10 Minute Vegan Chicken (Seitan)

So if you have ever visited my blog before you probably already know I make a lot of seitan. Like a LOT. You name the meat and you will likely find a vegan version on the site. Including chicken.

I have recipes for easy chicken breast, chicken with crispy skin, fried chicken, buffalo chicken…..you get it.

But the truth is seitan takes time, because most seitan needs a nice long bake or simmer, and then it needs a very long fridge nap to firm up and turn from doughy, to convincingly meaty.

That is just the science of seitan.

So the recently I decided too late in the day I wanted chicken for dinner and didn’t have any in my freezer. I obviously could have deiced on something else for dinner but instead I started thinking there must be a way to make some vegan chicken a little faster.

Baking seitan and allowing it to steam covered in foil is my favorite cooking method. It’s quick and pretty fail proof. I also have a few recipes where I simmer it, but it is always larger pieces and it takes a good bit of time, and requires at least an 8 hour rest.

I though what if I quick simmered small chunks of vegan chicken to use in pastas, casseroles, salads, nuggets and such. I remembered seeming a lot of people make some tiktok skillet fried seitan that seemed really fast and easy ( I don’t tiktok) I don’t always need a full big vegan chicken breast, so small pieces would work for a lot of recipes, simmer up super fast, and the rest time would be minimal.

Simmered seitan holds some liquid. I mean you are cooking spongy dough in liquid, so it is naturally going to be more moist and a little softer in my experience than baked/steamed seitan. For me that is normally not the texture I am going for, but in this case it works fine. The pieces are small so cook super fast and firm up enough to slice up and use really quickly. I sliced up my test batch and heated it in a skillet with some seasoning to use on top of pasta and the whole family gave it a thumbs up!

Is this now my go to vegan chicken recipe? It depends on what I need to make chicken for, or how much time I have to cook and wait for it to rest. But if you are in hurry, don’t want to mess with shaping and baking up my easy vegan chicken breast, and just need small pieces of chicken to add to a recipe, this 10 minute vegan chicken may become your new go to!

Think pasta, casseroles, diced for chicken salad, soups, fajitas, on top of salads, or even breaded up and fried as a nugget. This 10 minute vegan seitan has a ton of delicious uses, It mixes in minutes, cooks in 10, and the rest time is hands down quicker than any other seitan I have made to date!! All of these things make this recipe and winner in my book!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoon neutral flavored oil

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

• 1 teaspoons salt

SIMMERING LIQUID:

• 2-3 cups water or broth

• 1-2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon ( no chicken, or vegetable) or similar bouillon paste or powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more!

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, and begin to flatten the dough into about a 3/4 to 1 inch thick rectangle. ( I use my cutting mat as a guide and try to just press it out to the size of the mat.) Cut the dough into about 1 inch cubed pieces ( refer to pictures.

4. Add a few inches of water or broth to a deep skillet. I used about a cup and a half per batch. If using water, add a teaspoon or so of bouillon and whisk it in. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Begin adding vegan chicken pieces to the liquid by pressing the pieces out as flat as you can between your fingers before adding to the pan. You will probably only be able to fit half the batch in the pan at a time. Allow the pieces to simmer for 5 minutes per side. Remove from the liquid using tongs kind of shaking off excess liquid from the the piece over the pan, and place the vegan chicken on a metal cooling rack on top of a parchment or paper towel lined baking sheet. Add more liquid and bouillon to the pan if needed and repeat with remaining vegan chicken pieces.

5. Place the vegan chicken on the cooling rack uncovered in the fridge for about three hours. It does need to rest to get a firmer texture and the longer it rests the better it will be. But for this recipe a 3 hour rest gets it firm enough to slice and use however you like.

6. Store in airtight container after the rest in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Chicken Philly

Vegan Dill Chicken Salad

Vegan Chicken Nuggets

vegan flank steak

Vegan Boneless Buffalo Wings (seitan wings)

I have always been a fan of all things buffalo.

Pre-vegan and pre-vegetarian, boneless wings were my go to when we went out to eat.

I love, love, loved boneless buffalo wings with a big side of ranch dressing.

Over the years I have made different vegan variations of wings using an easy basic seitan recipe, and often crispy tofu.

