Copycat Chicken, Broccoli, & Cheddar Vegan Hot Pockets
Craving hot pockets? Me too. Since store-bought vegan hot pockets are not a thing yet, I have taken action into my own hands. These are cheesy, saucy, buttery, flakey, soft, and chewy. What’s not to love about all of that!?
These taste almost IDENTICAL to the original hot pockets!
Except, they are even better because they’re homemade and cruelty-free. Since these vegan hot pockets are from scratch, they do take some time and effort. With that being said, they are easier than they look and sound. Remember that these do not need to look perfect in the end. So, please avoid getting stressed if they look a bit messier than mine.
Hot pockets are super easy to customize to your liking!
Totally feel free to change up the filling to whatever you are craving at the moment. Down below, I have provided several different and easy filling ideas. I have also made a marinara, mozzarella, and pepperoni version, with an Italian-garlic butter brushed on top. Oh my god, it was INSANELY delicious! It tasted exactly like a calzone.
Other hot pocket filling ideas:
- Cheddar and broccoli (Follow the exact recipe in this post, but skip the chicken and add more broccoli.)
- Ham and cheese (Follow the exact recipe in this post, but skip the chicken and broccoli, and add in pieces of vegan ham.)
- Marinara, mozzarella, pepperoni
- Meatballs & marinara
- Sausage, egg, & cheese (Follow my breakfast egg roll filling recipe and stuff it inside of the hot pocket dough.)
Whew! Look at all of those mouthwatering flavors!
I want and need all of them ASAP. So whether you make my filling or something you’ve re-created, you’re eating a vegan hot pocket, and I say there should be no complaints there!
Also, don’t forget to read my “tiparooskis” section of the post, where I provide extra tips and/or substitute suggestions for the recipe. It is beneath the recipe.
If you make these vegan hot pockets, don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see your recreation!
Vegan Copycat Chicken, Broccoli, & Cheddar Hot Pockets
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, cold
- 1 tbsp organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 1/2 cups water, ice cold
Filling
- 1 1/2 cups plain vegan chicken, small diced (I use Gardein's lightly seasoned chick'n scallopini)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp vegan poultry seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups broccoli, cut into very small florets
- 1 cup raw cashews, that have been soaking in water for at least 3 hours. Then drain and rinse them off.
- 3/4 cup almond milk, plain, unsweetened
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups vegan cheddar cheese, shredded
Garlic Butter
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
Dough
- Add the flour into a large bowl. Break up the cold butter into little chunks and then cut it into the flour until the texture resembles a fine meal.
- Now add in the sugar, salt, and yeast. Stir well and then create a hole in the middle.
- Pour the ice-cold water into the hole, and then with a wooden spoon, stir from the inside out, gradually adding in the outer flour mix.
- Once it has almost formed into a dough, bring it together with your hands to create a ball.
- Flour the counter and knead the dough around 10 times. It should be slightly sticky, tacky, and relatively smooth in the end.
- Grease a large mixing bowl with vegan butter and place the dough inside. Press plastic wrap directly on top and then wrap the bowl with wrap, as well.
- Let the dough rest in a dark and warm place for 1 hour.
- Then, place it in the refrigerator to rest for at least 1 more hour.
Filling
- Season the vegan chicken with the poultry seasoning.
- Place a saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, and once hot, add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Set aside.
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and place a steam basket on top.
- Drop broccoli into the steam basket, cover with a lid and cook for 3 minutes.
- Drain and rinse the broccoli under cold water until completely cooled down. Set aside.
- In a high-powered blender, add the cashews, milk, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of the shredded cheddar. Blend on high until extremely smooth.
- Pour the cheesy sauce into a bowl and add in the other 1 cup of shredded cheddar, the chicken, and the broccoli. Stir well and place into the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour to thicken.
Garlic Butter
- Add the ingredients to a small saute pan over low heat and melt. Stir well.
How to Assemble the Hot Pockets
- Heavily flour the countertop. Cut the dough in half. Place one half onto the counter and wrap the other half and place it back into the refrigerator, as it is easier to work with a smaller amount of dough at a time.
- Now, roll the dough into a 1/8th of an inch thick rectangle. ***Measure to make sure it is a 1/8th inch thick!
- Trim off the outer edges to straighten it up and then cut six rectangles that are 6 inches long and 3 1/2 inches wide.
- To fill a hot pocket, lightly wet the outer edges of a rectangle with water and spoon a heavy 1/4 cup of filling all down the center, leaving the outer 1/2 inch of dough clean. Now place another piece of the dough on top, stretch it over the filling gently, as needed, and seal the edges down with your fingers extremely well.
- Trim off the very outer edges to clean it up. The hot pockets should measure about 5 1/2 inches long by 3 inches wide before baking.
- With a toothpick, lightly poke 6 holes into the top of each hot pocket.
- Using a bench scraper, lift the hot pockets onto a parchment paper-lined sheet tray. Set the pan into the freezer to chill for at least 15 minutes.
How to Bake the Hot Pockets
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.
- With your fingers, double-check and press on the outer edges of the hot pockets to make sure they didn't unstick and open up in the freezer. *See the tips below the recipe for further information.
- Bake hot pockets for 10 minutes, rotating the pan half-way through.
- Brush the garlic butter on top and bake for another 3-4 minutes.
Tiparooskis
Welcome to my tip section for the hot pockets! Here I provide my top tips to help you really perfect the recipe. Sometimes, I also give substitute suggestions that I think you may find helpful.
- Seal the edges of the hot pockets super tight before AND after chilling them in the freezer. The dough likes to pop open a tiny bit after they’ve been chilling in the freezer due to the butter re-solidifying. This is no big deal, though. After you pull the hot pockets out of the freezer, go around the outer edges one more time and make sure they are sealed shut very well. Otherwise, the filling may ooze out of the sides.
- Do not skip poking the toothpick holes in the tops of the hot pockets before baking. If you do, the inside will fill with air, and it will force the filling to push itself through and out the edges. Just like with tip number one, we want to avoid this!
- Split the recipe labor up into two days. I prefer to do this, as it does take a decent amount of time and effort to make these. On day one, I like to make both the dough and the filling, and I let them chill in the refrigerator overnight. Day two is when I roll the dough out, fill them, and bake them. Obviously, you can totally do this all in one day; it’s really not that tedious of a process. I just understand it can feel overwhelming sometimes when you make everything completely from scratch, such as in this recipe.
4 Comments
Andy
Just made a batch of these with BBQ soy curls inside and they came out so good!! Definitely more work than usual for a hot pocket, but the crust is perfect!! Glad I found your recipe before attempting it all myself! Thanks!
garden grub
OMG, that sounds delicious! These hot pockets do take some time and effort, so that’s why I usually split the total work up between two days 🙂 I’m so happy you loved the recipe so much, Andy!
Vegan Newbie
Made these and they are delicious!! Thanks for the recipe (and I would have messed them up if it wasnt for your tiparooskis!)!!
garden grub
Wooohooo! That is so awesome to hear! The tiparooski section really comes in handy, doesn’t it!? 🙂