Vegan Chicken Parmesan
This is the best Vegan Chicken Parmesan, complete with a buttery, crispy coating and topped with marinara and melted vegan mozzarella.
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Having vegan chicken parmesan seems like an impossible thing, but I’m here to tell you, it’s not! I created this simple chickpea patty, breaded it, baked it, and added marinara.
It’s the ultimate plant-based comfort food! I think you’ll like it, too. So, how do you make it? I’m so glad you asked. Let’s begin with the ingredients. I refined this recipe recently to make the list of ingredients shorter and easier to make.
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Amanda
These were so delicious that I’m making a double batch for the second week in a row. These have definitely become a staple in our home.
Ingredients & Substitutions
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:
- Chickpeas — You’ll need a 15-ounce can of chickpeas or 1 ¾ cup of cooked-from-scratch chickpeas.
- Sweet potato — You’ll need 1 medium sweet potato (around 5 inches long and 2 inches wide).
- Rolled oats — I like rolled oats best, otherwise referred to as old-fashioned oats.
- Walnuts — If you don’t have walnuts you can substitute pecans or use ¼ to ⅓ cup of almond flour.
- Seasonings — You’ll need dehydrated onions, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, black pepper, and nutritional yeast flakes to season these patties.
- Bread crumbs — You can use regular or gluten-free bread crumbs.
- Vegan Parmesan — Use storebought vegan parmesan or homemade vegan parmesan.
- Vegan Butter — Use any dairy-free vegan butter or substitute olive oil.
- Plant-based milk — You can use soy milk, almond milk, etc; I prefer plain, unsweetened plant-based milk.
- Marinara sauce — Make sure to use dairy-free marinara sauce.
- Vegan mozzarella shreds — I prefer Follow Your Heart or Daiya Mozzarella Shreds.
How to Make Vegan Chicken Parmesan
- Create chickpea batter by combining and pulsing ingredients in a food processor.
- Add the seasonings and pulse again to combine.
- Form patties and cook in a skillet over medium heat to brown both sides.
- Bread and bake the patties to create a crispy outer crust.
- Top patties with marinara sauce and vegan mozzarella and bake until the cheese melts.
- Serve over pasta or as a sandwich.
Storage Tips
Store patties in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, they can be frozen for up to 1 month. To serve, heat in a toaster oven until the coating is crispy and the patties are heated through. It may be difficult to get the vegan cheese to melt again, but if you put a piece of foil over the top it can help.
Serving Vegan Chicken Parmesan
Serve these yummy patties with marinara sauce and lots of vegan cheese. If you’re not used to working with vegan cheese, here are my tips on melting vegan cheese.
These are my ways to serve these patties:
- They’re perfect on top of a Vegan Caesar Salad with lots of crunchy croutons.
- A side of Microwaove-Steamed Broccoli is so simple and nutritious.
- I also recommend some of my Vegan Cheesy Pull-apart Bread on the side. It’s easy to make and a crowd favorite!
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More Vegan Chicken
Do you love these vegan chicken parmesan patties? Here are even more vegan chicken recipes (and turkey recipes) you’ll want to try:
Vegan Chicken Parm
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onions
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
- ¼ cup vegan Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter melted
- 3 tablespoons plain soy milk
- 1 cup dairy-free marinara sauce
- 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C. Lina a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray a large skillet with vegetable cooking spray.
- Place potato in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes. Use oven mitts to remove from microwave and allow to cool about 5 minutes. Once cooled, chop into large cubes.
- Place oats and walnuts in a food processor and pulse until a coarse flour is formed. Add potato, chickpeas, onions, garlic powder, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, and 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed. Pulse 3 seconds, then use a spatula to push ingredients back down. Pulse again for 3 seconds.
- Form mixture into 6 patties and place in a prepared skillet over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes on one side. Flip, then sprinkle salt and pepper on uncooked sides and cook for another 5 minutes until patties have firmed up slightly and are brown on both sides. Transfer from skillet to a large plate and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs and vegan Parmesan. Pour melted butter, milk, and the remaining 1 tablespoon flaxseed into a separate small bowl. Dip each patty in butter mixture, then dip in breadcrumbs and place on a prepared baking sheet. Spray patties lightly with vegetable cooking spray.
