• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
My Pure Plants
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About us
    • Contact us
    • Media & Press
  • Meal Plans
    • FREE 7-day Vegan Meal Plan (Only Easy Recipes!)
    • Quick Vegan Meals
    • Vegan Christmas Dinner
    • Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner
  • Guides
    • Eggplant
    • Oyster Mushrooms
    • TVP
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Entrees
  • Soups
  • About us
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Entrees
    • Soups
    • About us
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home > Vegan Entrees

    Vegan Fried Chicken

    By Emese Maczko on 02/16/2023 - May contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure.

    Jump to Recipe Print Pin

    Oyster mushrooms make the tastiest and easiest vegan fried chicken ever! It is perfectly golden brown and crispy on the outside but meaty on the inside. The vegan chicken itself is only ONE ingredient!

    Brown breaded nuggets in a round plate. A couple of pieces are cut in the middle to see the white flesh in the middle. French fries to the side with two small bowls. One with ketchup and the other is a white sauce with chopped green herbs.

    Are you interested in even more fantastic oyster mushroom recipes? We love this ingredient so much and use it to make various vegan meaty recipes like vegan shredded chicken, vegan orange chicken, vegan buffalo chicken wings, vegan Philly cheesesteaks, and vegan gyros.

    Jump to:
    • Why you’ll love it
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Cooking tips
    • Variations
    • Serving ideas
    • Equipment
    • Storing tips
    • FAQs
    • More vegan chicken recipes
    • Vegan Fried Chicken (Oyster Mushrooms)

    Why you’ll love it

    So here we go. Drumroll, please! The best vegan fried chicken is oyster mushrooms. Why is it better than any other alternatives out there? 

    • They have no mushroom taste, but soak up any seasoning or marinade. It is easy to make them flavorful. Compared to extra firm tofu, you will not even know you are eating mushrooms. 
    • The texture is spongy and chewy, as you would expect from a meaty dish. 
    • You need approx. 8-9 hours to make seitan chicken. Who has the time for that? You can shred the mushrooms with your hand in 5 minutes, and they are ready to be your vegan chicken. 
    • We used crushed corn flakes instead of breadcrumbs to give you the crunchiest breading possible.
    Brown breaded nuggets in a round plate. A hand is holindg one piece. French fries to the side with two small bowls. One with ketchup and the other is a white sauce with chopped green herbs.

    Ingredients

    • Oyster mushrooms – We used pearl oysters, but you can either choose any of the 7 oyster mushroom types or seek out one of these 13 oyster mushroom substitutes. You can have good results with porcini, chanterelle, or abalone. One of our readers said Lion’s mane is also perfect.
    • Fried chicken seasoning – Garlic powder, onion powder, sweet smoked paprika powder, cayenne pepper, ground cumin seeds, oregano, salt, and black pepper. The flavor will be quite similar to KFC’s fried chicken as similar spices are used except celery salt or thyme.
    • Breading – Dairy-free milk, yellow corn flour, corn flakes, and corn starch (or tapioca starch). They will get you a better and crispier result than vegan buttermilk and all-purpose flour mixture. You can use other breadcrumbs substitutes, but we recommend trying it first with corn flakes.

    🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    A heart shape puzzle of vegetables with a text overlay saying 7-day meal plan
    FREE 7-Day Vegan Meal Plan

    Subscribe to our newsletters and download it right now.

    Lots of bowls with the ingredients to make vegan fried chicken: oyster mushrooms, different spices, yellow flour, starch, milk, corn flakes

    Instructions

    Preparing the mushrooms

    You need only 3 steps to prepare oyster mushrooms.

    • They grow on trees, so it is doubtful that they are dirty. Use a wet paper towel or kitchen cloth to clean them if you find anything.
    • We never peel oyster mushrooms, but sometimes cut off the end of the stem if it doesn’t look good.
    • To make this recipe, you don’t need to cut or shred them. They are perfect the way they are. Just tear them off one by one from the cluster.

    Making the breading

    1. Mix all spices for the fried chicken seasoning (garlic powder, onion powder, sweet smoked paprika powder, cayenne pepper, ground cumin seeds, oregano, salt, and black pepper) in a small bowl.
    2. Use a small chopping bowl of our immersion blender to crush corn flakes to a fine, breadcrumb-like texture.
    3. Add 1 tsp of the fried chicken seasoning, the crushed corn flakes, and the corn starch in a large bowl. This will be the dry batter.
    Glass bowl with yellow flour mix
    1. Add dairy-free milk, yellow corn flour, and 2 tsp of the fried chicken seasoning to a large bowl. Mix it well. This will be the wet batter. It should have a pancake batter texture, slow-flowing but not too dense. In time, the flour will thicken the batter a bit, so add 1 tsp of water to thin it again.
    White bowl with yellow batter
    1. Dip the oyster mushroom first in the wet batter. Coat it evenly.
    2. Transfer them gently to the dry batter. Sprinkle the top and pat it gently. Make sure the mix sticks to the mushroom evenly.
    3. You can place it on a plate or fry it right away. The coating will hold at room temperature for an hour without a problem if you must wait before frying.
    White bowl with yellow batter, white bowl with flour mix, brown bowl with oyster mushrooms. A hand is holding a breaded piece.

