Vegetarian Chicken Wings

I’m going to be completely honest, these honey coriander vegetarian chicken wings are one of my favorite crispy tofu recipes I’ve made in a long time. They hit every note you want, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and coated in a sticky, sweet, savory sauce that will have licking your fingers. This is the kind of tofu recipe that converts people, or at the very least makes you forget you ever questioned tofu in the first place.

Now, the inspiration does come from a slightly unexpected place: the honey coriander chicken wings from the very popular restaurant ‘Ohana at Disney World. And listen, say what you want, but they knew what they were doing with that flavor combo!! It’s sweet, a little spiced, deeply savory, and just sticky enough to keep you going back for one more. When they added tofu wings to their menu, I was able to try them. And even though I was in the most magical place on earth – the wings might have been the most magical.

So, this is my version: crispy tofu wings that capture all of that energy, minus the chicken and plus a little weeknight (or game day) practicality. Are they the most magical tofu wings on earth? I mean…I’m not not saying that.

Let’s talk about these honey coriander “chicken” wings

Chicken wings are amazing. But tofu chicken wings might be better. Case in point: they are automatically boneless, what more could you want?

The key to a great chicken wing is the crispiness, and that’s the same with these vegetarian chicken wings. But the best part about a tofu wing is you can achieve maximum crispiness without ever touching a fryer. In fact, I think deep frying tofu might make it more difficult to handle than if you just oven bake it. These tofu wings are designed to crisp up in convection oven heat, hold up to some thick honey coriander sauce and still keep their delicious texture.

I’m not saying this is going to transform the wing-lover in your family to a tofu stan, but this is a great snack or entreé for any vegetarians who sometimes want to go elbows deep in a bucket of “wings.”

What is the inspiration behind these tofu wings?

Like I mentioned in the into, the inspiration behind this recipe is the honey coriander chicken wings at the restaurant ‘Ohana in Disney World.

This is a cult-classic restaurant among Disney-goers, and before the pandemic, servers would walk around the restaurant offering up batches of proteins directly from the skewers they were roasted on. It was a feast. But way before the servers brought out those skewers, guests were served iconic appetizers, and one of the most beloved was the honey coriander wings.

As a veg-head, I obviously had to make a vegetarian version. So this is my take on ‘Ohana’s classic honey coriander wings, recreated as tofu wings that hit all the same notes. It’s as close as I could get at home, minus the chicken.

Ingredients you’ll need for these vegetarian chicken wings

And the beauty of this recipe is that the ingredients are so simple. Here’s everything you’ll need:

For the tofu:

• 1 (15 oz) block extra firm tofu
• 1/4 cup (35g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• Spray cooking oil

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 lime, for juicing
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt, to taste

How to make these crispy tofu chicken wings

Here’s how to bring these honey coriander tofu wings together:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F convection, or 425°F standard.
2. Slice the tofu crosswise into 8 pieces, I like to angle my knife so I cut each piece thicker on one side and thinner on the other.
3. In a small dish, toss the flour and salt together. Gently toss each tofu piece in this so that they are well coated.
4. Spray a baking sheet with a light layer of spray cooking oil, add the tofu then cover them with another thin layer of the spray oil.
5. Add these to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then flip and bake another 10 minutes, until they are golden on both sides.

How to make the sauce for these honey coriander vegetarian chicken wings

Now the sauce is where the magic happens for these crispy tofu wings. Just trust. You will get lost in the sauce.

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil, chili powder, ginger, garlic powder, ground coriander and salt. Give this a swirl and let it lightly sizzle for one minute. Then pour in the honey, soy sauce and lime juice. Swirl to combine. Add the cornstarch.
• Let the sauce simmer for 30-60 seconds until thickened. Add splashes of warm water if the sauce breaks or needs to be thinned out a bit. Taste and season as needed.
• When the tofu is ready, toss it with the sauce.

Storage tips and how to prep this recipe ahead of time

This recipe is easy to make all at once, but it also can be broken down into two simple steps you can tackle ahead of time.

Bake the tofu. Allow it to cool fully before transferring to containers and storing in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Make the honey coriander sauce ahead of time. Cook the sauce and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to serve, reheat on the stove, adding a splash of water if it’s too thick.

For serving, reheat tofu gently in the microwave before tossing in the sauce. You can also heat it in the oven at 350°F to preserve maximum crispiness.

Looking for more tofu recipes?

And that’s about it for these Vegetarian Chicken Wings!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making <3

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3