Homemade vegan chicken wings are saucy, meaty, tender, and easy enough to make anytime! There's no batter, breading, or deep frying to fuss with - just delicious seitan wings paired with a classic vegan buffalo sauce!
Easier Vegan Wings
After creating Vegan Ribs with seitan and jackfruit, it dawned on me that it's also the perfect meaty combo for vegan chicken wings. So I switched up the seasonings and set my mind to creating an EASY vegan wings recipe...
Because I really like simple recipes, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!
I didn't want to deal with a batter or breading, and I definitely didn't want to mess with frying. I wanted minimal work without sacrificing flavor or texture.
And guess what... even without those extra steps these homemade seitan wings are freaking delicious!
They're spicy (but not too spicy), perfectly "fall-off-the-bone" tender, and have just the right amount of tangy, buttery richness to keep you coming back for more.
The basic seitan itself has a really nice, mild chicken flavor. In fact, I already have an idea now to take this seitan, bread it, and turn it into vegan chicken nuggets.
Now back to vegan wings... let's make a batch!
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Ingredients
Here are a few notes on the key ingredients you'll need to make vegan buffalo wings.
For the vegan chicken wings:
- vital wheat gluten - before you ask if these wings can be made gluten-free, since this is a seitan recipe gluten is a necessary ingredient. I use Anthony's brand vital wheat gluten.
- jackfruit - look for canned young jackfruit in brine NOT syrup. It's important for the overall texture of the seitan, so I can't recommend a substitution without additional recipe testing. If you happen to live near a Trader Joe's, I recommend theirs.
- firm tofu - look for this in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the produce; for this recipe we're using a basic firm or extra firm tofu packed in water, not super firm.
- nutritional yeast - this adds savory flavor and tenderizes the seitan wings; I recommend this non-fortified one by Sari Foods. If you need to avoid nutritional yeast, add a couple of tablespoons of all-purpose flour in its place.
- seasonings - onion powder, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning also contribute to the overall savory chicken flavor. If you don't have poultry seasoning, a few dashes of sage and thyme will do the trick.
For the buffalo sauce:
- plant-based butter - the flavor of Miyoko's cultured butter is best, but any vegan butter you can get your hands on is fine. See below for a butter-free option, or simply omit it and use plain Frank's hot sauce to coat your wings.
- Frank's Red Hot Original - this is the classic hot sauce used for buffalo wings; Frank's is made from cayenne peppers and is available online and in most U.S. grocery stores as well as 19 other countries (wow).
- cayenne pepper - I like to add a few dashes for extra heat and flavor, but this is optional.
- garlic powder - same as above.
See the recipe card below for quantities and full instructions.
How to Make Vegan Wings
I'll admit, there are a few steps involved in making seitan wings, but none of them are complicated, I promise!
Just review the step-by-step photos below, and then when you're following the recipe everything will be easy peasy.
- First, drain and rinse the jackfruit. Then place on a tea towel, and gather up the ends. Squeeze the jackfruit very well over the sink to remove as much brine as possible. Use your hands to remove the pieces that look like seeds (we'll discard those), and shred the rest of the jackfruit.
If you're not used to working with jackfruit I know this might sound complicated at first, but it's actually easy and only takes 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a blender or food processor blend the tofu and wet ingredients until smooth.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the shredded jackfruit to the bowl, and toss to combine.
- Pour the wet mixture into the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Use your hands if needed. The seitan dough will look fairly dry.
- Place the dough ball on a cutting board, and cut into 4 pieces.
- Re-shape each piece of seitan into a rectangle, then cut each rectangle into 5 pieces so that you end up with 20 similarly-sized wings. Use your hands to form each one into varied shapes like drumsticks, wings, or large nuggets (ugh, sorry chickens - I'm trying to help).
- Add water to a steamer pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Lightly spray the steamer basket(s) with oil (optional). Arrange the seitan wings in the basket. If they need to touch or overlap a bit that's okay, but ideally they should be in a single layer. Steam for 30 minutes, flipping at the halfway point.
