We are piling savory vegan chicken and gravy over a heap of creamy mashed potatoes and serving with flaky, golden & buttered biscuits to take comfort food to the ultimate level.
Please let me introduce you to one of my most favorite comfort foods: vegan chicken, gravy and biscuits. Holy moly, I honestly had doubts whether or not I could actually recreate this dish but I did and my whole family is grateful! When my husband and I first dated dating, neither one of us was plant-based. For our first date, we went to the Cheesecake Factory restaurant. They had this amazing chicken and biscuits dish that filled you to the brim and felt like sin. When I went plant-based, there were definitely dishes I believed I couldn’t enjoy again; this was one of them.
However, the plant-based industry is growing astronomically, in both size and in options. Imagine my pleasure when I discovered a vegan chicken alternative that *actually worked for this recipe. Not only does it taste great, but the ingredients aren’t scary and I can eat it guilt-free! Win win.
Food is such a huge part of who we are. We celebrate with food and we mourn with food. We build events around food. For me, though, I have realized that oftentimes I don’t actually miss the real meat; rather, I miss the memories that were created around that dish. With these alternatives, it’s possible to recreate the memory and feeling without actually having to consume the flesh.
The 3 Components of the Dish
This vegan chicken, gravy and biscuits dish has 3 main components: the chicken and gravy, the mashed potatoes, and the flaky buttered biscuits. I’m building the timing into the instructions of the recipe so that all 3 segments are served piping hot. You’ll want to make sure that you do all of the prep work first so that you can manage the timing. While certainly not a difficult dish, it does require a slight finesse around timing.
Chicken and gravy: this is the main part of the dish. This gravy base is crafted from a roux of flour, milk and butter (all vegan, of course) that’s added to veggie stock, spices, and lots of veggies. This is the centerpiece of our dish and where most of the flavor comes from! Most of the prep work comes from chopping veggies and letting the broth simmer – that’s it! The vegan chicken is added at the end since most are pre-cooked and don’t require lengthy heating times.
Mashed potatoes: the vegan chicken and gravy is piled atop a heap of homemade, creamy mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes are incredibly easy to make and provide the perfect bed for the gravy. In my opinion, the best potatoes for mashed are golden or yellow potatoes because they have this buttery smooth texture and taste.
Biscuits: while you can absolutely make your own, for convenience and speed, I am totally using store bought biscuits. I use the Immaculate Baking brand because the ingredients are “clean” and the biscuits taste amazing. Feel free to use whichever brand you like or have available to you. The biscuits only take about 15 minutes so I usually set these to bake when the gravy is about halfway done.
The Timing
First, we’ll begin by preparing all of our vegetables and ingredients. It’s incredibly important to have all the prep work done first so that you can time all 3 segments together. This is absolutely a dish that is best served hot. Preparation consists of peeling and cutting potatoes, dicing up the veggies (carrots, onions, garlic), and measuring out the roux ingredients. The roux comes together very quickly in the pot so it’s handy to have the ingredients measured beforehand so that your butter doesn’t burn! You’ll also want to pre-measure the ingredients for the mashed potatoes and have those nearby. I’ll discuss why below.
Once the ingredients are prepared, you can set your oven to preheat for the biscuits and start boiling the water for the mashed potatoes. While the water is heating to a boil, you’ll want to simmer your onions and garlic in olive oil to start the gravy. This next part is important: once you’ve added your potatoes to the boiling water, set a timer to check them for doneness so the potatoes can be drained and mashed immediately. Potatoes that sit in their water become very gluey and glutinous. Their structure will fall apart, leaving you with a stretchy, gloopy mess of potatoes that isn’t rescuable. Trust me, been there and done that; you don’t want that mess!
By the time you’re ready to mash the potatoes, you should already have the gravy simmering so that you can give your undivided attention to the potatoes. It should take no more than 5 minutes to smash the potatoes, season and fold them, and get them covered.
Timeline
- Prepare. Cut and dice your veggies. Measure them out and add them to one bowl. Peel and cube potatoes. Measure and set aside ingredients for the roux. Measure and set aside ingredients for the mashed potatoes. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or silicon for the biscuits and set aside. Get together all of the spice jars that you need. Fill a pot with water for the mashed potatoes.
- Begin simmering veggies for the gravy. Start heating the water for the mashed potatoes.
- Once the veggies and veggie stock have been added to the gravy, create your roux in a separate small sauce pan. The roux happens very quickly (2-3 minutes). This step should have your full attention so that the butter doesn’t burn!
- Add the roux to the veggie stock and whisk it in until fully incorporated. Meanwhile, add the potatoes to the salted boiling water and set a timer for 15 minutes. Preheat your oven for the biscuits.
