It finally happened. I’ve posted my first ever seitan recipe. And it isn’t just any old seitan recipe either, I decided that if I was going to post a seitan recipe, it should be THE seitan recipe. It’s go big or go home time, so I went all the way to the top of the seitan game, straight to a VEGAN SEITAN STEAK.
YES, THAT IS VEGAN!!!!! Caps lock on. So much excitement. Can’t help it. Yes, I made this vegan steak from scratch in my kitchen, and you can too! I know, it’s mind-blowing.
So first, let’s talk about seitan. Unfortunately, in the vegan world, there are a lot of unappetizing named foods. Nutritional yeast, tempeh, quinoa, and then you have seitan. If I could re-brand some vegan foods I totally would, but what can you do?
Seitan (not satan 😈) is a chewy, protein-packed, meat-like food made from vital wheat gluten (another horrid name for a food).
Vital wheat gluten is a flour made by removing the starches from wheat, leaving behind just the gluten. Gluten is the main protein in wheat and it’s also the part of wheat flour that makes dough stretchy and chewy, which is why it’s difficult to make gluten-free baked goods that have that same bouncy, chewy texture.
So, vital wheat gluten can be used to make seitan which has this amazing, chewy, meat-like textured dish that wows. A lot of the vegan meat substitutes you see in grocery stores or in restaurants are often seitan. If you’ve ever had a vegan meat and asked: “are you sure this is vegan?” you were likely eating seitan.
Despite the weird name seitan can be pretty dang healthy too (assuming you don’t deep fry it). One of my vegan seitan steaks contains: 295 calories, 42g protein, 22g carbohydrates, 4g fat, 5g fiber, 27.7% iron. Pretty cool right?
Ok but now, let’s get to the real meat of the matter (tee hee), DOES IT TASTE GOOD?
The answer: silly rabbit, surely you know I would never post a recipe on my blog that isn’t (in my opinion) straight up delicious. It took a LOT of experimenting, but I finally nailed the texture and flavours to be incredibly mouth-watering scrumptious. This vegan seitan steak has the perfect chew, is juicy, a little smoky, umami, satisfyingly yum for each and every bite.
To make vegan seitan steaks: add all of the vegan seitan steak ingredients to a food processor and pulse to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed until everything is well mixed. Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor you can first mash the cooked lentils with a fork or potato masher, then add everything together in a large bowl and mix well.
Now you know I’m not a fan of hard to find ingredients, but for this recipe, vital wheat gluten is crucial and it’s worth the search. If you’re lucky, your local grocery store may carry vital wheat gluten, but if not you will be able to find it in a health food store or here on Amazon.
Once mixed, it will look something like this.
Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and begin to knead it together. It may be a bit crumbly at first, but keep kneading it for a few minutes until it comes together into a tight ball.
Cut the ball into 4 sections, then use a rolling pin to roll out each section into 1/2″ thick steaks. The dough will be very tough and stretchy, but just keep working at it until you get your desired steak shapes.
Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Put the steaks in the steamer basket and cover with a lid. It’s ok if they are overlapping a bit. Steam for 25 minutes, flipping the steaks halfway through so they steam evenly. They will double in size.
Steaming the seitan first, cooks the dough through, and makes it juicy and tender. In my experimenting, I also tried boiling and baking the seitan, but steaming it was by far the best method for the ideal texture for a vegan steak.
In a large ziplock bag or air-tight container, mix together all of the marinade ingredients. The oil won’t really combine, but that’s fine. Remove the steaks from the steamer and coat in the marinade. Let marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes before cooking, or for as long as several days when kept in the fridge.
I love that I can make these in advance and let them hang out, ready to be grilled up when I desire. They also freeze well pretty well. Just pop the steaks in the marinade and freeze the entire thing, marinade and all. I have found that after frozen and thawed the steaks might suck up more of the marinade so you might want to whip up extra marinade for brushing on when cooking.
Inspired by the amazing recipes for vegan steaks by The Happy Pear and Veggie Rose.
Yes, it's vegan!! Mouth-watering, tender, chewy, juicy, flavourful, meat-like texture. Amazing! BBQ or pan fry then serve whole or slice and put on top of salad for a steak salad. So delicious and satisfying!
