Best Vegan Chicken Drumsticks | Vegan Drumstick Recipe (2024)

I’m SO excited to finally show you my vegan chicken drumsticks recipe. It’s so tasty and truly is a faux chicken drumstick to trick your friends & family!

You’ve probably seen many medieval movies or Game of Thrones episodes where they eat the stereotypical drumsticks at dinner and I figured I would challenge myself to make my own vegan drumstick! This recipe might seem a little tricky to a beginner cook, but don’t be scared!

I’ve created easy-to-follow instructions! You can also watch me on YouTube show you how to make it!

Give it a shot because you will surprise yourself and people you choose to eat it with. My non-vegan friends were shocked by how much this looked like “the real thing”.

People will be so shocked by how good this vegan chicken replacement is, that they’ll have a “bone” to pick with you for not cooking it earlier. Sorry, couldn’t resist that pun.

Related Recipe: Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets – Vegan Version

Hey I’m Candice & welcome to The Edgy Veg! I veganize popular food recipes for vegans, plant-based diets, eco-conscious eaters & people who are trying to eat more plants… instead of y’know animals or animals products. Hope you enjoy my tasty recipes!

How To Make: Vegan Chicken Drumsticks

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WHERE TO BEGIN:

If you want to view or print the recipe card, just scroll down for the full list of ingredients & simple instructions on how to make these Vegan Chicken Drumsticks.

Typically, vegan chicken swaps are made of tofu, seitan, cauliflower, or jackfruit. This recipe uses all of my best vegan chicken hacks at once to create the ultimate vegan chicken drumsticks recipe

You can enjoy this recipe with family, use for meal prep, or freeze for future use! I’ve given you two sauce options for this recipe (one for my gluten-free friends!), whether you like your drumsticks saucy or breaded. I’ve given you the best of both worlds! Leave a comment below if you prefer saucy or breaded 🙂

Some of the most common recipes that people look for are tasty vegan swaps for chicken products. I’ve done lots on this blog, as well as on my YouTube Channel. From my Google #1 Ranked Vegan Chicken Wings, to the fan favorite Vegan KFC Fried Chicken or Vegan Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich.

INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

For the Vegan Drumsticks:

3 cups of no-chicken broth (I used Better Than Bouillon dissolved in water)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 tsp onion powder
20 drops of liquid smoke
4-20 oz cans young green jackfruit, seeds and hard heart removed
4 tbsp mung bean starch/tapioca starch
2 tbsp silken tofu
2 tsp water
24 sheets round rice paper
Vegetable oil for frying

For Saucy Drumsticks:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR VEGAN CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

To start making the vegan chicken, in a medium-size pot, whisk together no-chicken broth, nutritional yeast, poultry seasoning, onion powder, and liquid smoke.
Add jackfruit, and bring to a boil. Stirring constantly.
Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for another 10 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Remove the pot from heat and set aside.
In a small blender or bowl with a whisk, whip together mung bean starch and silken tofu.
Add water 1 tsp at a time as needed (only if you feel that it is too dry).
Add to the jackfruit mixture 1 tbsp at a time and mix until it starts to come together.
Fill a shallow bowl with warm water and soften the rice paper by soaking each sheet for about 30 seconds. Remove the rice paper from the bowl and place the rice paper on a flat surface and using a sharp knife, cut in half.
Place 2-3 tbsp of the jackfruit mixture onto the rice paper, then if you’re using a faux “bone”, place one ‘bone’ on top. For mine, I prefer to use small bamboo sticks. You can also use sugar cane swizzle sticks, cauliflower stems, or have boneless wings.
Cover the faux “bone” with jackfruit and wrap the rice paper around the jackfruit mixture, leaving the bone exposed (exactly like a chicken wing). Set aside and repeat.

TIP: Make larger bundles if you are mimicking fried “chicken” instead.

NOTE: If you are using cauliflower for ‘bones’: Take your cauliflower and cut off all leaves as close to the stem as you can, whilst making sure to not cut off any of the stem. Cut the whole cauliflower into quarters, slicing from the stem to the florets of the cauliflower – you want to keep the stem attached to the florets as this is what will make your ‘bone’ and also hold onto the mixture of the jackfruit. Cut off the majority of the florets of each cauliflower quarter, so that you get the basic shape of a drumstick. See images for a guide as to how this should look before moving on to the next step.

If you want Saucy Drumsticks (GLUTEN-FREE OPTION)

Whisk together the barbecue and hot sauces in a bowl. Add more of either or both sauces if you’d like your wings extra saucy. Coat each wing in the sauce and cook according to your preferred cooking method.

