Name: Easy Seitan Nuggets
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 150 grams vital wheat gluten (1 ¼ cups) (see Notes for tips.); ¼ cup nutritional yeast; 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (see Notes for homemade); 1 teaspoon granulated onion; ½ teaspoon garlic powder; ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, optional; ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; ½ cup water; 2 tablespoons soy sauce (reduce to 1 Tbsp if you plan to pair the seitan with a salty sauce.); 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon oil (or tahini or nut butter); ⅓ cup yellow mustard (Tip: if you don't like the taste of honey mustard, use BBQ sauce instead! ); 3 tablespoons maple syrup; 1 cup panko breadcrumbs; 2½ tablespoons oil (I use avocado oil.); ⅓ cup nutritional yeast; 1 teaspoon dried parsley, optional; ½ teaspoon smoked paprika; ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

These seitan nuggets can be enjoyed so many ways, and prep is about as easy as it gets! Cook the seitan nuggets in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop. Enjoy them plain, tossed with sauce, or breaded and air fried or baked! The possibilities are endless and so delicious.

overhead photo of seitan chicken nuggets on a baking sheet with dipping sauces. — Crispy air fried seitan nuggets with a seasoned panko breading.

The Easiest Way To Make Seitan

I love experimenting with seitan. You can find all of my creations here: Seitan Recipes

While most of my recipes are fairly easy, I decided I wanted to create something super duper simple, perfect for lazy days. And I think I did it! This is the quickest, most no-fuss seitan I've ever made.

Because lately don't we all just want delicious comfort food with less effort?

Last year there was a seitan recipe by @futurelettuce that went viral on TikTok, primarily because of its simplicity. Though I'm not on TikTok, I ended up learning about it through other social media channels.

I liked the concept and tried it once myself, but that recipe calls for pan frying. And I'm just not a fan of frying in oil. It's messy. It stinks up the house. And it usually leaves me with a tummy ache.

So this quick seitan is cooked in water, either in the Instant Pot or on the stove.

Tip! If you have an Instant Pot I'll come straight out and tell you that's part of what makes preparing these seitan nuggets SO easy.

I have several other Instant Pot seitan recipes, too, so be sure to check these out:

But if you don't have an Instant Pot, I've also included instructions for simmering/steaming the seitan nuggets.

You're going to LOVE this seitan because it's:

tender, meaty, and juicy
100% versatile - enjoy it plain, breaded, or added to other dishes
made with easy-to-find ingredients
and ready in no time!

plain seitan nuggets after cooking in the Instant Pot. — Plain seitan chicken nuggets without the optional breading.

First and foremost, this is a recipe for really tasty, juicy, and simple chicken-style seitan. But I'm also including instructions for breading the nuggets as shown in the first photo.

And let me tell you, that sweet mustard dipping sauce and the seasoned panko breadcrumbs? It's a great combo!

If you have an air fryer you can crisp up those nuggets in minutes! I'm also including baking instructions. So no matter what sort of nugget mood you're in or equipment you have, or don't have, I've got you covered.

Ingredients

Here's a quick rundown of the key ingredients you'll need.

Want to save this recipe? 📩

I'll email the link so you can come back to it later!

Keep an eye out for more delicious recipes. Unsubscribe anytime.

vital wheat gluten - this is essential to seitan. Currently I'm using Anthony's vital wheat gluten.
seasonings - a combination of poultry seasoning, onion and garlic powder give the seitan a savory, chicken flavor. Smoked paprika is a nice addition, but can be omitted if you don't have any on hand.
nutritional yeast - this helps to interrupt the formation of gluten and keeps the nuggets nice and tender.
soy sauce - adds umami and saltiness.
fat - a little bit of fat helps tenderize the seitan. I like to use a neutral, high-heat oil like avocado or grapeseed. If you strictly avoid extracted oils you can use a tablespoon of nut butter or tahini instead.

See recipe card below for quantities and full recipe.

a crispy air fried seitan nugget broken in half to show texture. — Chicken-y seitan nuggets coated in vegan honey mustard then breaded and air fried.

How to Make Seitan Nuggets

If you can whisk, stir, and tear, you can make this recipe! Let me show you how easy it is...

a 2-photo collage showing the steps in making seitan dough.

In a mixing bowl whisk together the vital wheat gluten and dry seasonings. In a small bowl combine the wet ingredients.
Pour wet into dry and mix with your hands until there is no more dry gluten. Knead the seitan in the bowl for just 10 or 15 seconds or until you see gluten strands forming and it feels slightly firmer.

two photos showing shaping seitan nuggets and placing inside Instant Pot.

Tear off about 1 tablespoon of dough per nugget. They will increase in size during cooking so you want to make the pieces fairly small. You should have 20 to 22 nuggets.

Instant Pot Instructions:

Place inside the Instant Pot with 1 ½ cups of water. No need to use broth or any flavorings in the water because the seitan is well seasoned. Cook on manual/high pressure for 16 minutes, then quick release the pressure.

Stovetop Method:

Place the nuggets inside a large, deep saute pan or soup pot, and add just enough water to almost cover them. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low to maintain a low simmer, and cook for about 45 minutes. Check mid-way to see if you need to add more water.

The seitan will be very tender and soft but will firm up as it cools.

Hint: I actually LOVE sneaking a couple of test bites when the seitan has just finished cooking. The water soaks into the seitan and essentially becomes seasoned juiciness, and the nuggets are SO tender.

But you'll want to allow them to cool and firm up for about 30 minutes if you plan to bread and air fry/bake.

Optional Breading

Stir together yellow mustard and maple syrup (see recipe below for full instructions). This helps the breadcrumbs stick AND adds flavor. If you don't like "honey" mustard use BBQ sauce instead.
In a separate bowl stir together the dry breading ingredients and oil.
Dip each piece of seitan, or however many nuggets you want to prepare, in the honey mustard, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture.
Next, either:
- Air fry at 355 degrees F for about 8 minutes
- Or bake in a 385 degree oven for 20 to 25 or until golden and crisp

And that's it! You just made crispy, meaty, irresistible breaded seitan chicken!

breaded seitan chicken in an air fryer basket. — Nuggets dipped in "honey" mustard then rolled in breadcrumbs; ready for the air fryer.

Equipment Needed

A 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot comes in handy for quickly cooking seitan. Otherwise, you'll need a large lidded pot for simmering the nuggets on the stovetop.

And if you'd like to bread and air fry the nuggets you'll obviously need an air fryer, too. Pictured above is the Instant Pot Vortex air fryer.

Variations

Spicy - add cayenne pepper to the dough or to the breading mixture. You can also add sriracha to the coating/dipping sauce.
BBQ - replace the apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce with BBQ sauce. And use BBQ sauce instead of honey mustard for the coating.
Kid friendly - use finer breadcrumbs for the breading or pulse the panko in a blender a few times to break up the larger pieces. Panko can sometimes be extra crispy and hard for little mouths.

RELATED: Check out our other favorite seitan chicken recipe, vegan buffalo wings!

Serving Suggestions

Pair the plain seitan pieces with vegetables in a stir fry or noodle dish.

You can also add chunks of seitan to vegan pot pie, or enjoy them with creamy mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetable sides

If you're going the breaded route you'll definitely want some classic dipping sauces! Our favorites are:

BBQ sauce
vegan ranch
creamy harissa dressing
and the "honey" mustard included in the recipe below.

Serve with raw veggies, chips, french fries, or tots!

How to Store

The plain seitan nuggets can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Seitan can be frozen for longer storage.

If you decide to bread and air fry or bake some of the nuggets, those are best consumed fresh while the breading is crisp. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated in the oven or air fryer.