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Meal prep is so much easier with this Vegan Chicken in the fridge! This high-protein, homemade seitan recipe is juicy, succulent, and surprisingly easy to make. If you've never had seitan before, it's a chewy, meaty vegan chicken substitute that tastes way better than anything store-bought. Make a batch ahead of time and keep it in the fridge or freezer for quick, satisfying meals all week.
FEATURED COMMENT:
This is the BEST seitan I've ever had and I make this recipe frequently. I freeze the tenders in packs of two and make a different marinade for each pack. - Saraswati ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
After the popularity of my Vegan Seitan Steak, which ended up starting a love of making seitan, I got a lot of requests for a seitan version of a vegan chicken recipe. Well, ask and you shall receive. I introduce to you my Vegan Chicken! ...And yes, it does taste like chicken. Ba dum dum tsk!
What is Seitan?
Seitan (pronounced say-tan) is a high-protein, meat-like food made from vital wheat gluten, the protein-rich part of wheat. When mixed with liquid and cooked, it becomes chewy, firm, and savory, making it one of the best vegan meat alternatives out there.
It's been used for centuries in Asian cuisines and is sometimes called wheat meat or mock duck. In this recipe, we turn it into juicy, tender vegan chicken you can use in everything from stir-fries to sandwiches to sheet pan dinners.
Bonus: It's budget-friendly, freezer-friendly, protein-packed and WAY more delicious than most store-bought options.
Why You'll Love This Vegan Chicken Recipe
Store-bought vegan chicken is often rubbery, bland, or packed with additives, and it's pricey. This homemade version is juicy, tender, packed with flavor, and budget-friendly.
- Juicy and succulent. No dry spongey seitan here! I've balanced the ingredients and flavors in this vegan chicken recipe so it turned out tender and delicious.
- Easy to make. Just 8 ingredients, and most of the work is hands off. I love batch cooking this and stocking my freezer full of plant-based chicken!
- Great for meal prep. This recipe can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge for several days, or in the freezer so you can have vegan chicken on hand whenever you like.
- Perfect swap for any chicken recipe. Once steamed and cooled, you can swap this into any of your favorite chicken recipes. My favorite way to enjoy it? Marinate the tenders overnight, then pan-fry until golden. Chef's kiss.
- A wholesome alternative. 1 batch makes 6 cutlets and each one contains 156 calories, 8g carbohydrates, 26g protein, and 2g fat.
Ingredients:
- Vital wheat gluten: Vital wheat gluten is wheat flour with most of the starch removed (leaving behind almost pure wheat protein)! It is an ancient process, and this wheat protein is what makes seitan have that meaty texture. Unfortunately, there is no substitute. And that means this recipe cannot be made gluten-free. For a vegan gluten-free chicken-inspired recipe try my Baked Tofu Bites.
- Soft or silken tofu: This gives the seitan a juicy, tender texture. Be sure to measure carefully and use the right tofu type, firm or extra-firm will make the seitan too dense.
- Seasonings: Nutritional yeast, onion powder, vegetable broth powder or bouillon, garlic powder, and salt make it taste like chicken. (Do I need to change the name of my blog now?)
How To Make Vegan Chicken
- Combine: Add all of the ingredients to a food processor.
- Process: Turn on the food processor and mix the dough until it forms a ball.
- Shape: Turn the dough out onto a surface lightly floured with vital wheat gluten. Divide into 6 pieces and shape each into an oval.
- Steam: Add the vegan chicken to a greased steamer basket set over simmering water. Cover and steam for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through the cooking time.
- Cool. Allow the vegan chicken to cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerate for an hour before using; if you'd like, you can chill it in a marinade for extra flavor. (Check out my recipes for 12 Seitan or Tofu Marinades for endless flavor combos!)
- Cook. The world is your oyster! Use this vegan chicken any way you'd use chicken breast. In these photos, I fried them in a bit of vegan butter, and seasoned with salt, black pepper, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon. This makes the outside crispy and the inside stays tender and juicy.
Tips for Perfect Seitan Chicken
- No food processor? Use a bowl. It takes a little more work, but it's still easy! Just the ingredients to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dough forms a ball.
