No animals were harmed in the making of these tofu ‘mcnuggets’! Made with a few basic ingredients, these nuggets are so enjoyable to snack on (and are kid-friendly too!).
THE INSPIRATION: MCDONALD’S CHICKEN NUGGETS!
I really enjoyed making these nuggets and my sister loved them too.
These can be baked and made gluten-free as well. If you’re looking to prepare these beforehand, then you can also cook and then freeze them! I’ll share more storage tips in the recipe down below.
THESE TOFU ‘MCNUGGETS’ ARE:
- Vegan, of course! Can also be made gluten-free with simple substitutions
- Kid-approved!
- Can be made in big batches and frozen to enjoy for upcoming meals (or days when you crave nuggets!)
- Made using very simple ingredients!
HOW TO MAKE THESE NUGGETS
- Flour nugget mixture: Place all the nugget mixture ingredients (flour, milk, oil, baking powder) in a bowl and then mix until smooth. Set aside.
- Peel the potato and then finely shred. I used a grater for this. Squeeze out excess liquid and let the potato shreds sit on a strainer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Note that the potato will naturally turn light brown when exposed to the air.
- Drain the excess liquid from the tofu.
- Mash tofu into small bits (until it resembles crumbles) using a fork or your hands. Wrap the tofu in a cheese cloth or any kitchen cloth and then squeeze out the excess liquid. It is essential to squeeze out the excess liquid to prevent the mixture from being too wet! Transfer to a bowl. You may also refer to the photos below to give you an idea.
- Process the oats until a fine flour has formed.
- Place all the ingredients (tofu, potato, processed oat/almond flour, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and nugget mixture) in a bowl.
SHAPING THE NUGGETS
Shape the mixture into nuggets. Feel free to get creative with your shapes!
COOKING THE NUGGETS: BAKING OR FRYING
As mentioned, you can opt to either bake or fry these nuggets.
When baked, the nuggets turn crispy, just not as golden brown as those that were fried but still really good!
The tofu nuggets when fried:
BAKING THE NUGGETS
- If baking, heat an oven to 350F/180C.
- If frying, heat a frying pan and add in some neutral oil enough to submerge the nuggets.
- If baking, place nuggets on a lined baking tray. Brush nuggets with some oil and then bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown, flip halfway through cooking.
- If frying, place the nuggets in the pan once the oil is hot. They should immediately sizzle.
- Fry for 7-8 minutes over medium heat until golden brown on each side.
- Enjoy while hot with some spicy barbecue sauce (recipe below) or your favourite dipping sauce!
ENJOY YOUR NUGGETS!
Taste test time! The tofu really gave these nuggets a good, almost ‘meaty’, bite. I paired mine with some barbecue sauce but you can opt to enjoy this with other sauce of your choice.
Okay enough with the teasing, check out the full recipe and steps for these vegan nuggets below! If you make this recipe, please tag me on my Facebook or Instagram and use the hashtag #thefoodietakesflight 🙂
Looking for more Vegan recipes?
You can get a copy of my cookbook, Vegan Asian!
If you crave vegan-friendly versions of classic Asian dishes, this cookbook is packed with Southeast and East Asian dishes inspired by those I grew up enjoying at home and those I’ve tried from my travels. From iconic Thai dishes to piping-hot Japanese fare and everything in between, the recipes in this will take your palate on a delicious food trip across Asia, and hopefully keep you coming back for more!
If you make this recipe, please tag me on my Facebook or Instagram and use the hashtag #thefoodietakesflight 🙂
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OTHER TOFU RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:
You can also check out my other vegan tofu recipes here or down below:
Check out my tips on how to store tofu!
- Fried ‘Chicken’ and Gravy
- Tofu Katsu
- Nori-Wrapped Tofu in Spicy Sauce
- Maple Hoisin Tofu
- Orange Tofu
- Pan-Fried Tofu Cakes
Tofu McNuggets with Spicy BBQ Dip (Vegan Nuggets Recipe)
Ingredients
Nugget mixture (to hold everything together!)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp soy milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour or buckwheat flour for gluten-free
- 1 tsp olive oil or other oil
- 2 tsp baking powder
Tofu Nuggets
- 1 medium raw russet or yukon potato , finely shredded—makes 1 cup packed (300 g)
- 1 block extra firm tofu (400 g)
- 1/2 cup whole rolled oats , processed into a fine flour or sub with almond flour (see notes)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- Neutral oil for baking or frying
Spicy Barbecue Dip (Makes 1/2 cup)
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free, adjust to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup or other liquidmsweeter, adjust depending on desired sweetness
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
- 2 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce adjust according to desired spice
Corn Starch Slurry
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp room temp water
Instructions
Spicy Barbecue Dip
- Place all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Leave to simmer over medium heat. Mix well.Meanwhile, mix together the corn starch and the water. Set aside.
