The Quickest and Easiest Seitan Recipe! (Vegan Chicken)

Just 20 minutes to make, and only 7 ingredients, this is by far the quickest and easiest seitan recipe ever!! This vegan chicken alternative is simple to whip up and perfect to add to any meal.  Crispy crunchy on the outside, and tender chewy in the middle. The perfect meaty texture to amp up any vegan meal! If you are new to making seitan this is the perfect recipe for beginners to try.

I came across a video on TikTok by @futurelettuce showing a 15-minute seitan recipe. I had to try it immediately! Unfortunately, even after trying it a few times, I wasn't super happy with the results. The seitan is first fried, and then you cover the pan with a lid for 10 minutes to cook it through. The problem with this is that by covering the seitan after it is fried, it tends to lose the crispy outside due to the steam. Or if you cover it and there isn't much moisture in the pan, then it can run this risk of burning before the seitan is cooked through. And I don't know about you, but soggy burnt vegan chicken just isn't my thing. The end result is spongey and rubbery, and just not super delicious.

But I loved the idea of making a quick seitan recipe so I had to play around with different techniques until I came up with my recipe for the quickest and easiest seitan recipe! In my experience, no matter how many techniques I try, steaming seitan is always a must. Boiling seitan makes it have a brainy spongey texture, frying seitan (without first steaming it) makes it rubbery and spongey, baking it makes it dry and rubbery. Steaming seitan, on the other hand, will yield the perfect meaty, juicy, chewy, yet tender seitan every single time. So even though I tried to get away with a one-pot recipe, it just didn't work for this recipe. The key is to first steam the seitan (which takes only 10 minutes) and then pan fry it for that crispy outside. Vegan chicken perfection!

The result is seitan that is crispy, juicy, chewy, tender, and absolutely amazing!!!! While I love all of my seitan recipes, (you can see them here), they do tend to take an hour or even longer to prepare. So I have fallen madly in love with this recipe as you just can't beat the speed of this one!

How to make the quickest and easiest seitan recipe:

Add about an inch of water to a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a light boil.
In the meantime, whisk together the vital wheat gluten, flour, vegetable broth powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Pour in the water and mix to form a ball of dough.

Lightly grease the steamer basket, then tear off bite-sized pieces of the seitan dough and place them in a single layer in the steamer basket.

Cover, and steam the seitan for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, in a small bowl or a measuring glass, mix together the Thai sweet chili sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside. (See notes for other sauce options).

When the seitan is done steaming, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or non-stick pan. Use tongs to remove the seitan bites from the steamer basket, and place them into the hot oil in the pan. Be careful as it may splatter. Cook the seitan bites a few minutes per side until they are golden brown and crispy.

Remove from the heat and add the sauce and toss to coat.

Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired and serve hot.

When preparing the seitan with the provided sauce recipe I love to serve it over a bed of rice with a side of cooked greens such as broccoli or spinach. Of course when you are using different sauce recipes, you can get as creative as you want! BBQ seitan bites would be great served with vegan potato salad, macaroni salad, or mac and cheese. Yum! For jerk seitan bites, try serving them with rice and peas and coleslaw. If you're using an Italian sauce try tossing them onto pasta. The options are endless!

Bon Appetegan!

Sam Turnbull.

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4.99 from 171 votes

The Quickest & Easiest Seitan Recipe!! (Vegan Chicken!)

Just 20 minutes to make, and only 7 ingredients, this is by far the quickest and easiest seitan recipe ever!! This vegan chicken alternative is simple to whip up and perfect to add to any meal.  Crispy crunchy on the outside, and tender chewy in the middle. The perfect meaty texture to amp up any vegan meal! If you are new to making seitan this is the perfect recipe for beginners to try.

Inspired by @futurelettuce

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course : Main Course

Cuisine : Chinese

Servings: 4

Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

Ingredients

For the seitan:

• ¾ cup vital wheat gluten
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vegetable broth powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅔ cup water

For the sauce (optional, see notes for other sauce ideas):

• 3 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons light oil for frying (such as canola or vegetable)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for garnish
• 1 small handful chopped green onions or chopped chives for garnish

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Instructions

PhotosNo Photos

• Add about an inch of water to a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a light boil.
• In the meantime, whisk together the vital wheat gluten, flour, vegetable broth powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in the water and mix to form a ball of dough. Lightly grease the steamer basket, then tear off bite-sized pieces of the seitan dough and place them in a single layer in the steamer basket. Cover, and steam the seitan for 10 minutes.
  
• In the meantime, in a small bowl or a measuring glass, mix together the Thai sweet chili sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside. (See notes for other sauce options).
• When the seitan is done steaming, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or non-stick pan. Use tongs to remove the seitan bites from the steamer basket, and place them into the hot oil in the pan. Be careful as it may splatter. Cook the seitan bites a few minutes per side until they are golden brown and crispy.
  
• Remove from the heat and add the sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired and serve hot.
  

Notes

Sauce options: the sauce recipe I provided is just one idea. You could sauce this seitan anyway you like! Just fry the seitan in oil, then stir in your favourite sauce. Any of my 12 seitan marinades would work great as a sauce!

Oil-free: I love how crispy the seitan gets by frying it in oil, but if you prefer oil-free, try frying it in a dry non-stick pan, grilling it, or tossing it in your air fryer.

Make-Ahead: you can prepare this seitan completely, let it cool, and then store in an air-tight in the fridge for 3 - 5 days. The seitan will be chewier when cold. Alternatively, you could allow the seitan to cool after steaming (but before frying) and store the steamed seitan in the fridge, then you can fry it fresh. 

Freezing: seitan freezes wonderfully, allow the seitan to cool after steaming (but before frying) and store in an air-tight container in the freezer. 

Vital wheat gluten is essential to this recipe, and there is no substitute. Therefore this recipe cannot be made gluten-free. For a vegan gluten-free chicken inspired recipe try my Baked Tofu Bites recipe.

Steaming tips: you need to steam the seitan bites before using them. I recommend getting a steamer pot if you plan to make seitan often, or you can use a DIY method if you do not have a steamer.

Cleaning tips: vital wheat gluten is very sticky and can destroy dish brushes and cloths. So what I like to do is save old clothes, sheets, or towels that are too shabby to donate, and cut them into rags. I use these rags to clean up after preparing a seitan recipe and discard the rag once finished.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving of seitan fried in oil, but without sauce (recipe makes 4 servings) | Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 364mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2mg

Did You Make This Recipe?Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and Hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken