Our homemade vegan Schnitzel with seitan is a high-protein, satisfying, plant-based alternative to meat-based Schnitzel.
It has a chewy meat-like texture, succulent inside, and a crisp golden-brown exterior seasoned with tasty herbs and spices.
This is the perfect recipe for a unique, fun, and exciting dinner for the whole family and those of you who like to cook something new and experiment in the kitchen.
Table of Contents
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?
Like our tofu cacciatore, tofu tikka masala, vegan tuna, vegan fish, vegan ricotta, and vegan frittata, vegan Schnitzel is one of the many 100% plant-based recipes that will help you eat less meat without giving up comforting and traditional flavors you love.
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.
Ingredients & Substitutions for Vegan Schnitzel
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
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.
How to Make Vegan Schnitzel
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
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.
Serving Suggestions
Vegan schnitzels are a delicious and satisfying main course.
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.
Similar Recipes
Vegan Chicken with Mushrooms
You can make this delicious vegan chicken with mushrooms using the same seitan recipe for the vegan Schnitzel.
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.
Tips
Keep the oil between 340°F and 355°F or 170 °C and 180°C. This is important for flavor, texture, and health reasons.
If the oil temperature is too low, the food will absorb the oil, have more calories when you eat it, and won’t be as crispy.
If the oil temperature is too high, the oil and the food will burn, becoming unhealthy.
Questions
We believe the best vegan schnitzels are made from vital wheat gluten using thousands of years old techniques developed to create fake meats with texture and flavor similar to real meat.
This way of making fake meats has originated in Asia. We adapted this technique to Western flavors and developed our seitan recipe.
Some believe that Schnitzel was created in Austria with the name of Wiener Schnitzel.
Others believe it was invented in Italy with the name Cotoletta Alla Milanese. Nico grew up eating Cotoletta alla Milanese, so our version is more similar to the Italian one.
To keep the Schnitzel crispy, coat it in a batter made with soy milk and flour, cover it in bread crumbs, and deep-fry it in vegetable oil at the right temperature of 350°F or 180°C.
You can replace eggs with a batter made of soy milk and flour. You can add spices to the batter to make it extra delicious. Check out our recipe for Schnitzel without egg.
We believe that the best oil to fry our vegan Schnitzel is generic vegetable oil developed for frying because it tastes neutral and has a high smoking point.
Storage & Make Ahead
Make ahead: Vegan Schnitzel should be eaten right away after frying it. However, you can make the fake meat for the Schnitzel up to 3 months in advance.
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.
More Vegan High-Protein Recipes
- Mushroom Wellington
- Stuffed butternut squash
- Lentil loaf
- Harira soup
- Mung bean soup
- Chana dal
- Penne arrabbiata with vegan sausage
- Marinated tofu
- Baked tofu
- Tofu tikka masala
For more ideas, check out our 30+ high-protein vegan meals or 30+ high-protein vegetarian ideas.
More Vegan Classics
- Vegan ricotta
- Vegan egg salad
- Vegan tuna
- Vegan curry
- Vegan frittata
- Vegan cheese
- Vegan banana bread
- Vegan apple cake
- Vegan cannoli
- Vegan custard
- Vegan cinnamon rolls
Vegan Schnitzel
Ingredients
- 4 seitan cutlets <– click link for recipe
For the vegan breading
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened soy milk sub another unsweetened plant milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- ½ gallon frying oil
Instructions
START WITH THE SEITAN CUTLETS
- IMPORTANT BEFORE YOU START: Making homemade vegan meat cutlets is easy, and you can do so by following our seitan recipe linked in the ingredients above.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.Take 4 seitan cutlets and pat them dry with a paper towel. Set aside on a plate.
MAKE THE BATTER
- To a bowl, add 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, ½ cup unsweetened soy milk, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.Whisk until well combined.Spread 1 cup breadcrumbs on a large plate 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 the cutlets in breadcrumbs on both sides.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.
FRY THE CUTLETS
- Add about 1 inch of frying oil to a skillet (we used ½ gallon frying oil). 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.
MAKE IT A MEAL
- Vegan schnitzels are a delicious and satisfying main course.Serve them with slices of lemon, French fries, ketchup, mustard, and homemade vegan mayonnaise.They are also excellent with our homemade mushroom gravy.For more ideas, check out the "serving suggestions" chapter linked in the notes below.
Notes
Nutrition
If you liked these vegan cutlets, you might also like:
Recipes
30 Easy Tofu Recipes
Collections
20+ Lentil Recipes (easy meals)
Collections
Do you think that you could do this in an air fryer?
Hi Lynn,
Good question! We haven’t tried, but it should be possible. If you try, keep an eye on the schnitzel every 5 minutes, as the edges can burn.
Let me know if you give it a try 🙂
All the best,
Louise
The correct word is costoletta not cotoletta…
Hi Deacon,
thanks for your comment. 🙂 We decided to go with cotoletta without the S because our version doesn’t have the bone (while the original costoletta alla milanese does). So technically we made a cotoletta, not a costoletta. We thought it would be more accurate this way 🙂
Hope you get a chance to try it. It’s delicious!
Cheers,
Nico