This vegan shredded chicken seitan will amaze you! Tender, juicy, vegan chicken made from seitan with the texture of real shredded chicken. It's perfect for vegan chicken soups, vegan chicken pot pies, or casseroles.
This vegan chicken is so close to the real thing, it may freak you out a little.
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❤️ Why make this recipe
This shredded vegan chicken is surprisingly easy to make and great to have on hand to toss into all of your favorite, soups, stir-fries, and casseroles.
It keeps well in the fridge for days so it's great to make up a batch, shred it, and have it on hand to toss into any meal that calls for shredded chicken.
I make a ton of faux chicken recipes like vegan chicken breast, chicken nuggets, chicken patties, and chicken wings, but this shredded chicken has the most realistic chicken texture of all of the plant-based chicken recipes.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Tofu - One 14 oz block of extra firm tofu that has been drained and pressed. You can also use a can of chickpeas or white beans that have been drained.
- Broth - I like to use the Not Chick'n Broth or Better Than Bouillon No Chicken brands for a chicken flavor. You can also use vegetable broth.
- Oil - any neutral-flavored oil will work well. You can also leave it out completely, but it helps to give your chicken the proper moisture and mouthfeel. Chicken breasts have a natural fat content of about 11%, so I add a little fat in order to replicate that.
- Nutritional Yeast - for an umami flavor. (optional, but recommended)
- Poultry Seasoning - for flavor.
- Salt - for flavor. Feel free to reduce the salt for a lower-sodium chicken.
- Garlic Powder - for flavor. (optional)
- Onion Powder - for flavor. (optional)
- Vital Wheat Gluten - this is a fine powdery flour that is high in wheat protein. You can't swap this out for regular flour or any other flour. You can usually find it in the Bob's Red Mill section or the specialty baking section of large grocery stores. I order a large bag from Amazon to make lots of seitan recipes.
🔪 Helpful tools
One of the great things about this seitan recipe is that you don't need a lot of special tools or equipment. You just need a blender or food processor to blend the tofu with the broth, a mixing bowl, and a pot with a lid.
🥄 How to make vegan shredded chicken
Step 1 - Drain and press a 14 oz block of firm tofu then add it to a food processor or blender along with broth, oil, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Step 2 - Blend until smooth, then transfer to a glass mixing bowl.
Step 3 - Stir in 1 cup of the vital wheat gluten and mix well. Then add the remaining 1/2 cup of wheat gluten and knead with your hands for about 1 minute until a firm dough is formed. *Don't eat it until it has been cooked.
Step 4 -Roll your seitan dough out into a long log about 3 inches thick and about 30 inches long. Then let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.
Step 5 -Fold the log of dough in half and twist it several times then swirl it around on itself so it's in a big knot. (You can do any sort of knots that you want, just as long as it is twisted and tied into long pieces.)
Step 6 -Place the knot of seitan dough into a large pot with a lid and cover it with 4 cups of vegan chicken broth. (you can add a little extra water until all of the dough is covered.)
Step 7 -Bring the broth to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for 35 minutes flipping the knot over after 20 minutes of cooking.
Step 8 -Turn off the heat and allow it to cool in the pot for another 30 minutes until it becomes cool enough to handle.
Step 9 -Remove the seitan from the broth and place it on a plate or cutting board. Shred the vegan chicken with two forks or tear it with your hands until it's in long thin shreds.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Let your seitan dough rest for 15 minutes before forming it into a knot. This will help it keep its form.
- Gluten needs to be cooked, don't eat it raw. You know it has cooked enough when it is firm, meat-like, and no longer has a doughy texture.
- Wheat gluten is a very fine powder that can get messy. When pouring the flour into the bowl, hold it low in the bowl so it doesn't splash out or make a cloud of dust.
🌾 Can I make this gluten-free?
Since seitan is made from isolated wheat gluten, it can't be made gluten-free, but if you want some gluten-free chicken alternatives try my tofu fried chicken, fried cauliflower, or fried chicken oyster mushrooms.
🍗 Alternatives to seitan
If you want some more gluten-free alternatives for shredded chicken you can also use, jack fruit, shredded king oyster mushrooms, or Butler soy curls.
❓How to use vegan shredded chicken
You can use this vegan shredded chicken like you would regular shredded chicken in any recipe.
Entrées - You can toss it in with vegan broccoli pasta, Rasta pasta, pot pies, stir-fries, or casseroles. Use it to make vegan fajitas, tacos, enchiladas, or burritos.
Soups - Put it in soups like vegan chicken noodle soup, vegan white chili, pozole, vegan cream of chicken, or vegan green chile stew.
