Name: Easy Seitan Chicken Recipe (Quickest Vegan Chicken)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 15 Ounce Can Cannellini Beans (Drained and Rinsed) (see Note 1); 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Optional but Recommended (see Note 2); 3/4 to 1 Cup Vegan Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth (I used 7/8 cup); 1/2 Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning; 1/4 Teaspoon Salt; 1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast (see Note 5); 300 Grams (or About 2 Cups) Vital Wheat Gluten (see Note 6)

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This Seitan Chicken Recipe is quick and easy to make and PACKED with plant-based protein and flavor. You can cook this vegan chicken recipe in just 30 minutes and it's great for meal prep (freezer friendly), simple meals, or using in virtually any dish that calls for cooked chicken!

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Hey Internet, I’ve been craving some plant-based chicken and I gotta tell you, this vegan seitan chicken is the BEST I've had. There are a lot of store bought vegan chicken options nowadays, but they're pretty expensive and they don't usually agree with my stomach.

I have made a lot of vegan chicken recipes, some of them even seitan like my Vegan Drumsticks and Seitan Chicken Nuggets.

While these aren't seitan, some of the other great vegan chicken recipes I've published include Vegan Chicken and Dumplings, Vegan Cordon Bleu, Vegan Chicken Teriyaki, Vegan Chicken Salad, Vegan Chicken and Stars Soup, Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip, Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup, Vegan BBQ Chicken, and Vegan Chop Suey, to name a few.

Anyway, back to this chicken seitan recipe. This is an older recipe on my site that's getting a revamp (the older version will be available in a note at the bottom of the post) because I've learned a lot of things about seitan after publishing nearly 20 Seitan Recipes and making likely hundreds of batches of seitan over the years.

Seitan is affectionately referred to as wheat meat in the vegan community and for good reason! It has such a meaty texture! If it's your first time making seitan, don't worry. This is a very easy recipe.

I've actually been making this seitan chicken recipe a lot lately as just an easy protein for my dinners. My favorite thing to do for dinner meal prep is to prep components so I can make a slightly different meal each night. I like to prep potatoes, sweet potatoes, a grain, some vegetables, and 5-6 portions of seitan chicken and then I'll just make a different sauce (I have a lot of great Vegan Sauce Recipes to try if you're interested!) or use different seasonings to switch it up.

But seitan is an excellent way to get in your protein especially compared to other mock meat recipes... this recipe has over 30 grams of protein per serving! And in fact, seitan recipes are among my favorite Vegan Meat Recipes because of how macro-friendly they are (low carb, low fat, high protein, relatively low calorie for how much protein they have too), and because of how meal prep and freezer friendly they are!

Yes, you can freeze seitan which means if you wanted, you could make multiple batches and stock your freezer with delicious vegan proteins! It's also a great way to save money since homemade vegan proteins are usually quite a bit cheaper than store bought prepackaged options and they can be just as convenient if you're able to find time to prep them in advance.

I know folks who make 4-5 batches at a time once a month. Seitan will last at least 6 months in the freezer (in a freezer bag or freezer safe container), so it's definitely a great option.

So this seitan chicken recipe is super easy, inexpensive, healthy, delicious, and meal prep friendly? What's not to love? I mean, nothing, as long as you can have gluten!

Unfortunately all seitan recipes contain gluten from wheat protein and are NOT suitable for those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

But if you can have gluten and want to try and amazing and easy seitan recipe, this recipe's for you!

Why You'll Love This Seitan Chicken

Packed with Protein: These seitan chicken cutlets are loaded with plant-based protein! They're also pretty low in fat and carbs, which make them a great protein option for all types of eaters.
Super Versatile: This vegan chicken can take the place of chicken in virtually any recipe. Cut it up, pan fry it, put it on sandwich, in a salad, in a curry (it would be great in vegan butter chicken!), a stir fry, etc. The possibilities are endless! The cooked seitan can be frozen and used in a different way each time, so you have lots of options. You can even use this exact recipe to make vegan chicken nuggets! Just rip the "kneaded" dough into smaller pieces.
Quick and Easy: It really is quick, and it really is so easy, even a beginner vegan can do it! I mean, seitan does take a bit of experimentation, but that's why I've done a lot of the experimenting for you. We use vital wheat gluten in place of the washed flour method and honestly this is my favorite way to make homemade seitan.
Budget Friendly: Compared to store bought vegan meat substitute options (and honestly the price of animal meat these days too!), this is already a much cheaper way to get your protein. Not to mention, you can buy a bulk bag of vital wheat gluten that saves you even more money!

