This Pretzel Coated Vegan Chicken with Spicy Maple Drizzle is a much easier and slightly healthier version of fried chicken! It’s breaded in pretzels, pan fried and then drizzled with a spicy maple drizzle. Pretzels are naturally brown and crunchy so it is the perfect “cheat” for a super delectable looking and tasting “fried chicken” recipe!
Greg and I both agree that this is one of the best recipes we’ve made lately! It’s such a good recipe to turn to when you want fried chicken but don’t want fried chicken, you know? I actually don’t deep fry at home! I only even pan-fry. I’m a bit too scared to deep fry honestly, my dad works in the insurance industry and has many a story about houses burning down because someone was trying to deep fry French fries and didn’t really know how. So, whenever I want something that is more on the comfort food side, I find a safer way to make it haha!
The key to crispy coating…
The key is here is to double coat the vegan chicken (or tofu, or seitan, whatever you’re using). So dip in the liquid, then the breading, then liquid again, then breading again. Having a thicker coating is essential since the pretzel pieces are kinda big and we want coating with no holes or missing pieces. You could definitely spritz with oil and air fry or bake these, but I opted for the good ol pan-fry in a healthy drizzle of oil. Fast, easy, and perfect every time!
The best flavour is the spicy maple drizzle though. I have been mixing hot sauce and maple syrup to use as a condiment since I first went vegan. Its amazing on noodle bowls, sandwiches and tofu. But its extra extra amazing on this pretzel coated vegan chicken!
Once you remove the hot chicken from the pan, drizzle some of the spicy maple sauce overtop and enjoy. Greg actually used the leftovers on a burger(see photo below) and holy wow it was yummy!
Pretzel Coated Vegan Chicken with Spicy Maple Drizzle
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings
Description
Vegan chicken breaded in a pretzel coating, pan fried and then drizzled with a spicy maple sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 vegan chicken breasts (I use Real Fake Meats or PC Plant Based) but you can also use homemade seitan chick’n, tofu chunks or any other substitute you like
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups pretzels, crushed (I did this in my food processor)
- 1 1/2 cups nondairy milk
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- oil for frying
Spicy Maple Drizzle:
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp hot sauce like sriracha or Frank’s
Instructions
- Get 2 bowls. In one bowl, add the flour, pretzel crumbs, pepper and paprika. In the second bowl, add the nondairy milk.
- Preheat a large frying pan to medium high heat. Add a good drizzle of oil.
- Dip each piece of vegan chicken in the milk, then the pretzel mixture, pressing lightly on all sides to make it stick. Then gently go back into the milk, and then the pretzel coating one more time.
- Once the oil is hot, add the vegan chicken pieces and cook until golden. It takes a few minutes per side.
- Meanwhile, stir together the maple syrup and hot sauce. Set aside,
- Remove the the vegan chicken from the pan when golden brown and crispy on all sides. Place on a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess oil, if desired. Allow to cool a few minutes before serving. Serve with maple sauce to drizzle overtop.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Wow! This was so good. I made it with your homemade seitan chick’n and used bagels, rocket, cucumber and tomatoes. I really liked it, totally 5 stars!!
★★★★★