- Make any shape you like. You can shape the seitan into small bites or nuggets, make the seitan into a big slab to slice and pan-fry, whatever! Just keep in mind that shapes that are thicker will take more time to steam.
- Cook in batches if needed. Seitan expands while steaming, so leave space in the basket or cook in batches.
- Make them extra chicken-y. You can mix poultry seasoning into the seitan mixture and/or use a vegan chicken bouillon instead of vegetable. (Poultry seasoning doesn't actually contain any poultry, it just has herbs and spices often used with chicken!)
How to Use This Vegan Chicken
Think of this like your plant-based chicken breast, you can marinate it, grill it, fry it, roast it, or slice it into your favorite recipes. Try it in stir-fries, sandwiches, tacos, salads, pasta dishes, or even breaded as vegan nuggets. I personally love it pan-fried with one of these marinades (my favorite is the sweet & smoky), or chopped up in my Vegan Chicken Caesar Salad.
How to Store
- Refrigerator: Refrigerate this vegan chicken in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: To freeze the seitan, let it cool completely and then transfer it an airtight freezer bag or container. If you'd like, you can freeze it in a marinade.
More Vegan Chicken Recipes You Might Like:
- Buttermilk Fried Oyster Mushrooms
- The Quickest and Easiest Seitan Recipe (Vegan Chicken)
- Vegan Chicken (Washed Flour Seitan)
- Vegan Chicken Wings
- Vegan Orange Chicken
If you try this vegan chicken recipe, let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Chicken (Seitan)
This homemade Vegan Chicken is juicy, flavorful and easy to make. It's a meal prep staple you can use in so many different ways!
Servings:
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Ingredients
For the vegan seitan tenders:
- 1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten, plus more for dusting
- 1 block (10.6oz/ 300g) soft or silken tofu, (1 ¼ cups)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons vegetable broth powder, vegetable instant stock mix powder, or 1 vegetable bouillon cube
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the vital wheat gluten, tofu, water, nutritional yeast, onion powder, vegetable broth powder, garlic powder, and salt to a food processor and pulse to combine until everything is well mixed and the dough forms a ball. *Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor in a large bowl mash the tofu using a potato masher until smooth. Add the water, nutritional yeast, onion powder, vegetable broth powder, garlic powder, and salt and mix. Lastly, mix in the vital wheat gluten to form a dough.
- Lightly dust a clean work surfaces with a bit of the vital wheat gluten. Turn the dough ball onto the surface and lightly dust the top with a little more vital wheat gluten. The dough will be soft and very sticky so this will help it from sticking to your hands. Do not knead the dough, kneading it will make it tough. Cut the dough ball into 6 pieces and use the tips of your fingers to press each piece of dough into an oval shape about 5" x 6".
- Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a gentle simmer. Lightly grease the steamer basket and lay the tenders in the basket. If the tenders need to overlap each other, spray the tenders with a bit of oil to stop them from sticking together. Cover and steam at a gentle simmer for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through or until the seitan's internal temperature reaches at least 160°F (71°C) when tested with an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature goes higher, that's perfectly fine-you can't really oversteam seitan.
- Once steamed, remove the tenders and let cool. Cover or put in an airtight container and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, or for up to 3 - 4 days. You can either chill the tenders without any additional seasoning, or you could toss the tenders in your favourite marinade. The tenders shrink and firm up a bit when chilled and this results in the best texture.
- Once chilled, the tenders are fully cooked and edible, but you can now treat them as you would raw chicken -season and cook them as you desire. The cooking time can be short as they only need to be heated through but prepare them any way that you might prepare a chicken breast. Pan fry or grill them, bread or crust them, slice them for salad, pasta, or stirfry, cut them into nuggets, add them to burritos, tacos, or sandwiches. The options are endless!* Learn my secret tricks to making perfect seitan in my free masterclass. Click here to learn more and register.
Notes
Shape of tenders: if the end appearance of the tenders is important to you, make sure to allow lots of room around each tender to expand. You may want to steam the tenders in batches as when they overlap each other they can sometimes end up as weird shapes. This won't matter if you plan on slicing them, but you can consider it if you plan to serve the tenders whole.
