
Learn how to make the best vegan chicken drumsticks with seitan and rice paper! These vegan drumsticks are meaty and tender with a chewy-crispy skin all air fried or baked in a shoyu flavoured sauce. Packed with plant based protein, these are the perfect appetizers or weekend meal!

Say hello to Vegan chicken drumsticks! I'm so excited to finally share my take on this fun finger food. When we were kids, during the summer my mom used to make drumsticks for parties, movie nights and on weekends so I've always associated drumsticks as a summer food. But of course, these are great for anytime of year!!
The Inspiration
These vegan chicken drumsticks were adapted from my vegan shrimp recipe. I took the same concept of making seitan and using rice paper as the 'skin'. I loved the meaty texture it gave to the 'shrimps' and knew that the rice paper would come out chewy yet crispy when air fried.
How to Make Vegan Chicken Drumsticks
The Ingredients
The base of this recipe is seitan and the drumsticks themselves only have three ingredients!
- Vital wheat gluten: what gives it that meat-like fibrous and chewy texture.
- All purpose flour: makes for a softer chicken-texture. The more flour used the softer the texture so feel free to play around with the ratio of vital wheat gluten to flour.
- Rice paper: for the skin! It makes for a tender-chewy texture with crispy bits on the edges. My family and Eric were surprised at how close the texture was to the real thing!
- Yuba: You can also opt to use yuba (as shown in the photos). I did find it to be slightly more difficult to work with because it does not stick as easily. I highly recommend using frozen yuba because the dry ones tend to be a lot more fragile too. My younger sister liked the yuba version but the rest of us preferred the texture of rice paper over yuba so this is totally personal preference and what you can get your hands on.
For seasonings, I went with a classic Japanese style shoyu flavoured sauce which is a mixture of soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger. I encourage you to experiment and use your choice of marinate and sauce! Here are some more flavour ideas:
- BBQ sauce
- Teriyaki
- Maple dijon
- Gochujang
- Lemongrass coconut
- Buffalo
- Hoisin
The flavour options are endless!!

The Directions
Making the seitan
- Into a mixing bowl add the vital wheat gluten and flour. Using chopsticks, stir and slowly add in the water. Continue to mix and then once it becomes shaggy in texture, start mixing and knead with your hands. If needed, add remaining amount of water. Once the dough comes together, knead for 5-8 minutes.
- Place into a container, flatten it and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I rest it overnight).
- Cut the dough into 5-6 pieces (depending on the side you want your drumsticks).
- Braiding the gluten vs. not braiding: this step is optional but I found braiding the gluten to give more of a meat like texture. However, if you're pressed for time or for ease you can skip this step. Gently pull the gluten and then cut 3 slits making sure not to cut the top to keep them attached. Braid the seitan tightly and then pinch the ends to prevent it from unraveling.
- Take your stick of choice and wrap the gluten around the top portion of the stick starting from the bottom upward and back down. Tuck the very end portion under one of the braids to prevent it from unraveling.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add vegan chicken stock powder and stir. Add the drumsticks into the pot, cover and cook for 30-35 minutes. The gluten will expand and look inflated but that is normal.

Making the drumsticks
- Remove from water and then drop it into ice cold water. Once cooled, squeeze excess water out and transfer to a plate.
- Add the marinade ingredients into a ziplock bag and mix. Then place the drumsticks in the bag and allow them to marinade for at least 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, cut the rice paper into 4 strips.
- Remove the drumsticks out of the bag and then strain the marinate to separate the bits of garlic and ginger. Reserve 2 tablespoon of the marinade in one bowl and then add 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce and set aside (this will be used to brush the drumsticks before air frying). Pour remaining marinade into a shallow dish and then add ⅓ cup of warm water to it.
- Soak the rice paper for 30 seconds (or until it softens) and wrap it around each drumstick (you'll need about 2-3 strips of rice paper per drumstick). Place on a parchment lined plate or tray. Repeat for remaining drumsticks.
- Brush the reserved marinade over each drumstick and then lightly spray or brush with oil. Pre-heat the air fryer to 385 F. Air fry 7 minutes, brush with more reserved sauce, flip, brush with reserved sauce and air fry for another 7 minutes. For an oven baked version, bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes on each side (flipping half way through and brushing more sauce on). Broil for 1-2 minutes on each side to get them charred and crispy!
Craving breaded or fried drumsticks?
Marinate or spice up the outer skin with your choice of seasonings. Dip it into a vegan egg mixture and then coat with panko or breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 F for 30-40 minutes flipping them half way.
If you prefer a fried version, heat enough vegetable oil to 350 F. Then fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Place on a wire rack to let the excess oil drip off.
