I’m incredibly excited to share this vegan chicken nugget recipe with all of you. These nuggets are tender, juicy, and have a great chicken flavor. What’s the best part? They freeze perfectly making them an easy vegan meal. They are significantly more cost-effective too.
These vegan nuggets are seitan based, dairy-free, and nut-free. Sadly the meat alternative cannot be made gluten-free as a core ingredient is gluten flour. I do have a substitute listed down below including a gluten-free alternative.
Learn how to make these vegan seitan nuggets down below.
What are vegan chicken nuggets made of?
Predominantly most homemade and commercially sold vegan chicken nuggets are made of seitan. Though there are many soy or tofu-based nuggets you can buy in-stores or make at home.
What is seitan?
Seitan (pronounced SAY-ten) is a plant-based meat alternative made from vital wheat gluten. Also known as wheat meat, this meat alternative has been around for centuries and is what most commercial meat-alternatives of made of such as brands like lightlife, fieldroast, and tofurky to name just a few.
You can make simple seitan by just mixing the vital wheat gluten with some liquid and cooking, but commonly it is mixed with a puree made of broths, beans, legumes, and vegetables.
The seitan recipe that we will be using is adapted from Avocados and Ales chickwheat recipe.
How are vegan chicken nuggets made?
While everyone will make their nuggets a little differently, most people and companies make a chicken substitute out of seitan or soy, dip in a batter and then a coating, and finally fry or bake them.
For my recipe, I will be frying them. I find the texture of the coating to be much crispier when it’s fried.
How do you reheat the vegan chicken nuggets?
You can reheat vegan chicken nuggets by microwaving, baking, or air frying. Each method has its own advantages.
How to microwave vegan chicken nuggets.
If you are reheating the nuggets, you can simply microwave 5 nuggets on a plate for 60-90 seconds, 10 nuggets for 2-2 1/2 minutes, and 15 nuggets for 3-3 1/2 minutes.
How to reheat in the oven:
Preheat your oven to 400F/204C. Place the nuggets in a single layer on a baking tray and cook them for 20 minutes.
How to air fry vegan chicken nuggets.
Preheat your air fryer to 400F/204C. Place the nuggets in a single layer in the basket and cook them for 7-8 minutes.
Are vegan chicken nuggets healthy?
Not really, but neither are meat-based nuggets. Vegan chicken nuggets have relatively the same if not better macros than chicken based ones. These vegan nuggets are considerable more ethical, have a small impact on our environment, and of course, don’t require an animal’s life.
Caloric value might vary, if this is important to you, measure the ingredients and weigh each nugget as you make them. Myfitnesspal has a great macro tracker.
5 Tyson Chicken nuggets have 270 calories, 17 grams of fat, 40mg of cholesterol, 470 grams of sodium, 15 grams of carbs, and 14 grams of protein.
5 of these vegan chicken nuggets has 220 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0mg of cholesterol, 111 grams of sodium, 29 grams of carbs, and 21 grams of protein.
Overall these vegan chicken nuggets are healthier than their meat alternative if carbs are not a concern for you. Remember, just like any food, balance is key.
Substitutions:
Gluten-Free:
To make these nuggets gluten-free you will need to adjust the meat-alternative, dredging, and dry coating. For the meat-alternative, I would use tofu instead. I have a specific direction about what to do with tofu to make it taste better here on my vegan KFC chicken post. Look for the “Vegan chicken substitutes” section.
To make the dredging gluten-free, replace the all-purpose flour with a 1-1 gluten-free flour. Our favorite is this one from King Arthur Flour.*
To make the coating gluten-free, use that same 1-1 gluten-free flour and gluten-free panko. You should be able to find this at most major grocery stores, but you can also get here on Amazon.*
Miso Paste:
If you can’t get miso paste, you can simply exclude it from the recipe and replace it with more vegan chicken broth. This is our favorite vegan chicken broth. *
If you try this recipe we would love for you to leave a comment below or tag us on one of our social media accounts and share how it turned out. Also, if you want to stay up to date with future recipes make sure you subscribe to get alerts straight to your email.
If you liked this recipe check out some of our others like these Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower (Air Fried), or maybe something sweet like our Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie.
Vegan Chick'n Nuggets
Equipment
- Deepfryer or Large Pot
- Large Pot
- Food processor
Ingredients
Seitan:
- 150 grams or (1 cup) cooked beans (chickpea, navy, or butter beans.)
- 1/2 cup vegan chicken broth
- 1 tbsp white miso
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp sage powder
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 128 grams or 3/4 cup and 2 tbsp) vital wheat gluten
Boiling Broth:
- 6 cupa water or vegan broth (I used vegetable broth cubes.)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 onion (yellow, sweet, or white)
- 2 garlic cloves
Wet Batter:
- 1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk ( I use soy or almond)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Dry Coating:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup panko or bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Deep Frying:
- 2-3 cups frying oil (Vegetable or Peanut Oil)
Instructions
Making the seitan dough:
- In a food processor, add all the beans, broth, miso, nutritional yeast, sage, onion powder, garlic powder, and apple cider vinegar. Blend this mixture until it’s smooth and no large chunks of bean remain.
- Next, add your vital wheat gluten and process until it’s evenly mixed, and no large amount of vital wheat gluten remains.
- Allow the seitan dough to rest for 15 minutes. Doing this will allow for the gluten strings to develop. The gluten strings are what give the seitan a chicken-like texture. Once the 15 minutes have passed, process the mixture again for 5 minutes.
- Next, roll the seitan out into a thin log. Cut the seitan log into 30-35 pieces. Using your hands, press each piece into your desired nugget shapes. *Note that the nuggets do expand as you boil, so you’ll want to cut and shape them smaller than you want them to be. You can always cut them after they cool as well*
Boiling the seitan:
- When you have all the nugget pieces cut out, add your broth or water, salt, bay leaves, onion, and garlic cloves into a large pot and bring up to a boil.
- Once the mixture has begun to boil, add the seitan pieces and boil them for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure the nuggets don't dry out when they float to the top of the pot.
- Remove the seitan nuggets from the broth and allow it to cool until you can safely handle it. *You can pour the broth and nuggets through a colander and either discard the broth or save for a soup, stew, or gravy.*
Frying the nuggets:
- While the nuggets cool, mix the flour, non-dairy milk, and salt in a bowl to make your wet batter.
- Once the nuggets are cooled and before coating, squeeze any excess moisture out of the seitan. It absorbs some while simmering which is why they turn out so tender, but if we don't squeeze out some, it will be too spongey and wet.
- Next, make your dry coating by mixing the flour, panko or bread crumbs, paprika, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne powder, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl.
- Start to bring your oil up to 350 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer you can check if the oil is ready by flicking some water off your hands into the oil. If the oil start’s crackling, it’s ready for you to start frying.
- Now batter the seitan nuggets by dipping in the wet batter, shaking off any excess, tossing in the dry coating, and finally shaking off the excess dry coating. Place your coated and ready to fry nuggets on a plate. I like to batter as I fry for time efficiency, but you can batter all of them first then fry if you’d like.
- Gentle place 5-8 coated seitan nuggets into the oil and fry for around 3-5 minutes, or until the coating becomes golden brown and crispy. Stir occasionally to ensure all sides are evenly cooked. Repeat this step until you have cooked all your nuggets.
- Place the fried nuggets on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the excess oil. Serve with your favorite side dish, dipping sauce, and enjoy!