Press the tofu. Remove tofu from packaging, drain excess water, wrap each tofu block in a clean tea towel or several paper towel sheets and place a heavy object on them, like a cast iron skillet. Allow to press for 15 minutes.
Slice the tofu. Slice your tofu blocks long ways (think hot dog style, not hamburger) into slabs about 1/3" thick.
Marinade the tofu. In the bottom of a large shallow casserole dish or tupperware, spread 1/4 cup of the low sodium tamari. Layer in the tofu slabs in a single layer as much as possible, then drizzle the tops with the remaining 1/4 cup of tamari. Cover with a lid or saran wrap and marinade for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, Fahrenheit. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cut your tofu into nuggets. Using your dinosaur cookie cutters, cut out your dino tofu nuggets. I was able to make about 30 nuggets. You can use any cookie cutters of choice or even just cut into even squares/rectangles. Set aside the excess for another recipe (like tofu scramble) or you can bread the odds and ends and bake them as well.
Prepare the dredging mixtures. in a medium sized bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, ground flaxseed, garlic powder, and plant-based milk. In a second medium sized bowl, whisk together the bread crumbs, corn meal, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper.
Bread the tofu. One by one, lightly dredge the tofu nuggets first in the flour/milk mixture, tap off excess, then lightly coat in the bread crumb mixture.
Transfer the breaded nuggets to the lined cookie sheets. Spray each nugget liberally with cooking spray to help them crisp up and brown.
Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping and spraying the nuggets with oil again halfway through.
Serve. Serve immediately with ketchup, bbq sauce or dipping sauce of choice.
Storage:
These really are best eaten fresh but you can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. They will not be as crispy.
Notes
I do not recommend baking these tofu nuggets on tin foil. I find a lot of food sticks to tin foil and could rip the breading off of the tofu nuggets. Parchment paper is highly recommended or if necessary, grease a baking sheet and bake it directly on the baking sheet instead.
If you want lower sodium tofu nuggets: Use 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup low sodium tamari mixed together or omit the marinade completely.
I do not recommend using frozen, then thawed tofu for this recipe. Although it does have a chewy, chicken-like flavor, I find frozen tofu gets way too dry when baked in the oven. Save your frozen tofu for my pan fried tofu recipes: 30 Minute Crispy Peanut Tofu and Sticky Vegan Orange Chicken.