- Bake 25 minutes until bread crumbs are golden brown. Remove from oven.
- Spoon equal amounts of marinara sauce over each patty. Top with equal amounts of mozzarella shreds. Return pan to oven and bake another 10 more minutes until cheese is melted.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, then transfer patties to a large lidded container and refrigerate for up to 10 days or freeze for up to 2 months. To serve, cook in the microwave in 30-second intervals until heated through.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- ¼ cup flour (regular or gluten-free)
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon sage, dried
- ½ teaspoon thyme, dried
- 1 tablespoon mild miso paste (optional)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup dried lentils
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup vegan Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons Vegan butter (aka, Earth Balance), melted
- 1 tablespoon soy milk
- ¾ cup vegan mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup marinara
- cooking spray
- Heat oven to 400° F. Coat a large baking pan with vegetable spray.
- Add the chickpeas and the chopped onion to a food processor and pulse for several seconds.
- Add to the food processor, the flour, cornmeal, nutritional yeast flakes, sage, thyme, miso paste, vegetable oil, vegetable broth, and garlic powder. Pulse for several more seconds until everything looks good and mushy. That’s right, this recipe is going to be messy. But I promise, it will be worth it!
- Place the 1/4 cup of dried lentils in a grinder (we use a coffee grinder) and pulse for several seconds until the lentils resemble flour. Set aside.
- Next, you’re going to create a dipping station. So get out 2 wide bowls or plates. In the first one combine the ground lentils, breadcrumbs, flax seed meal, salt, and vegan parmesan (you can substitute nutritional yeast flakes if you don’t have any vegan parmesan).
- In the second bowl or plate, melt the vegan butter and add the soy milk. Stir until a little combined.
- Now, grab a handful of the chickpea mixture and form into something that looks like a patty. Lightly brush the top side of your patty with the vegan butter mixture, then place it buttered side down into the breadcrumb mixture. Yes, this will get messy, but all the best things in life do. Brush some additional vegan butter mixture on the top of the patty and sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top to coat it. Carefully place the breaded chickpea patty on your prepared baking sheet. Here is where you can reshape the patty to make it more oval. Repeat these steps with the remaining patties.
- Lightly spray each patty with a little more vegetable cooking spray. Then place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the pan from the oven and turn each patty over and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven (again) and spoon marinara sauce over each breaded chickpea patty and top with shredded vegan mozzarella cheese.
- Turn the heat up to 450° F and bake the patties for at least 5 more minutes, or until the vegan cheese is melted.
Serve over pasta
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
An Updated Recipe
This recipe was recently updated to reflect our more simplified version of this recipe while still delivering on flavor! Our goal is to provide you with easy vegan recipes to help you cook delicious meals for yourself, your family, and more!
The recipe card notes shows the old recipe.
Whichever version of this recipe you’re making, enjoy!
About the Author
Hi! I’m Marly McMillen. I’m the founding editor, author, recipe developer, vegan home chef, and food stylist behind Namely Marly. I’m so grateful to you and every member of my audience for your support and dedication. More about Namely Marly ›
6 Responses to Vegan Chicken Parmesan
Rate / Comment
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These were so delicious that I’m making a double batch for the second week in a row. These have definitely become a staple in our home.
I’m so glad you liked them, Amanda! They’re a favorite of mine too. They taste so…indulgent…and yet it’s chickpeas and sweet potatoes! ❤️
Where is your other recipe for chicken Parmesan? I have made it for years and my family loves it
Hi Maria! We updated this recipe recently to keep it in line with our goal of easy recipes with fewer ingredients but full of flavor! I still have the old version of this recipe and will email it to you. Thanks for your note! i’m so glad you like this recipe!
I made these last night & they were so delicious! I might have over pureed the filling a bit, because I didn’t even need to dip them in the butter/soy milk. But it was awesome!
I’m SO glad to hear you liked them too. I’m going to make some more tonight because they are perfect to have as leftovers for the week…that is if we can not eat them all at once (that’s kind of a key to having leftovers!!).