None of the variations have been bad, but none have been and tasty as this version.

A while back I kind of perfected an easy vital wheat gluten/tofu chicken. By perfected, I just mean its perfect for me. You may disagree or have a recipe you like better, but this one is so super quick and easy, the texture is spot on, and the flavor is well, chicken like. So to me that is the perfect seitan chicken.

I has already used the recipe to make my kids fun shaped nuggets but hadn’t made wings with it yet.

I am often on autopilot so I had just kept making crispy tofu wings and never really thought to use the seitan chicken in its place, until recently.

Man am I a dummy sometime.

These vegan boneless wings are SOOOOOO FLIPPING GOOD!!!!!

I have given instructions for oil frying and air frying. Depending on the day and my mood, determines how I cook mine. Sometimes I pan fry them oil to free up my air fryer for French fries. Other times I don’t want to deal with the mess of the oil so forgo the fries and just make the wings in my air fryer.

If you choose to air fry them you will need to at least give them a spray of oil so they don’t stick to the fryer. If they stick the coating will rip off and nobody wants a naked wing..am I right?!?!

People often as if my oil fried recipes can be made in the air fryer so I just decided to try and give instructions for both methods.

No matter how you choose to fry these vegan buffalo wings, both methods will yield a super crispy, dippable, delicious wing! And really that was all I was ever looking in a vegan boneless wing.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water

• 2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1 teaspoon all purpose greek seasoning or any all purpose seasoning you like

• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoon neural flavored oil

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water (you might not need much water at all. Add a little at a time just until the dough comes together and is smooth)

• 1 teaspoons salt

COATING:

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

• 1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup vegan yogurt or sour cream

• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk

• 1 and 1/2 cups vegan buffalo sauce (we used Franks) plus 2 teaspoons vegan butter

• Oil if you are choosing the pan fry method

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once dough has come together, transfer to a clean counter top or cutting board. Press the dough out to a large 1/4 inch thick circle. Divide the circle into 4 pieces. Divide each of the 4 pieces into 8 pieces. You will get 32 nice sized vegan wings from the dough.

4. Shape the seitan pieces into a nugget shape. Just any ol blob like nugget shape will do. Don’t think too much about it!

5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the vegan wings out on the 2 pans and give them a spray or brush with some oil. Tightly cover each pan with foil. You need to make sure the pan is all sealed up so the seitan can steam inside will baking.

6. Bake the vegan wings for 25 minuets. Remove from oven and allow to cool some at room temperature before transferring to the fridge to rest for AT LEAST 3 HOURS. Seitan needs to rest for the texture to improve. Trust me, let those wings rest y’all!

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To coat wings, whisk the vegan sour cream or yogurt with 1 cup of plant milk in a medium sized bowl.

2. In another medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, starch, panko, and seasoning.

3. Begin by dipping the wings one at a time in the wet mixture then pressing them into the flour mixture making sure all sides are well coated.

4. Once all of the vegan wings are coated you can pan fry them in oil or air fry them.

5. Air frying instructions: To air fry, place the wings in the air fryer basket. Depending on the size of your fryer, you will need to work in batches. Place a single layer of wings on the tray and give them a spray with oil so the coating doesn’t stick. Fry at 375 for 5-10 minutes (this just depends on how big your fryer is, and how many wings you crammed in there). I always open up my fryer a few times and give it a shake to make sure nothing is sticking. They are done once the coating is crispy and begging to brown.

6. Pan frying instructions: Add a couple of inches of a neutral flavored oil that is good for frying to a medium sized high sided skillet. I use a cast iron. Heat the oil over medium heat until it is good and hot. You can tell if the oil is ready by poking a chop stick or wooden skewer into the oil and touching the bottom of the pan. If little bubbles form around the chop stick the oil is ready. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a wire cooling rack on top. Fry the wings in batches for several minutes on each side until crispy and browned. Place the nuggets on the wire cooling rack to allow the excess oil to drip off.

7. Fill a microwave safe bowl the wing sauce and butter. Microwave for 2 minutes or until the butter has melted and the sauce is warm.