    Frying oyster mushrooms

    1. Pour sunflower oil into a pot and heat it on medium/high heat.
    2. Gently drop the breaded vegan chicken in the oil. The oil is hot so pay attention to settle it gently without a splash. Don’t overcrowd the pan as the oil will cool down, and they will need a longer time and thus will soak up more oil.
    Large pot with yellow liquid and brown nuggets are swimming in it.
    1. Fry them for 2-3 minutes until the coating gets crispy.
    2. Transfer them to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil when ready.
    Brown breaded nuggets in a round plate.

    Cooking tips

    • Don’t double-coat the mushrooms – Unlike the chicken, these mushrooms are smaller, so you don’t need to double-bread them. It will be way too much, believe me!
    • Don’t overcrowd the pan – The oil temperature will drop if you add too many breaded mushrooms simultaneously. Since it takes time to get back to the right temperature, the mushrooms will only swim there and soak up the oil. How do you know what the right amount is? If you add too many, the intensity of the sizzling lowers or stops entirely.

    Variations

    Air fryer

    Even if the air fryer is supposed to be about frying without oil, we recommend spraying a bit of oil to coat the surface. Place the breaded oyster mushrooms on the basket in a single layer. Turn the air fryer on and set the temperature high. Air fry them for a couple of minutes.

    Baking

    We tested this recipe in the oven as well. Sadly, the breading didn’t turn out to be as crispy as after deep frying. But that is always the main difference between baking and deep-frying.

    If you try it in the oven, place the breaded oyster mushrooms on non-stick parchment paper and spray them with oil. Bake them in a pre-heated oven of 390 F (ca. 199 °C) for approx. 20 minutes, flip midway.

    Serving ideas

    If you plan to serve it as an appetizer or snack, get out all your favorite vegan dips or vegan condiments. Just to name a few: vegan BBQ sauce, vegan ranch sauce, sriracha mayo, honey mustard, jalapeno cilantro, vegan tzatziki sauce, or any hot sauce.

    Brown breaded nuggets in a round plate with a white sauce in the middle with chopped green herbs.

    You can also serve it as a main course with classic potato side dishes like fries, vegan mashed potatoes, vegan scalloped potatoes, or baked potato wedges. Or pair it with some yummy vegetable sides or salads like

    • Easy Creamy Vegan Coleslaw
    • White plate with roasted asparagus and mushrooms styled as messy sprinkled with extra seasoning
      Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms
    • Black plate full of roasted cauliflower florets drizzled with a light green creamy sauce and sprinkled with fresh parsley. a small white bowl with the green creamy sauce is next to it.
      Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce
    • Easy Grilled Vegetable Kabobs (+5 Marinades)

    Equipment

    • Deep-frying pan with a strainer basket – The best would be to use a dedicated pan that is deep enough to avoid a lot of splatters. A strainer basket is also helpful if you want to do a larger batch. If you don’t have one, use a deep stockpot or an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven.
    • Deep-frying thermometer – It helps to measure how hot the oil is before deep-frying. However, I use a hack described in the “FAQ” section, which has worked for me for several years.
    • Strainer ladle or slotted spoon – If you want to deep-fry a larger batch, it is essential to work quickly and take them out as soon as they are ready. I also love to use simple tongs to pick them out one by one.

    Storing tips

    These vegan fried chickens are best served immediately while they are still warm. They will lose their crispiness as time goes by.

    You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Once you are ready to serve them, first you need to refresh them. Pop them back in the oven or pan-fry them for a couple of minutes in shallow oil to make them crispy again. Re-heating them in a microwave will not give you a great result.

    You can store it in a freezer, but the breading will lose its texture. To get it back, you need to reheat them in the oven, deep-fry, or pan-fry them.

    FAQs

    How to crush corn flakes?

    The easiest way is to use a food processor or the chopping bowl of an immersion blender. If you don’t have any of these equipments, you can add the corn flakes to a stronger plastic bag and use a rolling pin to make them into breadcrumbs.

    How to coat the mushrooms?