Oil-free: for oil-free you can skip greasing the steamer basket and tenders. The tenders will expand and stick together when steaming and may tear when you try to separate them, but the end result will still be equally delicious. 🙂
Freezing: to freeze the tenders, let them cool completely before freezing. Freeze in an airtight freezer bag or container. You can freeze them plain or in the marinade of your choice.
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 tenders 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: 1 serving (recipe makes 6 servings) | Calories: 159kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 486mg | Potassium: 187mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕
Eibhlin says
I made these the night before last. It was a spur of the moment thing, I was already prepping for my "real" dinner 😉 and while getting the nooch out of the cupboard I discovered a packet of silken tofu that needed using up and remembered seeing your photo... So I thought a sort of scallopini could go well with the spinach-mushroom pasta I had planned... and what can I say, they were AMAZING!!! So quick to mix together. I left them to cool on the window sill and fried up 2 as soon as they had cooled down.
I pan-fried them in vegan butter with a splash of lemon juice and they were super tender but had a bit of bite,
Thank you so much for this recipe <3 The best meal of 2019 so far!
Sam Turnbull says
That sounds amazing! So thrilled you loved them so much, Eibhlin 🙂
Eibhlin says
Need to write again and let you know that my flatmate has been using these torn into pieces for Syrian recipes where his family usually uses chicken. So far we’ve had kabseh, freekeh and molukhia and all a success. I have used them in creamy sauces, as steaks, as sandwiches, so versatile and so delicious. Thanks again xoxo
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful! Thrilled you love them so much!
Elaine Garnett says
So quick, so easy and so tasty. Seitan can be a faff but not this recipe. I’ll be cooking this again for sure. Thank you.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! Thrilled you loved it so much, Elaine 🙂
Lori says
I followed the recipe exactly.. they did not grow (double in size) after steaming. I pan fried them in vegan butter and lemon juice. They were really rubbery, had to use a steak knife.. They tasted ok, but I can’t guess what went awry!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Lori, it sounds like something went wrong during the cooking, or perhaps a measurement was off, as seitan always grows when it cooks. These tenders poof up quite a lot and then as they cool they shrink a bit. Other things that could make the rubbery are over-kneading the dough (this recipe requires no kneading), boiling the water instead of keeping it at a simmer, or not letting them chill completely before preparing. Hope that helps!
Lori says
Very interesting info, I will try again. Is it possible that the VWG was stale? I got it out of a bulk bin. Curious!! Love your food passion, thanks!!!❤️
Sam Turnbull says
I don't believe that would be the problem, vital wheat gluten is shelf stable for years. Thanks 🙂
Brenda Wiley says
Sam .. thanks for the added info about not over-kneading and about keeping the water at a simmer. My first batch (made last week) never did poof up, but with attention to those two details, my second batch .. just now done, are PERFECT!! Poofed up just like the Pillsbury Dough Boy!!
I just love how quick and easy these come together! And the flavor is out of this world good!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! So happy we could figure out the problem. I will add some notes to the recipe to make sure everyone stays on track 🙂
Susi says
Hello from Germany!
I would love to try your recipe but in our country we don't measure with cups but by weight in grams.
Is it possible for you to write it down for me?
Best wishes,
Susi
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Susi, there is no easy translation as cups and spoons are volume measurements, and grams are weight measurements. The good news is that I am working at giving a metric version of my recipes so stay tuned and keep an eye out for that!
Susi says
Hello Sam,
thanks for the quick answer!
Yes, I know the difference. The problem though is, that it is very inaccurate to go by volume. If you have a scale please try it out. If you cook with cups it's always different. I am glad, that most cooks and bakers in the US and UK nowadays measure by weight in grams!
I just love your website! Thanks for all the work.
Susi
Ashley says
I am an avid seitan-maker, with many "chicken"-like cutlet recipes in my back pocket. This is by far a favorite! It is tender and full of protein, with a satisfying chew, takes marinades well, and is super versatile. I modified the recipe slightly to make it more chicken-like, using "chicken salt" (vegan) instead of regular salt and Better Than Bouillon's "Not Chicken". I don't know if that made it taste substantially better, but I enjoyed the outcome. I did notice that this recipe doesn't include apple cider vinegar, which many people think reduces the "gluteny" taste that bothers some people in seitan (doesn't bother me, though) Sam, do you think adding 1/2-1tsp of ACV would change the recipe significantly? Have you experimented with it?
