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My Air Fryer Buffalo Tofu is perfect for a bite-sized snack or to enjoy as a main course! This 3-ingredient recipe is quick, easy, and delicious!

When my husband is out of town, I try to keep my dinners simple. I tend to look in the fridge, see what I have, and try to create something without even having to go to the store. That’s how I came up with this delicious recipe.

Last week, while my husband was gone for a work trip, I looked in the fridge, and I had two-thirds of a block of tofu. That’s not enough to feed the entire family, but I knew it needed to be used.

I’ve been loving to air fry tofu lately. It’s easy to do and comes out crisp and firm. It’s a different kind of crisp than oil frying. Taste-wise I wouldn’t say I like one better than the other — but this way is less mess and less hassle!

So, I knew I was cooking tofu, and I knew I wanted to use the air fryer for cooking it, but I was trying to decide what to use as my seasoning. Usually, I just use dry spices. I was looking through the cupboard, and I just happened to have a bottle of Frank’s Red Hot Original, which sounded like a tasty option.

I whisked a little melted vegan butter into the hot sauce, tossed in the tofu, air fried it, tossed the tofu back in the sauce, and voilá! Delicious, air fried, buffalo tofu! To make it even better, my tofu was already pressed, so I had my main course ready in under 30 minutes!

That first time making this I didn’t measure anything. Plus, as I said, I only used a partial block of tofu. It turned out so good though that I wanted to share the recipe with you. Because of that, I made it again this week, with a whole block of tofu, and I wrote down amounts and exact times as I went.

Both times, I cut the tofu in a very specific way, which may make a difference towards cooking times. After draining and pressing the tofu, I sliced it down the middle lengthwise, before cutting it all into squares. Which way you cut the block won’t matter, so long as you end up with the same sizes, but keep in mind, my squares weren’t super thick. This will also make a difference if you choose to first marinate the tofu, as I did my second time around.

Though I didn’t feel my tofu needed improvement after the first time making it, for my second go I decided to marinate it first, because why not? Everything is better after marinating, right? I only let it sit for a half an hour, but I could taste the difference in the tofu, next time I’ll try an entire hour!

I did have to increase the amount of hot sauce/butter mixture to have enough for the tofu to marinate in (I also found a generic brand on sale for 99 cents, score!). I wanted to make sure it would all be covered well when sitting in a dish (at least halfway, because I did flip it after half the time). All that to say, if you only decide to toss your tofu in the sauce, you only need to make half as much of the marinade.

The first time I made this, I whipped up some homemade ranch while my tofu was in the air fryer. If you choose to do the same, I’ve included the link to this delicious Vegan Ranch Dressing. If you decide to go the more simple route, I suggest Follow Your Heart’s Vegan Ranch, or their Vegan Bleu Cheese (because I know blue cheese dressing is more traditional, ranch dressing is just more standard for where I live). You’re of course welcome to use your own recipe or preferred brands, but I enjoy theirs a lot. My second time making this, I used their ranch dressing rather than making my own.

This tofu is delicious all on its own, and a dip isn’t necessarily even needed. If you’re like me, however, you’re quite saucy! Which means, bring on the dip! For people that don’t do spicy much, a dip also helps mellow out the bite. Though, I feel these have the perfect spiciness to where they aren’t over-the-top. If you want them with more bite you can try adding less butter, or I believe Frank’s offers a spicier variety as well.

As I said, this meal was quick, easy, and delicious, but I’d also like to add that I found it quite affordable as well. Tofu is cheap, I found the generic hot sauce on sale even cheaper, and the ranch I usually have the ingredients to make or a bottle already in the fridge. If you aren’t serving this as a main course, it’s now football season, and this makes the perfect appetizer/finger food for gatherings. For me, it’ll be basketball parties because that’s my sport and it’s now that season as well!

I hope you enjoy these as I do! If so, please leave a comment below, or take a pic and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis. Happy air frying!!!

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Air Fryer Buffalo Tofu

My Air Fryer Buffalo Tofu is perfect for a bite-sized snack or to enjoy as a main course! This 3-ingredient recipe is quick, easy, and delicious!

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Servings 2 main course servings

Author Tiffani Wells

Ingredients

• 1 block extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 1 cup Frank's Red Hot Original (or similar-style hot sauce) only half a cup is needed if you choose not to marinate the tofu
• 1/4 cup vegan butter, melted (ensure nut-free, if needed) only 2 Tbsp is needed if you choose not to marinate the tofu
• vegan ranch or blue cheese dressing (optional for dipping) make your own ranch, or I enjoy Follow Your Heart's Ranch as well as their Bleu Cheese

Instructions

• Cut the tofu into squares. I did 32 equal-sized squares. I did this by first slicing the tofu down the middle and then each piece three times across each side (making 4 x 4 squares). 
• Preheat the air fryer to 390ºF.
• Whisk together the hot sauce with the melted butter. You can either marinate the tofu in the hot sauce mixture for 30 – 60 minutes, flipping pieces over after half the time has passed (I used a smaller-sized baking dish for marinating), or you can simply toss the tofu in the sauce and air fry it without marinating. 
• Once the air fryer is preheated, spray the basket lightly with cooking oil (optional). Using tongs, carefully add the tofu to the air fryer basket (save the marinade). Air-fry for 20 – 30 minutes, removing the basket and shaking after 10 minutes, and then each additional 5 minutes after that. Check the tofu each time for desired crispness. Mine was perfect after 20 minutes. Note: If you air-fry the tofu for too long it will become too crunchy and turn to croutons. 
• Toss the tofu back into the hot sauce mixture and then transfer to a serving plate(s). If desired, serve alongside vegan ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping. Enjoy!