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!
So yummy, Nora, thanks so much!!
Do you know if there is an alternative to gluten flour from modern wheats, which are not very healthy? From einkorn wheat for example?
Sorry, there is no substitute for vital wheat gluten here. It’s what gives the “chicken” its meaty consistency.
Love your recipes. This is my third time trying to make Seitan with different recipes but they all turn out the same, chewy like rubber, which I guess some people are okay with but I can’t eat it with that consistency. I’ve had seitan in restaurants and it comes out perfect, like not too chewy. Any idea on how to make this not so chewy, mushy, rubbery? Less than a minute for kneading? Longer than 30 minutes in the steamer? Thanks.
Hey there, first time trying this out and I’m really excited for it! Is it okay to eat it after it’s been steamed without grilling/frying afterwards? I might be making this recipe a lot and would really like to skip that step unless it’s absolutely necessary (from a taste as well as food safety point of view)
I intend to refrigerate it after it’s been steamed and just heat it in the microwave throughout the week. Any thoughts on that? 😀
Hi John. I’m glad you’ll be trying out the vegan chicken! Yes, you can eat the vegan chicken without grilling or frying. Also, it can be reheated in the microwave. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Excellent recipe, I’ve made it 4 times and each time it gets better LOL
Hi Jennifer. I’m happy to learn you are enjoying the recipe! Thanks for sharing your positive feedback!
Wow I just made this turned out absolutely great the flavor is just awesome cooked up really nice in a pan had a crispy outside that nice soft inside was perfect incredible recipe
Hi Jeff. Thanks for your wonderful feedback and review! I’m thrilled you loved the recipe!
Is there any replacement for onion and garlic powder?
You could use freshly grated onion or garlic instead or leave them out entirely.
Hi, Nora. Your recipes seem so easy & look delicious. Making the Black Bean Sweet Potato Chili, Cornbread & Cashew Sour Cream tonight.. I have dabbled in plant-based, vegan, vegetarian meals over the years and haven’t ventured the Seitan cooking yet. As I am the only one who eats like this in my household it makes it hard to cook for 1. So knowing I can freeze this will be wonderful. So, I don’t mess things up & get turned off by trying this “Chicken” Seitan recipe. My question is after you steam pre-cook in foil is that when you freeze? Or do you have to do the final cook process of fry, grill, or oven cook etc before freezing?
This is so wonderful to hear! I’m so happy my recipes can help make eating vegan a little easier for you. And yes, you can freeze the “chicken” after it’s been steamed.