- 1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1 cup cooked lentils (I used canned)
- 6 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave
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Add all of the vegan seitan steak ingredients to a food processor and pulse to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed until everything is well mixed. Alternatively, if you do not have a food processor you can first mash the cooked lentils with a fork or potato masher, then add everything together in a large bowl and mix well.
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Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and begin to knead it together. It may be a bit crumbly at first, but keep kneading it for a few minutes until it comes together into a tight ball. Cut the ball into 4 sections, then use a rolling pin to roll out each section into 1/2" thick steaks. The dough will be very tough and stretchy, but just keep working at it until you get your desired steak shapes.
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Add several inches of water to a large pot with a steamer basket and bring to a boil. Put the steaks in the steamer basket and cover with a lid. It's ok if they are overlapping a bit. Steam for 25 minutes, flipping the steaks halfway through so they steam evenly. They will double in size.
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In a large ziplock bag or air-tight container, mix together all of the marinade ingredients. The oil won't really combine, but that's fine. Remove the steaks from the steamer and coat in the marinade. Let marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes before cooking, or for as long as several days when kept in the fridge.
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When you are ready to enjoy the vegan steaks, heat a frying pan, grill pan, or barbecue. When hot, fry or grill the steaks a couple of minutes on each side until grill marks form. Brush the steaks with leftover marinade while cooking to keep them juicy, and also right before serving.
Serve however you desire. I like mine served with a potato and some greens. I also enjoy mine sliced and put on salad. So many possibilities!
Freezing: pop the steaks in the marinade and freeze the entire thing, marinade and all. I have found that after frozen and thawed the steaks might suck up more of the marinade so you might want to whip up extra marinade for brushing on when cooking.
Vital wheat gluten is essential to this recipe, and there is no substitute. Therefore this recipe cannot be made gluten-free. For a vegan gluten-free chicken inspired recipe try my Baked Tofu Bites recipe.
Steaming tips: I recommend getting a steamer pot if you plan to make seitan often, or you can use a DIY method if you do not have a steamer.
Cleaning tips: vital wheat gluten is very sticky and can destroy dish brushes and cloths. So what I like to do is save old clothes, sheets, or towels that are too shabby to donate, and cut them into rags. I use these rags to clean up after preparing a seitan recipe and discard the rag once finished.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
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Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Made the steaks. Dinner the other night was fantastic! I grilled tons of mushrooms to put on top and ate it with steak fries that I also grilled. I have been buying and sometimes making my own seitan for many years
I have made these steaks several times but this time I made them into 6 burgers. They were incredible as always. Theyve never been rubbery and always full of flavour, Thank you for the recipe x
“This is your biggest new-food win ever.” — Hubs
Teen sons both ate two.
Huge win! Steamed in parchment as some reviews suggested. THANK YOU!!! So excited about this recipe!
My first ever time making Seitan and I am super pleased with the results, really tasty and a meaty texture and also very filling! Can’t wait to try some other Seitan recipes now!
Hi. I made these today, followed the recipe (or so I thought). End result was tasty but the texture was rubbery. I still had one with my dinner. What did I do wrong? And do you think I can make crumbles with what’s left?
Didn’t kneed the mixture enough. Really work it in the bench. The longer the better.
I prepared this for my family using low sodium soy sauce and they loved it. I could not eat any because I can not have sodium. Is there anything I can use instead of low sodium soy sauce.
Soy sauce is only for flavouring and salt inclusion. Leave it out if you must.
These things are crazy. I don’t really know what steak tastes like, it’s been over fifty years, but these are flavorful and chewy and just yummy. (And very filling!!) Just throw some steak sauce on them and mash up some potatoes, oh yum!!
Another great recipe! Great flavour and texture, I’ll be keeping a bunch of these on hand in my freezer at all times.
Thanks for sharing your recipes, experience and knowledge, Sam! It really is appreciated.
Okay super impressed here! So excited to join the fam on steak night with something matching of my own, instead of a portobello or just sides!
