How to make crispy, gluten free air fryer tofu for meal prep, salads, and bowls – only two ingredients needed!
I love crispy pan-fried tofu – it’s the texture difference between the crisp outer shell and tender insides. Sometimes I’ll crisp up a block of tofu and leave it in the fridge as meal prep. The tofu cubes taste great on salads, with noodles, or as little nugget snacks. But, as much as I love crispy tofu, sometimes I don’t have time to meticulously fry all six sides of a tofu cube.
Enter: the air fryer. I kept it super simple, just tofu and the tiniest bit of oil. I like to leave it plain and unseasoned so that it can take on the flavors of whatever I’m using it in, but feel free to add a bit of salt and pepper if that’s what you dig. It’s a simple process: drain your tofu, pat it dry with paper towels, cut it into cubes, lightly mist or coat with oil, then pop it into your air fryer at 400°F. Halfway through cooking, give it a shake and flip and boom! Instant crispy tofu cubes.

Oh, they do this weird thing when they get heated up where they look puffy like little tofu pillows. Don’t worry, that’s completely normal and they’ll de-puff after cooling down.

Ingredients
For the curry
1x 300g block of firm tofu
1x 400g can of chickpeas, drained
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
4 tablespoons of ground almonds
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
1x 400g can of coconut milk
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
Pinch of salt
For the curry paste
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of coconut milk (preferably from the top of a can)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 tablespoon of almond butter
Pinch of salt
method
Make the curry paste by placing all of the ingredients into a powerful blender and blending until a smooth paste forms.
Place a pan over a medium heat and add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Once warm, add the onion, garlic, cumin seeds, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and cook for 5-10 minutes until soft.
Mix through the curry paste and cook for another 5 minutes, before adding the ground almonds and coconut milk. Mix well and leave to cook for 10-15 minutes until creamy and thick.
While the curry sauce is cooking, drain the tofu and pat it dry using a paper towel. Cut the tofu into small, bite-sized chunks and add to the curry, along with the drained chickpeas.
Mix everything well and cook for another 5-10 minutes over the heat to warm everything through.

If you’re new to tofu, let me introduce you! In internet, whole recipes about how to cook it that will officially make you to a tofu-lover.

And from there, you can enter the big wide world of delicious tofu with my favorite recipes:

Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps (a top POY recipe!)
Mind-Blowing Vegan Chocolate Pie (yes, a PIE)
Spicy Sesame Zoodles with Crispy Tofu (crispy = yes)
Spicy Sofritas Tofu (like Chipotle but better)
Coconut Curry Ramen (sweet, stick, delicious tofu)

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
This recipe was inspired from the Crunch Bowl that I had at a little strip mall place called Aloha Poke! Which was inspired from an American fan-favorite – the crunchy roll. Crunchy rolls usually contain tempura shrimp, avocado, and “crunchies” which are fried tempura flakes – in general this is a far cry from traditional Japanese sushi, but they have their own wonderful qualities such as usually containing no raw fish and being just really fun and delicious to eat. Personally… I love them, and I love having the option to now eat them in bowl form at home!
Crunchy Roll Bowls! A block of tofu, nicely browned in teriyaki sauce, served on a bed of sticky rice with edamame, cucumber, avocado, jalapeño, and a handful of crushed-up crunchy onions, buried under a thick drizzle of extra teriyaki and spicy mayo.

1 block extra firm tofu
1 cup rice, uncooked
2 cups frozen shelled edamame
1 cucumber, finely diced
1 avocado, cut into chunks or slices
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
swish of neutral oil
1/2 cup teriyaki or savory-sweet Asian-inspired sauce (I used the store-bought Soy Vay brand – you could also make your own)
1/2 cup crunchy fried onions, crushed
spicy mayo (see notes)
Prep the tofu: Press the water out of the tofu.
Make the rice: Cook rice according to package directions.
Prep the edamame: Cook edamame according to package directions.
Cook the tofu: Cut the tofu into cubes. Heat a little oil over medium high heat. Add the tofu and fry until golden brown. Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of sauce – just enough to coat the tofu – and stir fry again until golden brown.
Serve: Assemble bowls with rice, tofu, more teriyaki sauce, edamame, cucumber, crunchy onions, and spicy mayo.
NOTES
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love!

To make spicy mayo: Mix 2-3 tablespoons sriracha with 1/4-1/2 cup mayo. Adjust ratios on personal preference!

