Vegan Schnitzel Recipe A High Protein Plant Based Alternative

It has a chewy meat-like texture, succulent inside, and a crisp golden-brown exterior seasoned with tasty herbs and spices. Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian and vegan diet. It’s low in cholesterol and saturated fat. Not suitable for a gluten-free diet.Don’t have time to read the full blog post? JUMP TO RECIPE HERE!

What is Vegan Schnitzel?

Ingredients & Substitutions for Vegan Schnitzel

How to Make Vegan Schnitzel

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Vegan Schnitzel is inspired by traditional “Wiener Schnitzel” from Austria and “Cotoletta alla Milanese” from Milan. It’s a thin, succulent, and flavorful cutlet coated in breadcrumbs, herbs, and spices, then fried to perfection until golden brown and crispy. Instead of using a cut of veal, pork, or chicken, we make the cutlet with our homemade seitan, a traditional, healthful ingredient made from wheat gluten and used for millennia in Asia to make fake meats. In the West, seitan is sold in flour form with the name Vital Wheat Gluten. You can find it in larger supermarkets, health stores, or online. You can make our seitan cutlets days in advance following our seitan recipe. They are perfect for meal prep as they keep for months. For a complete meal, pair the Schnitzel with one of our vegan appetizers, vegan side dishes, and vegan desserts.

Seitan cutlets

The “meat” in our vegan Schnitzel is made with seitan, or Vital Wheat Gluten, mixed with water, firm or extra firm tofu, soy sauce or tamari, olive oil, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. The ingredients are combined into a seitan dough, then sliced into equal pieces, rolled out into thin cutlets with a rolling pin, and then cooked in vegetable broth. The process is simple, and you can make seitan cutlets well in advance. They store well in the fridge for one week and in the freezer for three months. Follow our easy seitan recipe to make delicious and chewy vegan meat.

Bread crumbs

For the breading, we use regular breadcrumbs.

Flour

We recommend all-purpose flour to make a thin batter and coat the seitan cutlets.

Non-dairy milk

Pick a plain, unsweetened, non-dairy milk such as unsweetened soy milk or oat milk.

Spices & Herbs

Spices and herbs add flavor to the breading and are essential in this vegan schnitzel recipe. We use garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, thyme and rosemary. It’s a simple mix that recalls Italian flavors. Feel free to change it up and add your favorite spices, such as paprika, onion powder, and even poultry seasoning.

Oil for frying

We recommend using an oil developed for frying. Neutral vegetable oils like canola oil, sunflower oil, or peanut oil work well too.

Start by making vegan meat

Making homemade vegan meat cutlets is easy, and you can do so by following our seitan recipe. However, we advise making the cutlets a day or more in advance as they need to rest in the fridge for 8 hours before you can cook them into this Vegan Schnitzel. Tip: vegan cutlets are excellent for meal prep as they keep in the fridge for one week and in the freezer for three months. Take 4 cutlets out of their broth and pat them dry with a paper towel. Set aside on a plate.

Make the batter

To a mixing bowl, add non-dairy milk, all-purpose flour, dried thyme, dried rosemary, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Whisk until well combined. Spread the breadcrumbs on a large plate or platter and put them next to the bowl with the batter. Put a third empty plate next to the breadcrumbs. Dip each of the 4 cutlets in the batter, turning them around once or twice until fully coated. Let excess batter drip off, then dip each side of the cutlet in breadcrumbs. Pat the breadcrumbs with your fingers so the breadcrumbs stick to the batter. Arrange the breaded vegan schnitzels on the third plate and let them rest for 10 minutes before frying. Tip: In the meantime, cook french fries in the oven or air fryer, make vegan mayo, and warm the frying oil.

Fry the vegan Schnitzel

Add about 1 inch of frying oil to a skillet. Heat it to 340°F or 170°C. It’s best to use a kitchen thermometer to check the oil temperature. Fry one or two cutlets at a time, depending on your skillet size. Lower each cutlet in the oil slowly and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on both sides. Turn the cutlet around once, carefully. Take the cutlets out of the oil and place them on a plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Serve them with slices of lemon, French fries, ketchup, mustard, and homemade vegan mayonnaise. They are also excellent with our homemade mushroom gravy. Or try one of our other delicious vegan side dishes, such as:

Vegan potato salad Coleslaw Red cabbage slaw Macaroni salad Broccoli salad Broccoli cauliflower salad Roasted Brussels sprouts Roasted potatoes and carrots Dill potato salad Mashed potatoes Green bean salad

For more side dish ideas, check out our 30+ vegan sides compilation.

Macaroni Salad

Coleslaw

Dill Potato Salad

Broccoli Salad

The seitan cutlets are cooked with sautéed mushrooms; there’s no frying involved, and they turn out delicious. Check out our vegan chicken with mushrooms recipe.

Vegan chicken with lemon

In this recipe, the seitan meat is cooked in creamy and delicious lemon sauce. Check out our vegan chicken with lemon recipe.

Tofu schnitzel with spinach

A delicious tofu schnitzel with spinach, easy to make with everyday ingredients mixed in a food processor, shaped into cutlets, and baked for just over 20 minutes. Check out our tofu schnitzel recipe. Refrigerator: The fake meat for the Schnitzel, before battering it and frying it, keeps well for up to 1 week in the fridge. See our seitan recipe for more information. Freezer: You can freeze the fake meat cutlets for up to 3 months before breading them and frying them.