8. Toss the wings in the sauce and serve with vegan ranch or blue cheese dressing and celery.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Vegan Tofu Wings

Vegan Buffalo Mac and Cheese

vegan flank steak

Homemade Vegan Chicken Nuggets

I have mentioned before I have a lot of kids.

I mean not a lot, just 4, but to some people that seems like shocking number.

To us it’s the perfect number!

That said, kids like kid food, no matter how mature their palates are because they have been forced to eat a multitude of fancy vegan things. I mean, I am in my kitchen all day creating recipes and they eat whatever I make, with few complaints…..well everyone except the 4 year old that is.

That said, sometime the kids, even our teenagers, just want a plate of dinosaur or Mickey Mouse shaped chicken nuggets. Who can blame them. Thats is just plain fun!

So I occurred to me the other day (again sometimes I am extra slow with these ideas) that I should make our kids some vegan chicken nuggets. EVERY time we are at Costco and my kids see the “fun shaped nuggets” the lament wishing those were vegan…I mumble in agreement, and keep on moving.

But last week at Costco when I paused when passing the “fun nuggets” and a light bulb when off. We can just make our OWN homemade vegan chicken nuggets in any shape we want.

If you have made the 86eats easy baked vegan chicken breast, then you know it is an easy seitan recipe to bake up. These nuggets are the same base recipe, just a reduced cook time, and a shorter rest time…cause they are tiny!! So it doesn't not take as long for them to firm up. I also kept this dough a little bit softer so it would press out more easily for cutting the shapes. You don’t want too firm of a dough here because you want it to stretch to a pretty big rectangle.

If you have never made seitan a day in your life, I promise this recipe is as simple as mixing up and baking a super easy cookie recipe. Really!! Seitan is just a dough, and we just cutting and baking this dough into shapes. Then easily coating and baking them up. You don’t even have to fry these in hot oil!!

We have whole box of cute little cookie cutters we hardly ever use so this seemed like the the PERFECT use! Micky mouse, dinosaurs, hearts, stars, flowers. Everyone gets a nugget shape they are into.

My husband and myself include. We are in our 40s but a delicious fun vegan chicken nugget is not lost on us.

No worries if you don’t have fun shaped cookie cutters. You can just use a knife and cut them into little pieces of regular shaped nuggets. Or use a small round cutter and make them into a circle. Any shape will work.

If you want to freeze these vegan chicken nuggets, since the recipe yields about a pound and half of nuggets, you can do a light bake or air fry with them, and freeze them for later use.

These nuggets are pretty convincingly chicken nuggety, super crispy, and delicious.

So if you or your kids have been craving or wanting some vegan nuggets in all the fun shape those “other guys” get to eat, just know its really easy to make them at home. And not only are they cute, they are pretty tasty. I ate enough of this batch to confirm I will be making them weekly, and freezing them for easy weeknight dinner or lunches!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoon neural flavored oil

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

• 1 teaspoons salt

THE COATING:

• 3 cups vegan bread crumbs ( I use vegan panko, but put them blender to make a finer crumb)

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup vegan yogurt or sour cream

• 1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a nicely formed dough.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there. This dough needs to be soft enough to press out into about 12 inch by 8 inch rectangle..so a little softer than the turkey breast dough if you have made that before.

3. Once you have a smooth well formed dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a large rectangle, about 12 inches by 8 inches ( this is roughly the size of my cutting mat, so just press it out to roughly that size.

4. Using any cookie cutter shape you like, somewhere between one inch to two inches in size, begin cutting shapes from the dough. Repress out the scraps into another rectangle and continue until all of the dough has been used up.

5. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or foil, spray with oil. Evenly space out the seitan chicken pieces making sure they are not touching. They will expand as they bake. Spray the tops with oil and give them a sprinkle with any seasoning you like. Tightly cover the entire pan in foil, tucking the edges tightly around the edges of the pan. We want the seitan to steam inside the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

6. Remove the pans from the oven and remove the foil. Allow the vegan chicken nuggets to cool a bit then transfer the nuggets to a bowl or Tupperware container. Place the nuggets in the fridge for at least 3 hours to cool and rest. This rest time is important to get the vegan chicken nuggets to firm up and and have a texture similar to meat.

