This easy air fryer recipe is one of my new favorites for Friday happy hour! If, like me, you love Thai-style peanut sauce, these Air Fryer Tofu Skewers w/ Peanut Sauce will become one of your favorites as well.
As you can see from the pictures, the tofu has a nice, crispy outside, however, there isn’t any kind of flour or breading used, that’s all from the sauce! Simply tofu, peanut sauce, and a spritz of oil is all that is needed for these. I love the outer crust the sauce creates, and I love it even more after being dipped into more of the sauce before devouring. I’m just kind of saucy like that!
Often when I create a new recipe, it’s something I spend a lot of time thinking about before I even once try to make it. I have an idea, I go around in my head about ingredients and methods, and sometimes my first time making it won’t be quite what I had in mind. I’ll then need to tweak the recipe at least one more time before I’m happy with it. This recipe wasn’t anything like that.
When I first created this, I wasn’t trying to create anything for the blog. I was looking through my fridge, seeing what needed to be used, and what I could throw together for an impromptu happy hour al fresco. You see, I said Friday happy hour above, but to be honest, I work Friday nights now, so this was a mid-week faux Friday HH, because I missed spending that time with the hubs (and he makes the BEST dirty martinis!).
We had a block of tofu, and at first I considered making it as I do in my Air Fryer Tofu and Cauliflower but I thought I’d try something new. I had the idea to use the skewers (which TBH, aren’t even necessary. If you don’t have any or don’t want to use them, don’t worry about it, the tofu will cook just the same), I love peanut sauce and I knew I could whip some up pretty easily. Well, the outcome was even better than I expected! I marinated the tofu in the sauce first, and I while didn’t anticipate the nice, crusty layer it created on the outside of the tofu, I loved it! My husband, in particular, was a big fan.
I shared some pictures of this dish in a couple of places on social media and immediately started being asked for the recipe. I often don’t consider sharing recipes of things I think are just “thrown together” but it occurred to me, that that’s what people want. Not everyone spends hours in the kitchen, like I do, so I thought this may be perfect for my next post.
The first time I made this I used fresh, local tofu (which is incredible if you can get your hands on any, or make it yourself!), but realizing that’s not what most people are going to use, before sharing the recipe I made it with a block of ordinary tofu which I bought at Costco. The next batch cooked at exactly the same time and temperature and still turned out perfect! I will note, however, the air fryer I have now cooks hotter than the last one I owned, so if you aren’t seeing the desired color/doneness, you may need too kick the heat up a notch, or leave it cooking a bit longer.
I’m excited for you to try this! Please let me know what you think in the comments below, or take a pic of yours and tag me on Instagram, @veggiesattiffanis.
Air Fryer Tofu Skewers w/ Peanut Sauce
Equipment
- air-fryer
- Bamboo skewers (kabob sticks)
Ingredients
For the peanut sauce…
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (creamy) I use salted peanut butter (no sugar!). If yours is unsalted you may want to add a pinch or two of salt.
- 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp coconut aminos or sub tamari or soy sauce but you’ll need to add more maple to taste as the coconut aminos are sweeter than tamari
- 2 tsp chili paste (sambal olek) or more or less to taste
- 1/2 Tbsp pure maple syrup or more to taste
- 1/2 cup water
Everything else…
- 1 block extra firm tofu drained and pressed
- cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small mixing bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Taste, and add more sweet (maple) or spicy (chili paste), if desired. For more tang, you can also add another squeeze of lime.1/2 cup natural peanut butter (creamy)
- Slice the block of tofu lengthwise and then into your desired amount of rectangles (I do two per skewer).
- Add the peanut sauce to a baking dish, I use an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 dish, or shallow container of similar size. Add the tofu over the sauce and flip each piece to cover both sides. Marinate one to two hours, flipping tofu pieces over halfway.
- While the tofu marinates, soak your skewers. First, see if they’ll fit inside your tofu basket, and if not, trim a little off the ends of each skewer. Using scissors, I snap off about an inch or two from each. Then add them to a shallow dish, filled with water to soak.
- When the tofu is done marinating, add a couple of tofu retangles to each skewer, stabbing carefully through the middle. Save the remaining marinade! Spray the bottom of your air fryer basket with cooking oil before adding the tofu.
- *Air fry at 350°F for 8 minutes. Carefully, flip each skewer onto the opposite side, I use a silicon spatula to flip them, it can be tricky as the sauce layer likes to stick to the basket. Brush the tops with more peanut sauce and then air fry for an additional 3 minutes.
- Serve skewers with the remaining, reserved peanut sauce for dipping. Enjoy!