks
- Tofu “Chicken” Teriyaki
- Korean Spicy Braised Tofu
- Fried ‘Chicken’ and Gravy
- Tofu Katsu
- Nori-Wrapped Tofu in Spicy Sauce
- Maple Hoisin Tofu
Air-Fried Tofu Balls (Vegan + Gluten Free Option)
Another air-fryer recipe: Air-Fried Tofu Balls! These are made with tofu and a few other basic ingredients. These are super easy to put together and you can leave the rest to your air-fryer or oven to cook down. These are great as a finger food or snack with your dipping sauce of choice or as a hearty main paired with rice. You can turn this into Sweet Chili Tofu Balls that are great with rice!
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra firm tofu , pressed and drained
- 1 small carrot peeled and grated
- 2 spring onion or scallion chopped
- 1 small red bell pepepr seeded and diced, optional
- 1/2-3/4 tsp salt to taste
- 2 tsp soy sauce or more salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup quick cook oatmeal (crushed) or panko/Japanese bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour or other flour of choice (oat, almond, spelt, GF mix, etc.)
For Cooking
- Oil for spraying or brushing
For Serving
- Dipping sauce of choice or make some Sweet Chili Tofu Balls!
Instructions
- Press the tofu to drain excess liquid. I like to wrap mine in a towel and place a heavy weighted surface on top (such as a chopping board).
- Mash the tofu in a bowl. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to mix it well until combined. To test if the mixture holds up well, get a scoop and roll it into a ball. It should hold up well and not break apart. If it breaks apart, you can add 1-2 tbsp more flour if needed to absorb any excess moisture and help it hold together better.
- Shape the mixture into small balls or other shape of your choice. Place the balls in your air-fryer. Brush or spray some oil on the balls.
- Air-fry at 180C/375F for 15 minutes or until golden brown, flip halfway if needed. Do note that air fryers can vary. You can cook it for less time depending on your settings.
- Remove the meatballs from the air-frying and serve with your favourite dipping sauce or sauce of choice. Enjoy while hot!
- You can also make these into Sweet Chili Tofu Balls. See the recipe here.
What if I don’t have an air-fryer?
- You can bake, pan fry, or even deep fry these too!
- For pan frying, it might be easier to shape these into small patties instead of balls especially if you’re not using much oil so you could get these nice and crisp on both sides.
- For baking, place the balls on a lined baking tray. Fro the temperature, 180C would be good and baking will take longer than an air-fryer. So possibly around 35-40 minutes. I recommend to flip it halfway through baking.
- For deep frying, be sure to heat your oil well before adding the balls so they get nice, golden brown, and crisp without absorbing the oil.
STORAGE & MAKE-AHEAD TIPS
- You can cook all the balls/small patties and store these in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. To reheat, you can place these back in your air-fryer or pan-fry.
WATCH Video
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1ball | Calories: 28kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 418IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
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This Post Has 35 Comments
Thank you for this easy n delicious recipe. I also made some simmered in the sweet chili sauce. Looking forward to trying your other amazing vegan recipes 💯🎊
Thanks so much Jimie ◡̈
Hi. Fo you think i can also mold it like a burger patty? I saw your burger patty recipe but it is made of mushroom, since i’m not a fan of mushroom, do you think this recipe will work too? Thanks
Hi Elle, yes you can shape these into small or larger patties. I case they don’t hold up so well you can add a bit more flour ◡̈
Do you eat it cold?
I enjoyed these hot! ◡̈
Oooooh this looks so good! I want to make some for meal prep, do you know how long it can be stored for?
You can cook them all then just store the cooked pieces in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. I haven’t tried freezing these but i believe these can freeze well too as long as they’re cooked ◡̈
I was surprised how well they hold together! Awesome recipe. A little bland on its own, but so delicious with the sweet chili sauce.
These were SO GOOD. Had them with barbecue sauce!