7. Once the nuggets have rested, prepare the coating but whisking the vegan yogurt or sour cream with the plant milk in a medium sized bowl or pie pan. In another bowl, add the 3 cups of bread crumbs, starch, flour, and seasoning. Store bought bread crumbs are mostly not vegan. They often have milk or eggs in them. I use vegan panko but pop them in my blender to get a fine crumb so it sticks better to the nuggets.

8. Start by dipping the vegan chicken nuggets first in the wet mixture ,then into the dry mixture, making sure to press the coating into both sides of the nuggets. You can either cook the nuggets in the oven or an air fryer.

9. AIR FRYING THE NUGGETS: Place nuggets in a single layer in the air fryer and give them a light mist with some spray oil. Cook at 375 degrees for about 10-12minutes. Checking them a few times, and cooking them just long enough to get them to your desired crispness. The cook time just depends on your air fryer and how crispy you like your nuggets.

10. OVEN BAKING INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place nuggets on a baking sheet that has either been sprayed with some cooking oil, or is lined in parchment paper ( they want to stick otherwise.) Give the tops another spray and bake for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes flip the nuggets using some tongs and bake another 5-10 minutes or until the nuggets are your desired crispness.

11. If you want to freeze these nuggets, I suggest a light bake. Just enough to lightly crispy the coating, then freeze them in an airtight container or zip lock freezer bag. Then when you are ready to reheat the nuggets, bake or air fry them as suggest above.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Popcorn Tofu

Vegan Southern Fried Chicken

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Easy Vegan Baked Chicken Breast

If you are vegan or vegetarian and enjoy a good meat substitute every now and again (or every single day) you might know by now that the store bought options out there are not all created equal.

One of the things I have found the hardest to find is a basic grilled “chicken” substitute that isn’t full of weird ingredients or isn’t super over priced.

I found kind of groove creating really easy, really delicious, and inexpensive vegan deli meats, so decided all those same seitan principles would apply with an easy vegan baked chicken.

I have various vegan chicken recipes on the site. Battered, fried, crispy skin covered, tandoori style, but I had yet to type up a recipe for a basic, all purpose, vegan baked chicken.

You can use this vegan chicken in any recipe you would use chicken in. It mixes up in minutes and bakes in a little over half an hour. It also needs to rest like all seitan, but not for nearly as long a lets say a vegan turkey breast or vegan ham because these pieces are small and will firm up a little more quickly!

You can freeze this vegan chicken after it has baked and thaw what you need in a pinch. I like to bake up a batch on the weekend and have it to use throughout the week, making my meal prep that much easier.

The texture is super spot on “meaty” and the flavor is like, well, chicken! You can sprinkle any all purpose seasoning you like on the breasts before you bake them. I like a chili lime seasoning, hickory, or even an all purpose greek seasoning. Use whatever your little hear desires.

Please do read the note concerning my tofu choice. I use super firm tofu for optimal texture. If you choose to use extra firm, you will need less water in the recipe. It will work, but I still get a better result with the super firm kind. And as an added bonus, the super firm has nearly double the protein of regular or extra firm water packed tofu. That way when someone rando asks you the age old question “ but where do you get your protein” you can just laugh and laugh and laugh knowing you are about 15 grams per severing of the super firm tofu!!

Just know it is so super easy to make your own vegan chicken at home. You no longer have to search for, and waste money on store bought vegan chicken that probably isn’t anywhere near as good as this easy and afforable homemade vegan chicken breast!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoon neural flavored oil

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

• 1 teaspoons salt

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your chicken has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the by 25 degrees and keep the seitan covered the whole bake.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval, flattened out shaped with the dough. Cut the dough into 8 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a chicken breast shape.

4. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or foil, spray with oil. Evenly space out the seitan chicken pieces making sure they are not touching. They will expand as they bake. Spray the tops with oil and give them a sprinkle with any seasoning you like. Tightly cover the entire pan in foil, tucking the edges tightly around the edges of the pan. We want the seitan to steam inside the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

5. Open up the foil and allow the seitan chicken to bake for another 10 minutes uncovered. These chicken seitan pieces are thin, if you know your oven cooks hot or the temp is off, you may need to adjust your cook time by 5-10 minutes. If the seitan over cooks it tends to form tiny holes that look like bread. That is often an indication you oven temp is off and you may need a oven thermometer to check the actual temp.

