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Crispy Buffalo Tofu with Caesar Salad

8 reviews / 4.9 average

This Buffalo Tofu is SO EASY! A two-ingredient sauce tossed with air-fried crispy tofu, laid on top of a kale caesar salad.

I’ve Made This Tofu 3x This Week.

Lindsay Ostrom headshot.

Sometimes eaten in a frenzy as a finger food at 5pm, but usually tossed on top of a creamy kale caesar salad like you see here – it’s bar food meets wholesome food.

This buffalo tofu is way too easy. Just criminal.

Zero batters and breading, zero cutting boards to wash. Just a two ingredient hot sauce + butter combo and a quick air fry or bake for the crispy tofu base.

Buffalo tofu and kale caesar salad in a bowl.

You can throw this tofu into a wrap or bowl, but lately what has really been floating my boat is just a big ol’ pile of this saucy tofu on top of a Caesar salad. My faves:

  • The bagged Caesar from Trader Joe’s
  • The store-bought vegan Caesar dressing from Trader Joe’s (it’s in the refrigerated section)
  • This avocado kale caesar

The buffalo sauce is too spicy for my girls, so I leave a few pieces for them without the sauce to dip in ranch or ketchup. And they love it.

I made last tonight for dinner and I thought, I need to tell you to double this – we have a family of 4, with two being little kids who don’t eat a ton, and there are ZERO pieces left over between all of us. I honestly think even just me and Bjork could finish the whole block of tofu between the two of us.

It’s easy and it’s delicious. I hope you love it!

And if buffalo is your thing, these buffalo chicken burgers with whipped feta are amazing – and so are these buffalo cauliflower tacos with avocado crema. DANG. So good.

Lindsay signature.
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A picture of Crispy Buffalo Tofu with Caesar Salad

Crispy Buffalo Tofu with Caesar Salad


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 8 reviews

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Total Time: 17 minutes
  • Yield: 24 servings (I make this for me and my husband + 2 small kids) 1x

Description

This Buffalo Tofu is SO EASY! A two-ingredient sauce tossed with air-fried crispy tofu, laid on top of a kale caesar salad.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Crispy Tofu:

  • 16 ounce package of tofu (firm or extra firm)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Buffalo Sauce:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce (like Frank’s red hot)

For Serving:

  • Salad with Caesar, ranch, or bleu cheese dressing (I especially love to throw this tofu on top of an avocado kale Caesar salad!)

Instructions

  1. Take the tofu out of the packaging and drain the water. Wrap it with a clean dish towel, or a few paper towels, and gently squeeze out some of the excess moisture. I spend less than a minute on this.
  2. Pull the tofu into bite-sized chunks. Toss with the cornstarch, soy sauce, oil, paprika, and garlic powder.

    Tossing tofu in a bowl with spices and cornstarch.

  3. When everything is well-coated, air fry at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Shake or toss, then air fry for another 5-6 minutes until golden and crispy. (See notes for baking instructions.)

    Crispy tofu in an air fryer.

  4. Melt the butter and whisk with the hot sauce. Toss the crispy tofu in the sauce to coat.

    Tossing tofu with buffalo sauce.

  5. Dip in your favorite sauce or throw in a wrap, bowl, or salad! So yum!

Equipment

Notes

To bake this in the oven: This should work at 400 degrees for 20 minutes! Be sure to line the pan with parchment, and give it a toss halfway through.

Tofu: I’ve been using the tofu from Costco for this (the Fountain of Health brand, extra firm). But I’ve also made this with other brands (firm or extra firm) and it still works – they’re just a little wetter so they may need 2-4 more minutes in the air fryer to get crispy.

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Air Fryer
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: tofu recipe, buffalo tofu, buffalo caesar, air fryer tofu

Frequently Asked Questions About Buffalo Tofu

How spicy is this? Can my kids eat it?

The buffalo sauce is too spicy for my girls, so I leave a few pieces for them without the sauce to dip in ranch or ketchup.

What air fryer do you use?

I love the Ninja Air Fryer Pro XL (affiliate link). It’s a great size and I love the basket style for a recipe like this!

Could I make this in the oven instead?

Yep! Roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and toss halfway through.

Could I use chicken instead of tofu?

Yep! For the air fryer, I’d make this air fryer chicken and replace the spices with those in this recipe, then toss with the sauce. Or for stovetop, you could follow the recipe for buffalo chicken in this recipe.

Three More Tofu Recipes I Love

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12 Comments

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Just made for dinner tonight and I can’t get over how good it was. Combined with the vegan kale Caesar salad in a wrap with blue cheese crumbles? SO good. My new favorite recipe. POY knocks it out of the park yet again!

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    So good!! I’ve already made this twice in one week. Your air fryer recipes are so good; this one falls right into that category too. I love the balance of the spicy tofu with the lemon forward dressing. Thank you!

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I’ve been trying to like tofu for years without any luck. This is an absolute a game changer for me. So yummy, and I can’t believe how quick and straightforward it is. I only put sauce on about half, and then air fried the left overs for a few minutes to warm them up and keep them crispy, then added sauce just before eating and I found the leftovers just as good as the first day doing it this way.

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I want to eat this every day. This was so easy and so very satisfying – thank you!

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This recipe was SO delicious! I paired it with your recipe for Avocado Kale Caesar Salad & Sweet Potato Fries and it was quite literally “perfection”. Definitely keeping this dinner recipe on hand, thank you!

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I served this with the Avocado Kale Caesar and my husband and I really enjoyed the combo. It’s nice to have a tofu option that doesn’t have the usual Asian flavors. The air fryer makes them crispy without drying out (which I find can be issue with the full oven). I will definitely put this into our rotation. Next time I will try adding small crispy roasted potatoes in the salad to help cut the sharpness of the sauce.

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    The tofu was perfect but the sauce was too much quantity and way too hot for us. I will make it again but make the sauce to taste for us. Thanks for another great recipe!

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made this tonight for dinner and it’s hands down the best tofu I’ve ever cooked, and I’ve cooked a lot of tofu. Thank you so much for sharing!