Seitan Fried “Chicken”
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This Seitan Fried Chicken recipe has all the flavor and CRUNCH of the Chicken Sandwiches I used to eat! It’s Finger Lickin’ Delicious!
Now Seitan is one of those things I had heard about for a while after going vegan. And I bought a bag of Vital Wheat Gluten, and put it up on my shelf and would look at it every other day and say “not today Seitan” because I was so intimidated by it.
I mean, there’s so many ways you can make it, you can boil it, pressure cook it, bake it, steam it, etc so I thought, there’s too much room for error!
But honestly, you just gotta get your hands dirty and make some and experiment, and find out what you like. For me, this is one of the best ways to cook and enjoy seitan!
This recipe is inspired by my friend Lacey who runs the blog Avocados and Ales, and her world famous Chickwheat recipe, so check her recipe and blog out for sure! She’s amazing!
While Lacey shreds her Seitan up, I decided to fry mine, but it’d be find without the breading too! You can shred it, slice it, treat it however you like!
ingredients for seitan fried chicken
The base of this recipe is Vital Wheat Gluten and Chickpeas! Unfortunately there is no substitute for the vital wheat gluten.
I haven’t tested it out, but other folks have used white beans, or something similar instead of chickpeas as well.
Now, seitan is a lot like chicken in the sense that it can be pretty bland if you don’t season it right.
For this recipe I’m using nutritional yeast, mushroom seasoning and some vegan chicken seasoning amongst some other spices. But feel free to use whatever you like!
special equipment
The only special equipment recommended for this recipe is an Instant Pot or some kind of pressure cooker.
You can also steam these on the stove top for the same amount of time, flipping and rotating them every 20 minutes or so.
You’ll also need a Food Processor. You can also use a stand mixer according to Lacey’s recipe, but I opted for my Food Processor since it’s lighter to carry into the kitchen!
how to make seitan fried chicken
First, you’ll wanna blend up everything but the vital wheat gluten.
Once everything is smooth, add the vital wheat gluten and blend on high. If the dough feels soft and wet, you might need to add a little more vital wheat gluten.
I recommend processing it for 5 – 8 minutes. Depending on the size of your food processor you may need to blend in batches.
Blend until smooth. Add in the vital wheat gluten and blend that until it forms some nice long stretchy gluten strands.
Once the seitan is looking good, let it rest for 15 minutes. Then roll it out about 1/2″ thick. Divide it into balls about 120 grams each. You should about 6 balls and a little leftover.
Roll the balls out into a filet about the size of a chicken breast, and try to keep them as thin as possible, no more than 1/2 inch thick ideally.
Wrap all the filets individually in heavy duty foil. You can wrap them first in parchment paper if you want as well. Make sure you wrap them tight so they don’t expand, you can even double wrap them to make sure.
In your Instant Pot, add a steamer basket and some water (making sure it’s below the steamer basket). Add the filets and extra nuggets and steam on high pressure for 1 hour 20 minutes.
Release the pressure (carefully of course). You can also steam these on the stove top for the same amount of time, flipping and rotating them every 20 minutes or so. Let the seitan filets rest until cool enough to handle.
Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a marinating vessel such as tupperware or a freezer bag.
Once the Seitan is cool enough to handle, unwrap them and add them to the marinating vessel, ensuring that they are all covered in the marinade.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is ideal.
Prepare the dry dredge by combining and whisking everything in a large bowl or high rimmed plate.
Remove the filets from the marinade, then add a few tablespoons of flour to the marinade to thicken if needed (add marinade to a bowl if using a ziploc bag).
Bring a pot or heavy cast iron skillet and some neutral oil up to 375 F / 190 C. Don’t fill the pot with oil more than half way!
Once oil is up to temperature, dip your chick’n pieces in dry dredge, coating thoroughly and shaking off the excess.
To double dredge, coat them in the leftover marinade, letting the excess drip off, and then repeat the dry dredging process.
I also recommend making a few nuggets to test the seasoning out first so you can adjust as needed before frying the big guys!
Carefully add them to the oil and fry until golden brown, about 4 – 5 minutes. Let them rest on a wire rack until cooled.
Eat them however you’d like, they are great on a bun with some pickles and a zip zappin sauce!
TIPS FOR VEGAN FRIED CHICK’N
- Use a heavy bottomed pot (Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, Carbon Steel etc)
- I highly recommend a Deep Fry Thermometer to monitor the oil temp.
- Use a neutral tasting, high smoke point oil (Canola, Vegetable, Peanut etc.)
- Make sure to use UNSWEETENED plant milk. I like RIPPLE the best.
- Add flour as needed to thicken the vegan buttermilk mixture.
- Shake off the excess flour and batter when you dredge.
- Fry a test nugget to test the seasoning and adjust as needed.
- Let the chick’n rest on a Wire Rack after frying to prevent soggy chick’n.
SAFETY TIPS FOR DEEP FRYING
- Don’t leave the pot unattended.
- Keep children away from the pot.
- Don’t fill the pot more than halfway with oil. Don’t overcrowd it as well.
- Turn the handles of the pot away from you to avoid accidental spills.
- Keep a lid nearby so you can cover the pot if it catches fire.
- Never use water to put out an oil fire.