Sofritas Tofu: Heat oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add tofu and break apart into crumbles. Add taco seasoning, salt, chipotles, and salsa. Get it all going in the pan, nice and hot. Finish by letting everything sit without stirring for another 10+ minutes (adding oil to prevent sticking as needed) until you get some nice browned, almost-crunchy pieces.

I’m loaded to obscenity with browned sofritas tofu, black beans, cashew queso, crispy tostada, tangy marinated cabbage, tomatoes, avocado, and I’m wrapped in a golden brown, perfectly crispy, handheld-friendly tortilla pocket. Roasted sweet potatoes? Chipotle cauliflower? I will wrap all of it up in a Crunchwrappy hug and you will not be sad at dinnertime. I am here to make you happy.

But I’m also a blank canvas. You have some cauliflower walnut taco meat laying around? Roasted sweet potatoes? Chipotle cauliflower? I will wrap all of it up in a Crunchwrappy hug and you will not be sad at dinnertime.
(This is me now. Not me-as-Crunchwrap. Thank you for understanding.)

1 block extra firm tofu
1 cup rice, uncooked
2 cups frozen shelled edamame
1 cucumber, finely diced
1 avocado, cut into chunks or slices
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
swish of neutral oil
1/2 cup teriyaki or savory-sweet Asian-inspired sauce (I used the store-bought Soy Vay brand – you could also make your own)
1/2 cup crunchy fried onions, crushed
spicy mayo (see notes)
Prep the tofu: Press the water out of the tofu.
Make the rice: Cook rice according to package directions.
Prep the edamame: Cook edamame according to package directions.
Cook the tofu: Cut the tofu into cubes. Heat a little oil over medium high heat. Add the tofu and fry until golden brown. Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of sauce – just enough to coat the tofu – and stir fry again until golden brown.
Serve: Assemble bowls with rice, tofu, more teriyaki sauce, edamame, cucumber, crunchy onions, and spicy mayo.
NOTES
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love!

To make spicy mayo: Mix 2-3 tablespoons sriracha with 1/4-1/2 cup mayo. Adjust ratios on personal preference!

If you’re new to tofu, let me introduce you! In internet, whole recipes about how to cook it that will officially make you to a tofu-lover.

And from there, you can enter the big wide world of delicious tofu with my favorite recipes:

Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps (a top POY recipe!)
Mind-Blowing Vegan Chocolate Pie (yes, a PIE)
Spicy Sesame Zoodles with Crispy Tofu (crispy = yes)
Spicy Sofritas Tofu (like Chipotle but better)
Coconut Curry Ramen (sweet, stick, delicious tofu)

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
This recipe was inspired from the Crunch Bowl that I had at a little strip mall place called Aloha Poke! Which was inspired from an American fan-favorite – the crunchy roll. Crunchy rolls usually contain tempura shrimp, avocado, and “crunchies” which are fried tempura flakes – in general this is a far cry from traditional Japanese sushi, but they have their own wonderful qualities such as usually containing no raw fish and being just really fun and delicious to eat. Personally… I love them, and I love having the option to now eat them in bowl form at home!
Crunchy Roll Bowls! A block of tofu, nicely browned in teriyaki sauce, served on a bed of sticky rice with edamame, cucumber, avocado, jalapeño, and a handful of crushed-up crunchy onions, buried under a thick drizzle of extra teriyaki and spicy mayo.

How to make crispy, gluten free air fryer tofu for meal prep, salads, and bowls – only two ingredients needed!
I love crispy pan-fried tofu – it’s the texture difference between the crisp outer shell and tender insides. Sometimes I’ll crisp up a block of tofu and leave it in the fridge as meal prep. The tofu cubes taste great on salads, with noodles, or as little nugget snacks. But, as much as I love crispy tofu, sometimes I don’t have time to meticulously fry all six sides of a tofu cube.
Enter: the air fryer. I kept it super simple, just tofu and the tiniest bit of oil. I like to leave it plain and unseasoned so that it can take on the flavors of whatever I’m using it in, but feel free to add a bit of salt and pepper if that’s what you dig. It’s a simple process: drain your tofu, pat it dry with paper towels, cut it into cubes, lightly mist or coat with oil, then pop it into your air fryer at 400°F. Halfway through cooking, give it a shake and flip and boom! Instant crispy tofu cubes.

Oh, they do this weird thing when they get heated up where they look puffy like little tofu pillows. Don’t worry, that’s completely normal and they’ll de-puff after cooling down.