Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Tofu

Crispy tofu tossed in a sweet tangy sauce with crunchy bell peppers, onions, and juicy pineapple. This quick and easy air fryer sweet and sour tofu is a great main dish that's better-than-takeout. I also share how to deep fry the tofu. [Vegan]

This sweet and sour tofu is made of extra-firm tofu coated in cornstarch and fried until golden, then tossed in a sweet and sour sauce. The sauce is simply made of ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, water, vinegar and cornstarch.

This is a spin-off of my classic Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe. It’s a fantastic Chinese dish for dinner or lunch and best served with white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice.

This is a great Asian tofu recipe to make for busy weeknight meals when you're craving takeout. I created this dish for my husband, who is trying to eat more plant based foods, like tofu.

One day I asked him, "What's an exciting way to cook tofu?" and he answered, "sweet and sour!" After some testing in the kitchen, that's how this recipe was born!

Ingredients & Substitutes

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements. 

• Extra-firm tofu: or substitute with firm tofu but be very gentle when preparing it. Avoid using soft to medium firm tofu or it will easily break apart.
• Red Bell Pepper: or substitute with yellow, orange or green bell pepper.
• Onion
• Pineapple: fresh diced pineapple, canned pineapple chunks or frozen pineapple chunks will work.
• Cornstarch: to coat the tofu. Or substitute with potato starch.
• Salt: to season the tofu.
• Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil or any heavy scented oils. 
• Green onions: optional garnish

Sweet and Sour Sauce

• Ketchup: to give it that red color and tangy flavor.
• Brown sugar: or substitute with white sugar or cane sugar.
• Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice. 
• White vinegar: or substitute with rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
• Cold Water
• Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch.

Expert Tips

• Pat the tofu very dry with paper towel to remove excess moisture so the cornstarch can evenly stick. If there is excess moisture, the cornstarch will come off.
• Don't skip lightly spraying the air fryer basket before you place the coated tofu into it or the coating will stick to the basket.
• Don't overcrowd the air fryer basket or the tofu won't get crispy and air fry in small batches.

Instructions

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make sweet and sour tofu:

1. First in a small bowl, combine the sweet and sour sauce ingredients as listed above. Set aside.
2. Then strain your tofu of the liquid in the package. Dice tofu into 1-inch cubes. Pat very dry with paper towel to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
3. On a baking sheet or a large plate, generously coat the tofu cubes in cornstarch until evenly coated.
4. Next lightly spray the air fryer basket with vegetable oil. Transfer coated tofu in a single layer into the air fryer basket giving each piece enough room. You'll need to air fry in small batches depending on the size of your air fryer basket.
5. Choose ONE cooking method below:
   • To Air Fry the Tofu: Then lightly spray 1 tablespoon or 15 ml vegetable oil over the tofu and evenly season with salt. Air fry at 400 degrees for 10 minutes on one side. Flip the tofu over, lightly spray with another tablespoon or 15 ml vegetable oil and season with with ¼ teaspoon salt. Air fry for another 5 minutes until crispy and golden. If it’s not crispy, air fry for 1-2 more minutes.
   • To Deep Fry the Tofu: Heat 2 cups or 500 ml vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat or 350 F with a digital instant read thermometer. Fry coated tofu on both sides until golden crispy brown. Remove and transfer fried tofu to a wire rack or paper-towel lined plate to remove excess oil. While the tofu is still hot, season with salt.
6. Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Fry onions and bell peppers until softened. Then toss in pineapple chunks. Pour in the prepared sweet and sour sauce and mix everything together. Increase to medium-high heat and simmer the sauce to thicken it. Once thickened, reduce to low heat.
7. Toss in fried tofu and gently mix. Remove off heat. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy!

Pairing Suggestions

Sweet and sour tofu serves well with:

• starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
• white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles, soup noodles 
• cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
• protein dishes like Lemon Chicken, Cashew Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Shrimp Omelet, Soy Garlic Tofu, Chinese Braised Tofu, Teriyaki Tofu, or Spicy Gochujang Sesame Tofu