- Finish adding all of the spices and herbs to the gravy and let it simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. This takes about 25 minutes; you will see the gravy begin to gradually thicken into a more gravy-like texture. The vegan chicken is added at the last 5 minutes of simmering.
- Put the biscuits in the oven. Drain the fork-soft potatoes and then add them back to the pot. Proceed to mash them, season them and incorporate them. When they’re finished, cover with a lid to keep them warm.
- Remove the biscuits from the oven when they’re golden brown. Shut off the heat of the chicken and gravy at about the 25-30 minute mark.
Storing the Leftovers
If you have any leftovers, I like to store them separately in glass refrigerator safe containers. They’ll hold for 3-4 days in the refrigerator and are easily warmed in the microwave, even the biscuits! I can say with a certainty that this is definitely a dish that can be brought to work or school lunch the next day if you have access to a microwave! Some might even say it may taste better the second day, as is often the case with gravy and soup-like dishes that meld together better after 24 hours. I often find that many of my traditional Greek soup dishes, like my lentil soup or white bean soup, taste better the next day after they’ve had more time to sit and incorporate together!
Please, don’t be daunted by the rather detailed and specific timeline of this dish. It’s actually not a lengthy or difficult dish at all! It simply takes a little bit more skill in terms of multi-tasking. Because of the multi-tasking, this dish makes for a great “relationship building exercise” with your spouse, roommate, or friend! Two heads are better than one, as they say, or in this case, two sets of hands are better than one!
If you’re looking for a truly comforting, soul soothing, heart warming dish, then you absolutely must try my Vegan Chicken, Gravy and Biscuits!
Vegan Chicken, Gravy and Biscuits
Equipment
- Small Saucepan
- Large wok or sauce pan
- Large pot
- Sheet pan
- Measuring spoons and cups
- Potato Masher, Whisk, Spatula & Cooking spoons
- Cutting board & knives
Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
- 2.5 lbs gold or yellow potatoes
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 4 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 1/3 cups plant milk (oat, almond, soy)
Vegan Chicken and Gravy
- 8 oz vegan chicken
- 1 large yellow or sweet onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
- 1/2 cup corn frozen or canned
- 1/2 cup peas fresh or frozen
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 5 oz mushrooms
- 4 cups veggie broth
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1/3 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
Roux
- 1/4 cup vegan butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup plant milk (oat, almond, soy)
Instructions
- Begin by preparing all of your vegetables and ingredients first! Peel and cube the potatoes and set aside. Dice the onions and garlic and add to your large wok or large saucepan/skillet. Measure, dice and chop the celery, carrots, corn, peas, and mushrooms and add them to a bowl together; set aside. Measure out the ingredients for the roux and set aside together. Measure out the ingredients for the mashed potatoes (milk and butter) and set aside together. Assemble all the spice jars. Line the sheet pan with parchment paper or silicon baking mat for the biscuits and set aside. Fill a large pot with water for the mashed potatoes and set aside.
- Begin by simmering the onions and garlic in olive oil in your large wok or saucepan. While these are simmering, set the water for the mashed potatoes to boil at high heat. Simmer the onions and garlic for about 3-4 minutes, then add the rest of your veggies and saute.
- When the water for the mashed potatoes has begun boiling, add a teaspoon of salt and add the potato cubes. Reduce the heat to medium low and allow the potatoes to boil for about 15 minutes or until fork soft. I recommend setting a timer for this.
- After sauteing the veggies for a few minutes, add the veggie stock to the veggies.
- While the potatoes are boiling and while the veggie stock is coming to a boil, make your roux in a separate small sauce pan. Bring the heat to medium, add the vegan butter and whisk until melted. Once the butter is golden brown (do not let it burn!), add the flour, and whisk without stopping until fully incporated. Then add the milk; still whisking! Shut off the heat on the roux and whisk the roux into the large saucepan with the veggie broth. Whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add the spices and herbs to the gravy and veggies (oregano, parsley, thyme, S+P). Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 25 minutes until it gradually starts to thicken to a gravy-like texture.Add the vegan chicken in at the last 5 minutes of simmering.
- Preheat your oven according to package instructions for the biscuits and line the biscuits on the sheet pan. Bake according to package instructions.
- Once your potatoes are fork soft, remove them immediately from the water. DO NOT let your potatoes sit in the hot water ( they will become gluey!). Drain and add them back to the pot. Mash them quickly to the desired texture (chunky or smooth), add vegan butter, milk and spices. Fold with a spatula until well incporporated then cover and set aside.
- To assemble, scoop a heap of mashed potatoes onto a plate. With the back of your spoon, make a little crater in the potatoes. Ladle a generous helping of vegan chicken and gravy onto the mashed potatoes and add a buttered biscuit to the plate. Dig in!
Did you make this? Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thewholescoopblog
