Make this super quick and easy vegan seitan chicken, for a high-protein chicken alternative to use in any recipe. No boiling required!
As I've walked further on my plant-based journey, I've relaxed my standards a bit in terms of the types of foods I choose to put in my body. Food is meant to be enjoyed and not stressed about!
But it's honestly pretty disappointing how many so-called plant-based meat substitutes on the market aren't really plant-based. They may be vegan, but they aren't made with real foods.
So when I started dreaming up a recipe for a vegan coq au vin, I knew that I needed to create my own WFPB chicken substitute that doesn't have any added oils, sugars, or other highly processed ingredients.
Hence this vegan seitan chicken was born.
And let me tell you, I LOVE this chicken. It has a delicious flavor that I want to eat all by itself. And I have. I've been making this chicken nonstop since I created the recipe, and I'm excited to finally share it!
Jump to:
What is seitan?
Seitan is a meat substitute made from vital wheat gluten. Various seitan recipes can be made from vital wheat gluten by varying the spices and cooking method.
Vital wheat gluten basically a flour like substance that is primarily protein. This is what makes the chicken so high in protein!
Why I love this Seitan Chicken
- Dietary needs - this seitan chicken is vegan/plant-based, dairy-free, oil-free, and sugar-free
- Real foods - no fake meat here! This chicken is made from entirely whole foods!
- Savory chicken-like flavor - often we associate poultry seasoning with the taste of chicken, so by using poultry seasoning in the chicken we can make our homemade chicken taste like the animal
- LOADED with protein - seitan is made from vital wheat gluten, which has a very high percentage of protein! So this chicken has just as much (or even more) protein than poultry
- Great vegan option for chicken recipes - throw this chicken in your favorite soups and stews, curries, bowls, salads, you name it!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Vital Wheat Gluten: the ingredient that packs all the protein! Vital wheat gluten is available in the baking aisle near other types of flour.
- Nutritional Yeast: nutritional yeast is a spice that has a cheesy flavor. The chicken don't taste cheesy but the nutritional yeast helps create a deeper flavor
- Spices: poultry seasoning, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder.
- Water: water helps create the right texture
- Soy Sauce, Tamari, or Liquid Aminos: I recommend using liquid aminos in this recipe if possible, but soy sauce or tamari will also work.
- Ketchup: look for a no-added sugar ketchup
- Liquid Smoke: this is my secret ingredient in many meat recipes that I turn vegan. Liquid smoke adds a smoky flavor and helps deepen the overall flavor of the chicken. Find liquid smoke in the grocery store near the condiments
How to make Vegan Seitan Chicken
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2. In a medium bowl mix the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, poultry seasoning, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and chili powder.
Step 3. Add the water, soy sauce, ketchup, and liquid smoke. Stir until a dough forms - if there are still dry ingredients leftover add water a tablespoon at a time.
Step 4. Knead gently a few times to activate the gluten. Don't overwork the dough or the chicken will become tough.
Step 5. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Twist each piece into a rope and then secure it together in a knot. This is what will help create a more shredded chicken-like texture after baking.
Step 6. Place the knot pieces on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. If you have a kitchen thermometer, look for an internal temperature of 195°F.
Step 7. Remove from the oven and let cool until cool enough to handle. Use your hands to untwist and break apart each knot. This creates the chicken texture.
Step 8. Serve as-is or use in place of chicken in your favorite recipe.
FAQ & Expert Tips
I highly recommend using a kitchen scale for this recipe.
Vital wheat gluten is like a flour, so think of this almost like a baking recipe. You want to be as precise as possible for best results.
Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten, which is basically pure gluten. So no, this chicken is not gluten free.
Store the chicken in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Recipe Prayer
Thank you God for this protein-packed plant-based version of chicken. Thank you for giving us the means to eat foods that fuel us, while also caring for creation. Amen.
Related Recipes
Tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Seitan Chicken
Ingredients
- 240 Grams Vital Wheat Gluten about 2 cups
- 30 Grams Nutritional Yeast about ½ cup
- 1 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Basil
- 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Paprika
- ⅛ Teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 Cup Water
- ¼ Cup Soy Sauce, Tamari, or Liquid Aminos
- 1 Tablespoon Ketchup
- ½ Teaspoon Liquid Smoke
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl mix the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, poultry seasoning, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and chili powder.
- Add the water, soy sauce, ketchup, and liquid smoke. Stir until a dough forms - if there are still dry ingredients leftover add water a tablespoon at a time.
- Knead gently a few times to activate the gluten. Don't overwork the dough or the chicken will become tough.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Twist each piece into a rope and then secure it together in a knot. This is what will help create a more shredded chicken-like texture after baking.
- Place the knot pieces on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. If you have a kitchen thermometer, look for an internal temperature of 195°F.
- Remove from the oven and let cool until cool enough to handle. Use your hands to untwist and break apart each knot. This creates the chicken texture.
- Serve as-is or use in place of chicken in your favorite recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate.
Melanie
Thank you for posting a seitan recipe that doesn't involve steaming, which tends to make the result "heavy" because of the absorbed water and to be rather time-consuming. Your instructions are clear and produced a satisfying result (though I used my own selection of seasonings rather than those prescribed in the recipe).