Air Fryer: Place wings into the air fryer basket and cook at 375F for roughly 10 mins.

Oven: Place wings on a lined baking sheet and broil for 8-12 minutes, turning every 2 minutes until they are lightly charred on all sides.

Toss wings in more sauce and serve.

If you want Breaded Drumsticks

Heat a pot of vegetable oil, filled less than halfway to the top, to 350F.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together aquafaba and hot sauce. In another bowl, combine flour, cajun spice, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, onion powder, and sea salt. Dredge each wing in the flour mixture, then the aquafaba mixture, back into the flour mixture, then into the hot oil.

Fry until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes. Then place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain off any access oil.

Recipe for Vegan Chicken Drumsticks

4.7 from 20 reviews

Best Vegan Chicken Drumsticks

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

Get ready to devour these delicious vegan chicken drumsticks! This recipe will shock your non-vegan friends and show them vegan food tastes delicious.

Author: The Edgy Veg

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: American

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients

For the Wings:

3 cups of no-chicken broth (I used Better Than Bouillondissolved in water)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 tsp onion powder
20 drops of liquid smoke
4-20 oz cans young green jackfruit, seeds and hard heart removed
4 tbsp mung bean starch/tapioca starch
2 tbsp silken tofu
2 tsp water
24 sheets round rice paper
Vegetable oil for frying

For Saucy Wings:

½ cup BBQ Sauce
½ cup Franks Red Hot Sauce

For Breaded Wings:

1 can worth aquafaba
3 tbsp hot sauceof choice
1½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cajun spice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp sea salt

Instructions

In a medium size pot, whisk together no-chicken broth, nutritional yeast, poultry seasoning, onion powder and liquid smoke.
Add jackfruit, and bring to a boil. Stirring stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 mins.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for another 10 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.
Remove from heat and set aside.
In a small blender or bowl with a whisk, whip together mung bean starch and silken tofu. Add water 1 tsp at a time as needed (if any). Add to the jackfruit mixture 1 tbsp at a time and mix until it starts to come together.
Fill a shallow bowl with warm water and soften the rice paper by soaking each sheet for about 30 seconds.
Remove from the bowl and place the rice paper on a flat surface and using a sharp knife, cut in half.
Place 2-3 tbsp of the jackfruit mixture onto the rice paper, then if you’re using a “bone”, place one 'bones' on top.
If you are using a cauliflower: Take your cauliflower and cut off all leaves as close to the stem as you can, whilst making sure to not cut off any of the stems. Cut the whole cauliflower into quarters, slicing from the stem to the florets of the cauliflower - you want to keep the stem attached to the florets as this is what will make your 'bone' and also hold onto the flesh of the jackfruit. Cut off the majority of the florets of each cauliflower quarter, so that you get the basic shape of a drumstick. See images for a guide as to how this should look before moving on to the next step.
Cover the bone with jackfruit and wrap the rice paper around the jackfruit flesh, leaving the bone exposed (exactly like a chicken wing). Set aside and repeat.
NOTE: Make larger bundles if mimicking fried chicken.

Option 1: Saucy Wings

Whisk barbecue and hot sauces in a bowl. Add more of either or both sauces if desired. Coat each wing in the sauce and cook according to your preferred cooking method.
(Air Fryer: Place wings into the air fryer basket and cook at 375F for roughly 10 mins. OR Oven: Place wings on a lined baking sheet and broil for 8-12 minutes, turning every 2 minutes until they are lightly charred on all sides.)
Toss wings in more sauce and serve.

Option 2: Breaded Wings

Heat a pot of vegetable oil, filled less than halfway to the top, to 350F.
In a shallow bowl, whisk together aquafaba and hot sauce.
In another bowl, combine flour, cajun spice, garlic powder, Old Bay seasoning, onion powder, and sea salt.
Dredge each wing in the flour mixture, then the aquafaba mixture, back into the flour mixture, then into the hot oil.
Fry until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes.
Place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain off any access oil.

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If you make this Vegan Chicken Drumstick recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a ★★★★★ star rating & comment below. It truly helps me & I really appreciate any support! Feel free to share your food creation on social and tag me @edgyveg on your photo so I don’t miss it!

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For more easy, delicious veganrecipes, check out the links below!

Vegan Buffalo Wings
Vegan Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich
KFC Nashville Hot Fried Chicken using Cauliflower
Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Vegan Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets
Buffalo Chicken Caesar Wrap