9-Ingredient Vegan Chicken
Try making your own vegan chicken for a meat alternative that’s tender, chewy, and ultra-savory. It’s perfect for baking, grilling, sautéing, and more!
Equipment
- Food processor
- Rolling Pin
- Mixing bowl
- Instant Pot and steamer basket
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (with liquid)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 teaspoon “no chicken” broth powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons flavorless coconut oil (melted)
- 1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten (plus more as needed)
Instructions
Dough
- In a food processor, add the chickpeas (and their liquid), nutritional yeast, “no chicken” broth powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, apple cider vinegar, and coconut oil. Blend until smooth.
- Gradually add the vital wheat gluten, continuing to blend in between. If the mixture feels wet, add 1-2 tablespoons of gluten flour at a time and mix again.
- If your food processor is overheating or unable to mix the dough, transfer it onto a clean surface and knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about 9-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover the dough, and let it rest for about 20-25 minutes.
Shape
- Cut the dough into ~110-120 gram portions, and roll them out with a rolling pin until they reach your desired thickness (they won’t expand much once steamed).
- If you’d like shredded chicken, roll the piece of dough into a sausage/loaf shape. Tightly wrap all pieces in foil, making sure to twist or fold the ends.
Steam
- Add all pieces to a pressure cooker-friendly steamer basket, and steam them in a pressure cooker on high for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- You can also steam the chicken in a stovetop steamer. You will know the chicken is done when it feels firm.
- Let the chicken cool in the foil for 10-15 minutes before unwrapping.
Cook the chicken
- Once removed from the foil, pan-fry the “breasts” in a little vegan butter or oil, grill them, or slice them to use for salads or stir-fries.
- For shredded chicken, rip the cooked loaf in half lengthwise with your hands (this will give a meaty strand appearance). Shred each half from top to bottom to form smaller pieces of shredded chicken, and use any way you’d like. Happy eating!
Notes
Properly process the chickpeas: Blend the chickpeas and their liquid until completely smooth. You'll need to stop the food processor and scrape down the sides a few times.
Be slow with the vital wheat gluten: Add the vital wheat gluten in increments and blend thoroughly each time. This helps evenly distribute it, preventing dry clumps.
Check for doneness: Undercooking seitan may result in a doughy texture, so don't stop steaming the pieces until they are firm to the touch.
The consistency of the dough is key. It should be tacky but not stick to your hands. If the food processor starts struggling, transfer the dough to a clean surface.
Kneading is an essential step in developing gluten bonds, which give the vegan chicken its meat-like texture.
Wrapping and sealing the dough tightly prevents it from expanding too much or becoming water-logged during the cooking process.
Keep an eye on the water level in the steamer, and top it up as needed. If it dries out, the bottom of your pot will burn and not be fun to clean!
To create shredded chicken, use your hands to rip the loaf in half lengthwise. Shred each half from top to bottom to form smaller pieces of chicken, and use it for soups, curries, stir-fries, etc.
Nutritional information is a rough estimate and should not be taken as health advice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 128.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 5.3g | Protein: 18.6g | Fat: 4.1g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 297.9mg | Potassium: 92.9mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 0.5IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 34.5mg | Iron: 1.4mg
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