My seitan has a tendency to be rubbery so I subbed 1/3 of the wheat gluten with white flour. Used green lentils cooked in the instant pot with broth and spices.
hallo 🙂 these steaks are incredible just like pepperoni and sausages!!! well, i’ve doubt about weight/cups… last time i used metric system and it says 180 gr gluten. then i bought american measuring set (i’m italian, never had one before 🙂 ) and my cup is exactly 160 gr gluten so 1+1/2 is 240 gr. i think i’ve read something about ths question somewhere in the blog, isn’t it?!? anyway my second steaks experiment (with 240 gr gluten) is in the steamer, i think it will be wonderful the same 🙂
The can of lentils that I buy have some liquid in them. Should be drained or not? Thank you, Sam.
Yes. Drain the liquid. Just the lentils required here.
Best ever! I’m pregnant and this is literally my biggest craving because it’s so amazing. I always have to quadruple the recipe and freeze the rest because it takes so long. I add a little extra soy sauce and maple to the marinade though because I like it stronger. Oh and try it with A-1 steak sauce, the vinegar in it pairs well with this.
Made this last night. OMG, love, loved it, and then this am, sliced thin, fir my breakfast sandwiches! Delicious
Thank you!
Ps- any tips in cleaning up the food processor?..
Yay! So happy you loved it. Yes, cleaning tips are in the recipe notes 🙂
Love this recipe! Thank you! I haven’t used the marinade yet. I use red lentils and season them well as they cook, which adds flavor. I’ve also added dried shitake mushrooms to the water when steaming.
To clean up, I boil some water in a kettle and let the dishes sit in the boiling water for a while. After that step, it’s much easier to clean without making a sticky mess. Then, I let the brush sit in some boiling water to help release any stickiness that’s left.
Sam you are a genius in the kitchen! 🙂 This is my first time ever posting a comment on any site, however I had to do two things: tell you how amazing your recipes are and ask you quick question…My boyfriend is probably getting tired of me saying how AMAZING Sam is… Anyways, on to my question:
This was my first attempt at Seitan Steak, and while the texture and look were AMAZING, the taste was extremely “gluten-y”. I followed your seasoning recipe to the tee, so is the “gluten-y” taste something that I just have to get use to OR is there anyway to increase some of the seasoning to better cover that unpleasant gluten taste?
Thank you for any suggestions! 😀
Haha! Aww shucks, thanks! I didn’t think these steaks tasted gluten-y, and neither did my friend and family who I cooked if for, so I would double check you measured everything accurately. If you’re sure you did however, I know some people like to add a splash of vinegar to their seitan to cut the gluten flavour. Hope that helps!
Something went horribly wrong for me, sadly. I’m sitting here with totally rubbery steaks on my plate!? The texture is completely smooth and springy. It’s nasty.
I used dried green lentils and cooked them before making the steaks up. I used a metal steam basket inside a pot, which *may* have had a bit too much water in? When it was boiling fiercely, the water did come up through the bottom holes. The steaks overlapped only a tiny bit when I put them in the pan.
Does anyone have any suggestions? The seitan meatballs were delicious and I was super excited for these too. I feel like I must have messed up the steaming somehow.
Thanks
I just made a batch and got the same result. It wasn’t very juicy. A little dry and rubbery. Does this happen if it is overcooked?? I accidentally let it steam for 25 minutes instead of 20 minutes.
This can happen if the vital wheat gluten is very strong. More of the starch has been removed. I find it helps to remove about 1/4 chip of the gluten and replace with standard white flour. 🙂
I wrap my seitan in parchment paper while it steams. It keeps the water from getting on it. Be sure to unwrap it as soon as you are done cooking it.
Hi,
i’m wondering: where is the seitan in your seitan steak or burger? i do not see it in the ingredients.
best regards
Winfried
Hi Winfried! This recipe is to make your own seitan. When you make a meat-like food using vital wheat gluten, that is called seitan. So in this recipe you are making your own homemade seitan burgers
I wanted to take the time to thank you sincerely for posting this recipe!
I have made this recipe a bajillion times now it seems, and I ALWAYS double the batch. It’s also my boyfriend’s favorite thing that I make, and diet-friendly for me (I count calories).
The only thing I do differently is add only 1 tbsp of oil (calories) to the marinade, and also put in some steak seasoning to the marinade.
