Vegan chicken and dumplings with perfectly seasoned seitan "chicken" and veggies simmered in a creamy sauce, then topped with fluffy vegan dumplings. I'll share all my best tips for packing in the umami so you don't miss the meat in this classic southern comfort food dish.
Table of Contents
What is chicken and dumplings?
Chicken and dumplings is a classic southern American dish of chicken and fluffy biscuits or dumplings in a creamy stew. The dumpling batter is scooped on top of the stew and the dumplings fluff up as they cook in the steam. The dumplings also absorb some of the delicious stew to acquire an indescribably wonderful texture: soft and moist, yet light and airy.
Veganizing the recipe
American southern comfort food is so delicious, and perfecting a vegan chicken and dumplings recipe - one that might just blow the real thing out of the water - was a project of love. I am so excited to share this recipe with you. The stew is savory and rich tasting, and it's loaded with meaty texture from chunks of vegan chicken that complement the tender carrots, celery and mushroom.
Best vegan substitute for chicken
I chose seitan because it not only looks like chicken, it also has the best, meaty texture for this recipe. To ensure the seitan is chewy I first season and then brown it.
How to make dumplings vegan
Dumplings usually include dairy products like butter, cream and milk. I substitute these with a bit of vegan yogurt, which adds buttery flavor and also helps the dumplings triple in size when steamed.
Adding creaminess and umami to stew
Some vegan heavy cream gives the sauce that ultra-luxe texture. I also like using an assortment of savory herbs to add bold flavor. For umami, add sliced mushrooms, mushroom stock, and splashes of hot sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce and tamari. Deglazing the pan with a bit of vodka or beer is optional but it adds yet another layer of flavor (the alcohol cooks out).
Recipe card
Vegan Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 16 oz seitan (or any vegan chicken substitute)
- 2 teaspoons dried sage (divided)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (divided)
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 2 medium carrots (finely diced)
- 4 stalks celery (finely diced)
- 5-6 cloves garlic (minced or crushed through a garlic press)
- ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ cup red wine (or ¼ cup vodka or ¾ cup beer)
- 3 cups mushroom stock (or water)
- 1 tablespoon vegan broth powder (or bouillon powder. Use only if you are using water instead of mushroom stock)
- 2 tablespoon tamari
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup vegan heavy whipping cream
- 1-2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce (or any hot sauce)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms (sliced)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
For the dumplings
- 1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt (add more or less according to your preference)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- ¼ cup vegan yogurt (my homemade yogurt is not nut-free. If nut-free use any store bought, unsweetened, nut-free yogurt)
- ¼ cup vegan heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (like oat milk or almond milk. You may not need all of it)
Instructions
Season and brown the vegan chicken
- Season the vegan chicken chunks with salt, ground black pepper, and half a teaspoon each of sage and oregano. Toss to mix.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat and add the seitan chunks to it in a single layer. You might need to do this in batches to prevent overcrowding the pot.
- Brown the seitan on all sides - it should take 3-4 minutes on each side to get a nice, golden sear. Remove the browned chunks to a bowl and set aside.
Make the "chicken" stew
- In the same Dutch oven, heat another tablespoon of olive oil. Add onions, carrots and celery and season with with salt and ground black pepper. Saute the vegetables for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften, then stir in the crushed or minced garlic. Saute for a minute.
- Add the flour to the pot. Mix it in until it is coating all the veggies.
- Add in ½ cup of red wine (4 oz) or ¼ cup vodka (2 ounces) or ½ a bottle of beer (about 6 ounces). Saute the veggies until all moisture has evaporated.
- Add 3 cups mushroom broth, if using, or water and vegan broth powder or bouillon. Add Worcestershire sauce, tamari and hot sauce. Mix well and bring to a boil.
- Add the rosemary and the remaining oregano and sage, Stir them in.
- Add the browned seitan chunks and mushrooms to the pot. Mix them in, cover, and cook five minutes until the mushrooms are almost tender.