6. Let the seitan cool at room temp them transfer to the fridge for about 6 hours to rest. I often bake the seitan the night before I wish to fry it. But you could also bake it in the morning and it would be fine to fry by dinner. Seitan requires a nice long rest to firm up and achieve a more meaty texture. The longer you can let it rest, the better!

7. You can reheat the chicken in the oven on 350 degrees covered in foil until warmed through. You can slice or cube the chicken to use in just about any recipe that requires a chicken substitute. Use in fajitas, tacos, casseroles, sandwiches, pastas, or as is.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Fried Chicken

Vegan Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Vegan Turkey Style Roast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Chicken Tikka Masala with Tandoori Seitan

Indian food is something my husband and I have never seen eye to eye on. I adore it. I would eat it all the time and be so very happy. My husband will not.

So going out to eat Indian food is something I just stared going to do with my girlfriends. There is no need to drag Dave out and make him eat a food he doesn't like. I am a nice wife. Here is my proof if ever there was any question.

Before we were vegan or even vegetarian, I would go to Indian restaurant near us that served tandoori chicken tikka masala. It was tandoori chicken with a side of the sauce for dipping. I always loved this more than having the chicken simmered in the sauce. The chicken was so delicious and flavorful on its own, that I only wanted a little sauce with it. I have always been one to order sauces, dressing, condiments on the side. I have not found another restaurant near me that serves it this way, and that was always my favorite thing to order.

You can simmer this recipe in the sauce which I did here since it is more the norm. Or you can serve the vegan tandoori chicken with the sauce on the side. You can decide for yourself how you would prefer to eat or serve this dish! Oh the power of choice….its glorious.

Making Indian food at home is also something I hardly ever do since 2 out of 6 people in my house actually enjoy it. The handful of times I actually have made Indian food, I have had a ton of leftovers to give away. I also am no expert at Indian cuisine but have always enjoyed trying new Indian recipes.

But the other day I was thinking about how much I miss chicken tikka masala and how I really wanted to make it with seitan vs tofu which is what I have done in the past. I also knew I could make it and share it with my friends next door, Yanira and Dustin, because they also love Indian food! I was confident I could try and make a vegan tandoori chicken that would be super flavorful on its own or could be turned into vegan chicken tikka masala as well. I basically just researched oven tandoori chicken recipes and decided how I could adapt that to work with seitan.

And being that the vegan oven tandoori chicken turned out so well, the next obvious step was tikka masala!!

This sauce is super simple to whip together and really flavorful. I keep the spice heat low so that at least a few of my kids will eat it, but feel free to kick it up if you like it HOT!

Since the chicken takes a day to make and allow to rest, I make the chicken the day before I want this dish. You can even make several days in advance. I tend to make seitan chicken or turkey when I have a few hours of free time, and then its ready and rested when I need it! The resting part is super important or optimal texture so you have to trust me when I tell you it is so much better when it rests.

The sauce its pretty quick and If the vegan tandoori chicken is already made and ready to go, this dinner can be done in less than an hour! You could also use any pre-made vegan chicken you can find or like for this dish, although it will not be as flavorful as the vegan tandoori chicken. You could also marinade some tofu in the tadoori seasoning and cook it up to add this recipe if you are at a place where you want to attempt seitan. It would probably still be really good!

Fry up a batch of vegan naan and you have a really delicious, and pretty easy vegan Indian dinner at home. And if your family doens’t love Indian food either, find a friend or neighbor that does and share :)

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 batch Vegan Oven Tandoori Chicken

• 1 14 oz can of tomato sauce

• 1/4- 1/2 cup water

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1 large onion, finely diced

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger or ginger paste

• 2 teaspoons garam masala

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 2 teaspoons brown sugar

• 1 1/4 cups vegan plain unsweetened yogurt or sour cream

• handful of chopped cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large deep skillet, add the vegan butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent.

2. Add the dry spices and let them cook for minute with the onion and garlic. Next add in the the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT for the sugar, water, and yogurt, stirring well, and reducing the heat to low. Let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. Dice the tandoori vegan chicken pieces. Stir in the yogurt, sugar, and 1/4- 1/2 cup of water depending on how thick or thin you would like the sauce. Add in the cubed vegan tandoori chicken pieces and let them simmer in the sauce for another 20-25 minutes.