Also, I totally use the steaming method for all my seitan now. Baking would always make it too hard, and simmering it would always turn weird and too soft. This is just right and doesn’t require a bunch of broth or the oven heating the whole house.
Aww that’s wonderful, Bethany!! And yes, I agree, steaming seitan is the only way to go! Any other way I have tried it just isn’t as good. 🙂
Made these last night, by far the best seitan ever! I used a little Katsu sauce for dipping, delicious!!! Thanks so much, cannot wait to receive your book!
Thrilled you enjoyed it, Renee! I hope you love the book too 🙂
I made the steaks for dinner tonight for the first time but not the last. My carnivore husband pronounced them “pretty good” which is the highest compliment he ever gives. He has no taste buds due to radiation therapy on his jaw, so I give him a pass. I divided the dough into 6 steaks as we are seniors and don’t ususally eat large servings. 6 seems a perfect size. They are well flavored, with marinade adding just the right flavor and moisture. I like your chicken tenders too, and all of it freezes well. Thank you for your creative work and sharing, such a great resource for vegans!
You’re most welcome, Eileen! So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
I had expired vital gluten wheat that I’d never had time to turn to seitan because it seemed too much effort and I’d been unimpressed by seitan most times I had tried it. But lockdown had me doing a pantry sort out and I decided I was not going to throw it away before trying to make it work. So happy I stumbled upon your recipe. It seemed the least bland one, and with ingredients that I had at hand (except for liquid smoke that I subbed for smoked paprika in the marinade). I am so happy with how it turned out – the texture, flavor and how it freezes – that I have promised to make some for friends 🙂
Wonderful!! So happy you loved it, Maria 🙂
First, let me say that this is a household favorite. So much so that, yesterday, I convinced my father to try some. This man is a die-hard carnivore. Like the last time he intentionally ate a vegetable was probably when JFK was president. Anyway, he LOVED it! Today, he asked me to make it into a log so he could slice it like roast beef.
I have lentils simmering on my stove as I type. But I’m a bit flummoxed as to how to steam it. I was thinking about trying it with the baloney method but the texture and time would change. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!
An update: cut it into two pieces and tried wrapped and unwrapped. After 30 minutes, the wrapped one was still a bit floppy so I took off the parchment and steamed it for an extra 10 minutes.
The wrapped one turned out much better. However, the flavor of the marinade didn’t penetrate too deeply. So we sliced it up with the intent of storing in the marinade. But it didn’t last long enough to store it. Maybe next time 😉
Hi check out bosh.tv they do a wrapped log version of seitan that you may be looking for.
Haha! Amazing! Yes, follow the baloney for shape, and I would steam it longer to make sure it cooks all the way through. It’s pretty difficult to oversteam seitan, so maybe double the time to be safe. Enjoy!
I’m not sure what went wrong for us. It is so chewy and rubbery. My partner called it “steak flavored bubble gum”. Any advice?
I just made this recipe tonight and it was so delicious, my whole family loved their “steaks”!!! Thank you so much for this recipe, I’m still amazed at how wonderfully flavorful it was, plus it had a great “meaty” texture. You’ve created the easiest recipe to follow and I’m so grateful. Thanks again!
So happy you loved them, Lena!!
Thanks for sharing! I haven’t ever used it as a steak with the marinade, but we use it for carnitas! It makes some awesome tacos! We use this recipe pretty often.
Glad you enjoy!
Hi Sam,
I made these yesterday for the first time. I grilled one on the bbq yesterday for a burger & today pan grilled one for on top of a salad. So Delicious!! Next up is a “chicken fried” steak. I’ll definitely be making these again & again! Thanks for an awesome recipe.
You’re most welcome, Leanne! Thrilled you enjoyed 🙂
Looks great! I’m curious – if I did t have cooked lentils on hand, do you think there are any eligible substitutes? Is there a particular reason you chose lentils? Just trying to figure out if I can make this with what I have. Thanks!
Ok, stop right there…this is THE seitan recipe you want. I made it tonite, it was absolutely perfect!
