This homemade vegan schnitzel recipe will take you straight back to childhood! They're created with a Seitan base, made with vital wheat gluten, chickpeas and tofu, and breaded with a delicious crumb coat that give them the perfect crunch!
1 large skillet or pan with a lid ideally non-stick
1 shallow bowl
1 large plates
Ingredients
For the Seitan dough:
112.3-ozcarton of silken tofu (350 g)
114-oz canchickpeas (400 g)in unsalted water
2tablespoonvegetable oil (28 ml)
1tablespoonwhite miso paste (15 g)
1bouillon cube (11 g)
½teaspoonbaking powder
2teaspoonvegan poultry seasoning (10 g)
¼teaspoongarlic powder
½teaspoononion powder
2 ¼cupsvital wheat gluten (315 g)
For Frying & Cooking:
vegetable oil for frying
1cupvegetable broth (250 ml)
For the coating:
½cupall purpose flour (60 g)
¾cupchickpea flour (70 g)gram flour
⅛teaspoonblack saltkala namak
⅛teaspoonground black pepper
1cupplant milksuch as soy milk
½cupbreadcrumbs (70 g)more if needed
½teaspoonsmoked paprika powder
Instructions
Creating the Seitan dough:
Place all ingredients apart from the vital wheat gluten for the Seitan base into a food processor. Process until smooth, then swap the blade for the dough attachment. Slowly sprinkle in the vital wheat gluten and process until a dough forms.
Let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes so that the gluten can come together.
Shaping the Schnitzel:
Spread out the dough flatly on a cutting board and cut it into 4 equal parts. Knead and stretch each piece of Seitan dough, stretching from the edges and folding them into the middle until you get a smooth dough ball (refer to step-by-step photos in the post above).
On a flat surface, use a large rolling pin and firmly roll out each dough ball to roughly ½-inch thickness. The pieces will be quite big, so slice them in half and shape them into your desired Schnitzel shape with your hands and the rolling pin.
Pan Frying & Cooking:
Heat a drizzle of oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat and fry each vegan Schnitzel on both sides for 1-2 minutes or until a light skin forms.
Once you've done this with all of them, place them into a large skillet and pour the vegetable broth over the top. Cover with a lid and cook the Schnitzels over low to medium heat for 1 hour.
Let the Seitan schnitzels cool down in the remaining broth for 1 hour or overnight.
Coating & Frying:
In a shallow bowl, mix the chickpea flour, black salt, black pepper, and plant milk. Whisk until smooth.
Place the flour onto a plate and mix the breadcrumbs and smoked paprika powder on another plate. Set them all up as a breading station and preheat a little oil in a non-stick pan next to it.
Coat each vegan Schnitzel in the flour first, removing any excess. Then dip into the chickpea flour batter and let any excess drip off. Place each Schnitzel into the breadcrumbs and coat it all around, then place it straight into the hot pan.
Pan-fry on both sides until golden-brown, then you're ready to serve alongside boiled potatoes and vegetables.
Notes
Food processor - if you don't have a food processor to hand, you can use a blender to mix the wet ingredients, and then knead in the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
Storage - you can enjoy the vegan Schnitzel right after pan-frying or keep some for later! Keep the fried Seitan Schnitzels in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the Schnitzels! To save space, you can stack them and place parchment in between them, so they're easier to separate and serve separately. You can store them in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Reheating - the Schnitzels are best reheated by being pan-fried. If they are frozen, first allow them to thaw at room temperature for a few hours.
Chickpeas - Instead of chickpeas you can use any other white beans, such as butter beans or cannellini beans.
Baking powder - instead of baking powder, you can add a ⅛ teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
Paprika powder - instead of smoked paprika you can also use sweet paprika powder
Plant milk - you can also mix the batter with regular water instead of non-dairy milk but from experience, the batter doesn't stick as well to the vegan Seitan in that case.
Serving - you can serve the vegan Schnitzel alongside potatoes and vegetables and with a drizzle of lemon juice or your favorite gravy.