Vegan Chicken Scarpariello made with Tofu

this vegan chicken scarpariello is tangy, vinegary, and so delicious. made with hot cherry peppers, bell peppers, vegan sausage, and tofu is is packed with flavor.

the inspiration

For those of you who don’t know anything about me I am Italian-American. My family came over from parts of Southern Italy (primarily Sicily and Naples). So, I grew up eating a lot of traditional Italian food and also delicious Italian-American food. All of our family events were surrounding food and I ate so many good things.

Growing up we went to one restaurant in particular a lot with my grandpa, great-aunt, my uncle, and my cousin. At this restaurant they served a dish called chicken scarpariello and I used to love it. This came out after we had eaten a few rounds of food: bread, garlic bread, appetizers like fried calamari, caprese, salad, pasta, and then finally came time for the meat. Do you feel stuffed yet? Don’t forget we had dessert after too.

However, no matter how full you were you had to take a bite of the chicken scarpariello. The sauce was so incredible you couldn’t resist. So, now here we are creating a veganized version of this dish that I loved so much. The nostalgia and memories this dish brings is up is truly enough to make me cry, but that is why food is so important.

the ingredients

Super Firm Tofu: I find super firm tofu to be a great replacement for chicken. The texture is the best and since it is super firm there is no need to press it. You can use a soy free fava bean tofu or a vegan chicken in its place if you like.
Vegan Sausage: Ideally, you actually want to use a hot or sweet Italian vegan sausage. However, the pesto Beyond Meat vegan sausage did work really well here.
Garlic: this will add nice flavor to the sauce.
Onion: this will add flavor and sweetness to the sauce.
Baby Potatoes: the potatoes help to bulk up the dish and add in a starch.
White Wine Vinegar: most restaurants would normally use white wine but you can easily use white wine vinegar in its place.
Vegan Chicken Broth: this will be the main part of the pan sauce. I like using Better than Bouillon vegan chickenless broth. You can also use vegetable broth.
Bell Pepper: this will also add nice sweetness to the sauce.
Cherry Peppers: the cherry peppers add heat and spice. You can use jarred cherry peppers in a brine. You can also use fresh hot peppers if you have access to them.
Lemon: the lemon will help to add more flavor to the sauce.
Olive Oil: we need this to pan fry the tofu and coat the potatoes in for roasting.
Fresh Parsley: you will use at the end as a garnish.

what is chicken scarpariello?

Before we get any further into the blog post let’s talk about this dish. It is definitely an Italian-American dish, however, some claim it may have originated in Sicily or Calabria. But if you go to Italy you will not see this on the menu.

To niche it down even further I would argue it is more of a New York, specifically Long Island where I grew up, and New Jersey dish. This definitely isn’t the most common Italian-American dish like chicken parmesan or vodka sauce.

In Italian scarapiello means shoemaker but that really has nothing to do with the dish. I am not quite sure where that name came from. Finally, because this recipe is a bit more relaxed if you see it places there could be some variation in the overall recipe. However, it should be mainly the same that it would have chicken, sausage, bell peppers, hot cherry peppers, potatoes, and a type of white wine sauce. If you grew up eating this I would love to hear from you.

making the vegan chicken scarpariello?

This dish isn’t hard to make but there are some steps involved. You are going to want to brown the proteins beforehand, roast the potatoes separately, and then you cook everything all together.

Slice the baby potatoes into thirds or quarters. Toss in olive oil, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes until golden.

In the meantime sear the vegan sausage in the pan, leaving behind any brown bits for flavor.

While the vegan sausage cooks prep and slice the veggies.

When the vegan sausage is done cooking remove from the pan. Break the tofu up with your hands and place in a pan. Add olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Cook until golden and crispy.

Finally, remove the tofu from the pan. On the stove cook the vegan chicken broth, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice for 5 minutes. Bring to a simmer.

Add all of the ingredients onto a sheet pan. You can choose whether or not to put the potatoes in. They will of course soften but I love that they soak up all the flavor.

Pour the liquid from the pan over the ingredients in the sheet pan. Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 35 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for another 25 minutes uncovered. When you are done season with salt, black pepper, and fresh parsley.

it’s all in the sauce

Once the meal is done cooking you are going to be left with such an incredible flavor in the pan. The sauce is vinegary, a little spicy, a little tangy, sweet from the peppers and onions. I promise it is like nothing you’ve had before.

It is best to enjoy this with some crusty bread or even a scoop of pasta with the sauce drizzled over. I promise you will be wanting to lick the plate clean after you serve it.

After you remove all the food from the pan be sure to tilt the pan to make sure you get all the sauce out of the bottom of the pan. I like making this in a sheet pan but you can also use a large baking dish if you want.

why you’ll love this recipe

For me this recipe is so special. It brings back so many memories. I think you will love the flavor. Also, while there are a few steps it isn’t hard to make and it is a complete meal. Lots of plant protein, starch, vegetables, and some fat.

You can easily pair this with a side salad and some bread for an amazing dinner. This dish is easy enough to make on weeknights but special enough for a holiday.

Also, unlike the version we used to get a restaurant or even other recipes you will see online this is very light version. It is lighter thanks to it being vegan but also because I tried to keep the oil as minimal as possible.

why you’ll love this recipe

Is this recipe allergy friendly?

It does not contain nuts. It may contain gluten depending on the vegan sausage you use. It does contain soy.

Why do other recipes have other ingredients?

As I stated in the beginning of the blog post there is no formal recipe for this dish so you may seem some blogs use red wine vinegar or rosemary. Some may vary on the peppers you use. But I recreated this as close as I remember it being.

How do I store the leftovers?

You can put them in a container for up to 5 days. I would not recommend freezing the leftovers.

How do I reheat the leftovers?

You can warm it in an oven, on the stove in a pan, or microwave.

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