Ingredients

Pick up these simple ingredients for this easy seitan chicken recipe the next time you're at your local grocery store (while you can find vital wheat gluten in the baking section of many grocery stores, we find that you can buy it in bulk for a much better value online). See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutrition information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician, registered dietitian, or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs or need to meet certain daily values of any nutrient). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!

15 Ounce Can Cannellini Beans (Drained and Rinsed): Really any beans would work (lupini beans will actually give you even more protein), but any canned white bean (such as Great Northern beans or white navy beans) give it a more authentic color. Chickpeas would be fine too. I like to blend beans into my seitan recipes because it makes the seitan more tender, more robust, and it actually turns it into a complete protein. Vital wheat gluten in and of itself has all essential amino acids except lysine, but beans add those so it's an easy addition to make sure you get what you need.
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This is part of what makes our seitan chicken so juicy! It also gives the cutlets a more tender texture. This amount gets split between 8 servings, so these fantastic meat replacements remain relatively low fat.
¾ to 1 Cup Vegan Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth: I used about ⅞ cup in my seitan. To achieve the "real chicken" flavor of this vegan chicken recipe, I used Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Broth Base for the liquid. It’s delicious and chicken-flavored but vegan. I buy mine online; that’s the only place I can personally find this flavor. You can also use carton vegan chicken broth. If you live near a specialty store or something like a Whole Foods, you could probably find either of those options there.
½ Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning and ¼ Teaspoon Salt: With all the flavor in the broth, all we really need to season this recipe is a little poultry seasoning (this is just a seasoning blend typically used on chicken and turkey, and the seasoning itself is vegan!) and a little salt. (Note that if you end up using vegetable broth, you may want to add a bit more salt as well as some garlic powder and onion powder for more flavor).
¼ Cup Nutritional Yeast: Affectionately known as nooch, nutritional yeast adds a lot of flavor to our seitan chicken recipe. But did you know it also positively affects the texture of the seitan? I've learned over the years that seitan has a better, more meaty, more tender texture when you add a bit of nutritional yeast to the recipe. I don't recommend skipping this ingredient as it adds a lot to the recipe, but don't worry as it's not a dominant (or even noticeable) flavor at all.
300 Grams (or About 2 Cups) Vital Wheat Gluten: This is wheat that’s been stripped down to the proteins. It’s essentially a flour that we’ll mix into the blended mixture to make a “seitan dough” so we can make our seitan chicken. I like to purchase mine in 4 pound bags online; it lasts a long time and we make a lot of seitan in our house. It freezes really well so it's a very solid vegan protein option. I do highly recommend getting an inexpensive food scale and weighing your vital wheat gluten (and flour whenever you're baking and want accuracy). Every time we dig our measuring cup into a bag of flour, we could be getting a different amount of flour and your recipe might need some alterations to work the way it was intended. At least in the case of seitan, if you have a crumbly dough you can add a little moisture, or if it's too wet you can add a little more vital wheat gluten. But honestly, it's best just to weigh your flours to make sure it turns out great!

Substitutions

White Beans: Any beans should work fine in this recipe, although I recommend a lighter colored bean if color matters to you. You can also substitute tofu, about the same amount. Drain and squeeze out any excess liquid (I would recommend using extra firm tofu if trying this substitution).
Olive Oil: You can use any relatively neutral oil since you like since you need so little oil for this recipe. I think olive oil is the nicest choice, but avocado oil, canola oil, etc. should all work fine. If you are oil-free, just add another tablespoon or two of broth and it should be fine, just a little less tender and juicy (I've had pretty good luck making seitan without oil, I just think it's better with a small amount of oil).
Broth: I don't recommend using just water (though it will technically work) since it won't add any flavor. A little miso paste (yellow or white) is also a great option to add more flavor. You can do vegetable broth instead of the vegan chicken broth if you'd like.
Nutritional Yeast: If you don't have this, don't worry. You might need to add a touch more vital wheat gluten, but the recipe should still work without it. The nooch adds a great taste AND a really good vegan chicken texture, but it's OK if you don't have it and still want to make this seitan recipe.
Vital Wheat Gluten: There is no substitution for this ingredient. If you cannot have wheat or you don't have this ingredient, you cannot make this recipe, sorry!