- Get a Fire Extinguisher just to be extra safe. This isn’t just good for deep frying, but for having in the house in general!
DEEP FRY ALTERNATIVES
If you want to see about alternatives to deep frying, check out my BEST WAYS TO FRY VEGAN CHICKEN post!
other recipes you’ll dig!
handy dandy video here!
Recommendations for Kitchen Gear, Spices & Pantry Items, Photos and Videos, are on my AMAZON Storefront!
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, please leave a rating & review! It really helps out the blog and it makes my day, thank you!
Seitan Fried Chicken
Ingredients
Seitan Chick'n
- 1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas including the aquafaba liquid
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp mushroom seasoning
- 1 Tbsp vegan chicken powder (optional)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
- 180 grams vital wheat gluten
Marinade
- 2 cups unsweetened plant milk
- 2 Tbsp pickle brine
- 2 Tbsp hot sauce
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 - 2 Tbsp all purpose seasoning (like a Cajun seasoning)
- Flour as needed (to thicken)
Dry Dredge
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp all purpose seasoning (like a Cajun seasoning)
Instructions
- For the seitan, combine all the ingredients except the vital wheat gluten in a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Add in the vital wheat gluten and process until the gluten has long stretchy strands. About 5 - 8 minutes. Add more vital wheat gluten if the dough is too wet and soft. If your food processor is having a hard time, divide the dough in half and do it in two sessions.
- Once Seitan has been kneaded, let it rest for 15 minutes. Divide it into balls about 120 grams each. You should about 6 balls and a little leftover. Form the leftovers into little nuggets (to test the seasoning when frying).
- Roll the balls out into a filet about the size of a chicken breast, and try to keep them as thin as possible, no more than 1/2 inch thick ideally. Wrap all the filets individually in heavy duty foil. You can wrap them first in parchment paper if you want as well. Make sure they are wrapped up tight so they don't expand, you can even double wrap them to make sure.
- In your Instant Pot, add a steamer basket and some water (making sure it's below the steamer basket). Add the filets and extra nuggets and steam on high pressure for 1 hour 20 minutes. Release the pressure (carefully of course). You can also steam these on the stove top for the same amount of time, flipping and rotating them every 20 minutes or so. Let the seitan filets rest until cool enough to handle.
- Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a marinating vessel such as tupperware or a freezer bag.
- Once the Seitan is cool enough to handle, unwrap them and add them to the marinating vessel, ensuring that they are all covered in the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but overnight is ideal.
- Prepare the dry dredge by combining and whisking everything in a large bowl or high rimmed plate. Remove the filets from the marinade, then add a few tablespoons of flour to the marinade to thicken if needed (add marinade to a bowl if using a ziploc bag).
- Bring a pot or heavy cast iron skillet and some neutral oil up to 375 F / 190 C. Don't fill the pot with oil more than half way!
- Once oil is up to temperature, dip your chick'n pieces in dry dredge, coating thoroughly and shaking off the excess. To double dredge, coat them in the leftover marinade, letting the excess drip off, and then repeat the dry dredging process.
- Carefully add them to the oil and fry until golden brown, about 4 - 5 minutes.
- Let them rest on a cooling rack, and once they're done, eat them however you'd like, they are great on a bun with some pickles and a zip zappin sauce!
Skip to Recipe
This sounds really good, I often crave spicy chicken sandwiches (especially Popeyes) but I don’t want to keep spending a lot of money and I want to try eating healthier. I am curious how long I can keep seitan ready to make in the fridge or freezer?
Hi! Hope you enjoy these! I haven’t tested it out, but I think the Seitan will last in the fridge for 5 – 7 days, in the freezer I would say at least 3 months! Thanks!
This looks great! Would it work to bake these in the oven? And if so how hot/how long, do you think?
That I’m not sure of, I would need to test it out!
Hi, I just made them in the oven at 200c and they came out great. Of course fry will have another consistency as absorbs more oil but they came very crispy .
Oh that’s good to know! I’m gonna film a video this week where I test out the oven and air fryer, so thanks, I’ll try that out!
Hi do we need to use chick peas? Could we leave them out and get the same results? Thank you!
The results will not be the same, I can’t guarantee it’ll turn out good. You can use another bean like cannellini beans instead of chickpeas.
Great! Thank you! Making some now!
Is there a way to replace the vital wheat gluten with washed flour seitan? Would it be possible to add the chickpeas, etc. to the washed flour? VWG simply isn’t an option right now.
I don’t think so, but I’m developing a washed flour steak recipe right now and plan on doing a chicken soon there after!
Awesome!! Can’t wait! ☺️☺️
These are amazing! The whole family loved them will be making them again!
Awesome, thank you! 🙌🙌🙌
Greetings from Sweden,
My seitan filets are on top of the stove as we speak.
Can’t wait to bite in!
Is there a way to cook the seitan without an instapot? I have a steamer basket available.
Yes, the recipe notes mention that you can steam them on the stovetop!
Do you steam them still wrapped in the foil/parchment paper?
Ive tried ALOT of vegan seitan chikn recipes and this is by far the best one, non vegan family members loved it too. Im trying the next batch as nuggets, had one question, did you steamed the nuggets ? or directly fried them?
That’s great to hear! Yes you want to steam them before frying.
Do you have an airfryer option for these? Great recipe