I made one small addition by adding 1 tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire sauce to the seitan mix and 1 tablespoon to the marinade. I used dried lentils…1/3 cup dried beans and 1 cup of water, simmer until soft. Smushed the lentils in the Bullet mixer, threw them in the bowl with other ingredients, kneaded, cut, steamed in a colander in a pot for 25 minutes. Do not leave out the maple syrup in marinade!
BBQ along with some thick sliced onions and whole baby peppers, serve on white rice.
Yum yum !
Haha! Love it, thanks Donna!
These are AMAZING. My very meat eater husband makes these for me, and he says its a very easy to follow recipe. They are a staple in my diet. I will literally never buy seitan ever again. This is so much better! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Aww so happy you love them so much, Tee 🙂
I USUALLY don’t like being redundant, but I must echo all the other reviews and tell you this recipe is fantastic! You are incredibly talented and creative. Thanks Sam. I appreciate you.
Haha!! Thank you so much, Sue 🙂
I made the Seitan Steak recipe and used it for fajitas. AMAZING!
As my husband said, “You’ve found us a new recipe to have regularly.”
Since we have not eaten meat for over 40 years, we have no idea if it really tastes like steak, but we love it!
Thank you for all your experimenting to come up with so many wonderful recipes.
Can’t wait to try them all.
Thanks, again.
So happy you both enjoyed it so much, Jeanne!
You’ve done it again Sam! I’ve made the Seitan Tenders before and they’ve been a staple for me. All I can say is wow! Made these steaks for the first time and was blown away by the flavor! Nice meaty taste with the perfect amount of seasoning. The texture was nice and firm but still tender and juicy. I plan on making some vegan cheesesteaks and maybe adding chunks towards the end of your Irish stew recipe for St Patty’s Day! Thanks for putting so much time and love into bringing us great vegan recipes!
Aww yay!!! SO happy you’re loving my recipes so much, Kim 🙂
My spouse was just about to give up on being vegan!! This recipe helped renew the commitment. We cut the nutritional yeast in half because we find it can overpower other flavors. I also added a tablespoon of vegan Worschshire. Yummy even before the marinade. Steamed in the Instant Pot for 25 minutes. They were the perfect texture once they cooled.
Amazing! Thrilled you loved them and that they helped renew your commitment!! 🙂
First time ever making seitan and with this recipe it was a SMASHING SUCCESS!! Thank you so much for this easy, fantastic recipe! I made this a day ahead of my planned meal (fancy homemade ramen for Valentine’s day). I thought for sure I ruined it when I let all the water boil away (oops) and then added more water to the pot which just boiled up over onto the seitan (double oops) but it still came out super great. Hooray! It looks so much like meat and has a much better meat-like texture than any meat substitute I’ve made before. Boyfriend was très impressed, as was I.
That’s wonderful, Allie!! SO thrilled you loved it so much 🙂
These steaks are amazing – delicious, chewy and so flavourful! I made the seiten (6 steaks rather than the 4 specified in the recipe) early this morning, so they could have a lovely bath in the marinade and put two into a grill pan this evening. The size worked well for tonight’s dinner and I’m really looking forward to grilling the remainder tomorrow.
Aww that’s wonderful, so happy you enjoyed, Fenice 🙂
have made your seitan chicken, seitan sausage, and other recipes from your cookbook….but this was by far the best, it came out great just the way you wrote it up..no changes….loved it
So thrilled you loved it, Jim!
Hi Sam!!
Would this recipe work to cut up for “beef” stew??
Love your blog and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
If you want something “beefy” I would recommend my seitan steaks! Note that I find seitan can get a bit weird when boiled so I would pan fry it and add it last. 🙂
Thanks, Sam!! I’ll let you know how it goes!
I’ve been vegan for two years now and have put off using vital wheat gluten as two out of six of us are gluten intolerant. But today, I thought, “To hell with it, I’m making us some vegan steak”. So glad I have tried it at last because everyone loved it. The two that are intolerant said they would save their “cheat” day for this! It’s actually quite fun to make too. Not as time-consuming as I originally thought and the fact it can be prepped ahead and frozen is fab. I doubt the rest of the packet will be around for long.
I learned to be a vegan cook from you, so thank you for yet another fantastic, easy recipe.
