Vegan Teriyaki Chicken with Crispy Rice Waffle

by Greg Bellefontaine on Jun 8, 2023 (updated May 1, 2025)

Skip takeout tonight and make this quick and easy Vegan Teriyaki Chicken recipe! It’s made with ultra crispy vegan chicken nuggets and homemade teriyaki sauce tossed together until glazed to perfection. Serve over crispy rice waffles with sesame seeds and green onions for the ultimate weeknight dinner.

It only took me 8 years of being vegan before I discovered pretty much anything can waffle, including leftover rice! But all that experience has let me to this mouthwatering, crispy recipe that I can’t wait to share with YOU!

Vegan Teriyaki chicken topping a crispy rice waffle and sprinkled with seasoning

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Uses store-bought vegan chicken – This shortens the prep time considerably and makes it easy to enjoy the flavours of restaurant quality teriyaki chicken from the comfort of your own home.
Only 7 sauce ingredients – Making your own vegan teriyaki sauce and other Stir Fry Sauce Recipes is easier than you think! All you need is a few plant-based ingredients that are easy to find at most grocery stores.
A fun twist on rice bowls – Of course a bed of rice is an option, but why not serve over a crispy rice waffle instead? They’re just as easy to make yet have crispy golden brown bits that are beyond delicious.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

Vegan chicken nuggets – To make the prep work for this teriyaki “chicken” recipe as easy as possible, I opted for a package of store-bought vegan chicken nuggets. I also prefer the texture of breaded chicken in this recipe, but feel free to use a plain chicken strips or make our homemade vegan chicken with vital wheat gluten and skip the breading step.
Thai sweet chili sauce – While not a traditional ingredient in Japanese teriyaki chicken, I love adding it to my homemade teriyaki sauce recipes because it adds both sweetness and spiciness that blends the flavour really well together.
Ketchup – Another non-traditional ingredient that helps add sweetness and a slight tanginess.

overhead photo of a Vegan Teriyaki chicken nugget on a fork with a crispy rice waffle and sprinkled with seasoning

steps by step labeled instruction pictures on how to make crispy rice waffles and teriyaki chicken, with numbers.

Ideas for serving

Serving this vegan teriyaki chicken over crispy rice waffles and freshly chopped green onions is my favourite way to take this dish to the next level. If you don’t own a waffle maker, you can still enjoy a delicious meal with plain fluffy rice or cauliflower rice and your favourite stir fried vegetables like chopped red bell pepper, red onion, snap peas, mushrooms, and carrots.

close up Vegan Teriyaki chicken topping a crispy rice waffle and sprinkled with seasoning

Greg’s tips for storing

For the best, crispy vegan teriyaki chicken, it is best to enjoy this recipe fresh. However, leftovers can be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. To make it crispy again, reheat in a toaster oven or air fryer until warmed and serve over rice, or as desired.

I haven’t tested freezing this teriyaki chicken, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Once tossed in the teriyaki sauce, the breading won’t hold up well in the freezer.

Although this recipe uses my favourite easy vegan chicken recipe with seitan, feel free to customize it to however you like! Great alternatives would be frozen then fried tofu chunks, re-hydrated soy curls or even fried lions mane mushrooms! Or if you prefer to use tofu, try these oven baked tofu bites or these crispy breaded tofu dippers.

If you’re looking for a gluten-free option:

As is, this vegan teriyaki chicken is not gluten-free. It can be made gluten-free if you use gluten-free store-bought vegan chicken and tamari instead of soy sauce. You could even use our gluten-free option in these homemade vegan chicken nuggets.

front on photo of a Vegan Teriyaki chicken nugget on a fork with a crispy rice waffle and sprinkled with seasoning

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