These tasty Fried Chicken Mushrooms are crispy on the outside and have a wonderful meaty texture that fried chicken mushrooms are known for. If you need to, you can prepare this vegan chicken recipe with oyster mushrooms instead. Serve as a side dish, appetizer, or a quick easy meal!
Have you ever tried Fried Chicken Mushrooms? Contrary to popular belief, they don't taste like chicken, but they have a meaty texture that's often compared to chicken.
I originally wanted to use them to make fried chicken mushroom fries, but my daughter suggested making Vegan Chicken instead. Since they called "fried chicken" mushrooms I figured she was on to something!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- Vegan fried chicken is really easy to prepare and the batter only requires flour, water, and spices.
- Fried chicken mushrooms are meaty mushrooms and mimic the texture of chicken so they're a perfect vegan chicken option.
- Not vegan? Dip the mushrooms into the seasoned flour, beaten eggs, then panko crumbs before frying them.
🛒 What You Need To Make Vegan Fried Chicken
🔖 Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
- Fried chicken mushrooms: Besides being foraged, fried chicken mushrooms can sometimes be found at farmer's markets. They have a mild flavor that's perfect for this recipe. If you can't find them, you can substitute oyster mushrooms.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour in this recipe. Try substituting gluten-free flour, like chickpea flour, to make this a gluten-free fried chicken recipe.
- Seasoning: I like to start with creole seasoning and add garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, cayenne, and a small amount of baking powder. Feel free to leave out anything you don't like!
- Herbs: Oregano, thyme, or basil would be great additions to the batter.
- Water: I kept it simple by adding water to the seasoned flour. You can also make vegan buttermilk by mixing 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice with 1 cup of soy milk.
- Oil: Use an oil with a high smoke point like peanut oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil.
🍗 How to Make Vegan Fried Chicken
STEP 1: Wipe the mushroom cap with a damp paper towel then use a pairing knife to slice off part of the stem, if necessary. Slice larger mushrooms in half and leave the smaller ones whole.
Pro Tip: If you decide to give the mushrooms a quick rinse, make sure to dry them thoroughly before proceeding with the recipe. Otherwise, the water will cause the hot oil to pop while they are being fried. Another option is to use a mushroom cleaning brush to remove the dirt and debris.
STEP 2: Whisk flour, creole seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl. Add water and mix to form a thick, smooth batter. Set aside for 5 minutes.
STEP 3: Heat oil in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat until a thermometer registers somewhere between 350°-375° F.
Pro Tip: I love my infrared thermometer and use it to check the temperature of oil, when grilling meat, and when making homemade yogurt.
STEP 4: Using tongs, dip mushrooms into the wet batter and allow the excess to drop back into the bowl. Gently place battered mushrooms into the hot oil, working in batches. Fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain excess oil onto paper towels. Serve immediately.
🥗Fried Vegan Chicken Serving Suggestions
Serve vegan fried chicken with vegan ranch dressing, your favorite hot sauce, or a squeeze of lemon juice. Another option is to serve them with a salad on the side for a light meal.
🍽 Reheating Instructions
- Vegan Fried Chicken is best when served fresh and hot.
- If you have leftovers, they can be reheated in an air fryer, oven, or toaster oven.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
There are many vegan fried chicken recipes out there. Some use oyster mushrooms, while others use seitan or tofu.
There are a variety of chicken substitutes that are vegan-friendly. These include extra firm tofu, seitan, plant-based meat, mushrooms, and potatoes.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- For even a crunchier texture, add some panko crumbs to your flour mixture.
- Keep the oil temperature between 350F-375F when frying the mushrooms. If the oil temperature is lower, the mushrooms will be greasy and if the temperature is higher the 'fried chicken" will burn.
- When frying the mushrooms, don't overcrowd the pan. Adding too many mushrooms at once can lower the oil's temperature.
Disclaimer: Some mushrooms are toxic. Mushroom poisoning is a possibility if you are inexperienced at foraging mushrooms. I, myself, am still learning how to identify and forage mushrooms. Before consuming any mushrooms or serving them to others, please be 100% sure that you have properly identified them. Please do not rely solely on the information provided in this post. Cross-referencing mushroom identification with various reliable sources is always good practice.
🍄 Related Recipes
If you're looking for other vegan recipes check out the following recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Fried Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 ounces fried chicken mushrooms (or oyster mushrooms)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup water
- 1 teaspoon creole seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- vegetable oil (for frying)
Instructions
- Wipe the mushroom cap with a damp paper towel then use a pairing knife to slice off part of the stem, if necessary. Slice larger mushrooms in half and leave the smaller ones whole.
- Whisk flour, creole seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl. Add water and mix to form a thick, smooth batter. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Heat oil in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat until a thermometer registers somewhere between 350°-375° F.
- Using tongs, dip mushrooms into the wet batter and allow the excess to drop back into the bowl. Gently place battered mushrooms into the hot oil, working in batches. Fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain excess oil onto paper towels. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you decide to give the mushrooms a quick rinse, make sure to dry them thoroughly before proceeding with the recipe. Otherwise, the water will cause the hot oil to pop while they are being fried. Another option is to use a mushroom cleaning brush to remove the dirt and debris.
- For even a crunchier texture, add some panko crumbs to your flour mixture.
- Keep the oil temperature between 350F-375F when frying the mushrooms. If the oil temperature is lower, the mushrooms will be greasy and if the temperature is higher the fried chicken will burn.
- I love my infrared thermometer and use it to check the temperature of oil, when grilling meat, and when making homemade yogurt.
- When frying the mushrooms, don't overcrowd the pan. Adding too many mushrooms at once can lower the oil's temperature.
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