4. Serve vegan chicken tikka masala over basmati rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Oven Tandoori Chicken

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey Breast

Vegan Country Fried Steak

Vegan Oven Tandoori "Chicken"

Indian food is something my husband and I have never seen eye to eye on. I adore it. I would eat it all the time and be so very happy. My husband will not.

So going out to eat Indian food is something I just stared going to do with my girlfriends. There is no need to drag Dave out and make him eat a food he doesn't like. I am a nice wife. Here is my proof if ever there was any question.

Before we were vegan or even vegetarian, I would go to Indian restaurant near us that served tandoori chicken tikka masala. It was tandoori chicken with a side of the sauce for dipping. I always loved this more than having the chicken simmered in the sauce. The chicken was so delicious and flavorful on its own, that I only wanted a little sauce with it. I have always been one to order sauces, dressing, condiments on the side. I have not found another restaurant near me that serves it this way, and that was always my favorite thing to order.

Making Indian food at home is also something I hardly ever do since 2 out of 6 people in my house actually enjoy it. The handful of times I actually have made Indian food, I have had a ton of leftovers to give away. I also am no expert at Indian cuisine but have always enjoyed trying new Indian recipes.

But the other day I was thinking about how much I miss chicken tikka masala and how I really wanted to make it with seitan vs tofu which is what I have done in the past. I also knew I could make it and share it with my friends next door, Yanira and Dustin, because they also love Indian food! I was confident I could try and make a vegan tandoori chicken that would be super flavorful on its own or could be turned into vegan chicken tikka masala as well. I basically just researched oven tandoori chicken recipes and decided how I could adapt that to work with seitan.

So I made my favorite seitan recipe and did just that. You really do need a roasting pan for this recipe or need to figure out a way to fashion something similar. Air needs to be able to circulate around the pieces of seitan while it bakes and also it needs to be wrapped in foil so it cooks all the way through without drying out. Truth be told, I had to borrow a pan from my neighbor, Fran. I will now be buying one because I will be making this all the time.

Despite my husbands feeling of Indian food, he actually seemed to like this vegan tandoori chicken. I tried to keep the heat down with the spices in hopes that he would actually eat it.

So if you loved tandoori chicken pre vegan, and have wanted to try you hand at making it at home, I think this recipe is a winner! It does take some time to cook it and allow it to rest. Trust me when I tell you to let it rest, as seitan firms up and the texture gets far more meat like if you let it rest!!! Just make this chicken a day or two before you actually want to eat it! Good things come to those who wait and all that jazz!

*You will need a roasting pan with a rack and aluminum foil for this recipe. This recipe will also take some time. Marinating and cook times equal 2 hours. There is also a need for the “chicken” pieces to rest to firm up after cooking. It is best to prepare this dish the day before you wish to eat it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (the kind that is vacuum sealed in little water)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/2-3/4 cups water

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil

• 1 teaspoon salt (optional if they Bouillon isn’t enough for you)

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or Trader Joe’s Chickenless seasoning

TANDOORI MARINADE:

• 1 cup plain vegan yogurt

• juice from 1 small lemon

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 3 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1-2 teaspoons Thai chili paste/ garlic chili sauce (its super spicy so add according to your tolerance)

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of flatned oval shaped loaf with the dough. Cut the dough into about 12 chicken breast triangular shapes.

4. In a large bowl or baking dish, whisk the marinade ingredients together. Add the the seitan pieces to the marinade . Place in the fridge for about an hour.

5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees once the seitan is almost finished marinating. Spray the pan rack with some cooking and place the seitan pieces in the roasting pan on the rack spacing the pieces, making sure they are not touching. Brush the pieces of seitan with any leftover marinade from the bowl, covering any bare spots on the seitan.

6. Using 3 or 4 large pieces of foil, completely cover the pan, trying to seal it up the best you can. We are trying to create a makeshift tandoori oven and also make sure the seitan steams inside the pan so it cooks through but doens’t dry out. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for one hour. Do not open the foil to peek! It’s gonna be fine in there, I promise. After one hour remove the foil (Save for wrapping the seitan piece to let them rest later.) Give the seitan pieces a little spray with some oil and flip the pieces. Let it bake uncovered for 30 more minutes.

