Vegan Baked Tofu Bites Chicken-Style (oil free Nugget Recipe)

These vegan tofu bites seasoned with homemade vegan chicken bouillon powder are incredibly delicious and crispy on the outside. These plant based chicken “nuggets” are great as your next salad topping or simply as a snack.

These protein-rich Chicken Style Tofu Bites are not only vegetarian, but also gluten-free and oil-free.

You can serve these tofu cubes with your next salad like with this Cobb salad or Caesar Salad or simply as a side dish to your next Macro Bowl, Grain Bowl or Buddha Bowl.

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Jump to:

• Ingredients List
• Substitutions
• Variations
• How to make healthy baked tofu nuggets
• Recommended equipment
• Serving Options
• Storage
• Tips
• Best Tofu Recipes
• 📖 Recipe

If you are into tofu, then you should definitely try this version, which is packed with flavor. They can be prepared within a few minutes and are ideal for your meal prep.

My homemade chicken bouillon powder made with garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast and typical poultry herbs add a taste of chicken nuggets. Even tofu skeptics will enjoy it.

The extra firm tofu has a nice meaty texture, especially when first frozen. No added sugar or maple syrup. You will get easy baked tofu nuggets (bites) without bread crumbs that will only take like 10 minutes to prepare.

I would like to show you how to make these tofu chicken nuggets and give you a few tips and tricks for preparing them.

Ingredients List

Now let's take a look at which ingredients you need for these great and quick tofu bites, you will see that you will not need much. 

Maybe, like me, you always have some homemade bouillon powder in stock, then it will be even faster.

The exact quantities can be found below in the recipe card.

block of Tofu, extra firm

Vegan Chicken Broth Powder

Aquafaba (dripping water from chickpeas)

Cornstarch

Substitutions

You can of course also make substitutions. Here I would like to show you a few examples of how you can exchange which ingredients.

Tofu

If you don't want to use tofu. Then you can also use chickpeas or chickpea tofu.

Chickpea tofu is easy to make yourself.

For this you need:

1.5 cups (150 g) chickpea flour

1 ¼ cup (300 ml) water

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder

1 pinch of turmeric

Put half of the water (150ml) in a pot and bring it to a boil.

Now mix the remaining ingredients with the remaining water in a mixing bowl.

Now add the chickpea mixture to the hot water and let it simmer on a low level while stirring constantly. Approx. 7 minutes.

Now put the mass in a rectangular shape or in another. Smooth out the mixture. It is better to leave it in the refrigerator overnight but at least 2 hours.

Chicken Broth Powder

You can either use the homemade chicken stock powder like me. Or you can use a poultry seasoning mix.

I like it best with the broth powder. It gives such a great taste.

Aquafaba

If you don't have any aquafaba, you can also use water. If you are not following an oil-free diet, you can use oil here as well.

Cornstarch

If you don't want to use corn starch, you can also use arrowroot flour here.

Variations

Here I would like to show other diets such as gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free and show you which adjustments are necessary to make the Chicken Tofu Bites.

Gluten free

This recipe is already gluten-free. If you want to be on the safe side now, look for a tofu that is gluten-free certified.

Soy free

If you make tofu from chickpea flour, you can use this and your tofu is soy-free.

Nut free

No adjustments are required here. The recipe is already nut free.

How to make healthy baked tofu nuggets

First, you press tofu and cut it in small pieces. Season pressed and sliced ​​tofu. I usually prepare cubes of tofu in the freezer. This gives the tofu the best texture.

In a small bowl, add aquafaba and powdered chicken stock and stir vigorously.

Add the tofu and stir with your hands until the seasoning is on each cube of tofu. Add the cornstarch and mix with your hands as well.

Let it sit for 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celisius). Spread the vegan chicken nuggets in even layer on a with parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Bake the tofu for about 30 minutes. The tofu should be crispy on the outside. Depending on that, it can take a little longer.

Freeze tofu

Freezing the tofu is optional. I think the tofu has such a great consistency. You can press the tofu block, cut it into cubes, and then freeze it.

Or freeze and thaw the whole block and then press it out. Both variants give a great texture.

If you cut it first and then freeze it, I recommend that you drain the tofu with a clean tea towel or paper towel after it has thawed to get excess water out.

Prepare in advance

You can also prepare the tofu in advance and marinate in the refrigerator overnight and then bake it just before serving.

You can also finish it off completely and then store it in the refrigerator for a few days.

Recommended equipment

Here I show you what I used for the recipe.

Tofu Press

Knife

Boards

Silicone Baking Mat

Mixing Bowl

Serving Options

You can eat these crispy baked tofu nuggets either as a vegan protein-rich snack, what makes it the perfect snack.

Or serve as follows:

Cobb salad, Caesar salad or any other salad

Side dishes for, for example, pasta with vodka sauce, carbonara, or lemon pasta

Appetizers platter with vegan smoked salmon

Dips:

Vegan Ranch

Vegan Russian Dressing

Storage

Of course, you can save leftovers of the vegan tofu nuggets

.

How to refrigerate it?

The marinated tofu can be kept in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Make sure to put this in an airtight container.

How to freeze it?

You can freeze the tofu and then bake it again before serving. This tastes like freshly baked.

How to warm up?

Here I recommend heating it in the oven or in a pan. So it stays crispy on the outside.

Tips

The longer the tofu marinates, the more flavor the tofu absorbs. Therefore, you can marinate the tofu in the refrigerator overnight. So you even have less work during the day.

You can use the roast function in the oven to make it incredibly crispy on the outside. If you don't have a roast function, I recommend a convection setting.

Best Tofu Recipes

Scrambled Eggs with Tofu

Feta

Grill Tofu Skewers

Egg Salad

Chop Suey

Pad Thai

Lasagne

Chocolate Pie

Fried Egg

Onion Cake

Tofu Sweet and Sour

Have you tried the recipe?

If you tried the vegan Recipe, be so nice ♥ and let me know by rating the recipe and writing what you think about it in the comments.  I would love to see your photo on Instagram or Facebook. To do this tag me with @veeatcookbake and my hashtag is #veeatcookbake. So that I can see your creation. Did you know you can add photos on Pinterest under the recipe Pin? I can’t wait to see a photo of your creation there. You find me with @veeatcookbake.