Vegan “Chicken” is seitan based, perfectly flavored and surprisingly easy to make. Chewy, meaty and perfect for grilling, frying or using anywhere you would chicken! Only 9 ingredients & 1 bowl.
This vegan chicken is made from vital wheat gluten aka seitan. Seitan is a vegan meat substitute that is nothing like tofu. It’s chewy, meaty, high in protein and very versatile. It can be flavored in a variety of ways, and this particular recipe mimics chicken.
While you can sometimes find seitan to buy at the store, it can be very expensive. Plus, homemade tastes much better and is so easy to make! Check out my Vegan Pepperoni for another seitan recipe.
Grill it, sauté it in a little vegan butter, add a splash of fresh lemon juice, or slice and use in stir fries, curries and more!
How to make it
- Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl: vital wheat gluten, flour, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Stir.
- Pour in the broth (either vegan chicken flavor or vegetable is fine) and olive oil (2 tbs).
- Stir well until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, and knead for just a minute, not too long, until it comes together. Break into 6 pieces and press gently into circles or similar shapes.
- Wrap each piece in foil. Place them all in a steamer basket and steam for 30 minutes.
- Remove them from the foil. Now you can fry, grill or slice and eat!
How long will it keep?
It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about 1 week, and the cooked pieces can also be frozen for 3 months.
Recipes to use vegan chicken in
- Vegan Pot Pie – in place of the store bought vegan chicken
- Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip – in place of the artichokes, chopped small
- Vegan Sour Cream Enchiladas – add in, or instead of cauliflower
- Vegan Tikka Masala
- Vegan Butter Chicken
- Kung Pao Tofu – use chicken instead of tofu
Vegan Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups vegan chikn flavored broth or vegetable broth*
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the vital wheat gluten, flour, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and salt. Stir to combine.
- To the bowl with the dry ingredients, pour in the broth and oil. Stir well until the mixture starts to pull away from the bowl.
- Transfer to a lightly floured surface, and knead with your hands for just a minute until it comes together, not too much. It will still be quite messy, not a smooth dough.
- Break into 6 pieces and press gently into circles, or "chicken" shapes. They can all be different and they don't have to be perfect, just try to make them similar sizes so they cook evenly.
- Wrap each piece in foil. Place all 6 pieces in a steamer basket with water on the bottom and steam for 30 minutes.
- Remove carefully from the foil. Now you can either pan fry them in a little vegan butter or oil, grill them, or slice and use anywhere you would like. Enjoy!
Notes
- Makes about 1.5 pounds of seitan "chicken".
- It will keep for about a week in the refrigerator, and can be frozen for longer. Simply thaw completely before using.
- If needed, you can leave out the olive oil.
- This "chicken" can be grilled, sautéed in a little oil or vegan butter, or sliced and used in a variety of recipes such as stir fries, soups, vegan pot pie and more!
OMG! The flavour came through in this! I sliced it up and added to an open face sandwich style, and poured an oat based gravy on it. Who says you can’t still have some old favourites but healthier and no animals were hurt in the process!
I am going to attempt to shred this and see how it turns out. I think the possibilities are endless with this one!
It’s a keeper!
Hi Nora could I use Chickpea flour instead of all purpose flour with recipe?
You probably could, yes.
I love this and have made it a number of times. I am wondering if I can omit the salt?
Hi Carol. Yes, you can omit the salt!
Hello
How long to cook it for? I am going to use air fryer and do you think if I filled like veggies or cheese inside it would work? I have an idea to fill it and wrap vegan bacon around and then cook in air fryer. The regular diets have a bacon wrap chk breast and I want to create one vegan style.
Nora, This chicken is really great and easy too, do you think I could somehow make it into ground chicken, I am getting requests for ‘chicken/or turkey’ meatballs.
Thank you I do get the best results from all of your recipes
I took the steamed seitan and browned it in veg butter with BBQ sauce. Oh yum. The next day, I heated it in a covered dish in the microwave, which improved the texture. Again, yum.
Hi Vicki. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe experience and idea! It sounds delicious! I appreciate your support and your terrific review!
Hi, I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I wanted to ask you a question.Could I make something like this into a vegan Chicken Fried steak when I wasn’t vegan I used to love chicken fried steak and I really want to try to make that.
I bet you could, but I haven’t tried it! It’s a fun idea.
I really like these and they were easy to make. I used the Kroger brand no chicken broth. Thanks 🙏 for sharing your recipe with us!
You are welcome, Shannon! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing your terrific review and recipe experience! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
This has to be the best seitan recipe I’ve ever made! I was nervous after mixing because it seemed a little wet but it turned out perfect. Thank you!!
You bet, Tina! I’m so glad that you tried the recipe and that you loved it! I appreciate you taking time to share your awesome review and feedback!
Great recipe. How do you avoid the outside from becoming tough?
I’ve been making this recipe for the last couple of years and it’s without a doubt the best vegan chicken I’ve tried. It’s easy to make and it doesn’t take long!
Hi Janira. I’m really glad to know that you are loving the vegan chicken recipe! I appreciate your awesome review and feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
I’ve tried many recipes for Seitan “chicken” and we like this one the best!
Thank you.
Can this be steamed in an instant pot? How long would you steam it for?
I haven’t tried it, but it should work. I’d probably try for around 10 minutes, but I’m not entirely sure.
Hey Nora, thank you so much for the recipe (all of your recipes actually ha)
I’m curious if it is possible to freeze them in between the steaming and grilling steps. I’d love to make a larger batch, steam them and freeze them and then just grill them up when I’m ready, but I don’t want to waste food if it’s not going to work. Do you happen to know?
Hi Kathryn. You are so welcome! Thank YOU for your encouraging words! I’m so happy you are enjoying my recipes! Yes, you can freeze the “chicken” after it’s been steamed. Happy cooking!
I have made this recipe many of times and love it. Thisis time it turned out very sticky. What did I do wrong?
I did use canola oil instead of olive oil this time
Love this recipe! I have used it so many times–Veganized marry-me-chicken, cut up in a simple meal prep, sliced and put into a sandwich, diced and put in salads, you name it. Only downside of it is that I am not feeling great about the tin foil usage. Do you have any suggestions for reusable alternatives? Or is it advisable to omit the step with the tinfoil?
Thanks very much, for your recipe and for your time!
Thanks Charlie, I’m so happy to are enjoying the vegan chicken in various ways! I hear you on the foil. You can actually steam it without wrapping in foil. Just make sure you aren’t accidentally boiling it (try not to let the water touch it). It might be a little softer, but it does work.
Great to know, thanks very much!
Just addressing this to Charlie! Use parchment paper. That’s what I use. If I need a specific form like a sausage for example, I’ll use the parchment paper first, then wrap it up with the foil. The foil never touches the food.
Hope this helps!
in the past week I have made the vegan chicken as well as the easy seitan and they have both turned out awesome! I’m so happy to have found something thats easy and replaces chicken so well. thank you!
You bet, Barbara! How wonderful you are loving the recipes! I appreciate you choosing my recipes! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Hi Nora,
Thank you for all the scrumptious recipes. Is it ok to mix-in the broth water while it is hot?
I use chicken bouillon but it needs boiling hot water to dissolve it. Thank you in advance.
Yes, that should be just fine.