Air Fryer Tofu
Temperature
400°F
200°C
Time
12 min
1 block
Heat through to
Piping hot
cooked right through
Prep
15 min
Cook
12 min
Total
27 min
Getting tofu crisp without deep-frying is tricky on the stove, but the air fryer manages it. Press out the water, toss the cubes in a little oil and cornstarch, and they come out chewy and golden and hold a sauce well.
Ingredients
Quantities for 1 block - the times on this page assume that much in the basket.
- 1 block (400g) firm tofu, pressed and cubed
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp honey, warmed together and tossed through at the end
- 1 tsp sesame seeds, to finish
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced, to finish
How to air fry tofu
- Press the tofu for at least ten minutes to force the water out, then cube it and toss the cubes in the cornstarch, oil and garlic powder - the cornstarch is what gives it a crust. Keep the soy and honey back: glaze it before cooking and the sugar burns while the coating goes soft.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C).
- Add the fresh tofu to the basket. Keep the cubes in a single layer.
- Cook for about 12 minutes, shaking the basket two or three times.
Pro tip
Press the tofu to remove water before seasoning.
How to tell when it's done
It's ready when the cubes are firm, golden and crisp on a few sides - shake the basket a couple of times so they don't fuse together. There's no safety temperature for tofu; it's all about texture.
Converting from an oven recipe
If your recipe is written for a conventional oven, lower the temperature by about 25°F (15°C) and reduce the time by roughly 20% to land near 400°F for 12 minutes. Need a different starting point? Use the conversion calculator.
Air fryer tofu: FAQ
What kind of tofu is best for the air fryer?
Firm or extra-firm, and it is worth knowing why the softer grades are not just second-best but unusable here. How firm a block is gets decided at the factory, by how much water was pressed out before it set: extra-firm is a dense protein network holding relatively little loose water, while silken is barely coagulated and is mostly water suspended in a fragile gel. The air fryer crisps tofu by driving surface water off quickly, and silken has far too much of it and far too little structure - it slumps, sticks and never forms a shell. The part that catches people out is that you cannot press a soft block into a firm one to get round buying the right kind. Pressing only squeezes out the free water sitting in the sponge, and silken tofu's water is bound up in the gel itself rather than sitting loose, so pressing just crushes it to paste. Buy the firmness you need rather than trying to make it - extra-firm, pressed for ten minutes to drive off the last of the loose water, is the floor below which there is no cube left to crisp.
How long does it take to air fry tofu?
Air fry tofu at 400°F (200°C) for about 12 minutes, shaking the basket two or three times. That's for 1 block in a single layer; adjust slightly for a fuller basket or a different model.
What temperature do you air fry tofu at?
Set the air fryer to 400°F (200°C). If you're converting an oven recipe, that's roughly 25°F (15°C) below the oven temperature, with the time cut by about 20%.
Do I need to preheat the air fryer for tofu?
A 2-3 minute preheat gives the most accurate timing and the best browning, but it isn't essential - if you skip it, add a minute or two to the cook time.