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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! 💕
Paula says
THE BEST SEITAN RECIPE EVER!! I have tried a couple of other recipes and they have all turned out differently, some better than others but this one is hands down the best! So easy and the most tender, also your marinade list is fantastic too. I was wondering if you cook it for even shorter time will it be even more tender?
Thanks for the great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you so much, Paula!! The steaks will get firmer the more you mix the dough, so to make the extra tender mix the dough as little as possible. I also find splashing extra marinade on the steaks while they cook makes them juicier 🙂
Denise says
Tried it today. It was awesome! I am a newish vegan and I have tried other seitan recipes with tofu or chickpeas, but this one is by far a winner and a keeper! .Thank you so much!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed!
Lou says
Hi made them and they turned out well,we froze half of them but needn’t marinate before freezing,do I need to defrost them before cooking them?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, defrost before cooking. Enjoy!
Lou says
Hi I made them and they turned out good ,we ate half of them and froze the rest.Do I need to defrost them first before cooking,as I needn’t marinate before freezing?
vickie deangelis says
I love this recipe....so easy and so tasty....I've noticed the last 2 times I have made them and froze them they seemed to be a little tough after thawing. I'm not sure if tough is the correct word....maybe really firm would better describe. Any suggestions on how to soften them a little? Do you think if I soaked them in some hot broth or water it would change the texture? Or could it possibly be something I am doing when preparing the recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Vickie, I haven't found them tough after freezing. DO you defrost them before cooking? Allowing them to defrost at room temperature or in your fridge is best. Hope that helps!
Joy says
This is basically the Breast of Unchicken from Miyoko's The Vegan Homemade Pantry - is that where you discovered the tofu element? No mention of that anywhere?
Sam Turnbull says
Adding tofu to seitan isn't a new idea, you can see it in this post here for example, which was published before Miyoko's book or my recipe. I'm always careful to give credit where it is due, but this recipe was based on my own experiments and my steak recipe. 🙂
Amanda says
The only seitan recipe that has ever actually turned out successful for me! Love that the food processor does all the work. I love how versatile the tenders are, I’ve even used them to make fried chick’n! My non vegan partner loves them as well. The only downside is cleaning the food processor (gluten is so sticky!) but an old sponge, soap and elbow grease do the job- plus it’s totally worth it! Amazing recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you loved it so much, Amanda!!
Elise says
Hey Sam,
I made these last night and you’ll have to change the name of your website to “it does actually taste just like chicken”. So easy, great texture, great taste. This recipe is set to become a staple in my house.
Subs: I substituted the dried onion and garlic for fresh, and didn’t add the water. Blend the onions and garlic with the salt first, to make a purée then add the rest of the ingredients.
Thanks very much for the great recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! So happy you enjoyed, Elise 🙂
Dora says
I've made this a few times and I can't get it right for some reason 🙁 I feel I may be letting it go in my food processor too long. I stop it once it forms a ball but sometimes that takes longer than 30 seconds, does that matter? Should i worry about the amount of time needed or how the dough looks?
Maria says
Hi Sam, thank you for the wonderful-looking recipe! I tried making this yesterday and mixed the ingredients by hand because I don't have a food processor. I ended up with a stringy, piece-y mess that did not form one solid ball, and after mixing it for too long it turned chewy, so I ended up throwing the "dough" away before steaming 🙁 Any tips on how to mix everything when doing it by hand?
Sam Turnbull says
I would start by mixing together everything but the vital wheat gluten, then mix that in It should make a soft tender dough. Hope that helps!
Elaine Clifford says
This was my first time making seitan and I have to say your recipe and instructions nailed it perfectly.We just made breading batter, coated and fried the strips and they were so delicious! Our area grocery stores stopped stocking the Beyond Meat "chicken" strips and we have been craving a substitute, your recipe worked perfectly. We'll miss the pea based option, but to find a recipe that has a similar consistency has made my family so happy. Thank you for sharing!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Elaine! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Jaq says
Just made this recipe for the fourth time now and they are really fantastic, the tenderest seitan I’ve ever made for sure! The first time I made them they overlapped in the steamer and all stuck together, so from then on I’ve cooked them in batches - both ways they tasted fine, but only the batch cooked versions looked nice.