How to Store Vegan Drumsticks
These vegan drumsticks are perfect as an appetizer, side dish or even as a whole weekend meal! You could even make them ahead of time if you want to have them as a easy weeknight meal too. To store, after you wrap them with rice paper and brush the sauce on freeze them on a parchment lined tray. Once frozen, transfer them into bags and the will keep for up to one month. Let them thaw in the refrigerator until no longer completely frozen and air fry or bake as instructed (you may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time).
Serve with rice, miso soup and a side salad for a complete meal. Itadakimasu!

More vegan 'chicken' recipes to love!
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Vegan Chicken Drumsticks
- Total Time: 120 minutes
- Yield: 6 drumsticks 1x
Description
Vegan drumsticks made with seitan and rice paper. Meaty on the inside, chewy and crispy on the outside, these chicken 'drumsticks' are the perfect appetizer or fun weekend meal!
Ingredients
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten (120g)
- ¼ cup all purpose flour (30g)
- 150ml water
- 6 pieces of rice paper*
- 6 sticks of choice (chopsticks, popsicle sticks, carrot sticks or lemon grass sticks)
- 1 tsp ginger, grated (5g)
- 1 tsp garlic clove, grated (5g)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce (45ml)
- 1 ½ tbsp maple syrup (30ml)
- 1 ½ tbsp rice vinegar (22ml)
Instructions
Making the Seitan
- Into a mixing bowl add the vital wheat gluten and flour. Using chopsticks, stir and slowly add in the water. Continue to mix and then once it becomes shaggy in texture, start mixing and knead with your hands. If needed, add remaining amount of water. Once the dough comes together, knead for 5-8 minutes. Place into a container, flatten it and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I rest it overnight).
- Cut the dough into 5-6 pieces (depending on the side you want your drumsticks).
- Optional step: Gently pull the gluten and then cut 3 slits making sure not to cut the top to keep them attached. Braid the seitan tightly and then pinch the ends to prevent it from unraveling.
- Take your stick of choice and wrap the (braided) gluten around the top portion of the stick starting from the bottom upward and back down. Tuck the very end portion under one of the braids to prevent it from unraveling.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add vegan chicken stock powder and stir. Add the drumsticks into the pot, cover and cook for 30-35 minutes. The gluten will expand and look inflated but that is normal. Remove from water and then drop it into ice cold water. Once cooled, squeeze excess water out and transfer to a plate.
Making the drumsticks
- Add the marinade ingredients into a ziplock bag and mix. Then place the drumsticks in the bag and allow them to marinade for at least 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, cut the rice paper into 4 strips.
- Remove the drumsticks out of the bag and then strain the marinate to separate the bits of garlic and ginger. Reserve 2 tablespoon of the marinade in one bowl and then add 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce and set aside (this will be used to brush the drumsticks before air frying).
- Pour remaining marinade into a shallow dish and then add ⅓ cup of warm water to it. Soak the rice paper for 30 seconds (or until it softens) and wrap it around each drumstick (you'll need about 2-3 strips of rice paper per drumstick). Place on a parchment lined plate or tray. Repeat for remaining drumsticks.
- Brush the reserved marinade over each drumstick and then spray or brush with oil.
- Air fryer: Pre-heat the air fryer to 385 F. Air fry 7 minutes, brush with more reserved sauce, spray with oil, flip, brush with reserved sauce, spray with oil and air fry for another 7 minutes.
- Oven baked: Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Brush with more sauce and oil, flip, and then brush with more sauce and oil. Bake for another 10-12 minutes. Then broil for 1-2 minutes until charred and crispy around the edges.
- Remove from air fryer/oven and enjoy!!
Notes
- *Instead of rice paper you can also opt to use yuba skin. To use yuba, soak them in warm water first until soft. Drain and squeeze excess water out. Add 1 ½ tablespoon corn starch to flavoured soaking mixture as yuba tends to slide off without a binder and dip each piece of yuba into the mixture. Wrap it around and proceed with the instructions.
- Helpful Equipment: air fryer, tongs
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 70 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: appetizer, side dish
- Method: air fry
- Cuisine: vegan, japanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 drumstick
Keywords: vegan chicken drumsticks, vegan chicken, seitan
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Angie says
It was so much easier than I thought to make! Don’t be intimidated at all! I found it super forgiving and it was delicious! I tried them on both chopsticks and lemongrass stalks and they didn't seem to stick as well to the lemon grass but was perfect on the chopsticks! 100% worth it!
