Marinate tofu in your favorite salsa and then roast it in the air fryer. Serve it over an easy salad and serve. It’s the perfect vegan protein made using only 2 ingredients.
The phrase, “tastes just like chicken” is perfectly suited for this recipe, lol.
Once you air fry the tofu, you get a dense and moist texture thanks to the wonderful air fryer technology.
The salsa marination helps too!
Tips for making this salad
- Be sure to use extra firm tofu or even super firm tofu. It absorbs salsa better.
- Marinate the tofu in the salsa for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. Less time for marination means a rubbery tofu.
- The type of air fryer you use can change your tofu texture. I used (Affiliate Link) COSORI Air Fryer Max XL 5.8QT.
- Top it on any salad you make because it will make that salad so much better. But, you can also eat it by itself. I ate it right out of the air fryer the first time I made it.
- If you don’t have an air fryer, you can grill it stove top, on an outdoor grill or even in the oven.
- I would love it if you used an organic or a homemade salsa. For this air fryer tofu, I used a homemade salsa (recipes coming someday, lol).
- My favorite store bought salsa is Saucy Gourmet Salsa. It’s made with all natural ingredients and tastes sooo good. I get it from Publix. I am not affiliated with them in any way, just a huge fan girl. To find it near you, Saucy Gourmet has a store locator on their site.
- If you like your tofu to be a little crispy, keep it in air fryer for 18 Minutes at 350°F (177°C). For a softer tofu, keep it for 15 Minutes.
- I prefer sliced tofu over cubed. You can do cubed tofu too, just make sure ever cube is coated in the salsa.
- Watch the video for how I recycle the Zip Lock bag for future use.
The origin story
I have been marinating tofu in salsa ever since I used it in my vegan tostada recipe. It’s a ridiculously delicious way of making tofu interesting and tasty!
After that, I have used it frequently because I just love the ease of making it. Can you believe that you just need 2 ingredients???
Give me tofu over croutons any day!
The first time I used tofu in a salad to replace croutons, I was FLOORED by the taste of the salad.
Tofu gives the salad a simple texture and doesn’t overpower the salad. Tofu is also packed with proteins and essential nutrients (Source: BBC Good Food) that only add to my diet.
Can’t say the same for croutons, though!
Croutons have a place in other recipes like a Thanksgiving stuffing recipe and tomato soups. I like to make my own bread croutons for this recipes.
I used tofu in place of croutons in my vegan Caesar salad.
Storage and reheating
- I sprinkle a little water on the cooked tofu and wrap it in parchment paper.
- Then, I put it into a glass container, close the lid and refrigerate.
- Tofu can be refrigerated and used within 5-7 days of making it.
- When I am ready to cook it, I remove the parchment paper.
- I drizzle about a ¼ tsp of extra virgin olive oil. The step is to heat it up quickly in a mini oven for about 5 minutes.
- If you prefer stove top, preheat pan on stove for 30 seconds at medium heat. Heat the tofu on each side for 2 minutes.
Done!
P/S: This is a vegan keto recipe because it’s using keto and vegan friendly salsa.
Answering Common Questions
Unused portion of an opened tofu can be put into a glass container submerge it in the liquid from the original container. Use it up within 5 days because it gets slimy.
– Black bean sauce
– Tahini
– Peanut satay sauce
– Tzatziki
– Cilantro lime sauce
Cooked air fryer tofu CANNOT be frozen!!!
I tried it and it was the worst experience. It lost all its texture, taste and became this rubbery mess!
So, rule of thumb is “refrigerate, don’t freeze!”
How to use this tofu
- Put it into kale salads or olive salads.
- Add it to roasted vegetables.
- Serve it over a bed of risotto.
- Eat it by itself because it’s so delicious.
P/S: If you can’t find Saucy Gourmet Salsa near you, you can get it via Amazon (Affiliate Link) -> https://amzn.to/3BtrqEv.
Try these other air fryer recipes
Sharing is caring
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Top this tofu on any of these salads:
Air Fryer Tofu Marinated In Salsa
Equipment
- COSORI Air Fryer
- Zip loc bag
Ingredients
- 1/2 block extra firm tofu If you can find superfirm, use that.
- 2 cup salsa Don't use chunky. I used keto-friendly salsa
Instructions
- Press the whole tofu (see notes)
- Cut half of the tofu block and save the rest for future use
- Make 4 slices out of the tofu.
- Place the tofu in a zip loc bag and add salsa
- Spread the salsa so that it covers all the tofu. Set it aside for 30 Min
- Place the marinated tofu in your air fryer tray
- Set your Air Fryer to 350°F (176°) and time to 15-18 minutes depending on your text preference. Start it
- Once done, remove it immediately from the air fryer.
- Let it cool before chopping it and topping on salad
Video
Notes
- Be sure to extra firm tofu or even super firm tofu. It absorbs salsa better.
- Marinate the tofu in the salsa for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. Less time for marination means a rubbery tofu.
- The type of air fryer you use can change your tofu texture. I used COSORI Air Fryer Max XL 5.8QT.
- Top it on any salad you make because it will make that salad so much better. But, you can also eat it by itself. I ate it right out of the air fryer the first time I made it.
- If you don’t have an air fryer, you can grill it stove top, on an outdoor grill or even in the oven.
- I would love it if you used an organic or a homemade salsa. For this air fryer tofu, I used a homemade salsa (recipes coming someday, lol).
- My favorite store bought salsa is Saucy Gourmet Salsa. It’s made with all natural ingredients and tastes sooo good. I get it from Publix. I am not affiliated with them in any way, just a huge fan girl. To find it near you, Saucy Gourmet has a store locator on their site.
- If you like your tofu to be a little crispy, keep it in air fryer for 18 Minutes at 350°F (177°C). For a softer tofu, keep it for 15 Minutes.
- I prefer sliced tofu over cubed. You can do cubed tofu too, just make sure ever cube is coated in the salsa.
- Watch the video for how I recycle the zip loc bag for future use.
