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 😉
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.
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!
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
- boiling water
- Better Than Bouillon no-chicken
- dry soy curls
- soy sauce
- black pepper
- aquafaba
- cornstarch
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- dried thyme
- dried basil
- dried oregano
- celery salt
- dry mustard powder
- paprika
- garlic powder
- ground ginger
- white pepper
- MSG (optional)
- Oil, for frying
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
- 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.
- While the soy curls are marinating, mix the flour ingredients for dredging.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remove the soy curls from the fryer and place on a wire cooling rack to allow excess oil to drip off.
- Serve with your favourite dips!
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 over… y’know animals or by-products of animals. I hope you enjoy this tasty vegan recipe!
LOOKING FOR MORE VEGAN CHICKEN RECIPES?
- Best Vegan Chicken Drumsticks
- Vegan Popeyes Chicken Sandwich
- Vegan Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets
- Vegan McDonald’s Chicken Sandwich
- Vegan Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich
- Vegan KFC Nashville Hot Fried Chicken
Vegan KFC Popcorn Chicken Recipe
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1½ tbsp Better Than Bouillon no-chicken
- 1¼ cups dry soy curls (they will double in size)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 6 tbsp aquafaba, whisked until foamy
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup corn starch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tbsp celery salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tbsp dry mustard powder
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- ½ tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp white pepper
- 1 tsp MSG (optional) you can also sub for 1 tsp sea salt
- Oil, for frying
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Remove the soy curls from the fryer and place on a wire cooling rack to allow excess oil to drip off.
- Serve with your favourite dips!
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Jack says:
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!