The Edgy Veg

KFC Popcorn Chicken vegan

If you’ve tried my Vegan KFC Fried Chicken recipe, you’ll love my Vegan KFC Popcorn Chicken! This recipe is so quick, you can serve these within 20 mins! Although KFC is launching vegan versions, this homemade recipe is still faster to make then jumping in your car or walking to the nearest KFC and waiting for your vegan popcorn ‘chicken’, I’m just saying 😉Vegan KFC Popcorn Chicken

Related Recipe: KFC Vegan Chicken

The famous 11-spice seasoning at KFC is such an amazing combination that it’s loved worldwide. Use this mix of seasoning to make any of your favourite vegan chicken alternatives! This recipe is a great appetizer to share with friends or have it with fries and a vegan milkshake for an ultimate vegan junk food experience.KFC Popcorn Chicken

Vegan KFC Popcorn Chicken

DAIRY-FREE | NUT-FREE | MEAT-FREE

These vegan KFC copycat popcorn ‘chicken’ are marinated in no-chicken broth, tossed in aquafaba to coat, tossed in cornstarch to make an extra crispy outer layer, tossed in a flour mixture with the famous 11 spice mix, then fried until golden-brown perfection.

On my youtube channel and on this blog, I’m pretty notorious for veganizing your favourite comfort foods and famous junk foods (see: Vegan McDonalds recipe, Wendy’s recipes, Popeyes recipe, Chick-fil-A recipe, etc). For this recipe, we’re making KFC vegan popcorn chicken using soy curls, which I personally don’t think get enough love. Today, we’re appreciating the mighty soy curl by turning them into KFC popcorn chicken.

Full Recipe is down below!KFC Popcorn Chicken vegan

Interested in making more vegan chicken-style recipes? Check out my recipes on how to make Vegan Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, The Best Vegan Chicken Drumsticks, and Vegan Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets.

VEGAN KFC POPCORN CHICKEN INGREDIENTS

TIP: Don’t worry if you don’t have all the seasonings, just use what you have access too! I’ve also done vegan chicken using salt, pepper and paprika as seasonings, which is also good! Obviously these 11 spices will give you a more KFC flavour profile.

VEGAN KFC POPCORN CHICKEN INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a large bowl combine hot water and better than bouillon no-chicken until dissolved. Add dried soy curls and toss to coat in broth. Set aside to soak for a minimum of 30 mins. I like to do this overnight to really get the flavour in there.
  2. While the soy curls are marinating, mix the flour ingredients for dredging.
  3. To a large bowl, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, thyme, basil, oregano, celery salt, black pepper, mustard powder, paprika, garlic powder, ginger, white pepper and MSG.
  4. Meanwhile, in another bowl add; soy sauce, pepper, and aquafaba, and toss to coat. Add 1 tbsp cornstarch and toss to coat again. Set aside.
  5. When the soy curls are marinated; drain in a colander over a bowl to catch the liquid to use in soups or gravy. Using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Cut up the soy curls into popcorn-sized bites and place them into a large bowl.
  6. Give the soy curls a quick toss, and then toss into the flour mixture. Press into flour to coat well, dust off any excess flour, and place on a wire cooling rack.
  7. Meanwhile, heat the oil to 350F. Cook a few pieces of popcorn soy curls in hot oil until golden brown, about 3-4 mins, turning a few times. Do not overcrowd the oil or else they will not cook properly.
  8. Remove the soy curls from the fryer and place on a wire cooling rack to allow excess oil to drip off.
  9. Serve with your favourite dips!

KFC Chicken copycatHey, 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 over… y’know animals or by-products of animals. I hope you enjoy this tasty vegan recipe!

LOOKING FOR MORE VEGAN CHICKEN RECIPES?