7. Let the “chicken” pieces cool at room temperature. Once they have cooled off, wrap them in the reserved foil and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours. I normally make this the day before I want to eat it.

8. To reheat the “chicken” preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place “chicken” pieces on a baking sheet and heat until warmed through. Serve as is with rice or you can prepare and serve as Vegan Chicken Tikka Masala.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Garlic Lemon Vegan “Chicken” Breast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Southern Vegan Cornbread Dressing with Jackfruit or Seitan

In the south we grew up eating dressing at Thanksgiving, NOT stuffing. I don’t think I even had stuffing until I was a teenager at a friends house, and I am pretty sure it was Stovetop. Dressing is normally made of cornbread, shredded chicken (sometime oysters, but that was too fancy for my family) onion, celery, and spices.

I promise you I could live off of cornbread dressing. If cornbread dressing and stuffing got into a fist fight, all of my money would be on the dressing. It reigns supreme in our house, hands down.

So once we were vegan I didn’t know what to do. I actually ended up making stuffing (gasp) the fist few holidays because I was a new vegan and at a loss. So when I deiced to create our Fall and Winter Holiday Recipe E-Book, I knew I had to do my family proud (mostly my husband because this is favorite thing) and finally veganize this southern family classic.

I actually adapted my husbands MawMaws recipe and made it vegan by using jackfruit in place of the chicken and starch to bind it. Otherwise it is pretty much the same and it tuned out sooooooo delicious!

I actually managed to recreate every favorite holiday recipe we ever enjoyed before we went vegan and put them in our Fall and Winter Holiday Recipe book. A main dish, sides, desserts, and even cocktails. This recipe is in the e-book along with 17 more to create a full classic holiday vegan menu!

So if you are looking for more classic holiday recipes for you next Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, or New Years, check it out!! And if you want to fight me over which is better, dressing or stuffing, make this recipe first, then decide. I just might convert you!

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pan vegan cornbread

• 2 cups vegetable broth

• 2 cups plant based milk

• 2 tbsp corn starch

• 1/4 cup vegan mayo

• 2 tsp dried sage

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 5 vegan biscuits (day old)

• 4 - 5 stalks of celery

• 1 large onion

• 1 can jackfruit in brine (you can also use 4 easy vegan chicken breast, chopped into very small pieces)

• 2 tsp Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 1 tbsp vegan butter

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Our Fall & Winter Holiday E-BOOK contains 18 familiar and comforting recipes that will serve as a guide to plant-based/vegan menu planning during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate this time of year. This menu includes a main dish, sides, desserts, and cocktails that you can use as a complete dinner menu, or you can pick and choose recipes to take along to a pot-luck or cocktail party. In addition to the downloadable ebook, you will get access to more than 20 minutes of complimentary video content that will walk you through some of the trickier parts of a few of the recipes.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bake cornbread and biscuits according to instructions. You can do this a day or two ahead of time. The biscuits work better if they are a day or two old.

2. Crumble biscuits and cornbread into a large bowl. You can use a fork to break up the corn bread in the pan you baked it in. You want both the cornbread and biscuits to be a pretty fine crumble.

3. Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Shred between your fingers, or chop it up.

4. Finely dice the onions and celery. Heat a medium skillet on medium heat and melt the butter. Add the jackfruit, onions, celery, and Better Than Bouillon, and cook until the onions are translucent.

5. In a large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients, mix well, then add in the wet ingredients and continue mixing until well incorporated.

6. Transfer the mixture to a prepared 9x13 baking dish and bake on a middle oven rack for about 35 - 40 minutes. You’ll want a tooth pick to come out clean when poked in the center.

7. Allow it to cool a bit before serving. Add fresh or dried parsley to garnish if desired.

If you like this recipe, try these:

Vegan Eggnog Cake

Savory Cranberry Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes

Vegan Brie with Cranberries and Candied Pecans

Classic southern cornbread dressing with jackfruit, perfect for vegan thanksgiving