Publised on 14/08/2019. Last Updated on 18/09/2024 by Richard
Vegan fried chicken like you've never tasted before - seriously. It's meaty, flavoursome, moist inside and super crispy outside. Call your mates - it's the big one!
This vegan fried chicken recipe is BY FAR the most popular on School Night Vegan. Could it be down to that crispy, crunchy batter which doesn't require any egg or dairy? Quite possibly! Could it be that this is the most fun way to cook and eat my vegan chicken? Almost certainly!
Whatever your reasons for wanting to make my vegan fried chicken, I'm glad you're here and I hope this batch of chickeny heaven makes you very happy! Alright, let's get crackin!
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Vegan Fried Chicken Ingredients
This vegan fried chicken recipe was the first ever vegan meat alternative I made from home. Originally it involved a rather elaborate process of rolling out thin layers of seitan to create a chicken-like texture. I quickly realised this was overkill and so this version of the recipe uses my much improved vegan chicken recipe for the meat replacement. Other than this, you'll need:
- Gram flour - aka chickpea flour or besan. this is to help thicken our vegan fried chicken batter. It acts similarly to egg which is why it's used in many traditional Indian batters such as onion bhajis!
- Plant milk - any will do! Just make sure it's unflavoured and unsweetened.
- Cider vinegar - this helps to split the plant milk, which makes it thicker, resulting in a most substantial batter.
- Sriracha - to give the batter a tiny spicy kick, any hot sauce will do!
- Plain white flour - used for "dredging" the vegan fried chicken to make the batter coat it better!
- Corn flour (aka cornstarch) - keeps things crispy and helps with browning.
- Sea salt - for obvious reasons!
- Old bay seasoning - If you can't get hold of old bay, here's how to make your own
- Black pepper - because BP makes everything better!
See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for quantities.
Instructions
You've likely made this vegan fried chicken before, but if not, HI AND WELCOME! Here's a little visual guide on how to actually make this recipe. From start to finish! Obviously the full recipe is at the bottom of the page, but feel free to guide your cooking process with these HANDY PHOTOGRAPHS!
1. Make the vegan chicken! You'll need to do this in advance (unless you're using a store-bought alternative or mushrooms instead). This recipe is a simple seitan chicken and can be used in a bunch of other recipes, like my tikka masala, so you can't really make too much!
2. Make the batter! For this recipe our batter is a tale of two mixing bowls! We're going to make a wet batter and a dry flour dredge. The flour helps the wet batter to stick to the vegan chicken and when combined with the cornstarch and gram flour, it keeps everything crispy and golden brown.
3. Coat the vegan chicken! It's a good idea to tear your vegan chicken into wings, strips or tenders before frying, so do this first. Then dunk in the flour mixture, then into the wet batter then BACK into the flour mixture. This double coating method keeps everything super crunchy!
4. Fry the vegan chicken! The best oil for deep frying is either plain vegetable oil or sunflower oil. You want to get it up to around 170c/340f so a chef's thermometer comes in handy here. Fry a few pieces at a time (depending on the size of your fryer/pan).
Substitutions
Here are some ways to customise this recipe to your specific diet! EVERYONE deserves vegan fried chicken, so let's make this friendly for everyone!
- Gluten free? - This recipe can be made gluten free, but you'll need to start by swapping out the vegan chicken. Either use a store-bought GF alternative or simply use clusters of oyster mushrooms! You'll also need to swap out the plain flour for a gluten free variety. My favourite brand is Freee or Bob's Red Mill.
- Soy free? - This is very easily done! Again, you'll need to use a store-bought GF alternative for the actual chicken or simply use clusters of oyster mushrooms instead. Just be sure to avoid soy milk in the batter - any plant milk will do!
- Kid friendly! - If your kids aren't great with spice, ten feel free to leave the sriracha out of the batter ingredients. The spice levels of this recipe are actually SUPER low, so if your kids are up for an experiment, go with the flow!
Vegan Fried Chicken Variations
I can't tell you the possibilities you've unlocked by making this vegan fried chicken! SO exciting! Now you can have a go at customising the recipe for yourself!