Aww you’re most welcome, Julie! Thrilled you loved the steaks so much 🙂
Are you using the entire can of lentils, 15 oz?
For months I let my inner critic (who’s a freaking jerk) discourage me from trying this recipe. I decided not to be a wuss and made the streaks. They turned out amazing. I gave the expensive, grocery store box of pre-made seitan the finger.
Haha! Love it! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I loved these! Thanks for the recipe. The first time I made them I made two and then froze the other two. Interestingly enough, my wife and I liked the frozen ones a little better. Maybe they had more time with the marinade? I made them again today and doubled the recipe to freeze them all. I’d really prefer to use canned lentils for ease and texture too. For whatever reason, my cooked lentils lost their skins and mixed in the steaks in a weird way. Still, I love these and they’ve become a family favorite!
So happy you love them, Jose 🙂
I made these in the weekend and WOW! First time making seitan and they turned out GREAT! Spot on with texture (so much like steak from what I remember) and the flavour is SOOOOO good! I will definitely be making these again and may even experiment with different seasonings. This is a great base recipe to play around with. Thinking of rolling them out thinner and making schnitzel! Thank you so much Sam for this recipe, it’s genius! Tenders are next on my list.
Amazing!! Thrilled you enjoyed it, Sam! Great name by the way 😉
Hi Sam,
I was in the mood for a vegan burger last night but none of the recipes I found looked appealing. So I decided to modify this recipe instead. I used all the ingredients listed but added a few more: a handful of rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, smoked paprika, smoked salt, MSG and Worcestershire sauce. It turned out great! I’ve been avoiding the supermarket for a few days due to Coronavirus so my fixin’s were pretty light. Even so I thought my little experiment was a huge success.
Now off to the store for mustard, burger buns, lettuce, tomatoes and maybe an avocado or two 🙂
Amazing!!! I’ll have to try that 🙂
Great Texture. Tender but a little chewy also. And a little crispy on the outside. I grilled in a pan on the stove. Really good flavour. I marinated for 4 days in a ziplock baggie in the fridge. Makes 4 really big pieces. Husband says one of the best tasting mock “meats” I have ever made for us. I cooked fresh lentils and we had the steak with a nice mango and quinoa salad. Top marks !
Wonderful!! thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Maraika 🙂
Absolutely delicious and meaty texture! I never really ate steak before, but for some reason, I was really craving something like steak and potatoes, so this was perfect with a baked potato and roasted green beans. Thank you!
Thrilled you enjoyed it, Mandy 😉
My wife has a tomato allergy, if I was to omit the tomato paste would it alter the texture of the recipe? I have tried seitan in the past and ended up making bubble gum, thank you in advance and glad I stumbled upon your page!
The tomato paste adds to the depth of flavour and richness, so if you omit it you may want to up the other seasonings a little. You may also need to add a tad more moisture. Otherwise, I think it will be just fine 🙂
I actually didn’t have any tomato paste on hand, so I used 2 tablespoons of white miso paste.
Worked perfectly!
Awesome!
Hi there, any substitute for the lentils? My a legume lentil allergy daughter has a legume and lentil allergy.
If she can eat tofu I would recommend trying my seitan tenders. If she can’t have tofu, maybe my seitan sausages will work for her. 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! I tried this without the marinade and while still kind of goopey (I didn’t have a proper steamer so I might bake them a bit later on before dinner before frying) (I also fried them even though not marinaded), the flavour is bang-on. It’s delicious! I’ll have to keep trying to get the right texture (maybe get a proper steaming device if I can’t DIY it with maybe a metal strainer)
Thanks again and happy 2020! <3
So happy you enjoyed them! Try just steaming them longer. You can’t really over steam seitan and it sounds like if you’re using a DIY method some heat might be escaping making them goopy. Hope that helps!