★★★★★
Phiwat Klomkaew says
I had always wanted to make vegan wings and, honestly, Lisa’s video made it seem to simple to make. After seeing the video, I had to try making it, so I did last night and, man, it was super fun and delicious. It was a bit time-consuming (and I’ll prepare the gluten in advance next time), but it was super worth it. The recipe is super customizable. I didn’t have any sticks and was wrapping the dough around itself. I used my favorite veggie broth and added Chinese Five Spice when boiling the wings (so yum!). I added gochugaru in my marinade to make the wings more spicy. The rice paper gave an interesting texture like the chicken’s skin and can be made crispy when broiling at the end. Highly recommended!
★★★★★
Yuria says
I made the version with rice paper in the oven and it was delicious!
Because I prepped them for the next day, I marinated the drums over night and did the rest of the steps right before serving.
The “skin” was really crispy 😋 such a nice idea to use rice paper.
This Sunday dinner was just perfect with the drums, rice and miso soup ☺️
But actually, they might be also nice for a small party or so.
I would already like to eat them again, even though I just had them yesterday haha
Definitely a recommendation and a game changer for the vegan world 💚
★★★★★
Mellanieparedes@me.com says
This recipe was great! I think preparing the seitan mixture in advance is key and it will allow all of the flavors to meld!
I really love that you still manage to have crispy (rice) skin, without having to fry anything. Personally, I love fried food, but I tend to steer away from making too many recipes that require deep frying!
Try this!
Mellanieparedes@me.com says
This recipe was great! I think preparing the seitan mixture in advance is key and it will allow all of the flavors to meld!
I really love that you still manage to have crispy (rice) skin, without having to fry anything. Personally, I love fried food, but I tend to steer away from making too many recipes that require deep frying!
Try this! 5 stars
★★★★★
Yanhong Li says
I really really really enjoy this recipe - not only does it taste super yummy, it was so fun to make!!!
The seitan dough was so much easier to make than I had anticipated. I prepared it the night before. The braiding and shaping into a drumstick part was so fun and really easy to do! I would suggest to really tuck the end well so it doesn't fall apart during boiling. I had one fell apart but it was easy to fix it during the wrapping stage. Love the rice paper wrap addition - made the drumsticks really crispy and added interest to an already amazing texture.
I am definitely going to make more on weekends and follow the notes to freeze them for quick weekday meals. Can't recommend this recipe enough! The "wows" I got from people are added bonus!
★★★★★
Miriam Gosling-Gage says
Delicious and so much fun to make. I followed the recipe for the coating and it was super tasty. My husband who is a bit ambivalent with meat alternatives devoured his portion and asked if we could have it again next week!
★★★★★
Madeleine says
This recipe was so good! I made it for the first time tonight, and it was absolutely delicious. The texture is really fun to play with, and that marinade is so good, I saved the tiny bit of leftover to have with my veggies, too. I deep-fried the vegan chicken today and can’t wait to try baking and air frying, too!
★★★★★
Jen says
I’ve been curious to try making seitan for a while, but it was this recipe that finally got me moving!
I made it completely with regular flour so it took a bit more washing (which I found pretty therapeutic tbh!). The use of the rice paper for a “skin” is completely inspired, as is using the leftover marinade to soften it.
I didn’t end up wrapping it around the sticks because my husband doesn’t like eating things off of bones (real or not!) so let’s call mine...tenders. I also sliced some up and used it on a Vietnamese-inspired vermicelli bowl, which worked great.
The technique developed here is awesome and I can see myself trying it with different flavour profiles (I am now super craving buffalo wings!!)
Thank you for this!!
★★★★★
Wendy says
Very nice recipe. It looked great but I had no high expectations. But the end result was really nice! Fun to make and not hard at all.
★★★★★
Mary says
If you are reading this comment: you have to try this recipe!!
I did and i lived it so so much🥰
★★★★★
Emily @bythevedge says
Such a fun kitchen experiment with a tasty, terrific outcome. I followed the directions exactly and it was excellent! This method might be fun to try as a smaller, popcorn chicken size too.
★★★★★
Trinh says
Creative, versatile, and delish! I have a vegetarian friend who is unable to to eat soy and I made this for her to try and she loved it! The rice paper skin is a game changer! I marinated the drumsticks in a Vietnamese Roti spice and it was fabulous with hot rice!
★★★★★
Sue says
Fun and delicious! Thanks so much for sharing this creative recipe.
★★★★★
Criss says
This recipe is so easy and tasty, I'm in love with it, lookind forward to try the rest of your recipes too 🙂 Go Vegan
★★★★★
Sue says
At what stage would you freeze these for make-ahead?
Lisa Kitahara says
Hi Sue, I would freeze them after they're cooked!