- Korean BBQ! - Why not drench your crispy fried vegan chicken in this vegan Korean BBQ sauce before serving? My friend Lisa has got your back with this insanely good recipe!
- Sammich time? - This fried chicken works so beautifully in a fried chicken sandwich! Why not follow the instructions in my katsu chicken sandwich recipe and make some magic!
- Buffalooo - Looking for some wings for the big game?! Why not whip up a batch of vegan buffalo sauce from this recipe here and get dunkin!
If you make any variations and you think they're a success, be sure to tag me in a pic on instagram! I'd love to see how you get on!
Equipment
Here's a peek at the equipment you'll need for this recipe. Just a heads up - you do NOT need a deep fat fryer to make this recipe. You can just as easily fill a high-sided frying pan with an inch or so of oil and fry the vegan fried chicken in that. Personally I use this tefal deep fat fryer because it automatically filters and stores the cooking oil for you, so it can be used again in another recipe!
- 2 x medium bowls
- 1 x high sided frying pan or
- 1 x deep fat fryer
Storage
Unfortunately, like regular fried chicken, vegan fried chicken down't age too well. You want to eat it almost immediately after frying, if possible. However, you can make the vegan chicken ahead, store in broth in a sealed container then either store in the fridge or freezer.
Top tip
It's a good idea to drain the vegan fried chicken on a sheet of kitchen roll immediately after frying. Not only does this remove some of the residual oil, but it also helps the vegan fried chicken to stay crispy even longer. To make things EXTRA crispy, sprinkle the freshly fried vegan chicken with salt right afterwards.
Vegan Fried Chicken FAQ
Seitan, in this case. However this really depends on which recipe or product you use. Some recipes use pea protein or soy protein. Alternatively you can simply used clusters of oyster mushrooms, since their texture is naturally so meaty.
Vegetable oil or sunflower oil. These work best for frying as they have a high smoke point, meaning the oil won't burn in the time it takes your food to get crispy.
Vegan Fried Chicken
Equipment
- 2 x medium bowls
- 1 x high-sided frying pan OR
- 1 x deep fat fryer
Ingredients
For the Vegan Chicken
- 1 batch vegan chicken or alternatively use store-bought vegan chicken OR oyster mushrooms
For the Egg Coating
- 4 tablespoon gram flour aka chickpea flour or besan flour
- 200 ml plant milk unflavoured and unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar or any white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sriracha or any hot sauce
For the Spiced Flour
- 300 g plain white flour aka all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon corn flour aka cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoon old bay seasoning If you can't get hold of old bay, here's how to make your own
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For Frying
- vegetable oil or sunflower oil for frying
Instructions
To Prepare the Vegan Chicken
To Fry the Chicken
- In one medium bowl, combine the gram flour, plant milk, cider vinegar and sriracha. Whisk well to combine. This is your egg mixture.4 tablespoon gram flour, 200 ml plant milk, 1 teaspoon cider vinegar, ½ teaspoon sriracha
- In another medium bowl, combine all the spiced flour mixture ingredients. Mix to combine.300 g plain white flour, 3 tablespoon corn flour, 2 teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 teaspoon old bay seasoning, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Place a medium, high sided frying pan over a medium heat or turn on a deep fat fryer. Bring the oil to 170 °C, testing the temperature with a chef's thermometer.vegetable oil
- Assigning your left hand to the egg mix and your right hand to the spiced flour, dunk a piece of chicken in the flour and toss to coat. Then, with your right hand, place the floured chicken in the egg mixture. Use your left hand to coat the chicken and then pick it up and place back in the flour. Very carefully coat for a second time in the flour mixture then place carefully in the hot oil.
- Fry the chicken piece for around 2-4 minutes or until completely golden brown. Using a spider or a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the fryer and place on a few pieces of kitchen towel to drain. Repeat the process with the remaining vegan chicken.
- Serve while hot!
Holly M Taylor
I made this for myself and my nonvegan boyfriend. He LOVED it. Way better than any other mock meat I've ever made. Thank you for posting the video on your IG! Some of the video was sped-up so fast, so I couldn't see exactly how you were rolling the chicken-dough into the tinfoil. I think I still got it to work.