I made these tonight. I don’t know where did I go wrong, but mine were really chewy. It might be the lentils.. I overcooked them and they turned into a mush before I even mixed them in. And the texture was already really hard in the food processor. Like it needed more water. But as I have never used vital wheat gluten didn’t really know what to expect. I also didn’t have liquid smoke, but even after all of this I loved them. Definitely will be making again, and will be adding my own spices. I like a bit of the kick in my food. But may I just add, that my mum who loves meat more then her own children (joking), she said she loved them and would love to eat it more often! That’s a vin for me, thank you for the recipe
Hi Monika, it’s difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you, but if you watch the video of me making it you should be able to see what the texture looks like. Enjoy!
Thanks for the delicious recipe. My husband – none vegan – and I both enjoyed it immensely with a brown gravy, mashed potatoes and a veggie. Such a comfort meal. I made extra marinade as well. Do you think if I made six smaller steaks I would still steam for 25 mins? Sorry if you have already answered this question in another post. There are so many comments. Your recipes always seem to be a big hit. I LOVE the seitan chx tenders.
Hi Margie! Thrilled you loved them so much 🙂 I would recommend sticking with the same time as you can’t really over steam seitan, but under steaming it could result in undercooked seitan. Enjoy!
I made this for a steak dinner we had the night before Thanksgiving. Half of the group was vegan, half carnivores. Let me tell you, the recipe was a hit (as all of your recipes are!). Even the meat eaters thought it was tasty when we shared a bite with them. Next time I will take your advice and make extra sauce. It was delicious! I see this as being a very versatile recipe. I may try to make a salisbury steak out of it next time (think mashed potatoes and brown gravy, yum). It would also be great with BBQ sauce, A1 steak sauce, or teriyaki sauce. Thanks to you, us vegans do not have to miss out on the BBQ fun. It was so good and easy to make! Thanks for all of your amazing recipes.
Aww you’re most welcome, Karen!! Thrilled you enjoyed 🙂
My family are new to vegan food. I wanted to make this for my daughter who has missed the ‘meat’ texture with her meals. She’s not a fan of tofu or tempeh 🙂
This recipe was an absolute winner!
Next time, I’ll pulse the cooked lentils a bit first before adding the other ingredients to make the mixture a bit finer. I didn’t have liquid smoke and my chilli powder is way too hot for the kids, so I added paprika and a tiny bit of cayenne powder instead and it was terrific. Thanks so much for the recipe.
YAY! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Jo 🙂
I am a recent vegan for environmental and health reasons. I was also just diagnosed with celiac and I am also extremely sensitive to soy. So many years of pain and discomfort have finally come to an end! I would love to try this recipe but need a vital wheat gluten substitute. Can you help me out?
Unfortunately, there is no substitute for vital wheat gluten. I have some excellent bean recipes tho!
Just curious, what does the nutritional yeast do for the recipe?
Adds some umami flavour 🙂
I made these and am about to make my second batch…going for a Montreal steak (my home town) vibe this time…. I made your seitan steak recipe thinking that it was going to be …at best….ok…. It was so good!! …So tender……no gristle….. and best of all no harm!! I made a different marinade for each steak. Anyway just wondering if you have ever tried turning this into ground beef and using it for burgers or perhaps a meat sauce???
So thrilled you love it so much, Lea!! I haven’t tried burgers or meat sauce yet, but if you give it a go, let me know how it turns out 🙂
If I made half of the recipe, do you think I should steam less go the whole 25 minutes?
*steam less OR go…..I am very well English.
Steam the entire time. Enjoy!
I made these this weekend to use in vegan French Dip sandwiches, and oh my goodness the deliciousness! No need to search for another seitan beef recipe, ever. Another knockout!
YAY! Thrilled you loved them so very much Molly! Now I want a French dip sandwich! Great idea 😉
I’m a relatively new to whole food plant based lifestyle (a few months now), coming at it for the same reasons you did but it turns out that I hate chickpeas and most beans in any other form than falafel or hummus…so I thought that would put an end to any long term change until I found your baked tofu recipe through pinterest – hand to heart, I have been living on those delicious crumbly nuggets for weeks and regularly sell out my local store of all their extra firm tofu!
Ultimately, I figured that my primitive meat eating palate would overrule my desire to go plant based long term until I tried this recipe yesterday (and I can’t cook for shit!) – it was damn legend and between this and your baked tofu, I don’t think I ever have to eat meat again!
