Just 20 minutes to make, and only 7 ingredients, this is by far the quickest and easiest seitan recipe ever!! This vegan chicken alternative is simple to whip up and perfect to add to any meal. Crispy crunchy on the outside, and tender chewy in the middle. The perfect meaty texture to amp up any vegan meal! If you are new to making seitan this is the perfect recipe for beginners to try.
I came across a video on TikTok by @futurelettuce showing a 15-minute seitan recipe. I had to try it immediately! Unfortunately, even after trying it a few times, I wasn't super happy with the results. The seitan is first fried, and then you cover the pan with a lid for 10 minutes to cook it through. The problem with this is that by covering the seitan after it is fried, it tends to lose the crispy outside due to the steam. Or if you cover it and there isn't much moisture in the pan, then it can run this risk of burning before the seitan is cooked through. And I don't know about you, but soggy burnt vegan chicken just isn't my thing. The end result is spongey and rubbery, and just not super delicious.
But I loved the idea of making a quick seitan recipe so I had to play around with different techniques until I came up with my recipe for the quickest and easiest seitan recipe! In my experience, no matter how many techniques I try, steaming seitan is always a must. Boiling seitan makes it have a brainy spongey texture, frying seitan (without first steaming it) makes it rubbery and spongey, baking it makes it dry and rubbery. Steaming seitan, on the other hand, will yield the perfect meaty, juicy, chewy, yet tender seitan every single time. So even though I tried to get away with a one-pot recipe, it just didn't work for this recipe. The key is to first steam the seitan (which takes only 10 minutes) and then pan fry it for that crispy outside. Vegan chicken perfection!
The result is seitan that is crispy, juicy, chewy, tender, and absolutely amazing!!!! While I love all of my seitan recipes, (you can see them here), they do tend to take an hour or even longer to prepare. So I have fallen madly in love with this recipe as you just can't beat the speed of this one!
How to make the quickest and easiest seitan recipe:
Add about an inch of water to a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a light boil.
In the meantime, whisk together the vital wheat gluten, flour, vegetable broth powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Pour in the water and mix to form a ball of dough.
Lightly grease the steamer basket, then tear off bite-sized pieces of the seitan dough and place them in a single layer in the steamer basket.
Cover, and steam the seitan for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, in a small bowl or a measuring glass, mix together the Thai sweet chili sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside. (See notes for other sauce options).
When the seitan is done steaming, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or non-stick pan. Use tongs to remove the seitan bites from the steamer basket, and place them into the hot oil in the pan. Be careful as it may splatter. Cook the seitan bites a few minutes per side until they are golden brown and crispy.
Remove from the heat and add the sauce and toss to coat.
Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired and serve hot.
When preparing the seitan with the provided sauce recipe I love to serve it over a bed of rice with a side of cooked greens such as broccoli or spinach. Of course when you are using different sauce recipes, you can get as creative as you want! BBQ seitan bites would be great served with vegan potato salad, macaroni salad, or mac and cheese. Yum! For jerk seitan bites, try serving them with rice and peas and coleslaw. If you're using an Italian sauce try tossing them onto pasta. The options are endless!
Bon Appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
The Quickest & Easiest Seitan Recipe!! (Vegan Chicken!)
Ingredients
For the seitan:
- ¾ cup vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vegetable broth powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup water
For the sauce (optional, see notes for other sauce ideas):
- 3 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons light oil for frying, (such as canola or vegetable)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish
- 1 small handful chopped green onions or chopped chives, for garnish
Instructions
- Add about an inch of water to a pot with a steamer basket and bring to a light boil.
- In the meantime, whisk together the vital wheat gluten, flour, vegetable broth powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Pour in the water and mix to form a ball of dough. Lightly grease the steamer basket, then tear off bite-sized pieces of the seitan dough and place them in a single layer in the steamer basket. Cover, and steam the seitan for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a small bowl or a measuring glass, mix together the Thai sweet chili sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, water, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Set aside. (See notes for other sauce options).
- When the seitan is done steaming, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or non-stick pan. Use tongs to remove the seitan bites from the steamer basket, and place them into the hot oil in the pan. Be careful as it may splatter. Cook the seitan bites a few minutes per side until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Remove from the heat and add the sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Medhika says
what can I use instead veg broth , I have cubes , could I crumble one in?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Yes! 1 Tablespoon of broth powder is equivalent to a bouillon cube. So you could add the bouillon cube to 2 cups of water and then use just the 2/3 of this mixture that the recipe call for and use the remainder in another recipe.
Shannon says
My oh my this is DELICIOUS! I've tried many seitan recipes that are much more complicated and NONE of those compare to this recipe. It's so dang good. And the sauce?! How did you get it so perfect? Love this whole recipe!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
We love how much you loved this recipe!
curt says
Very, very good!
So easy and tasty, and versatile - I also add a bit of msg (evil smile emoji). Once it's steamed I chuck it into the airfryer for a few minutes while I stir fry rice, spring onions, minced broccoli, peas, green pepper, and the classic fresh ginger/garlic/birds eye chilli - then throw the seitan in, a bit of water and put a lid on leave it for a few mins - it removes the crispy edge but makes it sooo succulent.
I just made two portions, but ate them both ahaha!
Thanks for the recipe ❤
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That sounds delicious!
Nicole says
So good and so easy! My omni husband's favorite faux chicken.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Fantastic!