Vegan KFC Popcorn Chicken Recipe

5.0 from 12 reviews
Vegan KFC Popcorn Chicken
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
If you've tried my Vegan KFC Fried Chicken recipe, you'll love my Vegan KFC Popcorn Chicken! This recipe is so quick, you can serve these within 20 mins with the famous 11-spice seasoning from KFC.
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl combine hot water and better than bouillon no-chicken until dissolved. Add dried soy curls and toss to coat in broth. Set aside to soak for a minimum of 30 mins. I like to do this overnight to really get the flavour in there.
  2. When the soy curls are marinated; drain in a colander over a bowl to catch the liquid to use in soups or gravy. Using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Cut up the soy curls into popcorn-sized bites and place them into a large bowl.
  3. To the large bowl add soy sauce, pepper, and aquafaba, and toss to coat. Add 1 tbsp cornstarch and toss to coat again. Set aside.
  4. Meanwhile, in another bowl add; flour, ¼ cup cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, thyme, basil, oregano, celery salt, black pepper, mustard powder, paprika, garlic powder, ginger, white pepper and MSG.
  5. Give the soy curls a quick toss, and then toss into the flour mixture. Press into flour to coat well, dust off any excess flour, and place on a wire cooling rack.
  6. Meanwhile, heat the oil to 350F. Cook a few pieces of popcorn soy curls in hot oil until golden brown, about 2-3 mins, turning a few times. Do not overcrowd the oil or else they will not cook properly.
  7. Remove the soy curls from the fryer and place on a wire cooling rack to allow excess oil to drip off.
  8. Serve with your favourite dips!
Nutrition Information
Calories: 226 Fat: 3.5g Trans fat: 0g Carbohydrates: 37.75g Sugar: 2.5g Sodium: 1861mg Fiber: 4.75g Protein: 11.2g Cholesterol: 0mg

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If you make my vegan KFC Popcorn Chicken 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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  • Wow wow! I loved this so much! We had some soy curls laying around so I decided to try this recipe. I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour blend and was worried it might not turn out right, but it was fantastic. I also used just regular salt instead of celery salt as I didn’t have any on hand. Maybe due to the flour I used but I think the pieces could have benefited from a double dredge for extra crunch– although, thinking about it, I’m not sure how practicable that would be given how many pieces there are to deal with and it might be challenging. Even with only a single dredge they were delicious, addictive, and satisfying! Thanks for an awesome recipe!

  • Kristine says:

    Can you substitute anything for the aquafaba?

  • where do you get soy curls?
    Havent tried the recipe yet.

  • One Tbsp of white pepper must be a typo error. Way, way too spicy! Did you mean 1/2 tsp white pepper?

  • Is there something we can use in place of aquafaba?

    • EdgyVeg says:

      The aquafaba substitutes most people use are flax and chia seeds, applesauce, mashed bananas. Not sure if these will do the magic with the flavors but doesn’t hurt to try! Let me know how it goes.

  • Looks delish! Could these be made in the air fryer if they were sprayed with a little oil?

  • Casey Dillahay says:

    STOP! If you are reading the reviews so figure out if this magic could be real, just stop! It is amazing, mind-blowing, and you should double the recipe! No one, even the meat eaters, could wait for them to cool off to eat. My husband said I should make it for every food event we have from now on! So stop reading reviews and go make some!

  • Caitlyn says:

    Approximately ow many oz for the soy curls? (Wondering how many 8oz packages to buy. ) Thanks!

  • Belinda Toornburg says:

    I have recently started figuring out how to prepare Soy curls and this was a must try! It was really easy to make and the instructions in your recipe were amazing. The entire family loved it. I wish I could give it more stars.

  • I’m a recent vegan convert and new to soy curls. Great flavor, super satisfying crunch. Even my “I don’t eat tofu” husband said they were good. I followed the recipe except used Just egg (vegan egg replacement) instead of aquafaba. I wanted just a hint more salt…maybe I should have used the aquafaba. But definitely going to be a-go-to recipe. Thank you so much.

  • Hello. My gluten free wife absolutely adored these making it with gluten free powder. Questions, though:
    – I’ve often seen other recipes for “authentic” KFC use garlic salt, not garlic powder, why that here?
    – Why the baking soda and baking powder?
    – Has anyone tried this air fried or baked? Any changes needed?