- Preheat a cast iron pan or heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook your vegan wings for 2 to 3 minutes per side or until golden. Transfer to a plate.
- Turn off the heat, and add the butter to the pan, if using. Now add Frank's hot sauce, cayenne, and a few dashes of garlic powder, if desired. Stir or whisk the buffalo sauce, then return the wings to the pan. Toss to coat.
Tip! Many seitan recipes call for resting the seitan overnight for the best texture, but this recipe is fine with or without rest. So if you want to make vegan wings in advance for a party that's great. Or you can prepare them all at once, browning and adding the sauce immediately after they've been steamed.
What to Serve With Vegan Wings
Serve vegan buffalo wings with vegan ranch dressing or blue cheese, fresh celery and carrot sticks... and plenty of napkins!
They're also great inside a wrap with crisp lettuce and creamy dressing or chopped and piled on top of a big salad.
Whether you're serving these boneless seitan wings on a platter, in a salad, on top of grains or even on pizza, avocado also pairs really well and adds a nice cooling element.
Side note: check out that wing above. Toward the right on the "drumstick bone," can you believe how much that looks like skin?
Other than forming the seitan into a drumstick shape I didn't do anything special to the outside to create a skin appearance. Is seitan amazing or what?
Substitutions
Oil-Free - since the actual seitan wings contain no oil, it's pretty easy to make oil-free vegan wings. Here's how:
- As a precaution the recipe calls for spraying the steamer basket lightly with oil, but even without oil the seitan won't stick. Pinky promise.
- When searing the wings in a skillet, make sure it's fully preheated before adding the wings, and use a good quality, heavy bottomed pan, preferably cast iron.
- To avoid using butter in the buffalo sauce, try this Oil-Free Buffalo Sauce recipe by This Healthy Kitchen. When I'm feeling lazy I've also been known to simply use plain Frank's hot sauce on the wings.
Flavor Variations
- extra hot buffalo - add even more cayenne pepper to the sauce and/or several dashes of your favorite extra spicy hot sauce.
- BBQ wings - not into spicy buffalo sauce? Pair your vegan wings with a sweet and sticky BBQ sauce.
- more ideas - don't limit yourself to classic vegan buffalo wings because truly, the sky is the limit! Here are some ideas:
- vegan "honey" mustard
- lemon pepper
- sticky garlic
- teriyaki or sweet and sour
- Korean gochuchang
- Thai peanut
- Nashville hot
- sticky orange
- spicy harissa
Equipment Needed
- food processor or blender - to blend the tofu and other wet ingredients.
- steamer - whether you use a large steamer pot or create your own makeshift steamer basket, you'll need a way to steam the seitan wings so that they stay nice and juicy. Check out this post for ideas on setting up a steamer without special equipment.
- cast iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed pan - this is used to briefly sear the wings after they've been steamed and then to heat the buffalo sauce.
Recipe FAQs
Vegan wings can be made many different ways. Cauliflower wings are a popular, lighter option. Soy-based ingredients like tempeh and tofu also make great meatless wings. This recipe uses seitan, tofu, and jackfruit for the best mock chicken texture.
No, since this is a seitan recipe it requires gluten. As mentioned above, you can find gluten-free vegan wing options online made with a variety of other ingredients like cauliflower and tempeh.
Once cool, store leftover wings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They can be reheated on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in an air fryer. You can also enjoy them straight from the fridge in wraps and on salad.
Definitely! Like most seitan recipes the wings are freezer friendly up to one month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as described above.
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I hope you LOVE these vegan wings as much as we do. If you try the recipe be sure to comment below and let everyone know how they turned out!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
- 1 (20 oz.) can young jackfruit in brine - If you can only find a smaller size can (14 oz.) that's fine, too.
Wet ingredients:
- 7 ounces firm tofu, drained - Do not press.
- 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke, optional
- ½ cup water
Dry ingredients:
- 150 grams vital wheat gluten (1 ¼ cups)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast - If necessary, can replace with 2 Tbsp flour.
