This Buffalo Tofu is SO EASY! A two-ingredient sauce tossed with air-fried crispy tofu, laid on top of a kale caesar salad.
Crispy Buffalo Tofu with Caesar Salad
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I want to eat this every day. This was so easy and so very satisfying – thank you!
Jessica
I’ve Made This Tofu 3x This Week.
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.
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.
Crispy Buffalo Tofu with Caesar Salad
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 2–4 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
- 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.
- Pull the tofu into bite-sized chunks. Toss with the cornstarch, soy sauce, oil, paprika, and garlic powder.
- 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.)
- Melt the butter and whisk with the hot sauce. Toss the crispy tofu in the sauce to coat.
- Dip in your favorite sauce or throw in a wrap, bowl, or salad! So yum!
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
Filed Under: Air Fryer All Recipes Appetizer Gluten-Free Healthy Kale Quick and Easy Recipes Salads SOS Series Vegetarian
May 20, 2025
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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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!
So glad you enjoyed it!
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!
Thanks for making the recipe, Kim!
Another orange meal.
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.
Oh that’s a great idea with holding some of the sauce if you think you’ll have leftovers!
I want to eat this every day. This was so easy and so very satisfying – thank you!
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!
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.
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!
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!
Glad to hear it, Erin!
This is insanely good!!! I’m eating it right now – so genius, quick, and easy that I couldn’t even wait to finish eating to leave a rating and comment. Pinch of Yum is always a winner.
I make tofu a lot but never thought of doing it Buffalo style – made buffalo cauliflower a few times but was always disappointed with how it turned out. I had a feeling I was going to love this so I doubled the recipe – so glad I did!
Made a couple of adjustments – added a bit of smoked paprika, salt, and onion powder to the tofu before air frying, and cooked it at 375 because my air fryer runs hot. Came out delish…crunchy with a perfect chew, and tender on the inside. I literally could not stop eating it while I prepped the salad. I will be making this constantly – and love that it’s another high protein recipe I can add into my rotation that’s vegetarian. Thank you!