    It may seem messy, but we recommend using your fingers. You can do a more gentle job compared to spatulas or even tongs.

    Which oil to use for deep-frying?

    You need to use oil with a high smoke point. I usually choose sunflower oil or occasionally canola oil. Never use extra virgin olive oil.

    How to test the oil temperature?

    The best temperature should be 350-375 °F. You can use this simple method if you don’t have a thermometer. You can test whether the oil is hot enough by dropping a bit of leftover breading in it. If it sizzles, you are good to go. 

    More vegan chicken recipes

    You can find all our delicious oyster mushroom recipes to give you more ideas to enjoy this awesome ingredient. Here are some of our favorites vegan chicken recipes:

    • Several round-shaped breadcrumbs covered patties on a large white plate with a light orange sauce in a white bowl. Chopped parsley and lemon wedges are around for decoration.
      Crispy Vegan Chicken Patties
    • A large white bowl with white rice and sticky brown battered strips on top sprinkled with sesame seeds, orange peels and chopped spring onion
      Crispy Vegan Orange Chicken (Copycat Panda Express)
    • A hand is holding a green celery stick that was dipped in an orange dip with brown shreds. The dip is at the background in a light brown square dish.
      Vegan Buffalo Chicken Dip
    • Brown breaded wings on a white plate with a yellow sauce in the middle. A hand is holding one piece
      Buffalo Vegan Chicken Wings

    THANK YOU so much for visiting our website. Please comment below if you have tried this recipe. We LOVE hearing from you! If you loved the recipe, please don’t forget to give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ RATING. We appreciate all of our readers.  

    Different colorful vegetables drawn as icons on an orange background in a shape of a heart.

    ⇒ GET OUR FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN E-BOOK NOW! OR CHECK OUT ALL VEGAN MEAL PLAN RECIPES! ⇐

    Brown breaded nuggets in a round plate with a white sauce in the middle with chopped green herbs. French fries on the side and a small bowl of ketchup

    Vegan Fried Chicken (Oyster Mushrooms)

    Emese Maczko
    Oyster mushrooms make the tastiest and easiest vegan fried chicken ever! It is perfectly golden brown and crispy on the outside, but meaty on the inside. The vegan chicken itself is only ONE ingredient!
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Course Appetizer, Main Course
    Servings 12 “chicken”
    Calories 57kcal

    Equipment

    • Immersion hand blender with 20 fl oz container
    • Food processor
    • Cast-iron Dutch Oven (3-quart / 2.8 liter)

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 7 oz Oyster mushrooms not king oyster, but pearl oysters

    Fried chicken seasoning (3 tsp)

    • ½ tsp Garlic powder
    • ½ tsp Onion powder
    • ½ tsp Sweet smoked paprika powder
    • ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
    • ¼ tsp Ground cumin seeds
    • ¼ tsp Oregano
    • ½ tsp Salt
    • ¼ tsp Black pepper

    Wet batter

    • ½ cup Dairy-free milk
    • ⅔ cup Yellow corn flour
    • 2 tsp Fried chicken seasoning from above

    Dry batter

    • 2 cup Corn flakes
    • 2 Tbsp Corn starch
    • 1 tsp Fried chicken seasoning from above
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    EXCLUSIVE 5-ingredient recipes for busy home cooks that are ready in 15 minutes!Check out our Express Vegan Cookbook!

    Instructions
     

    Preparing the mushrooms

    • Tear them off one by one from the cluster. Use a wet paper towel or kitchen cloth to clean them if you find anything. Don’t peel them, just cut off the end of the stem if it doesn’t look good.

    Making the breading

    • Mix all spices for the fried chicken seasoning (garlic powder, onion powder, sweet smoked paprika powder, cayenne pepper, ground cumin seeds, oregano, salt, and black pepper) in a small bowl.
    • Use a small chopping bowl of our immersion blender to crush corn flakes to a fine, breadcrumb-like texture.
    • Add 1 tsp of the fried chicken seasoning, the crushed corn flakes, and the corn starch in a large bowl. This will be the dry batter.
    • Add dairy-free milk, yellow corn flour, and 2 tsp of the fried chicken seasoning to a large bowl. Mix it well. This will be the wet batter. It should have a pancake batter texture, slow-flowing but not too dense. In time, the flour will thicken the batter a bit, so add 1 tsp of water to thin it again.
    • Dip the oyster mushroom first in the wet batter. Coat it evenly.
    • Transfer them gently to the dry batter. Sprinkle the top and pat it gently. Make sure the mix sticks to the mushroom evenly.
    • You can place it on a plate or fry it right away. The coating will hold at room temperature for an hour without a problem if you must wait before frying.

