Enjoy this hot crispy breaded vegan chicken wings recipe. Try them with our barbecue flavored dipping sauce, or any dip of your choice. A crowd-pleasing finger food for everyone!
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This post is supported by Wellington Crackers. A big thank you to the supporting brands that make The Simple Sprinkle possible! As always, all opinions shared are my own.
💡 The recipe in a nutshell
- Vegan (no eggs & dairy free)
- 3 Methods: Bake, Air-fry or Pan-fry
- Great for meal prep
- Made from scratch
- Better for you comfort food
- No vital wheat gluten or seitan
🌱 What are vegan wings made of?
There is many variations of vegan chicken wings. Most store-bought vegan chicken wings are made of plant-based proteins (soy, beans, legumes, etc.).
However, you can also make vegan chicken wings from scratch at home with tofu, mushrooms, or cauliflower. Using Seitan or TVP are other options and have the meatiest texture.
For our crispy wing recipe, we are using tofu, because it’s not only widely available and affordable but contains all essential amino acids, making it a very healthy plant-based protein. To see the full ingredient list scroll down to the recipe card.
🍗 How to make crispy vegan chicken wings
This method is super easy and fun to make! Follow these steps (more detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this article).
- Start by draining and pressing the tofu (best overnight in the fridge). We recommend using a tofu press for this step, but you can also place it in between kitchen towels and heavy objects on the tofu to press it.
- Then prepare a breading station: a bowl of cornstarch, a bowl of plant-based milk, a bowl of crackers or bread crumbs.
- Shape the tofu into wing shapes. Alternatively, you can cut it into simple rectangles or rip pieces off for a nugget shape.
- Coat tofu in starch, dip in milk, and then roll in crumbs. Set on a prepared baking sheet.
- Fry in a pan in oil, or brush/spray lightly in oil and bake until crispy either in your oven or air-fryer. Temperature and duration information is in the recipe card below.
- Enjoy as desired (you can find serving ideas below)!
🛒 Where to buy vegan chicken wings (brand list)
Most grocery stores carry vegan meat alternatives nowadays. Here is a list of our favorite brands that carry vegan chicken, if you don’t want to prepare them from scratch:
🥣 Vegan chicken wings for meal prep
This vegan chicken wing recipe is perfect for your meal prep:
Double or triple the recipe for a big batch, and prepare until they are ready to bake. Instead of frying or baking, simply freeze the wings in freezer-safe bags or containers. Once you are ready, bake or fry them and enjoy a quick and easy weeknight meal! Use the serving ideas below for inspiration.
📋 Serving ideas
Of course, these vegan wings are great on their own, but to keep it fun we have some delicious serving ideas and recommendations for you.
- Creamy Vegan Dipping Sauce
- French Fries
- Loaded French Fries
- Baked Potato
- Tangy Roasted Corn
- Green Salad with Tofu Feta
- Vegan Southwest Salad (Café Rio Copycat)
- Creamy Taco Pasta Salad
- German Potato Salad
- Coleslaw
- Oven Roasted Veggies
- Onion Rings
- Fried Rice
- Brussel Sprouts
- Raw produce such as cucumber, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and celery
📖 Recipe
Crispy Vegan Chicken Wings
Equipment
- tofu press, food processor to blend the crackers, baking sheet, 3 shallow bowls
Ingredients
- 1 block of extra firm tofu
- 25 Wellington’s Traditional Crackers* (about 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon season salt
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon of each garlic and onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup plant-based milk of choice
- Cooking spray or oil to coat
- creamy dipping sauce (barbecue flavor) (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Press tofu for a minimum of 1 hour, best overnight in your fridge.
Method
- In a food processor or blender, pulse crackers until crumbly.
- Set out three separate shallow bowls: To the first bowl add the cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper and mix together. Pour the milk into the second small bowl. And, to the third bowl add the cracker crumbs with seasoning salt, and gently toss.
- Drain the pressed tofu. Cut tofu into half lengthwise. Then cut tofu into 6 rectangular strips, and cut each strip diagonally into half (you should end up with 12 pieces). Then shape into wing shapes as desired by softening edges.
- Take each tofu wing and coat in the starch, then the milk, and finally coat in the cracker crumbs. Place breaded tofu wings onto a prepared baking sheet with parchment.
- Spray with cooking oil or brush lightly with oil on all sides before baking or air-frying.Oven: Heat oven to 400°F / 200°C and bake for 30 minutes. Halfway through (after 15 minutes) take them out, flip and brush or spray once more. Then bake for another 15 minutes or until crisp. Air-Fry: at 375°F / 190°C for 15 minutes until golden and crispy flipping them halfway.Stovetop: Heat fryer-safe oil to 350-375°F / 175-190°C and fry until golden brown.
- While the wings are baking, if desired prepare dipping sauce, or other items you want to serve with the wings. Enjoy!
Notes
PS: Don't forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment on your experience - this helps improve my recipes and serves you with the best instructions, tips, and substitution ideas. Plus, I love hearing about your takes on my recipes! Tag me on Instagram @thesimplesprinkle to show me your pictures.
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