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–+ servings
Close up overhead shot of bbq soy curls on a plate with minced parsley on top

Vegan BBQ Chicken (Soy Curls)

Brittany Roche
You are going to love this vegan BBQ chicken! Meaty soy curls are marinated and sauced before air-frying to tender perfection! Perfect for meal prep, and great for sandwiches or wraps, pizzas, salads, grain bowls and more. You won’t believe how unbelievably easy, or tasty, this delicious recipe is!
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Soy Curls Recipes
Cuisine BBQ
Servings 6 servings
Calories 135 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the soy curls:

For the homemade vegan BBQ sauce* (see notes):

  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 3 Tbsp agave nectar
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp miso paste
  • 1 Tbsp molasses
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions
 

  • Rehydrate your soy curls: Add the soy curls to a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over them and add the rest of the marinade ingredients. Stir, cover, and set aside for 5-10 minutes until completely rehydrated.
  • Make vegan BBQ sauce: Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl with a small whisk or fork until no clumps remain.
  • Air fry the soy curls: When the soy curls are rehydrated, add half your bbq sauce to them and stir. Transfer the sauced-up soy curls to your air fryer and fry at 350F for 10-20 minutes, stopping to shake the basket every 5 minutes. You may want to do this in batches depending on how big your air fryer is. We split ours in half.
  • Finish it off: Toss your soy curls with the remainder of the sauce and add them back to the air fryer. Fry at 350F for another 5 minutes, until your desired texture is reached.
  • Serve: Serve on a sandwich or salad with vegan coleslaw or alongside vegan mac and cheese!
  • Store: You can store BBQ soy curls in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days or the freezer for 2 months. 

Notes

* To use store-bought bbq sauce, sub 1/2 cup.
The BBQ sauce in this recipe is inspired by the Pantry BBQ Sauce from the classic vegan food blog Post Punk Kitchen! If you love BBQ sauce, we highly recommend checking it out!

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 the recipeCalories: 135kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 3gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 1038mgFiber: 1gSugar: 10g
Keyword air fryer soy curls, bbq sauce soy curls, bbq soy curls, bbq soy curls air fryer, easy bbq soy curls, plant based bbq chicken, vegan bbq air fryer chicken, vegan bbq chicken, vegan bbq recipe
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