• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Sarahs Vegan Guide
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch & Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Small Bites & Sides
  • Vegan Nutrition Coaching
  • Vegan Meal Prep & Plan
    • Vegan Meal Prep Recipes
    • Meal Prep & Plan Tips & How Tos
  • Veganism Tips
  • Resources
    • Free Meal Prep Guide
    • Free Facebook Community
  • About Me

Easy Baked Vegan Chicken Nuggets (oil-free, no tofu)

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

These baked vegan chicken nuggets are made with seitan (vital wheat gluten) and TVP (textured vegetable/soy protein) for the perfect consistency. They're baked in the oven instead of fried, making them a healthy and oil-free alternative to fried (chicken) nuggets.

vegan-chicken-nuggets

What are vegan chicken nuggets made out of?

These baked vegan chicken nuggets are made with seitan. Seitan (also called wheat gluten) is the main protein of wheat. It gives vegan food a meaty texture and consistency. You can find seitan powder in many supermarkets and health-food stores.

The second important ingredient for these vegan chicken nuggets is TVP (textured vegetable protein) or sometimes called soy protein/soy meat. Soy meat is high in protein and a great meat alternative. Because just using seitan powder can result in very dense and chewy nuggets, adding TVP is a great way to improve the texture of these nuggets.

vegan-chicken-nuggets

What you need to make these baked vegan chicken nuggets

To make the base of these baked vegan chicken nuggets, you'll need

  • soy granules/curls (TVP)
  • vegetable broth (to cook the TVP in)
  • nutritional yeast
  • spices: smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dried herbs, turmeric, black pepper, salt, coriander, cumin
  • seitan powder

For the coating, you will need:

  • flour (any type of baking flour should do, I used whole wheat)
  • bread crumbs (I used Panko bread crumbs)
  • chickpea flour
  • plant milk (any type of plant milk will do)
  • spices: smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper
vegan-chicken-nuggets-with-ketchup

How to make baked vegan chicken nuggets

Step 1: Cook the soy granules

First, we need to soften the soy granules/curls (TVP). We do this by cooking it in vegetable broth for 5-10 minutes. Cooking them in vegetable broth instead of water adds more flavor to the nuggets. You want them to absorb (almost) all of the liquid.

Next, add the cooked soy granules to a blender and blend/pulse until it starts to come together. It shouldn't be completely mashed but we don't want big chunks of soy in our nuggets either.

Step 2: Add spices and seitan

Transfer the soy mixture to a mixing bowl and add the spices and seitan. Then, combine with a wooden spoon, then continue kneading with your hands for a few minutes until the dough comes together. When you pull it apart, it should be very stretchy and you should be able to see strands of seitan holding it together.

vegan-chicken-nuggets

Step 3: Shape nuggets

Take 1-2 tbsp of the mixture and form a nugget. You want to make sure it's not too thick as it will expand a little while baking).

  • vegan-chicken-nuggets
  • vegan-chicken-nuggets

Step 4: Coat in flour

For the coating of the vegan chicken nuggets, we will first dip them in flour. Make sure the nugget is coated evenly from both sides.

  • vegan-chicken-nuggets
  • vegan-chicken-nuggets

Step 5: Dip in chickpea flour mixture

For the wet mixture, we're using chickpea flour, plant milk and spices. Start by combining the chickpea flour and spices. Next, add plant milk a little at a time and combine until it has a slightly runny consistency. It should be thick enough to stick to the nuggets but not too thick.

Add your flour-coated nugget to the chickpea flour mixture and make sure it's evenly coated.

  • vegan-chicken-nuggets-in-chickpea-flour-mix

Step 6: Coat in breadcrumbs

For the next step, I like to use a fork to pick up the nugget and tap it a few times on the bowl to remove any excess chickpea flour mixture. Then transfer it to a bowl with the breadcrumbs. Shake the bowl to evenly coat the nugget in breadcrumbs and transfer to a baking sheet.

  • vegan-chicken-nuggets
  • vegan-chicken-nuggets

Step 7: Bake

Bake the vegan chicken nuggets in the oven at 200C (390F) for roughly 25 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

  • vegan-chicken-nuggets
  • vegan-chicken-nuggets

How to get these baked vegan nuggets extra crispy

To get these vegan chicken nuggets extra crispy, I have two tips:

  • use panko bread crumbs: these are more airy than other bread crumbs and stay crispy for longer
  • if you have a grill in your oven, turn it on! Just keep a close eye to make sure it doesn't burn.