- Once it boils, lower the heat and then add in the cornstarch slurry. Continue to mix until the sauce thickens. Feel free to adjust seasonings based on desired taste. Turn off heat.Storage: Let cool then transfer to an air-tight container. This sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Nugget Mixture
- Place all the nugget mixture ingredients (flour, milk, oil, baking powder) in a bowl and then mix until smooth. Set aside.
Tofu Nuggets
- Peel the potato and then finely shred. I used a grater for this. Squeeze out excess liquid and let the potato shreds sit on a strainer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Note that the potato will naturally turn light brown when exposed to the air.
- Drain excess liquid from the tofu.
- Mash tofu into small bits (until it resembles crumbles) using a fork or your hands. Wrap the tofu in a cheese cloth or any kitchen cloth and then squeeze out the excess liquid. It is essential to squeeze out the excess liquid to prevent the mixture from being too wet! Transfer to a bowl. You may also refer to the photos above to give you an idea.
- Process the oats until a fine flour has formed.
- Place all the ingredients (tofu, potato, processed oat/almond flour, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and nugget mixture) in a bowl.
- Mix everything together until well combined.
- Test out the mixture: Scoop some of the mixture and shape into a bowl and into your shape of choice. It should hold up well. If the mixture is a bit too wet and doesn't hold up well/easily falls apart, feel free to add 1-2 tbsp more flour to absorb excess moisture from the potatoes/tofu to have a firmer mixture.
- Shape the mixture into nuggets. Feel free to get creative with your shapes!
Cooking the Nuggets
- If baking, heat an oven to 350F/180C.
- If frying, heat a frying pan and add in some neutral oil enough to submerge the nuggets.
- If baking, place nuggets on a lined baking tray. Brush nuggets with some oil and then bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown, flip halfway through cooking.
- If frying, place the nuggets in the pan once the oil is hot. They should immediately sizzle.
- Fry for 7-8 minutes over medium heat until golden brown on each side.
- Enjoy while hot with some spicy barbecue sauce (recipe below) or your favourite dipping sauce!
Make-ahead, Storage, and Freezing Tips for Nuggets:
- Cook all the nuggets beforehand. You can freeze them in a freezer-safe container.Reheat from frozen: You can place yours in an oven toaster and heat for 10-12 minutes at 350F until crispy!
Notes
FLOUR
- Feel free to use other flour of choice. The flour here is for binding so any would work well. I do find that oat flour/almond flour adds a little bit more texture compared to regular all purpose flour so I preferred to use oat flour instead.
- Add more flour, if needed: Scoop some of the mixture and shape into a bowl and into your shape of choice. It should hold up well. If the mixture is a bit too wet and doesn’t hold up well/easily falls apart, feel free to add 1-2 tbsp more flour to absorb excess moisture from the potatoes/tofu to have a firmer mixture.
NUTRITIONAL INFO
You can pin these images:
#tofu #baked #tofurecipe #manila #philippines #vegan #veganrecipe #easyrecipe #plantbased #plantbasedrecipe #easyveganrecipe #easyrecipe #nuggets #easyvegan
This Post Has 7 Comments
wow! I am amazed at how well this recipe turned out. so yummy.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Phaedra 🙂
Oh looking at and reading this recipe made my stomach growl fiercely! ?
Me for like half an hr with fibromyalgia brain fog….. and what do we do with the milk and flour mix!!!!!! I’m hopeful that I’m dipping the nuggets into that and then putting it in the oven or frying it….. I’ll let ya all know if this works!
Hi Amanda, sorry about that! I’ve edited the recipe. It should just be mixed along with the rest of the nugget mixture and acts as the binder ◡̈
I love this recipe!!!! I’ve made it twice and it’s worked amazingly! Plus, everyone at home also loves it. Thank you❤️
Thank you Lo! Glad you loved this ◡̈ thanks also for trying it out!!