You are going to love this crispy breaded tofu!  If you’re sick of the same old baked or stir-fried tofu and want more texture and flavor in your tofu, you have to give this a try!  The tofu coating is super versatile and can be made with panko bread crumbs, crackers, stuffing, corn chips, or even cornmeal, plus your choice of herbs and spices to give it a flavorful crunch.

Baked breaded tofu slices on a cookie sheet.

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You’ll love this recipe

  • it’s easily made gluten-free.
  • bursting with flavor.
  • crunchy comfort food.
  • kid-friendly.
  • a protein-packed meal that the whole family will love.

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Tofu – extra firm or the super firm high protein type works the best. You can also make this recipe soy-free, by using chickpea tofu instead of soy-based tofu.
  • Soy Sauce – or Tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos for flavor and to moisten the tofu and help the coating stick. (You can also marinate the tofu before you bread it if you choose. Use one of my tofu marinades in place of the soy sauce.)
  • Bread Crumbs – You can also crumble and use any of the following:
    • crackers (any vegan cracker will work)
    • a vegan stuffing (like Pepperidge Farm’s cornbread stuffing mix).
    • corn flakes (GF)
    • corn chips (GF)
    • Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos
    • cornmeal. (GF)
    • *I have used all of these choices many times and I can’t say which is best.  They all make a great coating for the tofu, so I just use what I have. 
  • Flour – you can use white, whole wheat, or gluten-free flour mix.  This helps create a coating that sticks to the tofu and crisps up when cooked.
  • Corn Starch – to help the breading be extra crispy.  (optional)
  • Nutritional Yeast – for flavor.  Optional, but recommended.
  • Spices – this can vary depending on the flavor that you want to achieve.  I like to use poultry seasoning for a chicken nugget-flavored tofu or Italian seasoning if I’m serving it with pasta or something Italian-flavored.  I also like to use Tony Chachere’s for a spicy creole-flavored tofu.  
  • Salt – for flavor.  (You may want to reduce or omit if your spices already have salt in them).

How to make breaded tofu

Step 1 – Drain and press a block of tofu getting out as much liquid as possible.

Step 2 – Mix together breading ingredients on a plate or shallow dish.

Step 3 – Sprinkle tofu with some soy sauce or equivalent. (You want the tofu to be moist so the breading will stick to it.)

A slice of tofu being coated in a breading before cooking.

Step 4 – Place the tofu in the breading and press down a little to make the coating stick to the tofu.

Step 5 – Flip over and coat the other side with the breading.

*Now you have 2 choices to cook your tofu baking or Pan Frying.

Baking breaded tofu

  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F (204° C).
  2. Spread about 2 tbsp of oil on the bottom of a cookie sheet.
  3. Place the breaded tofu on the cookie sheet and bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes.
  4. After 20 minutes, take it out of the oven and flip with a spatula. 
  5. Bake for an additional 20 minutes on the other side.

Pan-frying breaded tofu

  1. Place 2 tbsp of oil in the bottom of a skillet. (I highly recommend using an iron skillet for tofu.  It always cooks perfectly and never sticks to my iron skillet).
  2. Place the coated tofu in the frying pan and turn the heat to medium-high.
  3. Cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and crunchy.
Slices of golden brown breaded tofu on a cookie sheet.

How to make it gluten-free

If you need this to be gluten-free, simply use gluten-free panko, cracker, corn chips, or cornmeal instead of the bread crumbs made from wheat.  Also, make sure to use a gluten-free flour mix instead of regular wheat flour.

Pieces of golden brown breaded tofu on a cookie sheet after baking.

What to serve with breaded tofu

Serve this tofu hot along with pasta like silken tofu pasta, vegan piccata, creamy veggie pasta, or broccolini pasta. You can also serve it with a rice dish like artichoke pilaf, Thai coconut rice, or vegan Mexican rice. Breaded tofu also goes perfectly with potato dishes like vegan potato bake, twice-baked potatoes, or chickpea potato curry.

More tofu recipes

We love tofu and make it many times a week. I have more than 50 recipes on my site that use tofu! You can check them out in my tofu recipes section of the blog. Here are a few of our favorites.

A close up of breaded tofu cut into rectangles and baked.
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5 from 32 rating

Breaded Tofu – Baked or Pan-Fried

Yield: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Bakingn Time:: 40 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
A delicious, easy way to make flavorful breaded tofu.
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Ingredients

For the Breading

  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, or crumbled cracker, vegan stuffing, corn chips, cornmeal, or corn flakes cereal to give the breading texture.
  • 1/4 cup flour, wheat, whole wheat, or gluten-free flour mix works well.
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch, (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning, or Italian seasoning or any other dried herb mix of choice.
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For cooking the tofu

  • 2 tablespoon canola oil , or light olive oil

Instructions
 

Preparing the Tofu:

  • Drain and press a block of tofu, getting out as much liquid as possible. Then slice it into 1/4 inch thick slices.
  • Mix together breading ingredients on a plate or shallow dish.
  • Sprinkle tofu with some Bragg's Liquid Aminos or soy sauce or equivalent.
  • Place the tofu in the breading and press down a little to make the coating stick to the tofu.
  • Flip over and coat the other side.

Cooking the tofu:  (You have 2 choices, baking or Pan Frying)

    Baking the breaded tofu

    • Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
    • Spread about 2 tbsp of oil on the bottom of a cookie sheet.
    • Place the breaded tofu on the cookie sheet and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 20 minutes.
    • After 20 minutes, take out of the oven and flip with a spatula.
    • Bake for an addtional 20 minutes on the other side.

    Pan-frying the breaded tofu

    • Place 2 tbsp of oil in the bottom of a skillet. (I highly recommend using an iron skillet for tofu.  It always cooks perfectly and never sticks to my iron skillet).
    • Place the coated tofu in the frying pan and turn heat to medium-high.
    • Cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and crunchy.
    Serving: 3.5oz, Calories: 181kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 918mg, Potassium: 205mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 20IU, Calcium: 57mg, Iron: 2.1mg
    Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!

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