How to serve these baked vegan chicken nuggets

Here are a few ideas how you can serve these vegan nuggets:

  • dip into a homemade tomato sauce
  • with a vegan honey mustard dip
  • serve with a salad
  • with homemade potato fries
  • make a wrap

How to store these baked vegan chicken nuggets

These baked vegan chicken nuggets don't really store well as they don't stay crispy in the fridge. If you want to prep them in advance, I'd suggest just preparing the nugget mixture and shaping the nuggets (steps 1-3). Then store them in the fridge/freezer until your ready to coat and bake them.

vegan-chicken-nuggets
Print Recipe

Baked Vegan Chicken Nuggets

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Vegan
Diet: Vegan
Keyword: nuggets, TVP
Servings: 16 nuggets

Ingredients

for the nuggets

  • 1 cup soy granules/curls (TVP)
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • ½ tbsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp dried herbs like oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ cup seitan powder vital wheat gluten

for the coating

  • ⅛ cup flour
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup chickpea flour
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • plant milk

Instructions

  • First, add the soy granules to a pot with the vegetables broth and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the soy granules have absorbed the liquid.
  • Transfer the soy granules to a mixture and pulse until it comes together in a sticky dough but it's not completely pureed.
  • Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the nutritional yeast, spices and seitan. Combine with a wooden spoon, then continue kneading with your hands for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be stretchy at this point.
  • Take about 1-2 tbsp of the mixture and form a nugget. Set aside and repeat.
  • Preheat your oven to 200C (390F).
  • Prepare your coating stations. To one bowl, add the flour. To a second bowl, add the bread crumbs. To a third bowl, add the chickpea flour and mix in the spices. Then add plant milk a little at a time and combine until it has a slightly runny consistency. It should be thick enough to stick to the nuggets but not too thick.
  • To coat the nuggets, coat them with flour first (from both sides). Then dip them into the wet chickpea flour mixture and coat form both sides. Lastly, add to the bowl with the bread crumbs and shake to coat evenly. Transfer to a baking tray.
  • Bake for 25 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes.

Other recipes you may like

  • tofu-nuggets
    Easy Baked Vegan Tofu Nuggets (oil-free)
  • baked-tofu-tahini-marinade
    Simple Baked Tofu with Tahini Marinade
  • vegan-mongolian-seitan
    How To Make Vegan Mongolian Beef
  • How to Make Seitan - Simple Recipe

Did you make these baked vegan chicken nuggets?

Your support of a comment or rating is highly appreciated! You can also tag me on instagram – I would love to see your creations!

« Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce From Scratch (sugar-free, oil-free)
Easy Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Sarah! I want to help you enjoy delicious and nourishing meals through stress-free meal prepping.

More about me →

I am a certified vegan nutritionist by ecodemy! I am attending a training at ecodemy!

Popular

  • chocolate-zucchini-banana-bread-on-parchment-paper
    Easy Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread
  • homemade-tomato-sauce
    Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce From Scratch (sugar-free, oil-free)
  • vegan-cheese-recipes
    50+ Vegan Cheese Recipes To Try If You're Wanting To Quit Dairy
  • vegan-cheese-board
    Vegan Cheese Boards - Ultimate Step by Step Guide

Hi, I'm Sarah! I want to help you enjoy delicious and nourishing meals through stress-free meal prepping.

More about me →

I am a certified vegan nutritionist by ecodemy! I am attending a training at ecodemy!

Popular

  • vegan-almond-chili-cheese
    Simple Vegan Almond Chili Cheese (oil-free, no cashews)
  • vegan-honey-mustard-dressing
    Easy Date-Sweetened Vegan Honey Mustard Dressing
  • vegan-breakfast-meal-prep-ideas
    33 Healthy Vegan Breakfast Meal Prep Recipes
  • creamy-vegan-mushroom-pasta
    Super Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta (oil-free & easy to make)

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Legal Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • About me

Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. You can find more information here.

  • Vegan Meal Planning & Prepping Facebook Community
I am a certified vegan nutritionist by ecodemy!

Copyright © 2020 Sarahs Vegan Guide

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you use this site, we'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Ok Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT