Vegan Spicy Buffalo Crispy 'Chicken' Sandwich
This vegan 'chicken' sandwich will soon become your favorite meal to prepare when craving fried food. Simply made using tofu that's first rubbed with lots of flavoring spices and then breaded using an easy homemade vegan buttermilk and a simple breadcrumb mixture. They are oven-baked until crispy and then covered with a vegan buffalo sauce. You won't miss the chicken at all!
Servings: 4 sandwiches
Calories: 641kcal
Ingredients
For the spiced tofu
- 1 block of extra firm tofu (about 454 g or 425g.)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked or sweet paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried herbs such as oregano or Italian mix or basil
- ½ tsp salt
For the breading
- ½ cup plant-based milk plain and unsweetened
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup vegan mayonnaise
- 1 cup regular breadcrumbs
- ½ cup flour all-purpose or whole wheat
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
For the sandwich
- 1 batch vegan buffalo sauce see notes
- 4 hamburger buns
- lettuce
- tomato or cucumber sliced
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Prepare the spiced tofu
- Pat dry the block of tofu while being gentle so it does not break or crack. Then, slice in 4 equal pieces.
- In a small bowl, combine all the spices together and stir to combine. Then, sprinkle the spice mix over the slices of tofu making sure to cover them on both sides. Set aside.
Bread the tofu
- In a medium shallow bowl, make the vegan buttermilk by combining the plant-based milk, apple cider vinegar and vegan mayo. Whisk well to break all the clumps.
- In a second medium shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, cornstarch, flour, salt and chili powder. Stir to combine.
- 1- Dip the spiced tofu once or twice in the buttermilk (be gentle and go quickly so the spices remain on the piece of tofu as much as possible). 2- Then, cover completely with the breadcrumb mixture. 3- Dip once more quickly in the buttermilk and 4- Finish up with a second time covering with the breadcrumbs. Use your fingers to press on the tofu and make sure it is nicely covered with a nice thick layer of breadcrumbs.
- Transfer on the prepared baking sheet and keep going with all the pieces of tofu.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, then gently flip (careful they will still be soft, use a spatula and not tongs) and bake for 15 more minutes. Let them sit for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet after done.
- Cover with the vegan buffalo sauce and serve in sandwiches with tomatoes and lettuce. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. They will lose on their crispiness, but will still be good. Reheat in the oven at 350º for a few minutes or use a non-stick pan on medium-high heat flipping a few times.
- Be sure to only *quickly* dip the tofu in the buttermilk opposed to shake them in. You want to prevent all the spice rub to go in the milk.
- Be gentle with your tofu! Try as much as you can to keep your slices intact so you can bread them nicely in patties. If they do break, that's fine, just bread the smaller pieces and you can still cover them with the buffalo sauce and use in your sandwich. When I have a piece of tofu that cracks and feels more delicate, I use both my hand to bread it to keep it intact.
- I have tried making this recipe without the vegan mayonnaise. It worked out well, although was harder to hold on the spices on the tofu as the vegan buttermilk wasn't as thick. You can try without it if you don't have mayo.
- Rinse and dry your hands in between each pieces of tofu when breading. If your fingers are covered with the batter/breading, it will be harder to get the breading to stick to the tofu as it tends to actually get stuck on your sticky fingers. I like to keep one hand for the wet and one hand for the dry as well.
- Wait for the last minute before spreading the buffalo sauce over the breaded tofu so your pieces remain as crispy as possible.
- Nutrition: please note that the nutritional information is an estimate per serving provided for informational purposes only (calculated by software) and accuracy is not guaranteed. Consult with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if you need precise nutrition calculations for health reasons.
Nutrition
Calories: 641kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1457mg | Potassium: 343mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 613IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 203mg | Iron: 5mg