    While we didn’t use it, other online recipes seem to suggest that the MSG does make a big difference in flavor. Thanks!

  • Made these tonight for thee first time. We are a vegan family and try a lot of recipes like this. This recipe is one of the BEST. Spot on delicious and frying in a pan with an inch of oil was super easy and not too messy. Very easy to make and cook quickly. Super delicious…I almost ate them all as I was cooking them. I used the recipe as is, but rehydrated a whole bag of soy curls and there was plenty of flour to coat them.

  • Hi … could you make a bulk of these and store the “uncooked” battered/crumbed tofu nuggets in the freezer? Then when you need them, pop them straight into a pan fry situation? How long from frozen do you think they would take to cook??

  • can you do this in an air fryer? can’t wait to try!

  • This recipe is so so sooooo good. My family couldn’t stop eating it. (And theyre all meat eaters!) thank you for making so many amazing recipes!

  • Christopher says:

    Made this hungover, saved my life

  • TAYLOR KAY TUTKOWSKI says:

    Hi! What would you suggest using in place of the better than boullion? I cant find it, I could order online but if there’s a replacement that would be easier 🙂

    • EdgyVeg says:

      You can substitute with any vegetarian bouillon powder, paste or cube. They should be easy to find at most grocery stores

  • Celine says:

    Can you airfry or bake?

    • EdgyVeg says:

      I never put a wet batter in the air fryer. There is nothing to set it so the batter just drips off while the food is cooking, sometimes making quite a mess. If you’re looking for the crunch without frying, I suggest dredging the soy curls in flour, a prepared vegan egg replacer, the breadcrumbs instead. I’d recommend the same for baking. Or at least batter then breadcrumb. Hope this helps!

  • Lacey Jean says:

    This was so easy and yummy to make! I substitute the flour for gluten free flour (Pamela’s baking GF flour) and just used whatever spices I ended up having. 1st time using soy curls but for sure not the last. We vegans don’t have to miss out on a thing with recipes like this one! Thanks!!!

  • I love making these because I can use them in many different meals! My hubby loves dipping them in marinara sauce or the edgy veg’s creamy dill sauce that’s a household fave! I fill a large skillet less than halfway and re-use the oil to fry (just keep it in a sealed mason jar). highly recommend anyone to make this recipe if you’re craving some delicious vegan and homemade “chick’n” bites!

  • Ciara Turner says:

    This recipe is INCREDIBLE. My husband and I ate the entire thing in about 5 minutes. Super messy, so so so worth every moment of it. This is a must try and I can’t wait to make it again.

  • Dorothy says:

    Whoa. Seriously amazing. I’ve been searching for a “nugget” recipe for a long time, trying to replicate chick fil a so my kids can stop asking for an equivalent. Tried cauliflower versions, tofu versions … none that were universally accepted… until tonight! Everyone devoured. I save a small handful to put in the freezer and see what happens with re-heating.

    Thank you so much!

  • growing up I use to go to KFC as a kid and after seeing your video on youtube I really wanted to try these so I bought some soy curls on amazon and HOLY OMG THESE ARE DELICIOUS! a must for anyone craving or wanting to surprise your partner or kids with vegan popcorn chicken

  • These have me shook. Like, how was this not real popcorn chicken? Can I give these 10 stars? It all came together super easy. In fact, the hardest part was finding soy curls, but now that I know where to get them locally I’m all set. Candice is queen.

  • I couldn’t find soy curls, but I have soy chunks so I used those instead, and just didn’t cut them. These were amazing, and come together so easily. They’re good on their own, and I also used them in a ‘chicken’ Caesar wrap and it was delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

  • How much oil do you find you need and what kind do you use? What do you do with it after?

    • I fill a large skillet less than halfway to the top. When I’m done frying I strain the oil once it’s cooled and reserve it in a glass jar to use the next time I need to fry.

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