- Check seasoning and add more salt and ground black pepper if needed.
Make the dumplings
- While the stew is cooking, make the dumpling batter. Place flour, sage and oregano, garlic powder, if using, salt and ground black pepper in bowl.
- Add ¼ cup vegan yogurt and ¼ cup vegan cream. Mix.
- Make the dumpling batter by slowly pouring the non-dairy milk to the flour mixture, mixing with a fork all the time. The batter should be looser than a biscuit dough and more like a cookie batter that you can scoop up.
- Use a spoon or cookie scoop to drop the dumplings into the stew. You can make the dumplings as big or as small as you like.
- Once all the dumplings are in the pot, return the stew to a boil, then lower heat and cover the pot with a tight lid. Let the dumplings cook for 15 minutes. Don't peek or remove the lid at any point. After 15 minutes, use a knife or fork to pierce one dumpling in the center. If it comes out dry the dumplings are cooked and you can turn off heat. If not, let them cook for a few more minutes.
- Garnish the vegan chicken and dumplings with fresh parsley before serving.
Notes
- Make the dumplings as big or as small as you want them to be. I like big dumplings and I used a 1-inch cookie scoop to drop them into the pot. They increase in size as they cook, so keep that in mind.
- The stew shouldn't be too thick nor too soupy. I use 3 cups stock and 1 cup vegan cream for my perfect consistency. If you prefer a soupier stew, add another ½ to 1 cup stock. To make it thicker, use just 2 cups stock total. The mushrooms also release some juices as they cook.
Nutrition Information
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Recipe FAQs
Yes! Although it tastes like comfort food, this vegan chicken and dumplings recipe is way healthier than the original. Traditional chicken and dumplings recipes can have upwards of 125 grams of cholesterol in a serving. This vegan version is cholesterol-free. There are also 24 grams of protein and four grams of fiber in each serving.
You can make this recipe with white beans instead of seitan. Use 14 oz of canned or cooked white beans.
Use a gluten-free chicken substitute instead of seitan or just use beans. Substitute all-purpose gluten-free flour for thickening the sauce and to make the dumplings. Some vegan Worcestershire sauces may have gluten, so be sure to buy one that is gluten-free, like this one.
Use a no-soy soy sauce and a soy-free vegan Worcestershire sauce. The gluten-free Worcestershire I liked above in the gluten-free question is also soy-free.
It takes minutes to put together the dumpling batter, but if you want to avoid making them from scratch you can certainly take some help. Bisquick, which is often used in chicken and dumplings recipes, is accidentally vegan. I'd recommend adding the herbs and garlic powder in my dumplings recipe for more flavor. Pillsbury biscuits are not usually vegan, but their Grands! southern style biscuits are. You can just drop the biscuits on the stew and cook.
Serve this hearty stew by itself, or with one or more of the following:
Vegan cornbread
Garlic bread or French bread
Vegan creamed spinach
Roasted Brussels sprouts or garlic green beans
Orange mashed sweet potatoes
Roasted golden beets or roasted asparagus and potatoes
The vegan chicken and dumplings can be stored in the fridge for up to four days. Freeze up to three months in an airtight container. Thaw and reheat on stovetop or in microwave, adding a bit of stock or water to thin out if necessary.
Wilma says
This looks amazing Vaishali.
I have always wanted to try using seitan.
This is the perfect opportunity.
I will try it and report back.
It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
Great on a snowy day( 140 cm of it) here in Northern Ontario, Canada.
❄️❄️❄️
Vaishali says
Awesome, hope you try it Wilma and would love to hear from you when you do! It's freezing here today in the DC area but I can't even imagine what 140 cm of snow must feel like! Stay warm. ❤️ 🙂
Anonymous says
❄️❄️❄️❄️🥳❄️❄️❄️❄️
Thank you Vaishali!! for your WARM recipe and response.
W