Elizabeth
Glad you like the recipe! I totally agree - boiling seitan is so much extra time and effort, especially if you are using it in another recipe. I love baking my seitan and it's the only way I cook it these days. And glad to year you switched up the spices to whatever you were making - that's the way to do it!
William
Needed to add 1 tablespoon of water when mixing.
Baked at 180°C for 26 minutes in 8 or 9 pieces. Left on Tray for a while out of the oven, then pulled apart. Good recipe. Gonna try different flavour profiles.
Elizabeth
Thanks for your comments, William! Yes, I love experimenting with different flavor profiles. Let me know what you try!
Jen
What is the serving size in grams? I’m tracking macros but don’t know how to weigh it out.
Elizabeth
Hi! A great way to calculate servings when tracking macros/weighing food that is baked like this is to weigh the total amount of food you make and then divide. Since the seitan is baked, it may have a different total weight each time you make it. So I'd recommend making a batch, weighing the entire batch, and then taking the fraction of how much you eat multiplied by the total calories in the recipe (which you can calculate on whatever app you're using or just multiply the nutrition facts on the recipe card by 8). Hope this helps!
jake
For me, this is the seitan recipe to end all others. I need to get 200g protein a day for my weightlifting. Store-bought seitan was costing me aud $30 a day for protein alone. I've tried other recipes but they took way too long for the amount I needed - or they tasted off.
This recipe is a godsend, thank you so much!
Couple of considerations from my batch, if they help others: a 1/2 tsp of baking soda helps a lot for cutting that seitan taste. Added 1tsp of MSG. Waiting until seitan has fully cooled (rather than touchable) gives more time for the meaty texture to take hold after cooking.
Elizabeth
So glad to hear you are enjoying this recipe! It is my go-to and I never buy seitan from the store anymore either! Love the idea of baking soda, I'll have to try. And, yes, the texture can develop a bit more after cooling more - I'll include that in the notes. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kelsey
Have you experimented with this cooked product in the freezer? Curious if you know how well it holds up after cooking, freezing, and reheating. Thanks!
Elizabeth
Yes! I don't often freeze this exact recipe but I make seitan burgers all the time and freeze them. I let them cool completely then transfer to a freezer safe plastic bag. I reheat in the air fryer and I'd highly recommend that or the oven instead of the microwave - or pan-cook in whatever recipe you're making. Let me know if this answers your questions. Do you have anything specific in mind in terms of freezing and reheating?
Kelsey
I am looking for a recipe that can add more protein to simple meals without spending so much on frozen veggie proteins that mimic things like chicken. I often will throw salads together and want more protein, or my partner who eats meat and I will cook a base meal together and he'll add a meat while I add something else. I also like to be able to meal prep and freeze to take out for a few weeks! I was wondering if you've frozen this exact recipe before for things like that?
Kerstin
Elizabeth, this recipe is so good and easy. No boiling, where the seitan gets hard. Will never do that again. I used this recipe for chicken Parmesan. It was so good and the chicken taste was wonderful
Thank you
Elizabeth
Amazing Kerstin! So glad you enjoyed the seitan! I'm definitely team never-boil-again haha. I've been thinking about making a chicken parm so now it's definitely going on my list. Thanks for the kind review!
Flavia
I tried this recipe today after giving up on seitan for years - I hate store bought seitan, and when I tried to make it by boiling or steaming it I always ended up with a soggy, squelchy loaf that I didn't like. This is delicious, plus super easy and quick to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I will incorporate seitan in my diet again from now on 🙂
Elizabeth
So glad to hear it! This is one of my go-to recipes and I'm with you - I'm never boiling seitan again!!
Christine
Was excited to try this and the taste was great, but I think I did something wrong- when mine came out of the oven they looked like baked bread rolls outside and in with what looked like a shiny twisted bagel exterior! :’D Any idea what I did wrong? I tried not to knead much per the instructions. Should I try wrapping them up or weighing them down next time so they don’t rise as much?
Elizabeth
Hi Christine - it's totally normal for the outside to have a different texture than the inside. It's possible that you didn't do anything wrong! How high did they get? What brand of vital wheat gluten did you use (I've used Bob's and Anthony's) Do you have a kitchen thermometer? I always temp my seitan to 195 (the temp for bread, not meat!) to make sure it's fully cooked. Something you could also try is popping them back in the oven after pulling them apart. Or making smaller knots. Let me know - I'm happy to help troubleshoot!
Fable
Thanks for this! You actually put enough seasoning in your recipe, so thanks for that! So many just... absolutely don't.
Elizabeth
Yes, I'm definitely heavy on the seasonings! Glad you like it!
Barbara
can you freeze this? I normally freeze seitan but I have never made a twist like this so I wanted to be sure! thanks
Elizabeth
Hi Barbara - yes! You can definitely freeze it. I would recommend pulling apart the twists to create the little shreds before freezing though, or you'd have to totally thaw the seitan in order to pull it apart. But totally fine to freeze either way!
alexandra
I liked it very much;