We all need an easy vegan family recipe in our back pocket, right! Well, this healthy almond crusted vegan chicken finger recipe may just be the most kid-approved recipe we have! Made with only a handful of simple whole food ingredients. This is another fun, healthy gluten free recipe! One more thing to add to your dinner arsenal!
I hope you enjoy this one! I love creating easy and healthy vegan family recipes for you so that you can feed your family right without having to slave over a hot stove!
Picking the right tofu firmness
The most important thing when making this vegan tofu finger recipe is choosing the right tofu firmness. For this recipe, I went with a firm tofu. However, I will mention that the brand you use does matter!! And yes I bolded that because it really does MATTER! Each brand of tofu may have a slightly different way they characterize the firmness of their tofu.
For this recipe, I used the Sunrise Soya Foods firm tofu. I find this tofu to have great texture and firmness. However, depending on the brand you may need to use extra-firm to get the same result. Since I can not possibly be there with all of you to check your tofu firmness, I included a photo below of the texture of the firm tofu I use. It is the second tofu from the bottom.
OH, I am planning on writing a post on how to use each type of tofu and which recipe they are best for. If you are interested in that please leave a comment below!
FROM TOP: soft, medium firm, tempeh, form, extra firm
Just so you know I did not need to freeze, thaw, re-freeze, press or slave over this tofu to get a good texture for these crispy vegan chicken fingers. So you don’t have to either. Just stick to a firm or extra firm tofu and you will be golden!
How to make crispy gluten free vegan chicken finger recipe
Making these crispy vegan chicken nuggets is actually very easy, even gluten free! Once you have the right tofu then the recipe always comes together easily! So you can have a delicious gluten free family meal!
As a busy mama you know I love to create easy uncomplicated vegan family recipes so I made sure to not spend any time pressing, freezing, thawing or doing a boggy dance over the tofu to get it to cook right! I literally took the tofu out of its package, placed it on a plate, photographed it and then cut it into fingers. The goal of my recipes is to make them as delicious as possible but easy and attainable so you can get dinner on the table!
1.Wrap your tofu in a towel:
I do suggest that you gently press the tofu with your hands to get some of the liquid out. Or you can wrap it in a towel and press slightly but please don’t feel like you need to spend more than a few minutes on this. If you want to press it then go right ahead. But it is not necessary for this recipe as long as you use firm tofu.
2. Mix the ingredients for the almond crust:
While your tofu sits in the towel, mix together the wet and dry ingredients. For the almond crust, you will add almond meal, garlic powder, paprika, and salt to a bowl. DO NOT use almond flour or you won’t get such a crispy texture. If you can not find almond meal just process some raw almonds until you get a rough almond flour consistency.
Then for the wet mixture, you will mix in soy sauce, lime juice, maple syrup and spices. I experimented using aquafaba to see if it would make a difference in texture and it didn’t. So I scratched that to make an even easier recipe.
3.Toss the tofu in the almond crust then bake:
Then add the tofu to the wet mixture. Let them sit for a few seconds on each side to soak up some of the liquid. Then place them in the almond meal mixture and gently toss with your hands to coat each side. Shake off any extra and place onto a lined baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes flipping halfway. You should get a nice crispy texture and moist flaky (ish) texture on the inside.
A great vegan party appetizer or family meal
These easy tofu nuggets make a super fun and popular vegan appetizer too. A real crowd pleasure at your next get toegther. It is a great way to introduce someone to tofu and a perfect plant based beginner recipe.
They are also kid-approved and fun to serve for dinner. We enjoy them with some steamed rice and broccoli and the kids love dipping them in ketchup or BBQ sauce! They also keep very well in the fridge so go ahead and add these to you vegan meal prep!
And now on to the recipe! I hope you enjoy this easy vegan chicken finger recipe. For more healthy weeknight recipes be sure to check these out:
- 15 minute Creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- Easy family-style lentil stew
- Meal prep marinara meatballs
- Quick one-pot family chili recipe
I hope you enjoyed this vegan gluten free recipe! If you make this recipe be sure to tag me (@at.my.table) with your re-creations so I can share it over on Instagram!
Until next time, tchau
Ingredients
- 2 blocks tofu firm
Wet ingredietns
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp maple syrup
Crust ingredient
- ¾ cup almond meal
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Then wrap your tofu in a towel to remove any moisture. Meanwhile, in shallow dish mix together the wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl mix together the crust ingredients.
- Then cut your tofu into fingers. Then place each one in the wet dish. Let it sit for a few seconds on each side so that it is fully coated. Then place into the almond flour mixture. Toss lightly with your hands. Shake off any excess and then place onto a lined baking pan. Repeat with all the tofu fingers.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes flipping half way. It should be nice and golden. Do not over bake or the tofu may become dry on the inside. They pair well with some marinara or BBQ sauce to dip in!
Nutrition
The crust is to die for 😊
Thank you! It’s a pretty delcious crust! And super easy to make!
I will definitely try with chicken or cottage cheese, as I am not a big Tofu fan 😊
For sure. But you should try this with tofu, you may change your mind
Alright this one with tofu 😊🤞
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