Seitan "Chicken" (Vegan)

Published: Jan 24, 2023

How to make shreddable seitan chicken - this incredible slow cooker vegan chicken-style seitan is shreddable, with a meaty texture and delicious flavour.

It is really versatile - use it in place of chicken in all your favourite recipes.

This vegan seitan chicken (chick'n) is a really versatile meat substitute that can be used in loads of different recipes, or just eaten on it's own.

It has a meaty, fibrous, pull-apart texture, but isn't overly tough or chewy, and it is mildly seasoned so that it can just be flavoured as you like when adding it to other dishes.

You will need a food processor and a slow cooker to make this recipe.

What Is Seitan?:

Seitan (pronounced "say-tan") is a high-protein meat substitute made from gluten, the protein found in wheat. It is often referred to as "wheat meat" for this reason.

It is low in fat and contains around 75g of protein per 100g of seitan. Wheat gluten has been eaten as an alternative to meat for centuries in China, it is not a new thing!

It can be prepared in so many different ways and takes on flavours really well so you can easily customise it to suit you, and use it to replace pretty much any kind of meat you want! Hail seitan!

The original method of making seitan is "wash the flour", where a dough of flour and water is rinsed until the starch has separated and left behind a ball of protein.

It isn't difficult to do, but an even easier way of making seitan is just to buy vital wheat gluten, which is what I use here.

The seitan being shredded with two forks.

What Do I Need To Make Seitan Chicken?:

Vital wheat gluten: This is essential for making seitan. It is basically the protein from wheat flour, in a fine powder form. It can be found online or in many health food stores. It cannot be substituted.

Cannellini beans: I much prefer the texture of seitan when it is made with some added protein in a different form such as beans, tofu or chickpea flour. Here I use a full 400g tin of cannellini beans, including the liquid; which are blended up with the rest of the ingredients until smooth before adding the vital wheat gluten.

You should be fine to swap the cannellini beans for a whole tin of butter beans or chickpeas instead.

Oil: Adding a bit of oil improves the texture of the seitan. I use olive but any kind of neutral oil would be fine.

Miso paste: White miso paste adds loads of umami flavour. I do not recommend omitting this ingredient.

Lemon juice: Adding a bit of acid helps to balance the flavour and reduce any "gluteny" flavours. Lemon juice works well with the chicken style flavours, but apple cider vinegar is great too.

Seasonings: You can vary these to suit you, but I like to add nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powders, and a chicken seasoning blend - I use Tropical Sun.

I've kept this recipe relatively mildly seasoned so that it can easily be used in other recipes. If you are wanting to eat it on it's own then feel free to up the amount of seasoning.

Stock: The seitan is cooked in stock in a slow cooker. Either vegetable stock or a vegan chicken flavoured one is fine.

How To Make Seitan Chicken:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Tip the whole tin of beans, liquid and all, into a food processor. Add the oil, lemon juice, miso paste, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powders, chicken seasoning and salt and blend until smooth.

Step 1, a two image collage of blending the wet ingredients.

Add the vital wheat gluten and blend until it forms a dough.

Step 2, a two image collage of adding the vital wheat gluten.

Working with about ⅓rd of the dough at a time, blend the dough for a couple of minutes until it becomes very smooth and stretchy, with a stringy texture.

Step 3, showing the stretchy texture of the dough.

Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Take ⅓rd of the kneaded dough and stretch it into a long rope with your hands. Twist the rope tightly.

Tie each end into a knot so that it sort of forms one piece. Press it firmly on the counter top so that it all sticks together.

Step 6, a two image collage of tying the rope into knots.

Repeat with the other two pieces of dough.

Fill a slow cooker with hot stock and add the pieces of seitan in a single layer. There should be enough stock to cover them so you may need to add a bit more depending on your slow cooker.

Step 8, adding the seitan to the slow cooker.

Cook for two hours, flipping halfway through. I have mine set to high but this may vary depending on your slow cooker. You want it to stay at a low simmer, not bubble too much and never boil.

The seitan will expand as it cooks, it is ready when it feels quite firm.

Allow the seitan to cool enough that you can handle it, then either use your hands or two forks to pull it apart into shreds. It is easier to do this while it is still warm.

Top Tips:

I highly, highly recommend weighing out the ingredients using a digital scale rather than using the cup conversions. You will get a far better, more consistent result. Cups are a very innaccurate measuring system and you may end up with dough that is either too wet or too dry.

You ideally need a food processor to make this recipe. I haven't tried it in a blender, it may work but I suspect that it would struggle.

You can knead the dough by hand but you are unlikely to get as good a texture and you will need to knead it for quite a while, until it has a firm, very stretchy, stringy texture.

When cooking seitan, it is important to never let it boil; that results in a spongey texture. That is why I like to use a slow cooker, it keeps the liquid at a consistent hot temperature, but does not boil.

The seitan will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week.

Can I Steam The Seitan Instead?:

I prefer the texture of the slow cooker seitan (it's jucier), but if you don't have one then you can steam the seitan instead. After shaping it, wrap each piece in baking parchment, then tin foil to form a parcel.

Place the parcels in a steamer basket over a pan of boiling water. Pop the lid on and steam for about 1 hour 15 minutes, flipping the parcels halfway through and topping up the water if needed. The seitan should feel firm when it is ready.

Can I Freeze It?:

Yes, this seitan chicken freezes really well. Shred it before freezing and allow it to cool completely then place in a freezer proof container.

How To Use Seitan Chicken:

You can pretty much use this seitan chicken anywhere you would use actual chicken. I like to fry it up with some jerk seasoning and use it in fajitas or on pizza.

You can use it in sandwiches, stir fries or curry, it would be great in my vegan chicken potato pie, or instead of the chickpeas in this creamy vegetable soup.

If I am adding it to something wet, such as soup or curry sauce, then I prefer to fry it separately and add it to the sauce at the end of cooking.

To reheat it, the seitan chicken can be pan fried, baked, microwaved or cooked in an air fryer.

Can I Make It Gluten-Free?:

No. The vital wheat gluten is THE necessary ingredient to make seitan, it cannot be substituted for anything else.

More Seitan Recipes:

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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5 from 16 votes