Your kids are home, my kid is home. Let’s make them(and you) some vegan popcorn “chicken.” These crispy tofu nuggets are my daughter’s absolute favorite things. Served with 3 dipping sauces, that make these amazing for adults to. Thai chili ketchup, roasted garlic and rosemary aioli and a vegan copycat Chick-fil-a sauce! They are all truly delicious. These little crispy nuggets are so easy to make and take no time at all. The only problem is, you’ll be sad when they are gone!
What You Need To Make These Golden, Crispy Nuggets:
- Extra Firm Tofu: You freeze the tofu and thaw it and press it. This makes the perfect texture to mimic chicken.
- Flour: To coat the tofu.
- Non-dairy Milk, Apple Cider Vinegar and Mustard: Whisked together to make a buttermilk substitute.
- Panko: For the final coating to make them nice and crispy.
- Garlic and Salt: Are simple seasonings that make these nuggets taste amazing.
- Oil: For frying. I like to use vegetable oil.
- Ketchup, Sugar, Rice Wine Vinegar, Chili Flakes and Garlic: To make the Thai chili ketchup.
- Agave Syrup, Mustard, BBQ Sauce, Vinegar, and Vegan Mayo: To make the copycat Chick-fil-a sauce.
- Garlic, Olive Oil, Vegan Mayo, Lemon Juice, Vegan Parmesan, Dijon, and Rosemary: To make roasted garlic rosemary aioli.
These sauces, man, oh man. I’m not sure which one I love more. However, these vegan popcorn “chicken” nuggets are so dang good, they are perfect by themselves, or with ketchup. That is my daughter’s preference, she just loves some good old ketchup. They are great and fast enough for lunch. And , they are high in protein and can be served with some veggies for a great easy dinner! You will probably find yourself with tofu in the freezer, ready to go, from now on!
Why Should You Make These Tofu Bites?
- Crispy, crunchy, salty goodness.
- Alllll the dipping sauces.
- They only take a few minutes to cook!
- Kids can help make this recipe.
- They are the best thing ever!
Vegan Popcorn "Chicken"
Crispy golden "chicken" nuggets served with 3 dipping sauces!
Ingredients
- 1 Block(15oz) Extra firm tofu, frozen and thawed
- 1 Cup Non-dairy milk, unsweetened I used soy milk
- 1 teaspoon Apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Mustard, I used Dijon
- 1/3 Cup All purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Panko bread crumbs, vegan
- Vegetable oil for frying
Thai Chili Ketchup
- 1/2 Cup Ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons Cane sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Chili flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
Copycat Chick-fil-a Sauce
- 3/4 Cup Vegan mayo, I used Follow your Heart
- 1/4 Cup BBQ sauce of choice, vegan
- 1/4 Cup Agave syrup
- 2 Tablespoons Yellow mustard
- 1 Tablespoon White vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Roasted Garlic Rosemary Aioli
- 2 Heads Garlic
- 2 teaspoons Olive oil
- 1 Cup Vegan mayo
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Vegan Parmesan, I used Follow Your Heart
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, chopped
- Pinch of Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Freeze the whole block of tofu(still in package). Once it is completely frozen, thaw the tofu. You can do this the day before or morning of.
- Now, press the tofu*. Once you have pressed the tofu, break the block of tofu into nugget sized pieces. Set aside.
- Then, take 3 mixing bowls. In the first one, whisk together the non-dairy milk, vinegar and mustard. In the second one, whisk together the flour, garlic and salt. In the third one, add the panko.
- Dip each piece of tofu into the non-dairy milk mixture, then into the flour coating completely, then back into the non-dairy milk, and then into the panko. Pressing the panko on all of the piece of tofu.
- Repeat with all the tofu. I do a few pieces at a time to speed up the process. Set all the coated tofu on a plate.
- Now heat about 1-1/2 inches of oil in a medium sized sauce pan. It should be enough oil to almost submerge the tofu. Heat on medium high until it gets to about 350 degrees(F). There should be small bubbles forming. Reduce heat as needed.
- Add about 4-5 pieces of tofu at once and fry until completely golden brown, about 2-4 minutes each. Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle with extra salt. Repeat with all the tofu. Serve immediately.
- If making the Thai chili ketchup, whisk all the ingredients together and put in the fridge for at least an hour to let the flavors marry.
- If making the Chick-fil-a sauce, whisk all the ingredients together until fully combined. You can serve this one immediately.
- If making the roasted garlic rosemary aioli, you need to first roasted the garlic. Cut the top of the bulbs of garlic off to expose the garlic. Drizzle each bulb with a teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap them in foil and then roast at 450 degrees(F) for 40-45 minutes or until super soft and brown.
- Squeeze the roasted garlic into a small mixing bowl and smash it. Then whisk in the vegan mayo making sure the garlic is mixed evenly throughout. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. You can serve this immediately.
Notes
* If you need more information on how to press tofu, check out my HOW TO COOK TOFU guide.
Nutrition
Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 1492mg | Potassium: 336mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 573IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 184mg | Iron: 2mg
Hi Lauren, do you drain the liquid from the package before freezing the block of tofu? Or literally freeze the entire sealed package? Thanks!
Freeze tofu in package. We’ve added it to the instructions too. Thank you!
I accidentally froze the tofu without the package or the liquid. I put it into a glass dish and froze it. I worked out just fine!
I just tried this recipe and it is outstanding! This vegan popcorn chicken is incredible and I can’t get enough of them
W try and use very little oil. Would this work if cooked in very hot pan with vegan butter?
Have you tried these in an air fryer?
Do you freeze the tofu in the package of water (ie pop it in straight from store container into freezer) or drain first and then freeze?
Great question! Freeze tofu in package. We’ve added it to the instructions too. Thank you!
I would love guidance on baking these in the oven instead of frying them in a skillet.
Absolutely love these! I didn’t have some of the sauce ingredients so I made a gochujang (korean red pepper paste) ketchup dipping sauce instead. I’m pretty sure you could make these in the oven easily too. Just toss them on a baking sheet (with a wire rack on it, which mimics an air fryer) and maybe spray with cooking oil before you bake them. My mom does this with her egg rolls instead of frying them.
What happens if I don’t freeze the tofu? I’m dystopian try this tonight
Dying to try. Not dystopian
It will just have a regular tofu texture which would still be great!
absolutely delicious! Everyone in the family loves these!
I have one vegan child and one who would only eat chicken and hot dogs if she had her way. This was the first time in maybe a year that everyone at the same foods for dinner. Amazing!!!
We absolutely LOVE this!
Looks delish! Could these be made in the air fryer if they were sprayed with a little oil?