Vegan Fried Chicken

Fried chicken was one of my all time favorite soul food dishes growing up. The crispy skin and the juicy interior set my soul on fire with every single bite; and don't get me started on my Mamma's fried chicken! We used to fight over the last piece in my house every time (as the youngest I often used my cuteness to become the chicken victor LOL).

Now that I'm vegan I am doing everything I can to keep my finger licking favorites alive, and, you know we can't talk about vegan comfort food without Vegan Fried Chicken!

This recipe has that crispy crunchy exterior I crave and the inside is super juicy! Now we have a plant based option to fight over. Popeye's who?!

What you need:

1 pack fully thawed Gardein Scallopini

1/3 Cup Unsweetened Full Fat Coconut. Milk, Chilled

1 TBSP + 1 TSP Franks Red Hot Sauce

2 TSP Apple Cider Vinegar

3/4 Cup AP Flour

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 TSP Onion Powder

1/2-1 TSP Garlic Salt (or powder to cut down on sodium a bit)

2-3 TSP Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1 TSP Poultry Seasoning

1-2 TSP Cayenne Pepper

1 TBSP Cajun Seasoning

Vegetable or Peanut Oil for frying

Note: I always season to my own tastes and preferences! These are suggested measurements.

Let's do this:

I start off by heating up my deep fryer to 375 degrees F. If you don't have a deep fryer heat up a generous amount of oil in a skillet.

Whisk together your wet ingredients and let them sit without stirring any further while you prep everything else. In a separate bowl whisk your dry ingredients.

While your oil is heating up and your wet ingredients are setting, smash together the thawed scallopini and form them into chicken breasts. Two scallopini equals one large breast.

Double bread your chicken breast by first rolling them into the dry ingredients then into the wet; repeat.

Flick a *small* bit of water into your oil to check if it's ready; if it sizzles you're in business!

Drop your breasts into fully heated oil right away until golden brown. If you are preparing on the stove allow the first side get fully brown and crisp before flipping. Allow the breasts to cool on a wire rack that is placed above some paper towels once you see that they are brown enough to your preferred preference. I personally like to avoid putting them directly on the paper towel straight oil of the oil because I feel as if some of the crispiness gets lost when doing this.

Enjoy on a bun, with some vegan mac & cheese, or straight up on its own with a dab of Franks Hot Sauce!