Vegan Seitan Chicken Nuggets (TikTok Recipe) (2024)

March 3, 2021 · Updated May 15, 2021 · Leave a Comment

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Chicken nuggets without the chicken! This vegan seitan chicken nuggets recipe went viral on Tiktok and I had to try it. At the minimum you can make it with just TWO ingredients, however I put my own twist on it and made them into nuggets.

It does take a little work, and I added a shortcut option below for making it faster. They are a great tasty meatless option. These savory seitan fried chicken nuggets are amazingly crispy outside and deliciously soft and tasty inside. Since they are homemade it doesn't have extra preservatives or chemicals like store bought ones.

If you are an adventurous food lover and aspire to make new and different recipes in your kitchen then you landed at the right place. This is a great alternative for Meatless Mondays, or just to cut back on meat.

Why This Recipe Works

Meatless: It's a great alternative for vegans or vegetarians. Or if you want to eat less meat in general. Your kids might partake as well! This is one of my favorite meat substitutes.
Affordable: you can find almost every ingredient easily in your kitchen pantry. Hence, this dish is ultimately cost-effective.
Kid-friendly: kids love to eat these nuggets, the crunchy brown outer, grab the attention of eater—a great way to satiate afterschool hunger.

Ingredients For Vegan Seitan Chicken Nuggets

For the nuggets:

Flour - this is the main ingredient for seitan and can't be omitted. You may use wheat gluten flour (you'll skip the proofing part and rinsing part below) , or wheat flour.
Water - this ingredient allows the dough to form.
Cooking oil - you'll need oil to fry up your nuggets.
Vegetable stock - you'll need broth for added flavor when you steam the nuggets prior to frying.

For the breaded portion:

Salt and Black pepper - staple ingredients to give the dough flavor.
Garlic Powder - this gives the nuggets a flavorful taste
Thyme - will have a sharp, minty flavor. It is earthy and has a little bit of sweetness and peppery.
Paprika - although this seasoning has a red color, it's generally not spicy, it has a fragrant sweet pepper odor and is usually sweet and slightly fruity.
Cayenne pepper - this seasoning does pack some spice and is pretty spicy. This is optional for the dry batter.
Flour - you'll need this to create the breaded part of the nugget
Almond buttermilk - this is vegan buttermilk. It consists of 1 cup almond milk and 2 tablespoons vinegar. It acts as a binder for the batter and also keeps the nuggets a little bit moist.
Corn Starch - for the ultimate crispy nugget, you'll need to add cornstarch. It prevents gluten development and absorbs moisture so your nuggets are extra crisp.

How to Make Seitan

Mix flour and water, knead until dough forms.
Cover the dough in a bowl for about 50 minutes.
Rinse the dough, until the water is clear.
Mix all the seasoning together and add about 1 ½ tbs. of seasoning onto the dough
Cut the dough into small nugget shapes, and pan sear on a non stick pan on medium high heat for about a minute
Pour vegetable broth into the pan and steam the nuggets for about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool
Optional - Breading - mix the almond buttermilk and cornstarch. In another bowl mix flour and the rest of the seasoning mix.
Dip the nugget into the butter milk, and then coat the flour mixture.
Fry in hot oil until crispy.

Step by Step Instructions

First, start by mixing together 4.5 cups flour and 1.5 cups water until a dough forms. Continue to knead for 4-5 minutes or until dough becomes smooth. If dough seems a bit too dry add little additions of water until it is malleable.

Rest in a bowl, and cover with a damp dish towel for 50 minutes in a warm area.

Next, when the dough has proofed a bit, rinse under running water until the dough has released all of its starch. The water will start off milky like this.

Then the water will eventually turn clear. When the dough has been washed of its starch, set it aside and gently pat dry.

Now let's make these nuggets tasty! Grab a bowl and mix the seasonings together. Using this seasoning, sprinkle 1 ½ tbs of the mix onto the dough. Work it in until the seasoning is evenly distributed.

Afterward, it's time to make some nugget shapes. Have the kids help, if they like. It's a fun way to get them into the kitchen without having a ton of food safety issues since there are no eggs in this dough. Even if they accidently eat a piece of seitan, it won't hurt them. Although, the uncooked version may leave a bad taste in their mouth, lol. All you'll need to do is tear the dough into small nugget shapes.

Cook's Tips

To make it more delicious, you can garnish it with some thyme and aromatic oregano.
Use a non-stick pan and then fry them.
Make a double batch and store them in an airtight container without frying for later use in the refrigerator. Whenever you want to serve them, simply thaw them on the kitchen counter to de freeze them. Then follow the same instruction for frying.
You may buy ready made seitan and use the coating procedure to cut your time by a ton.
You can also use vital wheat gluten flour so you can skip the washing and proofing part above!
Use the base seitan recipe in a stir fry with some soy sauce and turn it into an Asian dish.
Add nutritional yeast for added nutrition, if desired.
Use a large pot to fry the nuggets instead if doing batches.

FAQ

What is seitan?

Seitan, also called wheat gluten, a vegan substitute of meat made by rinsing the wheat dough under water to remove all starch from it. The leftover dense mass of pure gluten protein can cook and serve as a substitute for meat.

Is seitan nutritious?

Seitan, being a great source of protein, considers as nutritious as meat. Sounds surprising right? It's because all that's left is the wheat gluten. Moreover, it is lower in carbohydrates and fats, and hence considers pretty nutritious and a great replacement for meat for vegans.

Why almond buttermilk in seitan fried chicken?

It helps the flour bind onto the seitan and also adds moisture.

Can you cook this in your air fryer?

Vegan Seitan Chicken Nuggets

This meatless chicken nuggets recipe is a great alternative to meat or tofu. I've added some shortcuts below to cut time, but also included the homemade steps.

4.27 from 23 votes

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Course: dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: vegan, vegan chicken nuggets

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

For the Vegan Meat

4.5 cups Flour
1.5 cups Water
¼ cup Cooking Oil
¼ cup Vegetable Stock

For the Seasoning Mix

1-2 tsp Salt to taste
2 tsp Black Pepper
2 tbs Garlic Powder
2 tsp Thyme
2 tsp Paprika
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper Optional

For the Breading

¾ cup Flour
1 ½ tbs Seasoning Mix
1 cup Almond Butter Milk 1 cup Almond Milk + 2 tbs Vinegar, combined
2 tsp Corn Starch

Instructions

Start by mixing together 4.5 cups flour and 1.5 cups water until a dough forms. Continue to knead for 4-5 minutes or until dough becomes smooth. If dough seems a bit too dry add little additions of water until it is malleable.
Rest in a bowl, cover with a damp dish towel for 50 minutes in a warm area.
When the dough has proofed a bit, rinse under running water until the dough has released all of its starch. The water will start off milky and gradually become clear. When dough has been washed of its starch, set aside and gently pat dry.
Mix the seasonings together and sprinkle 1 ½ tbs of the mix onto the dough. Work in until the seasoning is evenly distributed.
Tear into small nugget shapes and pan sear of medium-high heat for approximately 60 seconds.
Pour vegetable broth into the pan and cover to steam for 3-5 minutes depending on size of nuggets. Dough will be firm. When done set aside to cool.
Stir together the almond butter milk and the cornstarch into one bowl. In another small bowl mix together ¾ cup flour and 1 ½ tbs of the seasoning mix.
First dip the nuggets into the almond butter milk wet batter then into the dry batter until all nuggets are coated.
Pan fry in cooking oil, over high heat, for 2-3 minutes on each side. Let cool and enjoy with your favorite condiment.

Notes

If you want to skip the proofing and rinsing portion, use gluten flour.