How to Make KFC Nashville Chicken Tenders Vegan
These copycat vegan Nashville chicken tenders are flavorful, juicy, crispy, crunchy, saucy, and perfectly spicy. They're easy and relatively quick to make and absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
Chick'n
- 3 Gardein chick'n scallopini cutlets, (From a 10-ounce package of Gardein lightly seasoned chick'n scallopini), completely thawed in the refrigerator overnight
- 1/8 tsp vegan poultry seasoning
- 1 quart vegetable oil, for deep frying
Chick'n Dry Batter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp celery salt
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Chick'n Wet Batter
- 1/4 cup soy milk, plain, unsweetened (You can also use plain, unsweetened cashew or almond milk!)
- 1 tbsp Frank's RedHot Sauce
- 1 tbsp liquid Just Egg
Nashville Hot Sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (Use the same oil you used to deep-fry your chick'n)
- 1 tbsp organic brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cayenne pepper (If you want it less spicy, add only 1 tbsp!)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
Fried Chick'n
- Thaw the chick'n scallopini in the refrigerator. Once the chick'n is almost thawed, cut each piece in half the long way.
- Season both sides of the chick'n with poultry seasoning. Set aside.
- Preheat a deep fryer or a pot with at least 6 inches of vegetable oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. *Use a thermometer!!!
- In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together all of the dry batter ingredients.
- In another wide, shallow bowl, whisk together all of the wet batter ingredients.
- Dip a piece of chick'n into the wet, then into the dry, then back into the wet, and then back into the dry. *I typically only bread and deep-fry two tenders at a time because I use a smaller pot. Do not bread all six of the tenders immediately unless you have space to deep fry them at the same time; otherwise, the batter on the tenders will get soggy before it has a chance to be deep fried.
- Deep fry two tenders at a time for 5 minutes, flipping them over halfway through.
- Carefully remove the fried chick'n from the oil and place them on a wire rack to drain off any excess oil.
- Generously brush the entire chick'n tenders the Nashville hot sauce(recipe follows), and then use any leftover sauce as a dip for the tenders!
Nashville Hot Sauce
- Carefully remove 1/2 cup of the vegetable oil from your pot or deep fryer and place it in a heat-safe bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and carefully stir until well combined.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!