Confession: before going vegan I’ve never heard of Seitan before. Nowadays, I hail Seitan every time I see it on the menu ;)!
Going vegan has made us aware of so many new foods, I feel like I have more variety in my diet than ever before. These best chicken-style seitan cutlets went from unknown to a staple for us.
So what is Seitan? Seitan is vital wheat gluten – the natural protein found in wheat. It’s basically all gluten and no starch, so it’s not as high in carbohydrates than you would think.
BUT if you have celiac disease or a gluten-sensitivity, then you will want to stay away from Seitan. For people who can handle gluten in their diets, Seitan is a great soy-free meat alternative to try.
Vital wheat gluten is 75% protein so Seitan recipes are protein-packed. Seitan has a chewy, meat-like texture and doesn’t usually taste like much unless you add seasonings.
In this recipe, a serving of 2 Seitan Cutlets has almost 30 grams of protein. Plus, it’s very low in fat and completely cholesterol free.
These best chicken-style seitan cutlets are SO good. They are battered, breaded, and fried in vegetable oil to create a very authentic ‘chicken’-cutlet flavor and texture.
These Seitan cutlets are the PERFECT vegan substitute for recipes like chick’n parmesan, chick’n cutlet sandwiches, chick’n rolls, chick’n piccata, chick’n and gravy, or just eaten alone with some ketchup and mashed potatoes.
The Best Chicken-Style Seitain Cutlets – in a pasta dish!
In this recipe, we made a simple lemon, olive oil, and vegan parmesan sauce that was DELICIOUS on top of spaghetti. I included the recipe for the lemon sauce below if you want to try it the same way we had it. We also added some steamed broccoli too… yum!
Next time we make this recipe, I’m going to try baking the cutlets instead of frying them. Frying cutlets is a traditional Italian method and they came out AMAZING but I’m curious to see how baking goes.
If you try baking them for this recipe, please let me know in the comments the time and temperature and how they came out!
As always, please leave a comment below if you try this recipe, and remember to share on instagram @pastabased!
The BEST Vegan Seitan Cutlets. Delicious vegan chicken-style seitan cutlets that can be used in a variety of dishes.
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth
- 3/4 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs (plus extra if needed)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup vegan parmesan cheese
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Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.
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Combine Seitan ingredients in a medium-bowl. Using a large spoon, mix until combined. Once combined, knead with your hands for a minute to form an elastic dough.
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Separate dough into 8 roughly-equal sized pieces. Flatten each piece of dough between your hands to form a cutlet shape. Place evenly on the baking sheet and bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. Let cool slightly.
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Add your batter ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix into a thick liquid. Fill a separate, shallower bowl, with Italian breadcrumbs.
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In a large skillet, heat 1 cup vegetable oil on medium-high heat. Make sure the oil has heated up enough before adding cutlets. Be careful because hot oil can splash.
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One at a time, dip a Seitan cutlet in the batter. Shake off excess batter. Then dip the cutlet into the breadcrumbs, coating each side evenly. Then, place the cutlet into the hot oil.
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Brown each side evenly, carefully checking and flipping, about 3-5 minutes on each side -- but this really depends on how hot your oil is. Use your judgment. While one cutlet starts cooking, you can batter and breadcrumb the next cutlet and place it into the pan. Don't overcrowd the pan, we capped the pan at 4 cutlets.
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When each cutlet is done, place it on a paper-towel lined plate to drain excess oil. Use in Seitan Cutlet recipe of your choosing 🙂
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Add all ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and whisk until combined. Serve over pasta.
Nutrition facts for cutlets without sauce:
Darin
new to the world of seitan … this recipe is da bomb!!!! simple to make and ooooh freakin’ good! had it with pasta and simple tomato sauce. definitely a repeat recipe and will look into your other ones.
thanks for posting
pasta-based
So happy you loved it! It really is good and you can do basically anything you want with it. We used leftovers to make pizza rolls with mozzarella and marinara stuffed inside 🙂
Elaine
This sounds amazing. Will be making tonight. Would like to know if you have ever prepared to baked, and then later battered and fried. Need something I can prep on weekends use for meal in the week. Thank you.
pasta-based
Hi Elaine!
