Crunchy Tofu Dunkers – GF, Vegan

Where my plant-based gluten-free peeps at?! This is seriously one of the easiest and fun recipes I’ve ever made. There’s just something about a crunchy tender. I decided to call these tofu tenders dunkers because of the way they’re cut. They’re rectangle shape is perfect for dunking into a delicious honey mustard.

This recipe is flavor loaded thanks to a variety of spice. I used a spice mix from Trader Joe’s, keep reading for alternatives. I tested this plant based recipe twice. Both times the dunkers came out amazing despite the tweaks.

This plant-based tofu recipe is gluten-free, oil-free, dairy-free (duh, it’s vegan). There is a vegetarian option over vegan that packs in a little but more animal protein.

What You’ll Need

Organic Extra Firm Tofu – I purchased my tofu at Whole Foods but any extra firm tofu will work. I also tried the recipe with firm tofu and the diners held but nicely. You’ll need to draw out as much water as possible from the tofu and I find it easier to do in with the extra firm tofu block.

Low Sodium Vegetable Stock – you’ll need the veggie stock to create your vegan egg which will act as the binder in this recipe. Water work as well, but stock will boost flavor.

Ground Flax Seed – the star of our vegan egg. It’s amazing how versatile flax seeds can be! When mixed with water they form a gel that works as an egg substitute in almost any recipe. 1 tablespoon of ground flax + 3 tablespoons of water = 1 vegan egg. *If you are not strictly vegan you can sub this for egg whites.

Simple Mill’s Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Almond Flour Crackers – When this crackers are place in a food processor you end up with an amazing almond flour mixture for coating. I opt for the blended crackers as they are well seasoned and save me a couple extra minutes in the kitchen. Any flavor of the simple mill’s crackers will work in the recipe. If you do not have access to these you can create your own gluten-free flour mixture with a base of almond flour.

Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Rice Crumbs – these rice crumbs will work to bread your tofu, you can also substitute for any gluten-free flour or other breadcrumbs if you are not gluten-free.

Nutritional Yeast – aka vegan cheese. I love nutritional yeast for it’s delicious cheesy flavor AND it’s boots of B vitamins. B vitamin = energy!

Trader Joe’s Italian Style Soffritto Seasoning Blend – if you have access to this product then you’re good to go! This blend consist of dried minced onion, tomato flakes, sea salt, dried minced garlic, crushed chili peppers, parsley flakes, crushed red pepper, dried rosemary, sage leaves. If you don’t have the soffritto blend create your own blend with similar ingredients to the one above. Remember tofu is bland so the key to making this recipe tasty is flavoring the outside.

Chives – I love incorporating chives in my recipe. I once read chives are cousins to garlic and onions. Staple spices in my kitchen so were throwing them in this mix.

Tofu Dunkers – GF, Vegan

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• Author: Darlene Regueiro
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 2 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

Hearty tofu tender crusted in a crunchy almond flour coating perfect for dunking in any sauce. These tofu dunkers are gluten free and full of plant-based protein. 

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Ingredients

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• 1 16 oz Organic Extra Firm Tofu Block
• 1/4 Cup Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Rice Crumbs
• 1 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed
• 1/2 a Box Simple Mill’s Sun-dried Tomato & Basil Almond Flour Crackers
• 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• 1–2 Tbsp* Trader Joe’s Italian Style Soffritto Seasoning Blend
• 2 Tbsp Dried Chives
• 3–5 Tbsp Low Sodium Vegetable Stock or Water

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Instructions

1. Start by pre-heating your air fryer just as you would your oven to 360F.
2. Drain all liquid from tofu package, remove tofu block from packing and give a gentle squeeze to remove more of the liquid. Wrap your tofu in a felt free kitchen cloth or paper towel and keep squeezing out liquid. *Be gentle as you do not want to crack the block of tofu.
3. Slice your tofu into ½ in thick slices.*You want to cut the tofu so that the slice are shorter in length, but wider. It’s okay if you cut the other way.
4. Assemble and prep your flax egg mixture. Start by placing 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed in a bowl and add 3 tablespoons of liquid (I like using veggie stock for this recipe, water is fine). Give it a whip and set the mixture aside to thicken for 3-5 minutes. Add ~ 2 more tablespoons of liquid to the mixture and give it another whip. *Keep a fork in this bowl*
5. In a food processor, blend ½ a box of the simple mills crackers along with your nutritional yeast, chives, and soffritto blend until you have a coarse flour consistency. Add this mixture to a clean bowl. *Keep another clean fork in this bowl*
6. Roughly coat your tofu slices in the rice flakes or flour of choice.
7. Place a tofu slice in your egg mixture and cover evenly on all sides. Use the fork to lift and transfer the tofu slice to the next bowl of flour coating. *Let some of the flax mixture drip before coating in the outer layer.*
8. Evenly coat tofu slice on all side using the almond cracker mixture, feel free to use your hands to press the coating onto the tofu slice *might get a little messy*. Gently place slice in air fryer basket.
9. Repeat steps 7-8 for each slice (should be about 7 slice of tofu).
10. Cook on 360F for a total of 12 minutes. *Optional to flip each slice halfway for an even crunch, but not necessary. If you like your dunkers extra crunchy turn up to 375F for the last 2 minutes of cooking.
11. Enjoy these as you would any tenders! Great in a salad or with a side of veggie fries! Pairs perfectly with honey mustard.

Notes

The Trader Joe’s Italian Style Soffritto Seasoning Blend will contribute most of the flavor to this recipe. Please note it is very salty – depending on your taste buds you will add either 1 OR 2 tablespoons. 

• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 10
• Category: Main
• Method: Air Fryer