Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Tofu. Crispy tofu smothered in a sweet tangy sauce accompanied with crunchy bell peppers, onions, and juicy pineapple. I also share how to fry the tofu without an airfryer. This is vegan. Ready in 30 minutes!
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We all know about sweet and sour chicken but this sweet & sour tofu recipe is where it's now at! This is a simple main dish to make at home and the sauce tastes just like what you would order at the Chinese restaurant. It’s a fantastic Chinese dish for dinner or lunch and great as leftovers with white rice, brown rice, or cauliflower rice.
With my husband is eating more vegetarian foods, this means that I am getting more creative in the kitchen again. So one day I asked him, “What’s an exciting way to cook tofu?” and he said, “Sweet and Sour!”
Then the next morning, I got to working on this air fryer tofu recipe. It was so good he had seconds and thirds too! He rated it 5/5 stars and that's when I knew this recipe had to go on the blog. Now I'm sharing it with all of you and I hope you enjoy it too!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Extra-firm tofu: or substitute with firm tofu. Do not use soft or medium tofu or it'll hard to coat and fry.
- Red bell pepper: or substitute with any colored bell pepper
- Onion
- Pineapple: fresh pineapple or canned pineapple both work
- Cornstarch: 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
- Cold Water
- Cornstarch or potato starch: to thicken the sauce
How to make Sweet and Sour Tofu
- First in a small bowl, combine sweet and sour sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Then strain your tofu of the liquid in the package. Dice tofu into 1-inch cubes. Pat dry with paper towel. On a baking sheet or plate, add cornstarch and generously coat each tofu cube. Add more cornstarch if needed.
- Next lightly spray air fryer basket with vegetable oil. Transfer coated tofu in a single layer into the air fryer basket giving each piece enough room. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to air fry in smaller batches.
- Then spray 1 tablespoon of 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, add another tablespoon of oil and season with with ¼ teaspoon salt. Air fry at the same temperature for 5 minutes. The tofu should come out crispy, if it’s not crispy enough air fry for 1-2 more minutes. Skip the next step if you're air frying the tofu.
- Alternatively to fry tofu without an air fryer: Heat ⅓ cup vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once oil is hot, gently lower your coated tofu into the pan. Fry on each side until golden crispy brown, about 4-5 minutes per side depending on heat level. Remove and transfer fried tofu to a wire rack or paper-towel lined plate. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Next heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Fry onions and bell peppers until softened. Then add pineapple and toss together. Pour in sweet and sour sauce and mix everything together. Increase to medium-high heat and allow the sauce to simmer and thicken. Once thickened, reduce to low heat.
- Toss in fried tofu into the sauce. Remove off heat. Finally, garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to pat the tofu very dry with paper towel to remove excess moisture so the cornstarch can evenly stick. Otherwise if there's water on the tofu, the dredging will come off.
- Spray the air fryer basket with oil to prevent the tofu coating from sticking to it.
- Do not overcrowd the air fryer basket or the tofu won't get crispy. I would recommend to air fry in smaller batches if you have to.
FAQ
No, I wouldn’t recommend it, or I’ll be challenging to flip in the air fryer or in the pan. It's best to use firm or extra firm tofu.
Yes! I would suggest broccoli, snap peas, green beans, cauliflower, or carrots. Any hard veggies.
Other recipes you may like!
- Crispy Soy Garlic Tofu
- Teriyaki Tofu
- Chinese Braised Tofu
- Spicy Gochujang Sesame Tofu
- Tofu Katsu Sando
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra firm tofu
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 cup pineapple diced or sub with canned pineapple chunks
- ⅓ cup cornstarch or potato starch
- ½ teaspoon salt to season tofu
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil to spray over tofu in the air fryer basket
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil for stir frying vegetables
- 1 green onion finely chopped for garnish
Sweet and sour sauce:
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- ½ cup brown sugar or white sugar
- ¼ cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoon water cold
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
Instructions
- First in a small bowl, combine sweet and sour sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- Then strain your tofu of the liquid in the package. Dice tofu into 1-inch cubes. Pat dry with paper towel. On a baking sheet or plate, add cornstarch and generously coat each tofu cube. Add more cornstarch if needed.
- Next lightly spray air fryer basket with vegetable oil. Transfer coated tofu in a single layer into the air fryer basket giving each piece enough room. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to air fry in smaller batches.
- Then spray 1 tablespoon of 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, add another tablespoon of oil and season with with ¼ teaspoon salt. Air fry at the same temperature for 5 minutes. The tofu should come out crispy, if it’s not crispy enough air fry for 1-2 more minutes. Skip the next step if you're air frying the tofu.
- Alternatively to fry tofu without an air fryer: Heat ⅓ cup vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once oil is hot, gently lower your coated tofu into the pan. Fry on each side until golden crispy brown, about 4-5 minutes per side depending on heat level. Remove and transfer fried tofu to a wire rack or paper-towel lined plate. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Next heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Fry onions and bell peppers until softened. Then add pineapple and toss together. Pour in sweet and sour sauce and mix everything together. Increase to medium-high heat and allow the sauce to simmer and thicken. Once thickened, reduce to low heat.
- Toss in fried tofu into the sauce. Remove off heat. Finally, garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
Elin
Delicious. I'm going to see if you have more vegan recipes! Thanks 🙏
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe! So glad you enjoyed it!
Mikayla Betz
Christie!! Your hoisin tofu lettuce wraps have became a staple in my house! Although I don’t always remember measurements for the sauce. I saw that the recipe has been taken down and I’m so sad! Please!! I need that sauce recipe before my husbands leaves me for a better cook!
Love,
Mikayla
christieathome
Hi Mikayla, ah I am so sorry about that! I took it down to re-work the recipe so once it becomes available again, it'll be posted here. Thanks for your patience and understanding!
Maddie
Really easy to follow recipe and tastes really great!
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Maddie! I'm so glad you liked it!
Peter
Absolutely delicious! I left out the the pineapple (made the whole dish a little more sour), but it was still great with some neutral rice. Will definitely make it again.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Peter! That is so kind and I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Rosemary
Air fryer sweet and sour tofu is a great recipe for meatless monday!! And way less messy than making it in the pan!
Tasia ~ two sugar bugs
Such a great idea to use the air fryer for crispy tofu! I don't think I have ever had sweet and sour tofu so I need to change that!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I loved your method of using the air fryer to add that extra crisp to the tofu... so smart. Sweet and sour is my absolutely favorite!!