Air-Fried BBQ Tofu Nachos

These nachos, they mine.

Sorry. I can't resist a nacho joke. But these BBQ Tofu Nachos CAN be yours. The recipe is at the bottom of this post.

I love my air fryer, and I tend to use it most often to roast potatoes or quickly cook french fries, tots, or Gardein plant meats. But my very favorite use for the air fryer is for creating perfect, chewy "fried" tofu. I'm a fan of tofu prepared all kinds of ways — baked, scrambled, even raw atop salads. But nothing beats cubes of chewy, sauce-coated fried tofu.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post though, I just don't deep-fry at home that often. So when I want Asian restaurant-quality fried tofu at home, I bust out the air fryer. After it's fried, add a sauce or stir-fry with veggies or add to soups. For these nachos, I tossed the tofu with BBQ sauce and served atop tortilla chips with vegan cheese, black beans, corn, vegan sour cream, cherry tomato, romaine, guacamole, jalapenos, and salsa.

Here's the super-simple recipe!

BBQ Tofu Nachos

Yields 4 servings

1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

Non-stick cooking spray

2 Tbsp. BBQ sauce

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 clove garlic

1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

Salt to taste

6 oz. tortilla chips

1 cup vegan cheddar shreds (I used So Delicious Vegan Cheddar)

2 cups chopped romaine

14 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1/2 cup guacamole (homemade or storebought)

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup vegan sour cream

Pickeld jalapenos to taste

Cut the tofu into bite-size cubes and toss with soy sauce. Spritz with non-stick cooking spray. Place in air fryer basket, and cook on 390 for 5 minutes. Shake the basket and cook again for 5 minutes. And then shake it one more time and cook for 5 more minutes. Tofu should be browned and appear to have a chewy texture. Toss cubes with BBQ sauce.

While the tofu is cooking, combine the black beans with garlic, chili powder, and salt to taste. Heat for about 5-7 minutes or until heated through.

To assemble, divide chips onto four plates. Top with 1/2 cup black beans, 1/4 cup vegan shreds, 1/4 of the recipe of tofu, 1/2 cup romaine, 6 chopped cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup corn, 2 Tbsp. guac, 2 Tbsp. salsa, and 2 Tbsp. sour cream. Add jalapenos to taste.