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I have a confession to make….
I love(d) Chick-fil-A. I know, I know! It’s not healthy, it’s not good for the environment, and it’s definitely not good for our social climate. But there’s something about it I crave–often intensely–until I sate what could’ve been a brisk but shameful dip into, let’s face it, some hateful junk food.
Except when I say brisk, I actually mean we’d be sitting in line, out in the middle of one our city’s busiest streets, behind 40 other cars doing the same thing. O and I at one time, pre-gay-hatred-exposure, considered franchising one of those places and putting it downtown (packed full of 9-to-5ers rushing to work, no other Chick-fil-A around for miles), sheer dreams of diving into a sea of coins, Scrooge McDuck-style.
But these days, we’re pretty conscious of where and what we eat, trying to avoid a lot of meat–especially highly processed, factory farmed meat with more injections than Heidi Montag–and spend our money only with companies whose values don’t.. totally clash with what we think is right and acceptable in this life. Sometimes we falter, but most of the time we stay pretty true to that. So what to do when the Chick-fil-A craving strikes?
Chick-fil-A tofu nuggets, people. Chick-fil-A tofu nuggets. With vegan “honey” mustard dipping sauce.
I took a few Chick-fil-A nugget copycat recipes and essentially converted it into a fried tofu recipe, complete with a powered sugary breading and pickle juice marinade. We were both amazed at how well these turned out, how similar to the addictive little nuggets we so guiltily crave! The breading is crunchy and flavorful without being too heavy, the torn tofu is equally flavorful and packed with seasoning thanks to the pickle brine, and the tearing leaves little nuggets that are not so perfectly cubed that they seem immediately “chickenless”.
The honey mustard sauce is just like I remember honey mustard sauce, subbing really only vegan mayo for the mayonnaise and agave nectar for the honey. Because really, what’s a chicken nugget without a sauce in which to dunk your little bites?
Even better, these come together quickly and without much oil, making them much healthier than the originals. And guess what, none of your money is going towards the “questionable giving” that made Chick-fil-A known for more than its unfortunately delicious bites. About that, you can feel even better about swapping chicken for tofu and a quick jaunt to that infamous locale for a delicious fast-food-inspired spread at home.
Chick-fil-A Tofu Nuggets
Equipment
- medium bowl with lid or plastic wrap to cover
- 2 small bowls
- Large skillet
- Large plate or wire cooling rack
- Paper towels
Ingredients
- oil for frying; vegetable, canola, or peanut oil preferred
For the Tofu Nuggets
- 1 pound tofu firm or extra-firm
- ¾ – 1 cup dill pickle juice (you want the old-school, bright green juice; not the deli-pickle kind)
For the Tofu Nugget Breading
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 ½ tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon powdered mustard
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the Honey Mustard
- ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar
- ¾ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Tear tofu block into nugget-sized pieces and place pieces in medium bowl. Pour pickle juice over tofu and cover bowl. Let tofu marinate in pickle juice 25 minutes.
- While tofu marinates, whisk together breading ingredients in small bowl until mixture is fully combined. Set aside.
- In third small bowl, mix together all honey mustard ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
- After tofu has marinated 25 minutes, drain all liquid and transfer tofu to breading mixture. Toss or stir well to thoroughly coat tofu pieces in breading.
- Pour thin layer of oil (approximately 1 tablespoon) in skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot and shimmering, add breaded tofu to skillet in one even layer, working in batches as needed to avoid overcrowding. Turn pieces over regularly to brown on all sides.
- Transfer browned tofu pieces to plate lined with paper towels or wire cooling rack over paper towels. Let excess oil drain and repeat process with any remaining breaded tofu, until all tofu has been fried. Serve warm with chilled honey mustard sauce.
- For crispier breading, drain the tofu on a wire cooling rack rather than a plate lined with paper towels.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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I made it tonight, absolutely delicious!! My husband loved it!!
Yay! I’m so glad. My husband loves it too!
Hi there,
Your recipe sounds outstanding and I am eager to try this for my chicken nugget lovers at home. Can you tell me, is it implied to press the tofu before hand, or will it work without pressing?
Hi, I can’t find this kind of pickle juice from where I am, do you know what I could use as a substitute ?
I tried it without the marinade and it was rather tasteless, but the texture was great!
I would definitely try to use just any pickle juice, so long as it’s not bread and butter. The pickle juice adds a ton of seasoning to the tofu, so it’s pretty critical! If you can’t find pickle juice at all, try making a really salty simple brine with just water and salt and add some vinegar so it’s a bit sour–the should work as a substitute if you can’t find anything else. But pickle juice is best!
This recipe sounds so good! I want to try this but instead of pickle juice I think I will try a vinaigrette. I absolutely hate pickles and especially pickle juice, so I hope this will turn out well with a vinaigrette. Haven’t had meat in ages but I remember not killing CF nuggets but liked their strips and fries!
Good luck! I wouldn’t recommend using a vinaigrette, but I’m sure it will still be wonderful! It won’t taste just like CFA though 🙂 The nuggets definitely do not retain a pickly taste, I promise!
I made these tonight. I tried baking half and frying the other half, but frying is definitely the way to go for these babies. I fried mine in coconut oil, and they were divine. The offspring and husband both loved them. Did I mention I don’t even like chik-fil-a? I think their chicken is gross, fall a part greasy… so this is much better IMO.
The pickle juice thing… seriously so smart! I did half of them in pickled pepper juice and that was the bomb diggity.
Thanks for the great recipe.
Oh yeah.. gotta fry these puppies! So glad you liked them Shelby 🙂
The only way I usually will eat tofu is in miso soup or baked from the Chinese restaurant. I really want to try these because I too am a CFA lover/hater. One beginners question. Do you press the liquid out of the tofu before you marinate it in the pickle juice? This may sound stupid but I am worried it would turn to mush.
You will love them, I promise! Yes, drain the liquid out before you marinate – you might even like to drain the liquid, freeze, then thaw and THEN marinate, which will help prevent the tofu from being mushy at all, but rather much chewier, almost like seitan or something.
I make a lot of recipes that I find online and never take the time to go back and comment. But these are SO GOOD. I became a vegetarian two years ago and the food I knew I’d miss the most was going to be chicken nuggets and bacon. I make a good tempeh bacon now, so this recipe now completes me!
What do you think about freezing these after I make them and baking them to reheat? I’d love to make double batches and keep some on hand. Not sure if it would be weird since it’s tofu and I always freeze my tofu when I first get it.
Thank you so much for this great recipe!!
I am so, so glad you like the recipe! You’re prompting a bit of a craving over here.. Anyway, I think since you already freeze your tofu when you get it, these should freeze pretty well. I’d just cook them totally then freeze them spread out on a cookie sheet and then toss them in a bag. These would die of freezer burn! But otherwise I think they could work.. let me know if you try it!
Thanks Cheryl, I’ll let you know when I try it! Now I want to make it again, but make it into patties with tempeh bacon and my favorite, an onion bun!
Ummmm… yes. Please do that. PLEASE!!
Holy…these are AMAZING. Thank you..you are now in my top 10 of favorite people.
So happy to be there 🙂
Oh my goodness, this looks delicious! I’m definitely making this! thanks for sharing! A healthier option for a family favorite.
Definitely! Thanks Ihjaz!
May I make a comment that I hate your recipe. I ate 1/2 a block of tofu in 2 days because of this recipe by myself. I’ve been a vegetarian for years and recently mostly vegan, but I could not ever really get used to the tofu taste/texture. I’ve also hated cooking, was more of a dessert person. Half a block, gone. Thanks a lot.
I made minor changes: I did originally bake them in the oven for 15min at 350 degrees, then I crisped them on a pan with some vegan butter (I really try to avoid oil frying). No corn starch, just used regular breadcrumbs. (I will try them with corn starch next). Love it.
I still hate this recipe. I actually like tofu now, and want to cook more. Who knew pickle juice was the way into my heart.
You’re so unwelcome! I mean.. welcome. I mean.. I’m glad you liked it so much you hated it, er.. and so glad I converted you to the tofu-lovers club 😀
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes! I love it. More powers to your blog! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