Kimberly says
I can't wait to try this! I work long hrs. so anything quick is cherished.
This is not really a time saver: only thinking it might cook more thoroughly.... has anyone tried this in an instant pot on pressure cooker mode but with air fryer basket and water at bottom? I'm new to both seitan and instant pot.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Yes, other readers have told us they've had success steaming it in the instant pot!
Ellie says
Sue, you’re a genius!! This is by far the easiest, cleanest, fastest and yummiest seitan I ever had.
Notes: Didn’t have all purpose, used bread flour. Didn’t use oil, “dry” fried in a non stick pan. Used 1tsp better than bouillon Veg melted in the warm water at the exact amount called out in the recipe. Ended up eating half the seitan right from the pan dunking in the sauce… so freaking yummy!!!!
This is going to be a staple food here!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Thanks for sharing your experience, Ellie!
David says
I'm trying to substitute this seitan recipe for 1.5 lbs chicken. How do I make that conversion?
Thanks so much for this! It looks fantastic. I haven't had great luck making seitan in the past (boiled, as you say, makes it brainy and spongey). But I'm going to give this one a shot.
David says
Also, could I sub vegetable broth for the water/bouillon combination?
Tamara says
Hi David - I use fake chicken bouillon instead of water in this recipe. I don't adjust Sam's spices. It works great.
Angel Cleary says
Sooo easy!!!!!!!! I have made this twice, it is super simple to put together! However, it came out a little too chewy both times. I did not overwork the dough, and followed the instructions exactly. I am not sure where I am going wrong?
Tali says
Can I use chickpea flour instead of all purpose flour in this recipe?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
It hasn't been tested with alternative flours, and it may work. However, vital wheat gluten is the key ingredient and so the recipe cannot be made gluten free.
Bríd says
Yes, I would actually recommend using chickpea flour instead of all purpose flour for this.
Tali says
Thanks Brid! I did end up trying it and it was much preferred than the first batch!
Lillian Betancourt says
Hi all, I love the ease of this recipe. I always have all the ingredients on hand, so no special trips to the market, which is awesome. I double the recipe and I shape them into four patties. Sometimes I marinate them but most of the time I don’t. Great texture, great taste!
Sam, thank you. My search for Seitan “meats” is over! This IS my go-to chicken recipe and your steak recipe is all I need for my seitan protein needs!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Fantastic! We're so happy this is your go-to seitan recipe!
Barbara says
This, my friends, is a game changer. I'd been looking at seitan recipes for some time, but was always intimidated. (How long? I'm embarrassed to say that the bag of wheat gluten flour in the back of my cupboard had a 2019 expiration date.) But I just made this today (with a fresh bag of flour) and it's easy and terrific. I used Trader Joe's (non)chicken salt as it was frying.
But if you're going to make the sauce, do yourself a favor. Eat a few pieces straight out of the pan so you get the wonderful, crispy flavor and texture. Brava, Sam!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Fantastic review, Barbara! We're so glad to hear you got beyond your fear and found it easy and enjoyable!
Fitz says
Sooo good. And sooo versatile. I have made with multiple spices and multiple sauces. I have started substituting 2T of white vinegar for some of the water. It covers that little wheaty flavor. Definitely a gateway recipe into the world of seitan!!!
Danny says
Just out of curiosity, is there a reason for adding extra flour to the vital wheat gluten? Is it a texture thing? At any rate, i'm super excited to try out this recipe as soon as the gluten comes in the mail!
Sorcia says
Super easy but the final product was so incredibly hard to chew. Any ideas where I went wrong?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Sorry to hear you didn't have a good experience. It sounds as though the dough was worked a little too long. Hope that helps next time!
Jari says
This was the second seitan from Sue that I made.
Easy, quick, tasty.
The texture was a bit off, but I'll try amending the flour and the steaming times and will get there.
Both The Darling Wife and I are happy to have found these meat tastin substitutes.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Practice makes perfect as they say! 🙂
Lance says
I've made this twice and it was unbelievably easy. I'd like to make it a little less chewy. Should I add more water, or more AP flour, or steam it longer or for less time?
Susan says
I've made many different kinds of seitan and didn't think this recipe would be any good, it was so simple. I received a bottle of teriyaki sauce in error so I decided to give it a try. What a wonderful surprise, it was amazing and delicious I had to exercise all my self control to not eat every last piece straight out of the frying pan. I can't wait to make it again and to try different sauces.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Thanks for sharing your experience, Susan!
Jenny says
words cannot express how amazingly creative and talented you are!!! you always deliver! my experience with seitan involved boiling (gah), steaming (meh) and baking (yah ok) to make a semi palatable product that I'd drown in sauce or bury in rice or stew. full disclosure I'm not vegan and luckily I don't have a gluten allergy. I made 6 batches of this in the last 24 hours. that's no exaggeration. my husband and I cannot get enough and have been trying it in everything we can think of. I even swapped out the savory spices for cinnamon vanilla and some monk fruit... came out with the exact texture of mochi. last night was teriyaki, ramen, and McDonald's dipping sauce. tonight is bbq sauce and tartar sauce... it's an understatement to say you are a genius. thank you! love love love!!!
Nix says
This is my go-to seitan recipe. I make it all the time now! I've been able to replace the seasonings to turn it into vegan ham, too!
Love it!
Stine says
can this be made with store bought seitan?