These vegan Buffalo Tofu Nuggets are so crispy and delicious, they will be your go-to nugget recipe for game day or when you want to spice up your meals and snacks!
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a baking tray with oil or line it with parchment paper.
Pat the tofu dry with a paper towel. Chop or break the tofu into irregular-shaped bite-sized pieces to resemble nugget shapes (or simply cut into cubes, if you want).
Prepare three separate bowls: Bowl 1: ⅓ cup cornstarch.Bowl 2: ¼ cup non-dairy milk + 2 tablespoons cornstarch + 1 teaspoon paprika + 1 teaspoon garlic powder + ½ teaspoon salt. Whisk together to dissolve the cornstarch.Bowl 3: 1 cup panko breadcrumbs + 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Mix well.
Coat each piece of tofu with cornstarch, then with the milk mixture, and finally with the panko mixture. Make sure to cover tofu evenly in each layer to get crispy nuggets!
Place the nuggets on the prepared baking tray. Spray them with oil - this will help get the nuggets nice and golden as they bake.
Bake the nuggets at 400F for about 20 minutes, or until they get golden and crispy. You can flip the nuggets halfway, if you want to, but I don't find it necessary.
Make the Buffalo sauce while the nuggets are baking:
In a medium-large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir to combine.
When the nuggets are baked, place them in a large bowl and toss them with the vegan buffalo sauce. Or simply dip them into the sauce to serve.
Notes
Serve these nuggets with vegan ranch to dip, or mix together vegan mayo and vegan ketchup. These nuggets are great on salads, in tacos, and on pizza.Recipe variations and tips→ You can skip the Worcestershire sauce if you don't have any, but it's such a great sauce to have on hand to flavor so many recipes!→ You can use tapioca starch, wheat starch, or rice starch in place of cornstarch, if you prefer.→ To make this recipe gluten-free, you can replace panko flour with almond flour or with gluten-free panko breadcrumbs. The nuggets won't be as crispy if you use almond flour, but they will still be delicious!→ If you want the buffalo sauce to be spicier, you can use less butter and more hot sauce, or simply add a few pinches of cayenne pepper to the sauce if you prefer to keep the same buttery-ness but just want more heat.→ For a richer buffalo flavor, you can make the buffalo sauce before making the nuggets, and dip the cornstarch-coated nuggets into buffalo sauce instead of the milk mixture. You just need to get the nuggets wet so the panko breadcrumbs will stick to them! For extra spice, you can dip the nuggets into straight-up hot sauce. → You can pan-fry or deep fry the nuggets if you prefer, instead of baking.