A Vegan Fish & Chips recipe with a light and crispy sparkling water batter and delicious seasoned baked fries also known as chips. A British classic with a vegan twist!
Who would've thought a dish like Fish and Chips could be made without fish? This plant based Vegan Fish & Chips recipe is sure to impress. It's classic and comforting, flaky on the inside yet crispy on the outside and so dang good. Serve with homemade vegan tartar sauce and crispy baked fries. The best vegan comfort food!
Vegan fish and chips made from artichoke hearts and hearts of palm which is battered and then fried. I opted for sparkling water so this one doesn't have any beer in the batter but the batter is just as delicious and light!
Main Ingredients:
I’ve seen vegan fish made from tofu pieces, banana blossoms and even celeriac. Those all sound delicious but I chose to go with a mixture of canned Hearts of Palm and Artichoke Hearts for my vegan fish recipe. Both of these combined give the vegan fish a flaky texture that we are after! A crumbled nori sheet and old bay give the batter a fishy flavor but isn’t overwhelming and the batter is made extra light and crispy by adding sparkling water.
- Hearts of Palm & Artichoke Hearts: The main ingredients that create out “fish”- when pulsed and shredded has an amazing flaky texture. In my opinion, this is the best vegan fish ingredients!
- Old Bay Seasoning: A seasoning blend that is a must!!
- Nori: Gives this plant based fish a fishy flavor.
- Panko Breadcrumbs: If gluten-free, use gluten free breadcrumbs. Note that not all panko breadcrumbs are vegan so be sure to check the ingredients.
- Sparkling Water: Creates a light batter when combined with all purpose flour.
- Vegetable Oil: For shallow frying! I don’t recommend making this recipe in an air fryer or oven. It’s a very thin, runny batter so it won’t work. If avoiding oil or frying, try coating in breadcrumbs and baking until crispy.
How to Make Vegan Fish
Drain and rinse the heart of palm and artichoke hearts. Add to a food processor along with panko breadcrumbs, all purpose flour, crumbled nori (crumble using your hands or use scissors), old bay, sea salt and pepper. Pulse until combined. Don’t over blend- you want some texture and flaky-ness, similar to the flaky texture of fish.
Divide the batter shape in to 8 vegan fish filets. They don’t need to be perfect. Freeze for 20 minutes. They are very fragile so freezing slightly is highly recommended. Take this time to prepare the chips and vegan tartar sauce.
Prepare the batter by whisking together the all purpose flour and seasonings. Don’t add the sparkling water until ready to fry. Sparkling water adds air bubbles which is super important to create a light batter.
Whisk in the sparkling water until you have a smooth batter, being careful not to over mix for best results.
Heat a large pot with the oil. Once hot, coat the fish in the batter and carefully lift out and place in the hot oil. I recommend using a large serving fork or spatula to lift the fish out of the batter- it's delicate.
Fry for about 3-4 minutes each side or until crispy and golden brown. This will depend on how hot your oil was. Remove from oil and drain on a wire rack to remove excess oil. Draining on paper towels can sometimes make fried foods soggy so a wire rack is important.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon and Homemade Tartar Sauce and a garnish of fresh dill!
How to Make Chips
You can serve this plant based vegan fish and chips recipe with any french fries recipe you’d like. I enjoy a thin cut potato tossed in lots of seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, old bay and smoked paprika. I never measure the seasonings. Sometimes I even add nutritional yeast and cornstarch to get them extra battered and crispy. But you can make thick chips, chunky chips or use frozen fries!
Boil fries ahead of time makes the fries extra crispy. It's not 100% necessary to do but I always do it since it doesn't take very long and makes them taste better.
Preheat oven to 425F and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the fries in to thin fry shape and boil for 5-8 minutes to soften. Drain and rinse until cold water. Toss in olive oil and seasonings then spread out evenly on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes then flip and bake for another 5-8 minutes.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Hearts of Palm and Artichoke Hearts are typically canned with brine which has a unique flavor so I highly recommend draining, rinsing and patting dry.
Don't over pulse. You want texture and flaky-ness. If you blend this in to a mushy mess, it won't be very pleasant.
Avoid over measuring the flour. This could make the batter too thick. This is a thinner, runny batter. To avoid over measuring I recommend spooning the flour in to the measuring cup and then leveling it off with a knife.
Storage & Reheating:
These vegan fish sticks are best served fresh but can be stored and reheated. Here's how to do it!
Storage: This recipe for vegan fish sticks are best eaten fresh but if you do end up having some leftovers, you can refrigerate them for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.
Reheating: Reheat vegan fish in a 350ºF oven for 15 minutes or until hot and crispy. If you have leftovers, make Vegan Fish Tacos.
Freezing: I don't recommend freezing this recipe. If you want to freeze them, I recommend skipping the batter and coat in panko breadcrumbs and seasonings instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
That is not recommended for this recipe because the batter is designed to be fried. It's on the thinner side and is not meant for baking. If avoiding oil or frying, try coating in panko breadcrumbs with seasonings and baking until crispy. I'd still spray it with a touch of oil to help crisp and turn golden brown.
I have a recipe for Easy Vegan Tartar Sauce. It's only a few simple ingredients and is better than store-bought.
Yes, get a list of vegan friendly beers on Barnivore.
Swap the all purpose flour with a gluten-free flour. Rice flour might work or a gluten free all purpose flour. I haven't personally tested a gluten-free method but I believe it will work!
You could try jackfruit as a substitution or simply do a battered tofu using pressed extra-firm tofu. I haven't tested either methods though!
More Vegan Seafood Recipes You'll Love:
If You Make This Recipe:
I would greatly appreciate if you share your review in the comments below and leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating. I really appreciate it- it helps me out so much! Don’t forget to add if you made any fun substitutions. Thank you!
Vegan Fish & Chips
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
Vegan Fish:
- 1 can Hearts of Palm drained & rinsed
- 1 can Artichoke Hearts drained & rinsed
- ½ cup Panko Breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- 2 tablespoon Crumbled Nori
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Batter:
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 cup Sparkling Water
Oil for frying:
- 1-2 cups of Vegetable Oil
Chips:
- 3 Large Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 1-2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- Seasonings of Choice see note
For Serving:
- Vegan Tartar Sauce
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the hearts of palm and artichoke hearts. Add to a food processor along with panko breadcrumbs, all purpose flour, crumbled nori, old bay, salt and pepper. Pulse until combined. Don't over blend- you want some texture and flaky-ness.
- Divide the batter shape in to 8 fish sticks. They don't need to be perfect (see photo above). Freeze for 20 minutes.
- If serving with chips, preheat oven to 425F and bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut the fries in to thin fry shape and boil for 5-8 minutes to soften. Drain and rinse until cold water. Toss in olive oil and seasonings then spread out evenly on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes then flip and bake for another 5-8 minutes.
- Prepare the batter by whisking together the all purpose flour and seasonings. Don't add the sparkling water until ready to fry.
- Heat a large pot with the oil. Once hot, coat the fish in the batter and carefully lift out and place in the hot oil. I recommend using a large serving fork or spatula to lift the fish out of the batter- it's delicate.
- Fry for about 3-4 minutes each side or until crispy and golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a wire rack to remove excess oil.
- Serve with crispy baked fries and vegan tartar sauce.
Leave a Reply