These vegan chicken nuggets are just about as close to the real thing that you can get! Moist, meaty, and delicious with a light breaded coating and baked to perfection. Your kids will jump for joy every time you make these seitan nuggets!
Made from wheat gluten and chickpeas, these meatless nuggets are a high-protein meal that even omnivores will love. This recipe was created from my vegan chicken and vegan chicken patty recipes.
I use the same delicious chicken wheat meat recipe, coat it in a classic nugget coating, and bake it to perfection. The recipe will satisfy your craving for chicken for sure!
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🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
For the "Chicken"
- Chickpeas - or you can use tofu or any type of bean that you wish. I usually use one 15.5 oz can of drained chickpeas or white beans, or one 14 oz block of extra firm tofu that has been drained and pressed.
- 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.
- Poultry Seasoning - for flavor. If you don't have any premixed, you can use this homemade poultry seasoning to flavor the "chicken."
- 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.
For the coating
- Flour - I usually use all-purpose flour, but you can use any type of flour that you would like.
- Cornstarch - to make the coating crispy. You can use potato starch instead if you wish.
- Baking Soda - to make it rise a little.
- Baking Powder - to make it rise a little.
- Salt - for flavor. Reduce if desired.
- Pepper - for flavor.
- Vegan Milk - any plant-based milk like soy, oat, or almond milk will work. You can also use aquafaba (the liquid that you drain off of a can of chickpeas or beans.)
- Lemon Juice - just a few drops to curdle and thicken the milk a little.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A blender or food processor - to blend the beans or tofu with the broth and spices.
- Glass bowl - to mix the dough in. Gluten is very sticky and will stick even more to plastic.
- A silicon spatula - to stir the gluten into the flour. Don't use any wooden utensils, or the gluten will stick to them.
- Cookie Sheet - a large baking sheet with edges works best.
🥄 Instructions
Make the chicken-flavored seitan
Step 1 - Add a can of drained chickpeas to a food processor or blender along with broth, 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, then add the remaining 1/3 cup of wheat gluten and knead with your hands until a firm dough is formed.
Make the coating and bake the nuggets
Step 4 - Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).
Step 5 - Put about 3 tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil on a large cookie sheet so that the bottom is completely covered with oil, and set it aside.
Step 6 - Mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.
Step 7 - Pour 1/2 cup of plant-based milk (or aquafaba) into another shallow dish for getting the nuggets wet.
Step 8 - Pull off small nugget-sized pieces of the dough and form it into the desired shape with your hands.
Step 9 - Place the nugget in the milk, then, in the flour mixture, then back in the milk, and back in the flour mixture for a 2nd time until it has a layer of the sticky coating on the outside of it.
Step 10 - Place the coated nugget on the oiled cookie sheet and repeat until you have used up all of the dough. Leave a little bit of space between the nuggets so they are not touching. (It should make about 36 nuggets, so you may need to use 2 cookie sheets.)
Step 11 - Bake the nuggets at 375° F (190° C) for 15 minutes, then take out of the oven, flip each one, and place them back in the oven for another 15 minutes until they are golden brown.
Serve these nuggets with kid-friendly vegan meals like vegan mac and cheese, a side salad with vegan Caesar, or veggies dipped in vegan ranch dressing.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- You can use any type of bean or tofu, blended with the broth to make vegan chicken.
- For a stringier chicken texture, allow your dough to rest for at least an hour in the fridge before cooking.
- 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.
- Use only a glass bowl and silicone spatula. Wet gluten is very sticky and hard to clean.
- Wash your bowl and utensils in very hot water. This will help to reduce the stickiness of the gluten. You may want to use an old rag that you can throw away after you clean up.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: These nuggets will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freeze: These nuggets freeze well and can be stored in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can pop them into the oven directly from the freezer.
Reheating: Reheat your vegan chicken nuggets in the microwave for about 2 minutes, pan-fry in a little oil, or bake at 350° F for about 10 minutes until warm.
❓ Frequently asked questions
You can omit the oil from the "chicken" without much issue. The seitan tends to be a little firmer and drier is all. You can also bake the nuggets on a layer of parchment paper instead of using oil on the cookie sheet. However, they won't crisp up and taste like traditional nuggets as much as they do with oil.