We have not made it in advance yet, but I can’t see a reason why that wouldn’t work! Bake for the 15 minutes as recommended, and then I’m sure you can store for a few days until you’re ready to batter and fry 🙂
Have a great day and let us know if it works out well.
Hanna Ahmed
I am still not quite sure what it is, but my tummy made a noise at the pictures so guess who’s going to make those tomorrow :3
Thank you!
pasta-based
Hi Hanna!
Sometimes, you’ve just got to listen to your stomach 🙂 We know you will love it!
Nico @ yumsome
These look so good – my tummy is rumbling now!
Thanks so much for contributing this to my Father’s Day round-up; the link is here if you’d like to share it across your social media… http://www.yumsome.com/15-manly-mouth-watering-vegan-recipes-for-fathers-day/
Have a fab weekend! xx
pasta-based
We definitely will! Thanks again for the great post and you have an awesome weekend as well 🙂
Frank
A friend recently asked me, “Is there anything you still miss now that you don’t eat me?” My answer was, “a good chicken parm sub.” That no longer applies. Thank you!
pasta-based
Thanks for trying them, Frank. So happy you loved the cutlets as much as we do!
Jennie G
Hello,
This recipe sounds amazing…. I’m not a fan of frying, I bake everything. Is there a way to make this recipe with out breading the cutlets ?
Thanks
Jennie G
pasta-based
Hi Jennie! You can omit the breadcrumbs. Here’s another recipe for seitan cutlets I would recommend if you plan to bake: http://www.pastabased.com/seitan-parmesan/ Omit the breadcrumbs and skip the “parmesan” section. I find that the cannellini beans keep the seitan softer in the oven.
Jennifer
Hi there, this looks amazing! I also checked out your seitan cutlets that call for cannelini beans, should I expect the recipe with beans to be a LOT softer than traditional seitan? Thanks for both recipes!
pasta-based
Yes! Comparably, the one with the white beans will be much, much softer and easy to bite through. This recipe makes a more dense and chewy cutlet.
Rachel
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!! My family always made chicken cutlet for camping trips and I had to miss out this year because I went vegan. This is perfect and so delicious. I used the better than boullion chick’n flavor instead of the vegetable broth.
pasta-based
So awesome! Thanks Rachel
Meg M
The BEST vegan cutlet recipe ever. I make this at least once a week and all of my non vegan friends and family are so impressed. I think it taste better than any chicken I’ve ever had. The serving size adjuster is an awesome feature to make more than the default servings. Thank you so much !!
Linda
These are great but they are a bit rubbery. I have tried two kinds of Vital Wheat Gluten and both turn out rubbery. I don’t know if I am doing something wrong. Anyone else have this problem?
Ella
Could you bake instead of fry them once battered?
Sophie
Loved your version of chickin Sietan too. Gonna make it this weekend. I love prepping up a big batch and store for weeks.
Jimmy
Everything about this was amazing. Such a perfect blend of flavors!!!
Sophie
Loved your version of chicken style seitan. Great for everyday cooking too. Thank you.
Janna
They should not be rubbery but if you find them to be so, just add a bit more liquid to the “dough” and it should make it a bit fluffier. Sometimes you just have to play with the different recipes, try different flavours, etc.
James
Absolutely wonderful! We served it over noodles with tomato sauce, and we could not be happier.
Jessie
Great recipe and taste. I had been wanting a nice breaded cutlet and this was perfect. My own mistake was making them too thick. I would recommend cooking them thinner but lesson learned for the next try.
Jo
Okay …Im going to have to make a second batch as the first batch didnt even make it to the breading and frying stage. They smelled so good and I couldnt wait …so darn tasty and easy to make. I was pescatarian but have recently decided to go vegan (as much as possible) and I am so happy that I have as there are so many food choices. Im having a second one here in a bit, on a bun, along with some gardein bacon. Thanks so much for sharing recipe! Look forward to trying some of you others.
pasta-based
Thank you for sharing, Jo! We are so happy to help you find recipes you love!
Emily
These were AMAZING! My boyfriend and I are new to eating vegan, and this was such a winner. Used the seitan cutlets to make chicken parm and it was delicious. We only ended up with 4 large cutlets, but each one was the perfect size for a meal. Will for sure be making again!
SIERRA
Have you ever tried air frying them instead of frying in oil? I’d be curious if that would work as well. Looks good, excited to try them.