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If I had a dollar for every time someone has told me they don’t like tofu, I could probably buy a year’s supply of raw cashews (vegan jokes…). Usually, it turns out that it’s a texture thing. If that’s the case for you, please give this filling and delicious vegan ingredient another chance! Today I’m offering some of my tricks for making tofu crispy or chewy.. anything but mushy! And I’m sharing my recipe for crispy buffalo tofu sliders.

This post is sponsored by House Foods. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this site.

The (mandatory!) first step for making great tofu

By the way, my advice in this post is NOT applicable to silken tofu, which is better for different cooking purposes like soups or purees. This is about water-packed tofu, and for crispy or chewy tofu I always use extra-firm. Extra-firm tofu comes packed in water to keep it soft and fresh; this extra liquid creates steam, which creates mushy tofu. So the first step for tofu prep is to remove the excess liquid.

To accomplish this, you need to physically press the extra water out of the tofu by applying pressure to it. My old go-to method for pressing tofu is to drain it, wrap it in a clean towel, place it on a cutting board, and stack a couple of textbooks on top of it. I must not be the only one who still has textbooks lying around from my college days! Using your textbooks as a tofu press is a great way to punish them. If you have a big, heavy cast iron skillet that will also work. Look for objects that are both heavy and flat so that the pressure is applied evenly.

Once you start making tofu frequently, it’s worth investing in a tofu press for easier setup and cleanup. But the old towel method will work just fine until then! Press your tofu for 15 to 30 minutes. If you can, flip it over halfway through and tip any excess water pooling on your cutting board into the sink.

My best trick for chewy tofu

My method for making chewy tofu is very simple, but very effective! Simply preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the tofu into sticks (I’ll explain why in a moment).

Now, just place your tofu sticks on the lined baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven. Yes, that’s it! No oil needed. Bake for 25 minutes initially. At this point, you should easily be able to dislodge the tofu sticks from the parchment paper and flip them over. There will be a firm crust forming around the outside, but the inside will still be a bit soft. You can now continue cooking the tofu in 10 minute increments until it’s as chewy as you want it – the longer, the chewier. I usually bake mine for a total of 40 to 45 minutes.

Because of that delicious chewy crust, it’s difficult for the flavor of a sauce or stew to get into the tofu, so now cut the tofu sticks in half into cubes, exposing the middle of the tofu on one side of each cube so that the sauce can get in. This method worked perfectly in my potato and peanut curry.

Tips for crispy tofu

If you want to make crispy tofu, there are some different options that I like, depending on what sort of recipe you want to make. Note: I rarely pan-fry tofu, unless I’m pan-frying it in a huge wedge to make homemade Chipotle sofritas.

Baked crispy tofu

Simply follow my same baked tofu instructions from above, but toss the tofu pieces with a light coating of cornstarch before baking. The crust will be lighter and more crisp than if you bake it plain. This effect will disappear if you add the tofu back into a sauce, stew, etc. or store the leftovers for later.

Deep-fried tofu

To prepare the tofu this way, you’ll want to make sure that the surface, in particular, is very dry. After pressing the tofu, take an additional tower or paper towel and blot the surface well. Then place big wedges or cubes of tofu into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Like with the chewy tofu above, I recommend cutting the pieces in half to help flavor absorption. Well-fried tofu will retain *some* of its crispiness if sauced or stirred into a curry or stew.

Crispy breaded tofu

One last way to easily create a crispy texture is to bread the tofu. I’ll take you through how to do this with breadcrumbs in my crispy buffalo tofu sliders recipe below. You can also use cornmeal, like I did with my sweet and sour sriracha tofu nuggets, or experiment with other crunchy coatings like almonds. One of the best advantages of making crispy tofu this way is that you can recapture the crispiness again later by reheating it in the oven.

Any favorite tofu texture tips that I didn’t include here? Let me know!