Not sure if it’s a chicken-like texture but works fab in the same sort of recipes, I’ve had then fried up in salads, breaded whole with a katsu curry, and even into smaller portions and battered and deep fried as nuggets, all turned out fab. I usually use Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base where the recipe calls for vegetable broth powder, and find three heaped teaspoons of that (along with a healthy dash of MSG) gives a result that’s extra flavoursome and chicken-y. One of my favourite seitan recipes for sure, and definitely the easiest.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you love it so much, Jaq 🙂
Sal says
So sad, I was excited for these =/ but the texture was like tofu, maybe I did something wrong? But the texture was nothing like chicken -_-
Roberto says
I have a similar recipe with chickpeas, but adding tofu makes it less calorie intense, plus it has fewer carbs.
I really like the texture and flavor!
Horacio says
Hi everyone! I just made these yesterday and cooked them as chicken fajita tacos. Flavor and texture were fine, but both me and my girlfriend ended up quite bloated. I have to mention that I substituted the tofu for chickpeas because I could not find tofu. I would also like to mention that none of us have any kind of gluten intolerance; we have previously had the sausages recipe from this website and eat whole brain bread almost every day. I am pretty sure that the substitution -not the chickpeas themselves, but the fact that they were steamed being already cooked - are the reason for the bloating. Any insights? Sorry for the long post, and thanks a lot for the amazing recipes Sam!
Allie says
I really want to make shredded chicken seitan to put in soups as I find this is when I crave chicken the most. Would this texture work for shredding or do you think it would be too soft? I am wondering if kneading it some would create a texture that could be shredded?
Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
I think it should shred just fine. The texture is very similar to chicken. ENjoy!
Allie says
I think I will give it a go then. Thanks!
Monica Cordeiro says
Could you possibly use firm tofu? i have ran our of silk / often tofu.
Jamie says
I'm sorry if this has already been asked but I didn't read every comment. Would this be ok to use in a soup that would otherwise call for chicken, or would this become mushy or gummy? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Yes it should be great, but I would add them at the end just before serving so the texture doesn't get weird. Enjoy!
Maraika says
Great recipe. Easy to make and nice flavour. Love that it is no knead. And I am not too fussy about the exact weight with this recipe. It always turns out perfect. And they freeze really well. One of my favourites now.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!
Sue says
Great recipe Sam! Thanks for your hard work. I threw two into the freezer before Dh could eat them all.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!
Miriam says
Can I substitute the tofu with something else (soy free)?
Sam Turnbull says
I would recommend trying my seitan steaks which are already soy free. 🙂
Steve says
My first time making seitan so I was a little nervous, but it was easy and very tasty. Excellent as a sandwich on sourdough with vegan cheese and mayo.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!
Mandy says
I used firm tofu because silken tofu is harder to find and more expensive around here, so I added a little extra water, and they turned out perfectly! I made some tenders and some wings following your other recipe. I also blended everything in the food processor except the vital wheat gluten because it gets too thick. It works to have another bowl to mix that in. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you love it, Mandy!
Ashley says
How long do these last in the freezer?
Theresa says
Hello! Thank you so much for your wonderful blog! Quick question, would this recipe work without the oil?
Rick says
I've made this twice. The first time was good, but the Seitans were a bit flat, but the second time I steamed them in two batches so they were not stacked, and they came out great!
I do have a question though: is it possible to use a KitchenAid Stand Mixer instead of the food processor? If you have tried it, how would you compare the two methods, and the results?
Thanks!
Rick
Sam Turnbull says
That's great Rick! I've never used a stand mixer (I don't have one), but as long as it's able to combine all the ingredients without overmixing, I think it should work fine. ENjoy!
Sue says
Thanks Sam. Mine just finished steaming. They look so cool! I’ll be adding them to your Caesar salad for lunch. Your recipes are always reliable. Keep up the great work;
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you!