There’s a reason why my motto is #feedyourface. I’m all about vegan 'ish that’s battered, fried, and covered in as many gluttonous toppings as you can handle... like this vegan fried chicken sandwich!
It’s no secret that fast food is, well, THE BEST. You know me. I can dive into a salad if it’s well-dressed and filled with tasty stuff (preferably bread), but I'll take a vegan fried chicken sandwich any day!
Jump to:
I recently found out that KFC is releasing a new vegan fried chicken sandwich, and nearly lost my marbles! Then just the other day Beyond Meat said they were bringing a bucket of vegan chicken to ONE location in Atlanta to test the market! 2019 is the future, people. There are so many fast food brands releasing dope options for us vegans that are more than a measly garden salad.
But I'm sure you've also seen the great chicken sandwich debate that's been firing up online? Well, it's time to put the battle to bed because my vegan fried chicken sandwich is the real deal. Can I get a hell yeah?! I’m talkin' a thick breaded pieces of vegan fried chicken that's coated in all the right spices. Then I stacked it with vegan mayo, lettuce, and tangy dill pickle slices. Just call me Lauren the vegan fast food wizard!
BTW, if you have an extra big appetite for vegan-ized fast food, I’ve got even MORE ideas on the blog. Try making my vegan big mac, vegan double down, or in-n-out animal style fries. Talk about a feast! Now, let's get into how to make the ultimate vegan fried chicken sandwich.
what you need
- Gardein chick'n scallopini
- vegetable oil, for frying
- sesame seed buns
- vegan mayonnaise
- green leaf lettuce
- dill pickles, sliced
- nondairy milk
- apple cider vinegar
- buffalo-style hot sauce (like Frank's Red Hot)
- cornstarch
- all-purpose flour
- sea salt
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- white pepper or black pepper
- ground sage
- ground coriander
- smoked paprika
- celery salt
- ground nutmeg
- ground cinnamon
- ground cumin
- ground allspice
Yeah, you need a lot of spices! But do you think Popeye's or KFC are whipping together a simple 5 ingredient batter for their signature fried chicken recipes?! Hell no! These are spices I use in all the recipes on hotforfoodblog.com and in my cookbooks, so by now you either have all of these fully stocked, or if you plan on making more of my very best recipes you'll eventually need these spices. So stock up!
how to make vegan fried chicken
Sure, there are plenty of methods for making vegan fried chicken. Maybe you'd prefer to use a washed flour method and make your vegan chicken from scratch. In that case, I'd recommend you check out this recipe from School Night Vegan. I've had his recipe for homemade vegan chicken and it's very very good. But I like to cut corners and have a vegan fried chicken sandwich in my mouth faster so I opted for using the Gardein chick'n scallopini. They're already the perfect size and shape. The taste and texture of Gardein chicken is also my favorite.
Press together two thawed chick'n scallopini to create one thicker patty.
In one mixing bowl combine nondairy milk, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce. Mix cornstarch with a small amount of the liquid to make a smooth slurry and then add it to the batter.
In another mixing bowl combine all-purpose flour with salt and all the spices and whisk together to combine.
Take your chicken patty and coat it in the liquid batter first, letting the excess drip off. Place in the dry batter to coat evenly. Then double dredge by repeating this one more time.
Gently place the battered chicken patty in the hot oil. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown. Remove with tongs from the oil and place on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet.
Assemble the sandwiches by placing vegan mayonnaise on both the top and bottom sesame buns. Add lettuce, the vegan fried chicken, and pickle slices.
equipment you need
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- heavy-bottomed pot
- candy thermometer or frying thermometer
- tongs
- wire rack
- baking sheet
- sharp knife
- cutting board
substitutions & variations
- Gardein chick'n scallopini - maybe you don't even want to bother with battering and frying your own vegan chicken. In that case, I'd recommend buying the newer Gardein Ultimate Chick'n Filets. They're SO delicious! All you have to do is air fry or bake these filets and make your sandwich. Bam!
- vegan mayonnaise - I used plain vegan mayonnaise for this classic version but the vegan fried chicken sandwich can be dolled up however you like. It would be killer with hot for food ranch too.
You can make this vegan fried chicken spicy by following the instructions from my recipe for Nashville hot chicken and douse it in hot buffalo sauce after frying it! I'd love to see how you dress this sandwich up and make it your own. If you post it on social be sure to tag @hotforfood!
vegan fried chicken sandwich
Ingredients
vegan fried chicken
- 4 C vegetable oil for frying
- 1 pkg (4 pieces) Gardein chicken scallopini thawed in the fridge
- 2 sesame seed buns
- 2 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise divided
- ½ C green leaf lettuce chopped into ¼ inch ribbons, divided
- 1 garlic dill pickle sliced widthwise into ⅛-inch slices
batter
- ½ C unsweetened nondairy milk
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ⅛ C buffalo-style hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 C all-purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon sea salt
- ½ tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
- In a medium to large heavy bottom pot, heat up frying oil to a temperature between 325°F to 350°F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside for the finsihed fried chicken.
