High Protein Air Fryer Tofu Stir Fry

This air fryer tofu stir fry is a super quick and super easy high protein meal that would fit perfectly in your fitness journey and will let you stick to healthy eating thanks to its amazing taste!

My fitness journey continues and so does my quest for healthy & wholesome recipes! That’s what I have in offer for you all today!

I hope you have loved my air fryer recipe roundup that I had shared a couple of weeks ago as I am certain that those recipes would definitely help you to maintain your healthy eating habits!

To add to that list, I bring you today another air fryer recipe; but this time a meatless one as I realized I had unknowingly missed a good amount of vegetarian air fryer recipes so far which is absolutely unfair!

To compensate for my misdeeds, I bring to you a delightful high-protein recipe for all tofu lovers which is not only healthy but also ridiculously easy to make!

And the star of today’s show is my high protein air fryer tofu stir fry with veggies of your choice for a generous serving of fibers!

Bonus? I also have a step by step by step video of this air fryer tofu recipe so you can see for yourself how incredibly easy it was to make!

What is air fryer tofu stir fry?

As I was trying to expand my air fryer recipe repertoire, I was looking for a meatless recipe which would be high in protein and full of fiber.

Nothing fits this bill as perfectly as tofu does! And that’s how this air fryer tofu stir fry with veggies came into existence!

I named it tofu stir fry simply because the final dish came out very crispy and yet soft on the inside which is how a typically good stir fry would turn out.

To make it a wholesome meal, I added onions for subtle sweetness and bell peppers for that sweet & peppery kick. But of course, selection of veggies can absolutely be your personal choice!

Now one thing worried me while finalizing the recipe and that is tofu may turn a little hard in the air fryer due to high heat if I use the typical stir fry ingredients; and I cannot possibly use any sauce inside the air fryer.

That’s when this secret ingredient popped up and made everything fall into their right places! It ensured that the tofu remains soft & succulent inside even though the exterior turns crispy!

Curious to know what that secret ingredient could be? I would then strongly urge you to continue reading below and make this satisfying high protein air fryer tofu meal for yourself and your loved ones as soon as possible!

Ingredients for high protein air fryer tofu stir fry

Tofu: For the right texture of air fryer tofu stir fry, you will need a block of firm tofu. Nowadays Indian supermarkets are flooded with good quality tofu from numerous brands.

I have used most of the popular brands and they have performed almost similar. Just skip the silken tofu this time and get that firm tofu for this air fry tofu recipe!

If you feel this tofu stir fry will turn out hard because of using firm tofu, you will be surprised to see the end result thanks to that secret as well as an uncommon ingredient for a typical stir fry!

Capsicum/Bell pepper: No stir fry is complete without a generous addition of veggies! And veggies here of course must be of your own personal preference.

Like I personally feel that stir fries are incomplete without peppers, bell peppers that is! I used a medium green capsicum, but feel free to use red or yellow if you have them handy!

Onion: This universal vegetable is a natural sweetener that balances all the flavors together and adds a unique smokiness when caramelized.

You can either slice them up thinly like I did or cut them in chunks and then separate the layers to get onion petals. Either way, onions are a must in this air fry tofu stir fry!

Dry mango powder: In this non-typical stir fry recipe, instead of soy sauce, you will find a typical Indian spice that makes this tofu stir fry exceptionally enticing!

And that is our good old dry mango powder which is lovingly known as ‘amchur’. This zesty amchur imparts a tangy & savory kick to your quick & easy tofu stir fry!

Kashmiri red chilli powder: Of late, chilli powder has become an indispensable spice in all of my recipes and this one is also no exception!

Not only because of the flavors that come from chilli powder, I feel the vibrant red color makes any food very tempting and inviting which is also a good reason to use a dash of chilli powder!

Curd/Yogurt: Now comes the secret ingredient that I hinted you about! You may not have seen yogurt being used in any stir fry recipe, but this is where this air fryer tofu stir fry stands out!

Due to the high heat of an air fryer, the cubes of firm tofu may easily turn hard and chewy; to prevent this I marinated the tofu & veggies with a curd-based marinating mixture.

Curd worked like magic in this recipe ensuring the tofu cubes remain soft & succulent inside even though they become crispy on the outside.

Salt & Pepper: The quintessential seasoning duo for bringing out all the sensational flavors in your simple yet flavorful air fryer tofu stir fry!

How to make High Protein Air Fryer Tofu Stir Fry?

Step 1: Unpack the firm tofu block and discard all the water. Cut the block of tofu into 1-inch pieces as shown in the video.

Step 2: Cut the capsicum into half and remove all the seeds. Then cut it into thin long strips. Set it aside.

Step 3: Peel the onions and cut each into thin long strips. Scrunch the slices so that they are not clumped together.

Step 4: Now take a large mixing bowl and transfer tofu cubes, capsicum & onion slices into it.

Step 5: Now add beaten curd, salt, black pepper, red chilli powder and dry mango powder a.k.a. amchur to the tofu and veggies.

Step 6: Give a very good mix using a spatula to ensure each piece is coated nicely with curd & spices.

Step 7: Once you are happy with the marinade, set them aside and start preheating your air fryer.

Step 8: Set the temperature of your air fryer at 190 C / 375 F and timer at 15 minutes. Spray the air fry basket with any oil of your choice. Switch on the air fryer and wait until it is preheated.

Step 9: Once the air fryer is preheated, transfer all the marinated tofu and veggies to the air fryer basket and using a spatula, spread them evenly in a single layer.

Step 10: Start air frying your tofu and veggies. On the half-way through cooking time, pull out the basket and give a good stir using a spatula.

Step 11: Rearrange the tofu & veggies in a single layer and return the air fryer basket to the machine and continue air frying for the remaining duration.

Step 12: After about 15 minutes, your air fryer tofu stir fry is ready! Take them out on a serving platter.

Step 13: Your healthy and high protein air fryer tofu stir fry is ready to enjoy! Sprinkle more dry mango powder over the tofu for that extra kick!

Step 14: You can enjoy them on their own or wrap it up inside a wholewheat roti along with a good spread of no-mayo healthy & high protein dip (recipe coming soon!). Enjoy!

More healthy recipes from Flavor Quotient for Weight Loss