Vegan Chicken Wings aren’t actually meaty chicken wings, but make a delicious dish for anyone who is vegan or who wants a meatless dinner.
Of course, if you’re vegan you don’t eat chicken wings, but this is a great alternative option to chicken wings if you don’t eat meat or know someone who is vegan or vegetarian. If you’ve never had vegan wings before, you may be wondering what on earth they are made from! I’ll walk you through it.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Are Vegan Chicken Wings Made Of?
There are many versions of vegan chicken wings. One of them is seitan made with vital wheat gluten. Other versions of vegan chicken wings are made with extra firm tofu, a combination of seitan and tofu, or are made with cauliflower, such as this recipe for Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower. The cauliflower wings won’t have as similar a texture, but it is tasty and the easiest for those buffalo wing cravings.
For this vegan chicken wing recipe we’ll be using homemade seitan.
What Is Seitan?
To make our vegan chicken wings, we need to make seitan, which has a similar texture and taste to meat. Seitan by itself has a very mild flavor but if we add seasonings it will absorb all those flavors.
Our seitan is made with vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, and seasonings like sweet paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt.
If you can’t find some of these ingredients in your local grocery store, you can usually find them at a natural food store or on Amazon at the links below:
How Do You Make Them Look Like Chicken Wings?
After you mix all the dry ingredients together, add the vegetable broth and soy sauce. Knead the mixture for few minutes until it becomes a firm dough.
Next, take a piece of the dough and roll it in your hands to form a small chicken wing. Make each piece about half the size you want it to end up since the seitan will double in size while cooking. You’ll have approximately 25-30 small vegan chicken wings.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place each wing in a deep baking pan and cover with 2 cups of vegetable broth. Cook for 1 hour. After 30 minutes of cooking, flip each wing.
Once the wings are done cooking, remove them from the pan. Heat a frying pan with oil, add the wings, and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side to crisp them up. Once they get a little crunchy, they are done.
Sauce For Vegan Wings
Vegan chicken wings taste the best with buffalo sauce. While buffalo sauce is usually made with hot sauce and butter, our has oil instead of butter, so it is perfect for vegan buffalo wings.
You can also use homemade or store-bought barbecue sauce or garlic sauce.
Serving Vegan Wings
Carrot and celery sticks will compliment vegan chicken wings nicely, but you can also add dips like sour cream, ranch dressing, creamy Caesar dressing, or any other sauces you like.
If you’re keeping it vegan, check the ingredients first though!
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Vegan Chicken Wings Recipe
Vegan Chicken Wings aren’t actual meaty chicken wings, but make a delicious dish for anyone who is vegan or who wants a meatless dinner.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour
- 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. sweet paprika
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 3 cups vegetable broth, divided
- 1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika, and salt.
- Add 1 cup of the vegetable broth and soy sauce and knead the dough until rubbery and firm.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare a deep 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
- Take a small piece of the dough and roll it in your hands into the shape of a chicken wing. Place in the baking pan and continue shaping “chicken wings” until all dough is gone. You should have 25-30 “wings.”
- Cover wings with remaining 2 cups of vegetable broth. Bake for 30 minutes, flip, and bake another 30 minutes.
- Remove vegan chicken wings from the pan.
- Preheat frying pan, add oil, and heat then add wings.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes on low-medium heat on each side to get them crispy.
- Toss with your favorite vegan sauce.
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This post originally appeared in December 2020 and was revised and republished in August 2023.
What a cool recipe! I think I need some practice working and shaping the dough, but it’s tasty. Thanks!
This are so yummy! Have you tried crisping it up in an air fryer or by baking them?
These were tested by crisping them in a frying pan, but I bet you could spritz them with oil and use the air fryer or oven instead. If you try it, let us know how they turn out, Joni!
Can you freeze the wings before frying, to have them on hand for a party?
I haven’t tried it, Birgit, but I’m going to guess that if you place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan with space between each wing, freeze, and then cover after they are frozen, it should work. I’m recommending no longer than a week in the freezer as I’m not sure how the ice crystals will change the texture. Good luck and please let us know how it goes! 🙂
I’d like to try making these using a piece of sugarcane to simulate the bones. Would I want to add them before or after baking?
I’ve never done that before, Danny, but I think you would want to add that in before baking, while you’re forming the wings. Let us know how it goes!
My wings came out very tough. I was wondering if the broth I used was too warm or did I not submerged the firmed wings in enough liquid while baking? Should the former wings be complete covered in broth while cooking? The flavor was great on these by the way, but they were just really rubbery
Sorry about that, Patty! While the dough should be rubbery and firm, once baked the texture should be good. I suggest not kneading too long and covering with broth (the two cups should be enough, but feel free to add more). Then after baking you can leave the wings in the broth for an additional 15-20 minutes, if desired, it’s not required, but can improve the texture further. Hope that is helpful!