Sandwiches - The shredded faux chicken is also great in buffalo chicken sandwiches, vegan chicken salad sandwiches, or vegan BBQ sandwiches.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: This shredded chicken seitan will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. Store it in the leftover broth that you boiled the faux chicken in. This will keep it moist and flavorful.
Freeze: Seitan freezes well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat the vegan chicken shreds by simmering them in broth or simply tossing them in soups, stir-fries, or casseroles.
🌟 More seitan recipes
We love seitan in our house and make a ton of mock meats of every type. Be sure to check out all of my seitan recipes or my seitan-making cookbook!
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan shredded chicken recipe
Vegan Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 (14 oz) block extra firm tofu or 1 (15.5 oz can) drained or white beans
- 1 cup not chick'n broth (reconstituted) or other vegan chicken-style broth or veggie broth
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- Drain and press a 14 oz block of extra firm tofu then add it to a food processor or blender along with broth, oil, nutritional yeast, salt, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Blend until smooth, then transfer to a glass mixing bowl.
- Stir in 1 cup of the vital wheat gluten and mix well. Then add the remaining 1/2 cup of wheat gluten and knead with your hands for about 1 minute until a firm dough is formed. *don't eat it until it has been cooked.
- Roll your seitan dough out into a long log about 3 inches thick and about 30 inches long. Then let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.
- Fold the log of dough in half and twist it several times then swirl it around on itself so it's in a big knot. (You can do any sort of knots that you want, just as long as it is twisted and tied into long pieces.)
- Place the knot of seitan dough into a large pot with a lid and cover it with 4 cups of vegan chicken broth. (you can add a little extra water until all of the dough is covered.)
- Bring the broth to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for 35 minutes flipping the knot over after 20 minutes of cooking.
- Turn off the heat and allow it to cool in the pot for another 30 minutes until it becomes cool enough to handle.
- Remove the seitan from the broth and place it on a plate or cutting board. Shred the vegan chicken with two forks or tear it with your hands until it's in long thin shreds.
Notes
- Let your seitan dough rest for 15 minutes before forming it into a knot. This will help it keep its form.
- Gluten needs to be cooked, don't eat it raw. You know that it has cooked enough when it is firm and meat-like and no longer has a doughy texture.
- Wheat gluten is a very fine powder that can get messy. When pouring the flour into the bowl, hold it low in the bowl so it doesn't splash out or make a cloud of dust.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
I’m wondering if super firm tofu will work as well as extra firm?
Yes, it should. Slight changes in moisture content of the dough will cause the "chicken" to have a slightly softer or firmer texture. (You may need about 1 tablespoon less vital wheat gluten to account for that.) Enjoy!
Great recipe! I haven't eaten meat for many years so can't say now realistically 'chicken'-like it tastes, but I can confirm that it is super tasty! I used 2 tsp poultry seasoning and 1 TSP salt. I also wrapped the seitan in foil and steamed it instead of boiling. I will definitely be making it again!
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Anna! 🙂
New Questions- Second go round using tofu instead of chickpeas (and chicken broth this time instead of accidental beef broth!), it took a LOT of extra gluten to get the dough to not be wet. I used extra firm tofu and pressed it before adding, but still ended up using at least a full cup more of gluten! Was thinking I should have added more seasoning then, but we'll see. Question on that is, have you experienced needing to add that much more gluten?
Second- the large volume of gluten I had to add meant "too much" kneading then as I didn't realize it would take that much and had to keep adding more, kneading more. Hopefully that doesn't mess up the texture as I have read seitan will become too spongy if over kneading. I tried to rest it a little longer. Do you know any remedy when the dough has been overkneaded?
Lastly, I had the broth at a perfect simmer with just the tiny bubbles and no surface tension. The burner was very low. I came back in 10 minutes...and it was boiling furiously! Oh no! I read that spongy/brainy/not very good texture is what happens when it boils, so I had that covered......Or Not! Do you know any remedy for this after the fact? It is still finishing last boil time after flipping it, so I don't know yet. But I read pretty clearly in many places that boiling will make it spongy/brainy, so wondering if you have ever had this happen and what you suggest to improve an accidentally, full boiled seitan?
