Perfectly baked, battered, and then fried seitan makes absolutely delicious vegan buffalo seitan nuggets. Great for kids and adults without any animal products at all.
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If you were a fan of buffalo chicken before giving up meat, then these vegan buffalo seitan nuggets will be your new favorite thing!
Seitan is shockingly close to actual cooked chicken texture without having to harm any animals in the process. It’s soft and chewy, and when you add the breading, it’s crispy and delicious. Making these amazing vegan nuggets.
Double batter it for even more of a crunch that is to die for.
This is a great appetizer if you are having friends over, but it’s also a great vegan lunch or dinner option. Pair with some fries or a salad for a full meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
CAN I MAKE THIS AHEAD OF TIME?
This dish is best served fresh out of the skillet. However, we also know that’s not always possible.
You could warm this up the next day, but in the microwave they don’t get as crispy as they were originally. We recommend heating in an air fryer to get it back up to crispy again.
CAN I MAKE THIS TOP 8 ALLERGEN FREE?
This recipe has wheat/gluten, soy sauce, coconut cream and vegan butter.
As far as the soy, I haven’t yet found a vegan version that you can buy that doesn’t contain soy; however, you could make your own homemade worcestershire sauce, like this one, and replace the soy sauce with a no soy soy free sauce.
Vegan butter usually contains soy, so we recommend getting a soy free vegan butter. Our favorite is Earth Balance soy free. It comes in a red tub.
As far as the coconut cream, we would recommend that you use a plain vegan yogurt that is safe for your allergens.
Seitan is wheat and since that’s what we are going for, there’s no replacement in this recipe for that; however, you could make a similar dish with our vegan buffalo cauliflower wings.
Could I make this recipe with other main ingredients?
Absolutely. Some things you can alternatively try are:
- tofu
- mushrooms
- cauliflower
For the mushrooms, we’d recommend using like an oyster mushroom as those hold up well to battering.
WHERE DO I BUY VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN?
Vital wheat gluten is available in most supermarkets at this point.
However, you can also order Vital Wheat Gluten off Amazon.
WHAT DO I EAT WITH VEGAN BUFFALO SEITAN NUGGETS?
This can be an appetizer or the main component of your dinner.
We recommend serving with fries or onion rings or even as a side to your favorite homemade vegan pizza.
If you are looking for a healthier alternative for a side, try rice or quinoa. You could also serve with just a side of steamed vegetables or salad, noodles, or lo mein.
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Vegan Buffalo Seitan Nuggets
Ingredients
For the Seitan
- 1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 cube vegan chicken bouillon
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoon vegan worcestershire sauce (can sub for steak sauce)
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar (can sub for lemon juice)
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- ¼ cup soy sauce (sub for coconut aminos or no soy soy sauce)
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
For the batter
- ¾ cup cornstarch (can sub for arrowroot powder)
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (add 1 teaspoon for even spicier)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup coconut cream (the thick part of canned coconut milk that rises to the top of chilled cans)
- 1 tablespoon buffalo sauce (add 2 tablespoon for even spicier)
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 quart vegetable oil, for frying
Sweet Buffalo Dipping Sauce
- 1 cup buffalo sauce, for tossing after cooked
- ¼ cup vegan butter, softened
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Alternative Dipping Sauce
Instructions
For the Seitan
- In a large bowl, mix together the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeasts, and vegan chicken bouillon together. Set aside.
- In another bowl whisk together water, vegan Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar.
- Add wet to dry and mix until well combined.
- Knead the dough for about 4 – 5 mins. *You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer.
- In a large saucepan or pot with a lid, combine the stock, soy sauce and garlic and bring to a boil.
- Cut the dough into half to make 2 pieces and place both in the pan.
- Let pan come back to a boil then reduce to simmer about 30 mins. Place the lid on but only partly so steam can escape.
- After 30 minutes, flip the dough over and continue to cook partly covered for an additional 30 mins.
- After that, remove the pan from the heat and let the dough rest in the pan uncovered until cooled completely.
- Once cooled, slice each piece into 1 inch slices and then each slice into a few nuggets (see video for reference)
For the Batter
- In a bowl, mix the cornstarch, cornmeal, smoked paprika, garlic powder, caynne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
- In another bowl mix the coconut cream, 1 tablespoon buffalo sauce and liquid smoke until combined.
- Add the cut seitan nuggets to the wet mixture and stir to coat everything evenly. Next, add your dry mix across the seitan pieces in the bowl and stir again to get everything coated.
- To Fry: Heat 1-2 inches of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the seitan in batches for 4-5 minutes or until golden and crisp on all sides. Remove and drain on a wire rack with paper towels underneath.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the sweet buffalo dipping sauce and toss after cooled for a few minutes or just use as a dip on the side.
- Alternative cooking: After coating, air fryer in batches for 7-10 minutes or until crispy on all sides.
- To Make Extra Crispy: Coat in the wet batter and dry batter as directed. Then repeat a second time. Don't double just repeat, wet, dry, wet, dry. Then cook as directed.
I really avoid coconut cream from a can. What can I sub for that? Thanks!
silken tofu, cashew cream, non-sweet vegan yogurt
So good!! What would you suggest for cooking temperature and time to omit the oil?
air fry 7-10 minutes at 375 degrees F