Vegan Schnitzel with Chanterelles & Spaetzle
For me, schnitzel with chanterelles and spaetzle is a traditional German classic. Whether you're sitting in the beer garden in beautiful, sunny weather or it's gray, rainy, and cold all day, this dish suits every season! The chanterelles may be foiling us, but luckily, we can easily swap them out with any other mushrooms for this recipe. Here's how to prepare this dish in a vegan version.
Let's start directly with the most challenging part of the dish: the vegan schnitzel. In our first attempt, we used a seitan mixture. Unfortunately, the mixture became tough and could hardly be pulled apart or pounded thinly. Even after cooking, the consistency didn't improve. Therefore, we tried it with wheat gluten. Correct, a seitan mix package also contains nothing but wheat gluten. Still, it made a big difference, strangely enough. Maybe it was the quality of the wheat gluten? We're at a loss. However, the second version pulled apart beautifully, and we ended up with great, paper-thin vegan schnitzel. Even our meat-eating friends were positively surprised by the consistency and taste. Since seitan or wheat gluten has no flavor of its own, seasoning is the key. So don't be shy and season generously.
If you have a meat tenderizer at home and are already jumping up to get it, as lovely as the idea is, it didn't work out in reality. We used regular breadcrumbs for the breading, but it's also possible to use panko breadcrumbs. However, since panko is much coarser, we recommend crumbling it beforehand.
We chose the quick version with store-bought spaetzle for this recipe, but if you have more time, you can make your own spaetzle. We've already published a recipe on the blog. Otherwise, you can also buy ready-made vegan spaetzle at organic markets. Just make sure that they don't contain eggs.
We have many more classic comfort food recipes besides this one. If you may have already cooked too many spaetzle with this recipe, we have vegan Swabian lentils with spaetzle for you. Otherwise, how about vegan cabbage rolls, vegan koettbullar with cream sauce or vegan potato dumplings with mushroom goulash and red cabbage?
Vegan Schnitzel with Chanterelles & Spaetzle
Ingredients
For the vegan schnitzel:
- 80 g (2.75 oz) vital wheat gluten
- 10 g (0.33 oz) nutritional yeast
- 15 g (0.5 oz) chickpea flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 110 ml (0.45 cups) water
- Soy sauce
- Salt
- Neutral vegetable oil for frying
For the chanterelle sauce:
- 250 g (8.75 oz) chanterelle mushrooms
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 50 ml (0.25 cups) vegan white wine
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) vegetable broth
- 100 ml (0.5 cups) vegan cooking cream
- 0.25 lemon (juice)
- soy sauce
- salt
- pepper
For the breading:
- 50 g (1.75 oz) flour
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 60 g (2 oz) breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 6 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp mustard
- salt
- pepper
Also:
- 300 g (10.5 oz) vegan spätzle
- 1 lemon
- parsley
Instructions
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, chickpea flour, garlic powder, and onion powder. Add water, stir with a wooden spoon, and then knead for about 5 minutes. Divide the mixture in half and roll or stretch each portion into a very thin schnitzel.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add soy sauce and salt, then reduce to a simmer. Place the schnitzels in the water and let them simmer for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, clean the chanterelle mushrooms. Peel and finely dice the onion, then sauté it in a large pan with some vegetable oil for about 5 minutes. Add the chanterelles, increase the heat slightly, and fry for another 5 minutes. Then, stir in the tomato paste and deglaze with soy sauce, white wine, vegetable broth, and vegan cream. Cover the pan with a lid and let the sauce simmer over medium heat for 10–15 minutes. Season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add more vegetable broth or vegan cream if the sauce becomes too thick.
Prepare three deep plates for the breading. On the first plate, mix flour with onion powder, garlic powder, and nutmeg. On the second plate, combine breadcrumbs with paprika powder, salt, and pepper. On the third plate, mix cornstarch with water.
Remove the schnitzels from the simmering water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Brush both sides thoroughly with mustard. First, coat the schnitzels in the flour mixture, covering all sides. Then, dip them into the thick cornstarch mixture, followed by the breadcrumb mixture, pressing firmly so they are evenly coated.
Add a generous amount of vegetable oil to a pan, ensuring the bottom is fully covered. Once the oil is hot, place a vegan schnitzel in the pan and fry for 3–4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Let it drain on paper towels, then fry the second schnitzel.
While the schnitzels are frying, boil a large pot of salted water and cook the spaetzle according to the package instructions.
Serve the vegan schnitzel with spaetzle and chanterelle sauce, garnished with chopped parsley. Add a few lemon slices or wedges on the side.