    Frying oyster mushrooms

    • Pour sunflower oil into a pot and heat it on medium/high heat.
    • Gently drop the breaded vegan chicken in the oil. The oil is hot so pay attention to settle it gently without a splash. Don’t overcrowd the pan as the oil will cool down, and they will need a longer time and thus will soak up more oil.
    • Large pot with yellow liquid and brown nuggets are swimming in it.
    • Fry them for 2-3 minutes until the coating gets crispy.
    • Transfer them to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil when ready.
    Tried this recipe? Can we see it?Please share a picture with us by uploading an image to Pinterest below ours.

    Notes

    Air fryer
    Even if the air fryer is supposed to be about frying without oil, we recommend spraying a bit of oil to coat the surface. Place the breaded oyster mushrooms on the basket in a single layer. Turn the air fryer on and set the temperature high. Air fry them for a couple of minutes.
    Baking
    We tested this recipe in the oven as well. Sadly, the breading didn’t turn out to be as crispy as after deep-frying. But that is always the main difference between baking and deep-frying.
    If you try it in the oven, place the breaded oyster mushrooms on non-stick parchment paper and spray them with oil. Bake them in a pre-heated oven of 390 F (ca. 199 °C) for approx. 20 minutes, flip midway.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Fried Chicken (Oyster Mushrooms)
    Amount Per Serving (1 "chicken")
    Calories 57 Calories from Fat 9
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 1g2%
    Saturated Fat 1g6%
    Sodium 140mg6%
    Potassium 115mg3%
    Carbohydrates 12g4%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 1g1%
    Protein 2g4%
    Vitamin A 190IU4%
    Vitamin C 2mg2%
    Calcium 25mg3%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    UPDATED: This post was originally published in March 2021, but it was updated with more details in December 2022.

    89 shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a comment Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Kasia Fabi

      September 07, 2021 at 4:37 pm

      Haven’t made it yet but planning to make it tonight for my vegetarian daughter with a copycat KFC coating recipe and a horseradish dipping sauce! Sounds like it’ll be delicious.

      Reply
      • My Pure Plants

        September 07, 2021 at 5:57 pm

        It sure will be. Let us know how it turns out.

        Reply
    2. Deirdre

      March 24, 2021 at 2:43 pm

      5 stars
      This looks AMAZING, and I love the idea of using mushrooms!

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Portrait of Emese and Nandi My Pure Plants

    Hi, we are Emese Maczkó and Nándor Barta, the founders and recipe creators behind My Pure Plants. We are sharing our knowledge and expertise in vegan recipes and encourage you to try home-cooked meals using locally-sourced, organic, whole foods.

    More about us →

    Reader Favorites

    • A large white bowl with white rice and sticky brown battered strips on top sprinkled with sesame seeds, orange peels and chopped spring onion
      Crispy Vegan Orange Chicken (Copycat Panda Express)
    • Lots of spring rolls cut in half and arranged in a semi-circular dish facing upwards around a brown dipping sauce.
      Crispy Rice Paper Spring Rolls
    • A burger with layers of green ruffled lettuce, yellow sauce, thin cheese slices, dark brown burger patty twice, sliced pickles and white chopped onion.
      Meaty Vegan TVP Burger (Big Mac Style)
    • Copycat IKEA Veggie Balls

    Spring Recipes

    • A bowl of green soup sprinkled with vegetable crisps and white swirls.
      The Easiest Cream of Spinach Soup (Vegan)
    • White bowl with fettuccine pasta covered in green sauces sprinkled with yellow flakes and a pair of basil leaves. A fork is next to the bowl.
      Creamy Spinach Pasta Sauce
    • A white plate with a slice of lasagna where you can see the layers of red sauce, pasta sheets and a white ricotto and chopped spinach leaves.
      Vegan Spinach Lasagna (Tofu Ricotta)
    • Small white bowl with a chunky green paste and a fresh basil leaf on the side.
      Vegan Spinach Pesto (Nut-free)

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • Contact
    • About
    • Media & Press
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Nutritional disclaimer
    • General Disclaimer

    Categories

    • Vegan Main Dishes
    • Vegan Soups
    • Vegan Desserts
    • Vegan Pasta Sauces
    • Vegan Sides

    Seasonal

    • Vegan Lentil Loaf
    • Vegan Shredded Chicken
    • Chickpea Mushroom Curry
    • Hokkaido Pumpkin Soup
    • Vegan Bechamel

    Quick links

    • TVP Recipes
    • Quick Vegan Meals
    • Creamy Vegan Soups
    • Rice Paper Recipes
    • Oyster Mushroom Recipes

    This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

    Copyright © 2018-2022

    89 shares