How to Make Vegan Seitan Chicken

Special Equipment Note: You need either a blender or food processor to make this recipe. I'll give you instructions for both; they're slightly different. Depending on the strength and size of your food processor, you may need to use the blender method (you can still use the food processor, it just changes when you add the vital wheat gluten). I did actually use the blender in this recipe (as opposed to my Seitan Burger recipe) to show you how it's done. If you don't have either of these, you'll have to forego the beans (or you can mash them by hand with a fork or potato masher if you don't mind the workout).
Blend: In your blender or food processor, blend together everything except the vital wheat gluten. Blend .until everything is very smooth
Food Processor Method: Add the dry ingredients (spices, nutritional yeast, and vital wheat gluten) into the food processor with the blended ingredients and process just for about 30 seconds to a minute until the dough comes together. This saves a bit of time and effort but isn't as accessible.
Blender Method: Add the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, and spices to a large mixing bowl and whisk them together. Then simply scrape the contents of the blender into the bowl (I like to use a blender spatula to get as much of it as possible). Mix with a strong spatula or wooden spoon (or just get in there with clean hands). You don't want to knead the seitan dough, just mix it together so all the vital wheat gluten is incorporated. This step isn't that bad, I often do it this way with just my blender and a large bowl.
Seitan Troubleshooting: You want a firm dough that's lightly tacky but not wet. If the seitan is too wet, you can add a tablespoon or two of vital wheat gluten and mix it in. If it's too dry and crumbly and won't come together, add a tablespoon of water or broth and work it in a bit more.
Divide into Equal Portions: I like to use a food scale for this step too as it helps me make sure each cutlet is about the same size and also the same macros... If one cutlet is smaller than the others, it will have less protein. If that matters to you, I recommend getting a cheap food scale. Otherwise, simply divide the dough into 8 equal portions to make a typical size cutlet. This recipe can also be used to make vegan chicken nuggets (just cut into small pieces... I like to boil them in a flavorful broth and then bake, as described in my Seitan Chicken Nuggets recipe)!
Mold the Cutlets: Working them in between your hands and fingers, mold each portion into a relatively even thickness piece, I like to aim for a chicken breast type shape but obviously the shape doesn't really matter! Just go for a relatively even thickness so that it cooks evenly.
Optional 30 Minute Rest: I have made a lot of seitan and have learned that letting your seitan rest for 30 minutes (covered to keep it from drying out) really helps the gluten develop more and creates a much better meaty texture and tender seitan chicken. I like to simply place the "raw" seitan on a plate and cover with a clean tea towel or cloth napkin to keep the air from drying it out. Once the seitan has rested 30 minutes, it is ready for the initial cook (and the most important one).
Steam the Seitan: Wrap your seitan cutlets in parchment paper or aluminum foil. Wrap them up like a package and place in a steamer pot with the edge of the wrapper facing down. You can use a steamer pot, layered bamboo steamer baskets, or even just a steamer basket in a pot. Just make sure you bring a few inches of water to a boil first. Cover and steam for 20 minutes. While you can alternatively bake these, I find that the best results come from steaming the seitan (baking seems to make them more tough and less "juicy."
Note if You're Prepping in Advance: If you're not going to eat/serve these yet, stop here (I recommend doing the final cook on only the amount you plan to eat). Let the seitan cool and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days (or you can freeze in a freezer safe airtight container for up to 6 months). Then proceed with the next step.
Final Cook: The last step is to cook your seitan chicken in a skillet (you can also microwave them, but I don't recommend air frying as it can dry them out). I recommend adding a little spray oil or a tablespoon or two of regular oil and cook the seitan for a couple minutes on each side over medium high heat until lightly browned (if they aren't browning as evenly as you'd like you can compress them lightly with your cooking spatula). Don't overcook or they will get tough. Depending on the size of your pan, you may want to cook only a few at a time.
Serve: Serve up the final product with a veggie and a starch for a delicious and balanced meal. Check out my serving suggestions below or serve alongside anything you like!
Storage and Reheating: Refrigerate leftover cutlets in an airtight container for up to 5 days or you can freeze in a freezer bag for up to 6 months. When reheating, thaw if frozen and either cook in a pan or you can microwave them. I don't recommend an air fryer as this will dry them out.

Serving Suggestions

These seitan chicken cutlets are super high in protein so they take care of the protein requirement of a meal easily. The best thing is that they're so versatile that they pair well with just about anything. Here are a few ideas:

Carb Pairings:

Veggie Pairings:

More Vegan Recipes for Seitan

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