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful!! So happy you love it so much, Ashley!! I didn't find this recipe had that gluteny taste (I know just what you mean), but I don't think a small amount of apple cider vinegar would change the outcome too much if you wanted to try it. Enjoy!
Vickie DeAngelis says
This is now my all time favorite chicken seitan recipe!! I have tried a zillion recipes....simmering, baking, in foil, out of foil...all with mixed results. Most of the simmered recipes I tried turned out spongy which is really yucky! This is probably the closest I have ever come to a "chicken" taste and texture! Just awesome! I made the steak last night....absolutely fantastic! Any plans for a "pork" recipe? I have so many vegan cookbooks it's ridiculous, but yours is my go to. Your mac and cheese is my favorite!! You are the best!!
Sam Turnbull says
Oh yay!!! So thrilled this is your favourite, Vickie! I'm so honoured you are enjoying my recipes so much. 😀
Suzy says
Ok, Sam...tell me what I did wrong! 🙁 I cooked them on the griddle portion of my Lodge Cook-It-All for about 4 minutes on a side. Too long? The texture was a bit chewy. Did I over-process? I tried very hard to stop when it came together as a ball. It was, as you noted, very sticky, so I thought I had it right. I was worried about the measurements. I measured the 300g of silken tofu (which was just a little less than a whole package). But when it came to the VWG I was very confused after reading some of the comments. I used 1 1/2 cups, but I agree that a weight measure would be good. Also my "vegetable cubes" were listed as "large" (huh??), so I don't know if that affected the flavor. I have the other ones in the freezer; 2 in Teriyaki and 2 in BBQ sauce. Husband ate without hesitation though! That means they were still good!!
Sam Turnbull says
It sounds like you did everything right, and it's difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. Make sure you keep the steaming seitan at a simmer and not a boil. Other than that, try letting them marinate in the fridge for a few days, I find they get more tender. ENjoy!
Suzy says
"...without being in the kitchen with me?" Well c'mon over!!! 🙂 I have the others in the freezer, so I'll report back when I take them out and cook them. But put in a weight measure for the seitan if you can. Thanks Sam!!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Thanks, Suzy! We are working at converting all of the recipes to metric as well, so hold tight 🙂
Maia says
These are so easy and delicious, even when you keep them really simple! I cut them into strips next, and used this recipe (http://vegweb.com/recipes/best-breaded-and-fried-seitan) for batter — AMAZING. Thanks Sam, you're the best!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!! Delighted you love them so much, Maia 🙂
Mike says
Sam, this recipe is amazing! I followed your directions and when all was done I thought, huh? Then I took a bite OMG I was eating chicken! It does taste like chicken, only better! Thank you. You are amazing!
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha! You're most welcome, Mike! Delighted you are enjoying my recipes so much 🙂
Cait says
Hi! I planned on making these this weekend, but the store was all out of soft and silken tofu. Would this work with firm tofu? It's what I have on hand. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
I haven't tested it, but I don't think you would get the exact same results and the texture will be different. I would recommend waiting until you are able to get your hands on some soft tofu. Enjoy!
Cait says
I ended up making it with the firm tofu. It was a bit chewy, but still tasted amazing! I'll definitely be making it again with silken tofu. I'm looking forward to trying the steak seitan recipe next.
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed! Chewiness might come from the firm tofu or over kneading the seitan.
Megan J says
It was a hit! Everyone loved it! Yay! I'm the only vegan in the house and it's nice to have something that is easy to make and that everyone will enjoy.
I'm looking to invest in a good size steamer/pot. Any recommendations? (I made this batch on my two small ones)
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy you enjoyed it so much, Megan 🙂 As for steamer, I have one very similar to this one which I love!
Alex says
Love it! This recipe was so easy to make and very delicious! A lot of seitan recipes I have are very tough but this was nice and juice, even after pan frying up the steamed pieced
Marsha Amanova says
Sam, you are the best! Thank you again for another amazing, simple, delicious recipe!