Thank you so much allways for all that you share! Would that you are having a nourishing Sunday. Peace
I just have to tell this about making your shredded chicken. Everything came together well. I thought I had a nice firm dough ball and I let it 'rest' for 30 or so min. I twisted and turned it into a nice knot. Then I plopped it in the pot with chick'n broth and turned it to boil. Stepped away a bit while it was getting up to heat. When I came back, it had fallen to pieces! Oh no I thought, but I decided to keep going knowing I hadn't probably added enough VG (although I ended up at the beginning needing to add 2 cups of VG instead of the 1-1/2 cups) Anyway, after it finished with it cooking, cooling, I used a slotted spoon to fish out the pieces, I tasted it and almost fainted. OMG, it was so good and tasty. I stood there fishing out small pieces to 'stuff' into my mouth as fast as I could. I couldn't believe how good it tasted and not rubbery or squeaky when I chewed it. I've put it in the fridge to cool and hoping that I'll be able to make 'chick'n' salad out of it later. And the broth that was left...OMG (I know, I'm sorry for the exuberance), but I'm going to add some noodles and have soup at work for several days! It just goes to show that this is the BEST chick'n recipe out there and NEVER give up on a minor fail. Thank you, thank you, for a fabulous recipe and I will try it over and over and over (especially till I get the shreds!).
I'm so happy that you liked it. It's my favorite faux chicken to put into soups and casseroles! 🙂
Quick question- I see on the vegan chicken breast page that you say to put it in the fridge for one hour for a stringier texture. But this page says to rest dough for 15 mins only. Would putting it in the fridge for longer make the stringier texture more? And thank you so much for your work! Peace
You can, but it will be harder to work into a knot after it is cold. I find that 15 minutes does the trick. The thing that has the biggest effect on the texture is getting the right texture of the dough to start. You want to keep adding vital wheat gluten until it no longer feels wet to the touch and is firmer than pizza dough. Since the moisture of tofu varies, you may have to adjust the amount of gluten flour a little especially if you don't press the tofu well enough before blending.
Thank you very much for reply! Made it using the chickpeas and found a continuous shower of little chickpea bits coming off of the dough as I kneaded! It was kinda funny to see them keep coming. Even after cooking, the shower continued when I shredded! So tip- make sure to do blend step long enough if you use chickpeas. Or maybe my chickpeas were a little too dry as I had used the liquid a few days before as an egg in a boxed cake mix. The end result was amazing in texture, you were right about it freaking you out a little 🙂
Was trying to make Pollo Rojo like we used to eat years ago from the local taqueria here, so used this recipe https://mjskitchen.com/2014/04/red-chile-sauce-from-powder/ to make some red chile sauce. It was really amazingly like the "real thing." Was planning to use the rest to make rolled shredded chicken tacos, but got your Vegan Stew recipe today. Since I realized I had accidentally grabbed Not Beef cubes AFTER I made and cooked it, it is actually shredded "beef" I guess! Anyways I hadn't shredded it all and thought I could make big chunks like in stew and try it in the new recipe! Many, many thanks for your wonderful presence in our kitchen and food life! Peace
I'm so happy that you liked it. Yes, if you use chickpeas, you must blend them until they are very smooth or there will be little chunks in your chicken. 🙂
Two questions: 1. After the seitan is boiled and cooled is it consider cooked? Can it then be eaten or does it need to be cooked in another recipe BEFORE eating? 2. Can the broth the seitan is boiled in be saved to use in other recipes such as soup?
My seiten did not form gluten strips but was more like very firm tofu. I still used it to pan fry, just coating lumps of it with seasoned AP flour and it was delicious.
Yes, once it's boiled, it is cooked and can be eaten plain.
Fantastic! This was quite easy to make, and I’m astounded at the texture. This will definitely be a staple in our house. I can’t wait to experiment with a carnitas variation. Love your recipes!!
Thanks! I'm so happy that you liked it, Lindsay! There are so many options of things you can make with it. Enjoy! 🙂
Made this but it wont firm up when cooked in the broth! Maybe I didn’t nead it enough? Its very soft. I used 1 and 3/4 white beans. Maybe too many? Its really tasty, just soft and not really shreddable. Still gonna eat it. And try again! LoL!
The extra beans probably caused your final product to be too soft. The ratio of moisture to wheat gluten changes the outcome a lot. You want to have a firm dough that is slightly firmer than pizza dough that no longer feels wet to the touch. When you make it a few times, you will know the right texture just by the feel of the dough.
"*don't eat it until it has been cooked........"
not likely but why do you write that? If it was a jokey throw away comment a simple ! would have explained it.
Raw seitan dough is raw flour and not safe to eat before it is cooked. Some people may want to taste the dough, but it needs to be cooked before eating.
Have you tried making this in an Instant Pot/pressure cooker? I’m curious what the texture is like.
You can make it in a pressure cooker or IP. You will need to cook it for about 20 minutes and then let the steam escape naturally. It doesn't change the texture too much either way.
Can you make this recipe with dried white beans instead of tofu?
You can cook dried white beans until soft, then use 1 1/2 cups of the cooked beans instead of a block of tofu. Enjoy! 🙂
Thanks for the info!