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning blend - Or a few dashes each of ground sage and thyme.
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- scant 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Finishing the wings:
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil, optional
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons vegan butter, preferably Miyoko's - See Notes for oil-free option.
- ½ cup Frank's Red Hot Original hot sauce
- a few dashes cayenne pepper, optional, to taste
- a few dashes garlic powder, optional, to taste
Instructions
Prepare the jackfruit:
- Drain the jackfruit and rinse under running water. Place on a clean, lint-free towel. Gather up the ends of the towel, hold it over the sink, and squeeze the jackfruit VERY well to remove as much brine as possible.
- Use your hands to separate the seeds and tough pieces from the stringy parts of the jackfruit (refer to process photos in the post above as needed). The seeds and tough parts can be discarded. Once you have a pile of the meaty, stringy parts of the jackfruit, make sure it is all well shredded and separated. Set aside.
Blend wet ingredients:
- In a blender or food processor combine the wet ingredients. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Set aside.
Make vegan wings:
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the shredded jackfruit to the bowl, and toss well. Pour the blended tofu mixture into the mixing bowl, and stir to form a dough. Next use your hands to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated. It will be a fairly dry dough. NOTE: there's no need to intentionally knead the seitan.
- Place the dough ball on a cutting board and pat into a square shape. Cut into 4 pieces, then cut each of those into 5 somewhat equal-size pieces (you'll end up with 20 wings). Use your hands to shape each piece of dough into varied shapes like wings or large nuggets.
- Add about an inch of water to a pot with a steamer basket. Lightly spray the basket with oil (optional). Arrange the wings in a single layer. I use a 2-tiered steamer, and it's the perfect capacity for 20 wings. If using a smaller steamer, it's okay if the wings overlap a bit, or steam them in batches.
- Steam the wings for 30 minutes, flipping at the halfway point, then remove from heat.
- Preheat a large cast iron pan or other heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. If using oil, add the tablespoon of oil to the pan. Cook the wings 2 to 3 minutes per side or until golden. Transfer to a plate.
- Turn off the heat. Add the butter to the hot pan and allow to melt. Add Franks' hot sauce and the cayenne and garlic powder, if using. Stir to combine. Return the wings to the pan, and toss to coat with sauce. Serve with vegan ranch and fresh celery and carrot sticks.
Notes
- When searing the wings in a skillet, make sure it's fully preheated before adding the wings, and use a good quality, heavy bottomed pan, preferably cast iron.
- To make buffalo sauce without butter, try this Oil-Free Buffalo Sauce recipe by This Healthy Kitchen. If I'm feeling lazy I've also been known to just use plain Frank's hot sauce.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Katherine
I made this recipe tonight, although I shaped my Seitan into cutlets and served with a vegan gravy instead of the buffalo sauce. This was the best seitan recipe I’ve tried. The results were delicious! Even the non-vegetarian loved them. 🙂
MJ
These are fantastic! I love that they aren’t fried. This is our family’s new go to vegan chicken recipe. Thank you!
Jen
Can these be done in an air fryer?
Lori
Hi Jen, I haven't tested that, but I think that after steaming they could probably be air fried briefly, to replace the step of cooking in the pan. But cooking them entirely in the air fryer would likely dry them out.
Stephanie
This recipe looks amazing! Can it be made to be gluten free?
Lori
Hi Stephanie, thank you! Sorry, but gluten is necessary for making seitan. It's the key ingredient and what gives it the meaty texture. You could try searching for cauliflower, tempeh, or tofu wings. Lots of GF options out there!
Holly
Do you think your recipe would work with beans instead of tofu? I can't eat soy and would like to try seitan with jackfruit. Thanks!
Lori
Hi Holly,
Yes, white beans work well. As luck would have it I just tested this basic recipe a few days ago with 1 cup of beans instead of tofu (for an upcoming chicken burger recipe). Hope you enjoy!
Jim Allen
Gave these a try last night.. Yummers!!! Looking forward to making different flavors.. Great base texture to play with.. Thanks much.