I made these yesterday with soft tofu and I was super disappointed at the result in my food processor. It didn't form into a ball like your photos at all! It was more like crumbly cookie dough. I added a bit more water, but it didn't seem to be helping. However, the dough did stick to itself OK, so I decided to go for it. I pressed it into patties and steamed them and... they came out great! Not the ideal texture, but good enough. My partner and I both agreed they were superior to store-bought versions we have tried.
I will try silken tofu next time, and look forward to the addition of weight for the VWG. I'm not sure which of these (or what else) made mine so different from yours, but I love that even though they weren't picture perfect, they still taste awesome!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed, Marsha! I don't know if this will help, but next time try maybe blending the mixture in the food processor a little longer. Mine looks weird at first but I just let it whizz around and then all of a sudden it starts magically coming together. So happy you enjoyed it anyways and prefer it to store-bought!
Jo says
Oh my God so so so good. Literally life changing. Made them and my husband freaked out cuz he thought I was making chicken can't wait to play with the recipe. I'm thinking of making them into sausage shapes and adding extra spices to the dough next time
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! Haha, I love freaking people out. So happy you loved them, Jo!
Vanessa says
These look great can there be a substitute for the silken soy?
Sam Turnbull says
You could use soft tofu. Enjoy!
Lovethescents says
Hello! I made these yesterday and the flavour was great but they were very chewy and a bit tough. I followed the instructions to a tee on Thursday, then fried them in a little olive oil with lemon juice til golden brown. What did I do wrong? ?
Sam Turnbull says
Seitan can get tough if it is over kneaded. No kneading is required for this recipe, you just want to dough form a ball then you're good to go. If you still find it tough try marinating it in the fridge for several days. They should be very tender. Enjoy!
Lovethescents says
Thank you so much for your reply. I didn't knead, but tossed everything in the food processor. Maybe I blended it there for too long? Then I just rolled it into a ball as instructed.....
Sam Turnbull says
Try letting it marinate for a few days. 🙂
Diana Jones says
I just made these today using the Instant pot - I tried half of the batch steaming them for 20 minutes using the "steam" function, and the other half using high pressure on manual for 3 minutes then letting the pressure come down on its own before opening. They both look identical so I think the IP will work for all of us who have one - I greased the steamer tray before using it and put in a cup or so of water before each batch - about up to the bottom of the steamer - it was not an exact science at that point!. Hope this helps!
Terra says
This is so good read! I was wondering how they would work in my IP. Thanks for sharing your trial runs!
Sam Turnbull says
Great tips!! Thanks for doing that experiment, Diana. I'm sure it will help many 🙂
Colleen says
When you steam these, do you boil the water first, then put the seitan in the steamer? And then do you leave the stove setting on high or turn it down to a simmer (with the lid on I assume?)? Thanks for clarifying the steaming process.
Sam Turnbull says
Bring the water to a simmer, add the seitan to the steamer basket, and continue to simmer for 25 minutes, flipping the seitan halfway through. Enjoy!
Theresa says
How do you know the seitan is ready to be removed from the steamer?
Sam Turnbull says
It will be ready at 25 minutes and will look like it has doubled in size. Enjoy!
Julia says
Made these last night . Marinated in a lemon pepper marinade overnight.I am super excited to try these for dinner tonight !!!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! I hope you love them 🙂
Jane T. says
Just made this! Wow! I predict this will definitely be one of your top 10, if not No. 1, for 2019. I couldn't wait for the pieces to be refrigerated (you said the texture would improve) so I sliced off a piece just cooked and it was delicious. I can't wait to use in some of my recipes. I've been buying store-bought chicken seitan for years because I never found a recipe for chicken seitan, but now I will nix the store-bought for this. By the way, I tried your vegan steak recipe when you first published it, and it was great too! Keep those wonderful recipes coming....
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!!! So very happy you love it so much, Jane! Thanks for the great review 🙂
Jane T. says
Since I wrote the above review, I've made Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas with your vegan chicken recipe. It was excellent. Love it!
Sam Turnbull says
Ooooh that sounds SO good!!!!