Vegan Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Who doesn’t want to eat some fried plant-based chicken now and again? Hot and crispy chicken pieces served with mashed potatoes, buttery corn on the cob and a creamy garlic dipping sauce. Could you picture that and tell me that you can’t taste the golden-coated vegan chicken pieces that you’re imagining?

Here in the UK, our fried fast food options are limited. And not that that’s a bad thing. You shouldn’t eat this recipe regularly. You should make it once, probably more than once. Just probably don’t make it a fried vegan chicken week.

We are really into this recipe though, when we first bit into one of these “chicken” pieces we could hardly find something to change. We normally make each recipe we create about three times. A little less spice, a bit more tomato, baked for too long and so on. This seasoning combination though, we loved from our first try.

For our vegan fried “chicken” we’ve used a dairy-free buttermilk to coat our plant-based protein. It’s really quick to make and only requires a couple of ingredients.

Side note though while this is a really easy recipe to make, and a load of fun to fry, we have used 7 seasonings to pack the flavour into our crispy coatings. But if you don’t have these seasonings in your cupboard anyway, you’ll thank us because they’re staples of flavoursome cooking. And you can make a whole lot of fried chicken by the time you get to the bottom of one of those jars.

What is Buttermilk Fried Chicken?

So buttermilk fried chicken uses a creamy milky and uniquely acidic liquid for a couple of purposes. Firstly, vegan or not, it’s always applied to the “chicken” before any other ingredients. In fact, after dipping your uncooked protein into the buttermilk, that is the perfect time to roll it in the seasoned flour mix you’ve made. The buttermilk helps all that seasoning stick to the “chicken” pieces.

Buttermilk has a natural acidity to it, and so does our dairy-free plant-based alternative. Our tang is going to be delivered from a freshly squeezed lemon. And while our seasoned vegan chicken fries are marinating in the sour juices of the lemony buttermilk, taking on that flavour and tenderising it too.

What can I use as a Non Dairy Substitute for Buttermilk in Fried Chicken?

Through trial and error, we found what we believe to be the best milk alternative to make buttermilk from. We always have oat milk in the house, it’s our breakfast preference, for coffee and some rich and creamy overnight oats. We tried almond milk, and finally soy milk, which is where we settled.

Soy milk curdles better than the other two plant-based milk drinks we trialed. And a buttermilk should be creamy in texture, thicker than just a milk, and the soy milk reacts brilliantly to the lemon juice. Thickening in no time, making a delicious, non-dairy buttermilk for fried “chicken”.

Vegan Buttermilk Fried Chicken Ingredients

180 g plant-based chicken breast (two breasts halved)

1 cup soy milk

1 Tbsp lemon juice

50 g self-raising flour (or plain flour with 1/2 tsp of baking powder)

50 g corn flour

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp garlic granules

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1 tsp onion granules

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 cup vegetable oil (adjust quantity to size of pan)

How to Make Vegan Buttermilk Fried Chicken

To start with, using a sharp knife, hold your hand on the top of each plant-based chicken breast and cut as if you were going to butterfly the breast, but cut all the way through. You’ll end up with 4 thinner vegan chicken breast pieces instead of two. You can skip this step and fry one whole beast portion for a juicier chicken piece and less crispy coating.

Next you should cut a whole lemon in half, and then squeeze out 1 tablespoon of fresh sour juice. Pour this into a measuring jug ready to make your vegan buttermilk substitute.

To make your dairy-free buttermilk, add enough soy milk to the lemon juice that you have 1 cup of the lemon and milk mix. Leave this on the side to curdle for at least 1 minute before using.

Measure out 50 g of self-raising (or plain with a 1/2 tsp baking powder) flour, as well as 50 g of corn flour. Gently mix these together in a bowl.

In a second bowl measure out all of the seasonings, which are all the remaining ingredients except for the oil, Mix these together and then add them to the bowl of flour and combine everything.

In a pan large enough to lay down all your cuts of vegan chicken breast, add vegetable oil until it comes halfway up the sides of each breast piece. You don’t need to submerge them completely in oil, just one side at a time.

Heat the oil over medium heat.

Pour the vegan buttermilk into a shallow dish and place each side of the vegan chicken pieces into the mixture, one side at a time.

On a plate or in another shallow dish, add the flour and seasoning mix, take each buttermilk-covered breast and coat it in the mixture, repeat this one at a time adding each one to the pan of hot oil as you go.Place your vegan chicken pieces into the hot oil and fry them for about 3 minutes per side, just enough until the flavour-packed coating has turned crisp and golden. Remove the breasts from the pan once cooked and lay them down on some paper kitchen towel to absorb some of the excess oil they were fried in.Serve warm. Pairs well with corn on the cob, french fries, and a garlic mayo dipping sauce.