Pretty good! The win for me here is the texture. I might add some cornstarch for extra crunch. I didn’t like using the air fryer but my husband liked it. I feel like the inside wasn’t cooked enough, but they were cooked. We ate them with peanut sauce. I think these would be great as dumpling or lumpia filling. Thank for this recipe!
Thanks for the feedback Elexis💛
I had looked for tofu balls for a unique spin in chinese spaghetti and noodles by using mongolian sauce for a lo mein version. The assembly of these went just as the recipe indicated. But, after air frying at 395 for 20 minutes, these ended up more like golf balls. Any insight how to keep these closer to a consistency of a meatball? These were hard and dry throughout, even after allowing them to absorb some of my mongolian sauce.
Hi Greg! You can try adding a splash of water into the sauce and cover the pot/pan to allow the meatballs to steam a bit and absorb the sauce. They may have been overcooked a bit (since air fryers can vary) so I noted this in the recipe to adjust cooking time and temp as needed. Hope this helps!
So easy to make. I used regular oats and spelt flour. Loved being able to put them in the air fryer. These are unbelievably delicious!! Definitely will make these again.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Thank you Suzanna! So happy you liked them ◡̈
These were easy and so delicious! I made them with a spicy garlic-soy-maple glaze and put them over quinoa with spinach and zucchini. Just amazing burst of flavors!
That glaze sounds amazing!! And glad you liked it, thanks Brenda ◡̈
This recipe is how I found your blog so I had to make them! I normally hate the taste of tofu but these completely changed that for me. They were SO simple to make, taste amazing, and are probably going to be added to my weeknight meals! I baked mine in the oven and they turned out great ❤️
Yaaay! So happy you enjoy tofu in this form. Thanks so much Katt! 🥺
These are awesome, I added some Parsley and dill to the mix and they were perfect!
Than you Jen, hope you enjoyed your tofu balls! ◡̈
I got around to making this yesterday with the sweet chili sauce as recommended! I really enjoyed eating the tofu in this form and being able to use Gochujang. I didn’t have any all purpose flour so I used chickpea flour instead.
The extra firm tofu which I used wasn’t as soft I hoped. Looking forward to trying this out again hopefully with firm tofu!
Hi Kara, thanks so much for giving this a try and glad you enjoyed it! ◡̈
Very easy to make & a nice main or just dipping into sauce with a side of veg stix. I find that the onion has come through more on day two. May try seasonings like garlic powder, 5 spice , etc
Definitely need sauce or a dip.
Still very enjoyable & will add to my regular tofu recipes
Hi Sue, thanks so much for the feedback. Those seasonings would be a great plus ◡̈
I have made these several times! Such a fantastic, foolproof, yummy recipe!!! I now do different versions 🙂 I did green chili, corn, black bean. I have done spinach, basil, shredded zucchini…so many options 🙂 Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!!!
love the different variations you’ve made with lots of other veggies! And glad you liked it, thanks so much Phyllis ◡̈
These changed my life…so versatile and delicious
Thanks Colleen! I love making them too and cooking these down w different sauces! Hehe
In love with this recipe! Just made it last night. The taste and texture are spot on. I don’t have an air fryer so I put them in my oven at 375° and baked for close to 40 mins. They came out wonderfully crispy on the outside. I also made the sweet chili garlic sauce and tossed them in that at the end which gave them a lovely flavor. Had the rest of them for lunch today – I just popped them in the microwave. They weren’t crispy of course, but the texture on the inside is so good it didn’t matter to me. YUM!
Thanks Sarah, happy you liked it! ◡̈
Thank you.
These are a great substitute for meatballs although I think my tofu was a bit firmer/drier than yours in your video as I needed to adjust the recipe slightly so they would bind properly. Cooking these in the air fryer is so easy as well. Used these to make your soy garlic tofu balls recipe, delicious.
Thank you Pauline! In case your tofu needs a bit more moisture you can always add some water. ◡̈