No, you can't make seitan gluten-free, since the primary ingredient is gluten. However, you can use my vegan popcorn chicken recipe that uses soy curls for a vegan and gluten-free "chicken." Tofu fried chicken, fried oyster mushrooms, fried cauliflower, or baked cauliflower nuggets are also delicious replacements!
🌟 Vegan nugget dipping sauces
We love vegan dipping sauces in my house here are a few of our favorites
- Vegan BBQ Sauce
- Vegan Honey Mustard
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Vegan Chick Fil A Sauce
- The Best Vegan Buffalo Sauce
- Easy Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
- Garlic Cilantro Sauce
🌟 More seitan recipes
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan chicken nuggets recipe
Vegan Chicken Nuggets
Ingredients
For the "chicken"
- 1 1/2 cups chickpeas (15.5 oz can) drained or white beans or 14 oz. firm pressed tofu
- 1 cup not chick'n broth (reconstituted) or other vegan chicken style or vegetable 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 1/3 cup vital wheat gluten
For the coating
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
To get the nugget wet
- 1/2 cup plant-based milk or aquafaba (the liquid from the can of beans that you used.)
To oil the cookie sheet
- 3 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil
Instructions
Make the dough
- Add a can of drained chickpeas to a food processor or blender along with broth, nutritional yeast, oil, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
- Blend until smooth, then transfer to a glass mixing bowl.
- Stir in 1 cup of the vital wheat gluten, then add the remaining 1/3 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.
- You can now cook your seitan, or for "chicken" with a stringier texture, let it rest in the fridge covered for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
Make the nugget coating
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Put about 3 tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil on a large cookie sheet so that the bottom is completely covered with oil, and set it aside.
- Mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish.
- Pour 1/2 cup of plant-based milk (or aquafaba) into another shallow dish for getting the nuggets wet.
Batter and bake the nuggets
- Pull off small nugget-sized pieces of the dough and form it into the desired shape with your hands.
- Place the nugget in the milk, then, in the flour mixture, then back in the milk, and back in the flour mixture for a 2nd time until it has a layer of the sticky coating on the outside of it.
- Place the coated nugget on the oiled cookie sheet and repeat until you have used up all of the dough. Leave a little bit of space between the nuggets so they are not touching. (It should make about 36 nuggets, so you may need to use 2 cookie sheets.)
- Bake the nuggets at 375° F (190° C) for 15 minutes, then take out of the oven, flip each one, and place them back in the oven for another 15 minutes until they are golden brown.
Notes
- You can use any type of bean or tofu, blended with the broth to make the vegan chicken.
- For a stringier chicken texture, allow your dough to rest for at least an hour in the fridge before forming it into nuggets.
- 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.
- Use only a glass bowl and silicone spatula. Wet gluten is very sticky and hard to clean.
- Wash your bowl and utensils in very hot water. This will help to reduce the stickiness of the gluten. You may want to use an old rag that you can throw away after you clean up.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Can these be frozen and reheated, Or refrigerated? I would like to make them ahead if possible for a family event.
Yes, they will keep well in the fridge for about 3 days or in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. You will need to bake them again to reheat them so the coating gets crispy again. Enjoy! 🙂
This is the first chick'un nugget recipe I have tried and I thought they were easy to make and very tasty! Next time I will form the dough into a log and cut them into 36 equal pieces so they are all the same size and they cook evenly. I didn't do that and the smaller ones came out a little dry.
Thanks for the recipe!!
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Collette! 🙂
Will the crisp in an air fryer?
I have not tested it in an air fryer, but I think it will work well. Enjoy! 🙂
I've been trying a lot of seitan recipes and this one really hit the jackpot. A little on the salty side but I can adjust that. The texture was great, not sure I like doing all the breading (the lazy me is talking) but it was totally worth it and I will definitely make this again.
I wonder if the small pieces could be simmered then fried instead of baked?
Thank you for a great recipe.
I'm glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Ruth. 🙂
OMG! These were so good and even my husband and kids loved them! Thanks so much for this great recipe!
I just made these for dinner last night. My 3 year old and 5 year old went crazy for them! Thanks for this easy way to make vegan nuggets!