Vegan Chicken Piccata uses slices of homemade seitan to recreate the classic flavors of this beloved dish. It’s so delicious that even the non-vegans in your life will fall in love!
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Whether you are just transitioning to a vegan way of eating or if you’ve been eating this way for decades, there are probably certain “pre-vegan-life” meals that you miss.
For me, although it’s been years since I actually enjoyed the taste of chicken – long before making the switch to a vegan life – chicken piccata is one dish that I’ve always loved. The garlic, the capers, the crispy breading… so many good, strong flavors.
So, once I got familiar with the ins and outs of making seitan, I knew that it was my in to making a vegan chicken piccata!
What is seitan?
This recipe starts with a basic homemade seitan.
If you’re not familiar with this vegan meat alternative, I encourage you to get acquainted! Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten and it mimics the taste and texture of meats. It’s been used as a common meat substitute for than a thousand years.
Seitan easily takes on the flavors of your favorite seasonings, whether from added spices or from the water that it is boiled. It’s also protein-packed (60 grams per cup!), cholesterol-free, and low-carb.
Although you can buy seitan pre-made at the grocery store, I recommend that you learn how to make it yourself.
Once you get the hang of it, it’s actually a very easy process. It’s great to have on hand to use in all kinds of dishes, you get to control the seasonings, and homemade seitan is much more economically friendly than store bought.
There are tons of recipes and videos online to help you learn how to make seitan.
I watched this video from Chef Jana several times to get comfortable with the process.
I’ve also used this Homemade Seitan recipe from Yup.. It’s Vegan many times. In fact, it’s the recipe I used for the seitan in this Vegan Chicken Piccata recipe.
How to make Vegan Chicken Piccata
For this recipe, I chose to recreate the chicken with brown butter and capers recipe that I had been making for years in our pre-vegan days. It’s always been one of our kids’ favorite meals, so I was anxious to get it right and make it as close to possible as the recipe they’d grown up with.
As you probably guessed, the basis of this recipe is seitan. I used the homemade recipe from Yup.. It’s Vegan to make my seitan.
You can chose to make your own or to purchase pre-made seitan from the grocery store.
The first step in making vegan chicken piccata is to slice your seitan into thin cutlets. Then, pour some flour into a large bowl or plastic baggie, add the seitan slices, and toss or shake to coat.
Next, combine 1/2 cup of aquafaba (the liquid drained from a can of garbanzo beans) with a 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Pour some panko or regular breadcrumbs onto a regular plate and line everything up assembly line-style so that you can prep your seitan for frying.
Prepping & cooking your seitan
After you’ve coated your slices of seitan in flour, dip both sides in the seasoned aquafaba and then cover completely with a thin layer of breadcrumbs.
While you work on breading all of the seitan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Place breaded slices into the hot skillet and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy.
If you have a lot of slices and a small skillet, you might want to place the finished slices on a cookie sheet and keep warm in the oven.
Making the vegan piccata sauce
After you’ve cooked all of your seitan, add 2 additional teaspoons of olive oil, if needed. Then add some thinly sliced red onion (optional) into the skillet and cook for 2 next. Add minced garlic and continue cooking for 3 minutes.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour into the skillet and cook until golden, about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Slowly stir in 1 cup vegetable stock and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Then stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of caper.
Spoon the sauce over the cooked seitan and serve.
What to serve with this recipe
Vegan chicken piccata is delicious served over cooked pasta that’s been tossed with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper. It’s also great with rice, couscous, red potatoes or quinoa.
There are lots of veggie options that make a great side dish with this meal. Some ideas are:
- spinach salad
- sauteed or roasted kale
- roasted asparagus
- steamed green beans
- sauteed zucchini and mushrooms
Honestly, you really can’t go wrong with whatever you choose to serve with this meal!
Vegan Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 1 pound homemade or purchased seitan (cut into thin cutlets)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chickpeas)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 cups Panko or regular breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 1 small red onion (thinly sliced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons capers
- Additional salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Dredge the slices of seitan in flour.
- Warm a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Combine aquafaba with salt, pepper and garlic powder in a deep dish or bowl. Dip each flour-coated piece of aquafaba mixture and then cover both sides with breadcrumbs.
- Cook breaded slices of seitan in warmed skillet about 2 – 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and crispy.
- Set aside cooked slices and keep warm.
- Add remaining olive oil to skillet, stir in sliced red onion, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook an additional 3 minutes.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour into skillet and cook until golden, about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Slowly stir in the vegetable stock and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add lemon juice and capers to skillet. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Spoon sauce over cooked seitan. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Prep the seitan assembly line style to make it easier.
- If you’re a fan of capers, feel free to add more.
- If you have a smaller skillet or a large number of seitan slices, transfer the cooked slices to a cookie sheet and keep warm in a 200 degree oven.
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