I know I have mentioned my love for all things covered in marinara and cheese sauce, and vegan chicken parmesan is no exception.

This recipes takes a little extra time because you have to make the vegan chicken breast, but it is really not hard! It just needs some time to rest, so you can make the vegan chicken breast in the morning or the night before you would like to make these vegan chicken parmesans sandwiches.

Once the chicken has rested, all you have to do is coat it and fry it up!

I used jarred marinara because lets face it, there are a lot of delicious brands out there and it was one less thing for me to make from scratch.

I also just bought some loaves of French bread at the grocery store. I can make French bread, but again, It is perfectly delicious from the bakery, and saves me a ton of time.

We do make a homemade cheese sauce for this recipes, however. You COULD buy a pre made vegan mozzarella but trust me when I tell you this cheese sauce is so easy and soooooo good, that you should just go ahead and make it. You will have 0 regrets!

Don’t even question the addition of sauerkraut in the cheese sauce. Its the secret ingredient that makes it extra special. You will never know its sauerkraut, but you will notice its the best vegan cheese sauce you have ever eaten…so just go with it.

So, to sum it up we have perfectly crispy fried vegan chicken breast, marinara sauce, gooey vegan mozzarella, on toasty bread. That equals one perfect sandwich in my book!

If ever you were a fan of chicken parmesan anything in the past, this is a recipe you have to try!!

CHICKEN BREAST INGREDIENTS:

1 block super firm tofu (the kind that is vacuum packed with little liquid)
1 cup vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch
2 teaspoons poultry or Trader Joes Vegan Chicken Seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoons onion salt
2 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1/2- 3/4 cups water

COATING:

1/2 cup plain unsweetened vegan yogurt or sour cream
1 cup plant milk
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:

2 loaves French bread
1/2 batch All Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce
1/2 jar marinara sauce
vegan parmesan, homemade or store-bought

MAKING THE SEITAN CHICKEN BREAST:

preheat oven to 350 degrees

*If you attempt this recipe with REGULAR EXTRA FIRM TOFU you will need to press it well, and reduce the water added to the recipe. Add the water last only a tablespoon at time until the dough resembles the picture. This will cause varying results and I really do suggest finding the super firm, vacuum sealed, high protein tofu if you can. It gives the seitan a far better texture.

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.
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.
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 10 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a chicken breast shape.
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 (you can sprinkle some garlic or Italian seasoning over the tops if you like )and 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.
Open up the foil and allow the seitan chicken to bake for another 20 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.
Let the seitan cool at room temp them transfer to the fridge for at least 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!

FRYING THE SEITAN CHICKEN BREAST:

In a medium bowl or pie plate, whisk the plant milk and yogurt together.
In a large bowl or shallow pan combine the flour, starch, panko, and spices. Stir well .
Take a piece or seitan chicken breast and first dip it in the milk mixture, next dip in the flour mixture making sure to coat the whole piece well.
Place a wire cooling rack onto of a paper towel lined baking sheet. This is where the fried seitan chicken will go once its cooked. This helps it stay crispier than if you just placed it on a paper towel lined plate. This method works for all fried foods.
Heat a large, deep skillet with 2-3 inches of neutral flavored oil good for frying like canola or peanut, over medium heat. You will know the oil is hot enough if you place a chopstick or wooden skewer in the bottom of the pan and little bubbles form around the tip.
Place 3 or 4 pieces of seitan chicken in the pan, careful not to over crowd and let it fry on each side until golden brown. Place the finish pieces on the cooling rack. Fry remaining pieces.
Prepare the cheese sauce according to instructions, cooking until it is pretty thick and stretchy.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice the loaves of bread into thirds, and slice to open. Place a piece or fried chicken, some marinara, and cheese sauce on top.
Pop the sandwiches in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble and brown. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley and parmesan cheese to serve.

*this recipe will yield 6 sandwiches as written with leftover chicken. If you want to make extra sandwiches you will need more bread and a full batch of cheese sauce.

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