Vegan “Chicken” Piccata

Published on by Mackenzie

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve shared a recipe, but this is a new favorite in our household!!! We have had a bountiful supply of lemons lying around lately. Also, Kalpana at Surreyfarms has been sharing a plethora of lemon recipes that have been making my mouth water!!! I thought I’d try my hand at recreating a vegan chicken piccata. How in the heck do you do that?! I wasn’t sure if this was going to turn out… I used a regular chicken piccata recipe and modified it to work. I held my breath as we took our first bite, and it was phenomenal. DJ is a meat eater, but he LOVED this. He said we need to make it a staple. So when life gives you lemons, maybe try this out?!

Ingredients:

  • 5 medium size zucchinis, spiralized. If you need an AWESOME spiralizer, try this one here.
  • 4 large packages of tempeh (I used organic 3 grain from Trader Joe’s).
  • sea salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • all purpose flour (I used Bob Mill’s)
  • Olive Oil Spray- I love Pam’s EVOO spray!
  • 3 TBSP Vegan butter of choice
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup vegetable stock
  • 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed

Directions:

  1. Spiralize your zucchini into a large bowl!
  2. Spray zucchini with olive oil spray, then transfer to large sauté pan. Sprinkle with a dash of sea salt, ground pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Cook on medium heat, covered until noodles are soft and most of the water is evaporated from the noodles- about 10 minutes. (Turn down heat if they start caramelizing- zucchini burns pretty easily!)
  3. Transfer back to bowl.

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4. Cut tempeh lengthwise in half.

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5. Spray both sides of tempeh with spray, sea salt, and pepper.

6. “Dredge” in all purpose flour (although it’s more like just lightly cover each side with flour- tempeh crumbles pretty easily, so be gentle with um!)

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7. In the same large pan on medium heat add 3 TBSP of butter and spray pan with EVOO spray.

8. Transfer the tempeh to the pan when butter starts to sizzle and cook until browned on each side, about four minutes each side (maybe a little longer depending how quick your pan cooks, turn up heat if cooking too slow).

9. Once browned on each side, transfer to plate.

10. In the same pan, add lemon juice, stock, and capers. Bring to a light boil.

11. Add Tempeh back to the pan and simmer each side for about three minutes each. Add olive oil as needed and before flipping.

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12. Serve over zucchini noodles

13. Enjoy!!!

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It really did taste like chicken….

xo <3

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83 thoughts on “Vegan “Chicken” Piccata”

      4. Oh. my . word!! You are amazing. That poem is incredible… breathtaking! You have the ultimate way with words. Thanks for sharing, Cyr! and CONGRATS!

      6. Of course, Cyr!!! It really is full of surprises.. so fun, isn’t it? I will absolutely go check this out right now!!!! Thank you for sharing!! xo

    1. I agree!!! Usually it’s my cravings for something traditional that sparks the ideas for a vegan or vegetarian version (or just generally healthier). I’m shocked it actually turned out this well. Hope you are having a great week, Kori! XO

      Reply

    1. Girl, it is way better than I ever expected! I was craving it for BREAKFAST when I woke up this morning! Hope you get the chance to try 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  5. I haven’t had tempeh in forever so I need to get some & do this! My hubs doesn’t like tempeh or zucchini soooo I will be eating it all. lolz

    Reply

  7. This looks amazing! I’ll have to give your zoodle pasta a try and I love the way the tempeh looks too! I didn’t know there was even a grain based tempeh. Trader Joe’s here I come. Thank you so much for your shout out!! I love the word plethora in your blog post! A new word to add to my blogging vocabulary 😀. I’m so happy you enjoyed all my lemony posts 🍋🍋😀. I’m definitely going to try making your vegetarian chicken picata! I hope you will make the lemonade syrup. I promise you will get hooked on it once you make it!! Have a wonderful day 😘

    Reply

  13. I’ve heard of tempeh before, but this is the first time I actually see it in a recipe, before and after it’s cooked. What is it exactly? Like a chicken alternative? What is it made of? LOL Sorry for all the questions, I genuinely would like to know and perhaps I’ll give this recipe a try someday 🙂
    Also the zucchini noodles, that’s something I’ve never tried but constantly see on Pinterest. I don’t remember liking them, but, it’s worth a shot 🙂

    Reply

    1. So tempeh is made of soy protein and usually grains like brown rice and flax!! It’s super thick and makes a great substitute, very hearty!! I LOVE the questions- do not apologize! I have had some zucchini noodles I didn’t like, I think it depends on the sauce/spice you use. Try with some nice marinara sauce and parmesan cheese to start. It’s hard not to like that 😉 So good to hear from you ALWAYS, Rossy! Your comments make my day!

      Reply

      1. Oooh okay. Hmmm.. It sounds healthy lol. I wonder if Ciel would like to try it haha. Maybe I can fool him with this and maybe he’ll think it’s chicken?! LOL
        Alright, I’ll give them a shot. I’ll have to go to the grocery store tomorrow then and find all the ingredients 🙂 Is tempeh refrigerated like tofu?

      2. Hahah it is, technically. I would say it isn’t a perfect chicken alternative.. the texture is very different. But if you go into a vegan section there are vegan substitutes specific for chicken! I love the tempeh for the texture though actually… it’s just not quite the texture of chicken. It is refrigerated!!

      3. Awesome, I’ll keep that in mind. Hopefully I can find it at the grocery store, otherwise I’ll have to make the drive to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s LOL
        And thank you!

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    1. Thank you SO much, Samantha ❤️ that means the world especially coming from one of my favorite cooks! Hope you are having a fabulous weekend! (Ps… I know how busy life is. I never expect you to keep up!). 💕

      Reply
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  31. This looks amazing. I find it pretty hard to find Tempeh where I live and when I do it is rather expensive but this looks like a great opportunity to go and search for some. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  32. Sounds like an interesting idea to use tempeh to substitute for chicken! Yes, I find it difficult to find tempeh where I live too. Have you tried making your own at home?

    Reply

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