- Gently press two vegan chick'n scallopini cutlets together to double up the thickness and set aside.
- Prepare your dredging stations. To make the liquid batter, combine nondairy milk, apple cider vinegar, and hot sauce in a large bowl. Mix the cornstarch with a small amount of the milk mixture to make a smooth slurry and then add it to the bowl.
- In another bowl, combine the flour with the sea salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, ground white pepper, ground sage, coriander, paprika, celery salt, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground cumin and ground allspice.
- When the oil reaches 350°F, dunk the vegan chicken patty into the liquid batter first, letting the excess drip off. Then place it in the dry batter to coat evenly. Place the vegan chicken back into the liquid batter and then back into the flour mixture to double dredge.
- Fry the chicken separately in 2 batches. Carefully place 1 battered vegan chicken patty into the hot oil, using a splatter guard if desired. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping halfway. Remove from the hot oil with tongs and place on the wire rack over the baking sheet. Repeat with the second piece of battered chicken.
- To assemble your sandwich, on the bottom of the sesame seed bun, spread 1 tablespoon of vegan mayonnaise, add ¼ cup of lettuce, the vegan fried chicken, half the pickle slices and the top bun.
Celia
Sooo good!!! And took no time to cook since the cutlets were premade. Absolutely delicious. I just did 4 single cutlets as the doubles were huge portions in my opinion.
Toni
LOVE the recipe but can't seem to find the cutlets in my area. I may improvise w/ Gardein CHIKN tenders and definitely add tomato, onion & jalapeno to the finished sammy. Thanks for the great idea!!!
Krista
Just made these and they rocked! The only *different* that I did was as someone else remarked was did single cutlets. I’m using the leftovers for wraps tomorw. These were awesome. Thanks!
Krista
Just made these and they rocked! The only *different* that I did was as someone else remarked was did single cutlets. I’m using the leftovers for wraps tomorw. These were awesome. Thanks!
Nyasha
Let me just say that the presentation looks great and so delicious, will try the recipe with a friend and will let you know!
Emily
This was great, thanks Lauren! Couldn't find the cutlets in my area so I made them myself - very easy to do, but takes a few hours prep time. I think next time I will sub a quarter cup of the flour for cornstarch to give them that "extra crispy" crunch!
Lauren Toyota
oh wow you made homemade chicken!!! awesome 😀
Jane
this recipe turned out so bomb! i have to be honest i did not have faith it would work out- mostly bc i don’t have much experience frying food but I tried it and was really successful. thanks for helping me have fried “chicken” for the first time in 9 years of vegetarianism.
Jane
PS I used Quorn brand “filets” rather than Gardein and it worked just as well.
Lauren Toyota
wow! fantastic. So glad you gave it a try 😀
Kellie
I was so excited to make this and really wanted to love the recipe. I highly recommend leaving out the cinnamon, nutmeg, and possibly also the allspice. They made the flavor strange, and all we could taste were the two spices, so that ruined the chicken flavor. The amount of ingredients purchased for this recipe was not worth it, unfortunately. I love your other recipes though!
Kat
Yum! Thanks
Gustavo Woltmann
This looks not just delicious but very healthy!
lovelcute
how many calories are in strawberries wow very nice your blog i love it and perfect articles thank you admin bye
Sarah Lund
oh.my.god. this sandwich was SOOOO GOOOOOD!!!!
Fran
Can this be made in an air fryer?
Lauren Toyota
no because the batter is wet
Diego
God this sandwich is amazing! Thanks for the recipe!! I left the cinnamon out as someone commented before me and I think it works better that way. I need to stop eating comfort food though! As a new vegan it's what appeals to me more but...what about supplements? Would you recommend any (no plastic please). Right now I take Terraseed which has zero plastic
Lauren Toyota
do you mean vitamin supplements? I take Vit D, b-12, and iron regularly. I am not a nutritionist so I would definitely seek out some vegan nutrition resources for better experts advice!
Debra McAree
Not a fan of Gardein products. I’ll find something else and then give this
Rumyana
Looks so delicious!
allHungry
This veggie burger recipe looks incredible! I love the wholesome ingredients and clear instructions.
allHungry
ChatGPT said:
This recipe is absolutely mouth-watering! The crispy, spice-packed vegan “chicken” looks incredible, and I love how you’ve built layers of flavour with the pickles, mayo, and seasoning. Thanks for making plant-based comfort food this irresistible!