I think I did a few things differently than the recipe, but it still came out really good. I did not need a whole 300g flour to coat this... probably only 75g-ish stuck to the chicken as I breaded it. I used a DIY/makeshift steamer which worked fine. I also hand-kneaded the wheat gluten with the dry ingredients instead of putting it in a mixer, because I don't have a mixer. I also used 2 (vegan-friendly) chicken bouillon cubes because I don't have bouillon powder. I threw them in the blender with all the other wet ingredients and had no issues with it. I'm wondering if I should try using Better than Bouillon paste next time I make it.
I am an American, so the 400g can of chickpeas was tricky for me. I used a regular Goya can of chickpeas that the packaging says it has 439g. When I measured out the contents of the can on a scale, it came out to less than 300g. I was confused so I just used the whole can. Maybe the Goya measurements includes the can's weight in the grams calculation? I probably should have added more water at this point, because the texture of the chicken was a little dry, but still very good.
We served the fried chicken with mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and gravy. Not the healthiest meal... but it was tasty!! It is 100% time consuming, and worth every step. I'll make it a few times a year.
Thank you again for sharing it with us. Your website is one of my favorites now, can't wait to try out other recopies 🙂
Lloyd
I think this is the single best vegan dish I've made in the 25+ years I've been veggie.
Patty
People who know how to make great Southern fried chicken don't use egg in the coating as you mentioned. The trick is the oil's temperature. With real chicken, I normally soaked the chicken in salted like warm water for 30 minutes. Then once the oil is hot enough, flour the chicken then dump it in the oil making sure you don't crowd the pieces or reduce the temperature. The best way to check the oil is with your wet hands,grab a pinch of flour creating a small clump and dump it into the oil. If the tiny clump rises to the top of the oil immediately, then your oil is hot enough. It creates a super crispy exterior. All the spices go into the flour, not the chicken. Or in this case, the chickpeas. You just want it salted enough not to be completely bland on the inside. I hope this is helpful.
Ruby
Then perhaps you should start your own blog and share your own recipe for southern fried murder chicken. The author clearly went through a lot to perfect this vegan recipe, and clearly states there are no substitutions, etc. Canned chickpeas will already have sodium and furthermore do not need to be brined. Dead animal carcass does not naturally have sodium. Soaking chicken in salt water is called brining, and keeps the meat juicy. This isn't a meat recipe and therefore isn't going to be the same as a meat recipe.
Taryn
@Ruby Why are you being so hostile to this person who is just sharing tips from real life experience? It makes you sound like a bit of a knob.
@schoolnightvegan Great job on this recipe. I am going make this next week so I'll update with my rating but I'm sure it's gonna be bomb.
made it loved it
I agree w Ruby that it is impolite to talk about meat recipes on a vegan food blog.
Also I made this and loved it! As I was a bit time crunched I didn't let it refrigerate down to cold which i think would have improved the texture of the final cooked chicken, but it was fab and so moreish. Next time I will prepare the day before. Worth all the effort.
Thank you @schoolnightvegan!!!! <3
Jenbro
Whoa Ruby chill! You live in a world where meat eaters exist & although we here are looking to learn vegan recipes, we can certainly accept a little advice without being complete jerks. Kindness goes a long way
Nikki
This was amazing - thank you for sharing, time intensive but worth the effort!
Angeline
I’m not even vegan and this is bomb! Will be having it again in the near future.
Kat
Amazing recipe..once again! Love SchoolNightVegan!! Thank you for your awesome recipes.
Khushal
Hi. I am from south africa and we don't have old bay seasoning. I know u have a link for old bay seasoning recipe. Just wandering if you ever tried making your own seasoning and how close is it to your store bought one. I have come across many OBS recipes. Thanks for your kindness in sharing.
Markus
How to steam it if you don’t have a steamer?
Joao
This gave me one of those Chris Farley Colombia Decaffenaited Coffee crystal moment. If I did not know it could have been hard to tell the difference.
Not hard to make takes some planing but tasted good in chicken a waffles!
Matt
Best chicken seitan my wife and I have ever had! Lots of work especially with the rolling out and layering, but its worth it!!!