How to make:
Air Fried Vegan Hot “Honey” Chicken
Meet your new favorite vegan air fryer recipe! This plant-based hot honey chicken recipe is a sweet and spicy take on vegan fried chicken.
Cook Time:
1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the “chicken”:
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder, divided
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
- 1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed*
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free, if needed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
- Pure oil spray or neutral oil (canola, vegetable, grapeseed)
For the hot “honey”:
- 1/4 cup vegan butter
- 3 tablespoons agave syrup or maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more if you want it spicier
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- In a medium bowl or a large zip bag, add milk, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pull apart the tofu into nugget shapes (or larger strip shapes, if desired) and place into the bowl or bag. Toss; refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat air fryer or oven to 400ºF. Grease the air fryer basket or baking pan.
- In a small bowl, add flour, cornstarch, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Remove tofu from bowl or bag and shake off excess liquid. Dredge in the flour mixture; toss to coat. Set each nugget on the baking pan. For extra crispy nuggets: let tofu sit for 5 minutes, then re-dredge in the flour mixture. Once all tofu is done, spray nuggets with oil or lightly brush with oil.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then flip. Bake for another 10 minutes, until crispy.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add all hot “honey” ingredients. Once butter is melted, reduce heat to low and let cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- To the saucepan, add nuggets. Toss to evenly coat in the hot “honey.”
Notes
*Use a tofu press, or wrap the tofu in paper towels and place in the sink with a heavy object on top. Press for 10-15 minutes.
1 serving28411.2 g1036 mg12.5 g1.8 g30.2 g2.3 g12.6 g0 mg