Thanks for keeping me on the path of meat free righteousness 🙂
Wow that’s so awesome Natalie!!!! I’m so very thrilled I was able to help you find vegan meat-y type recipes that you absolutely love. Thanks for the wonderful review 🙂
Hi Sam, thanks for an amazing recipe. Simple to make – especially compared to a few other seitan recipes I’ve use), great texture (like a well done steak or chop), and marinade flavour so tasty. Enjoyed it tonight with steamed potatoes and green beans. Will try to save some for my partner!
Yay! So happy you loved it, Alice… and now I’m jealous of your dinner. I must make this again soo myself! Haha
Lentils, you say… It might work, lentils are delicious unlike gluten (it’s individual of course, I personally love lentils and slightly dislike the flavor of gluten)… I made seitan steak once, a pretty elaborated but very heavily gluten based one, it was fun to try but not tasted particularly good. I didn’t expect it to be similar to meat, it’s impossible for me and it’s fine but I want my food to be tasty. My nicely spiced old seitan steak wasn’t actually bad but I missed something. Lentils just might do the trick! Lentil dishes are out, too carby for me but this is promising! It’s funny how often vegan kitchen helps me despite I am not vegan and need low-carb…
I have everything (except the syrup but I wouldn’t use it anyway, personal taste), I will try this soon!
I hope you enjoy it!
This is my favourite! I actually prefer the leftovers the next day because I find the texture is even more similar to steak. I think using canned lentils like you suggested is key to a good texture. I tried a couple times using lentils I had just made and they came out really tough because my lentils were harder. I also use a steak marinade I found online instead to keep it a bit more traditional. Sam, you’re a seitan wizard!
I agree, it’s even better the next day 🙂 So thrilled you love it, Lauren.
Great recipe! I got lazy and let my stand mixer do the mixing while I was prepping other dishes, and I’m afraid I might have overdone it, bc mine came out extra chewy. But still super tasty. Really easy, and I can see how changing up the spices could make this a really versatile recipe.I only ate one small steak, so I have plenty left over, and plan to slice it and reheat it in spicy Korean bbq sauce. YUM! As always, love your recipes, love your videos, love your super cheerful self (and your sense of humor!).
Glad you enjoyed, Jules! Yes, over mixing will definitely make them tougher and chewier. 🙂
btw: leftovers cut in Stripes make perfect toppings for a miso ramen bowl next day 😉
i will do this recipe now for a vegan Christmas Party for About 15 happy vegans 😀 thanks again for this mind blowing recipe! *dancing in the kitchen*
vegan love!
Haha! You’re most welcome 🙂
Not bad. It definitely needs to be pan seared or grilled to really get some good flavors going. As is, like straight out of the marinade, it’s kind of eh. Guys, don’t be shy on that all purpose steak seasoning with this. It adds lots of flavor!
Yes, this recipe is intended to be fried, grilled, or finished in some way to finish the steaks. Glad you enjoyed!
Made these and the “chicken” version. Both are great! Just had one with roasted broccoli as a post workout dinner! Love the protein! I’ve shared this recipe with about a bajillion people now!
haha! Amazing! So happy you love them and thanks for sharing, Amy 🙂
so! so! YUMMY!! thank you for this great recipe! i kneaded the dough by Hand after mixing all ingredients except the gluten in my Little magic maxx blender. i learned from other Seitan recipes that it turns out better if you “tear” the dough so it will build fibers. don´t know how to explain this better… and be sure not to overwork the dough. i kneaded, pulled and folded it until all gluten powder was worked into, then i stopped and cut it into 4 parts wich i pressed down on the table. i needed a Little bit more liquid for this, Maybe 4 tablespoons. then i steamed it in my Rice cooker 😀 it turned out good, but i will add 10 minutes steaming next time. the amount of Marinade was too small. NO Chance to cover only 1 of those 4 big Steaks with the Marinade. so next time i will make 6x the Marinade recipe for this 🙂
the texture was amazing after pan-frying the Steaks. the taste was great, too.. but next time i will add more salt (Maybe smoked salt?), it was a Little bit “boring” although i added a teaspoon of lamb-spicing from our turkish Supermarket. and if you want the Steaks to be flesh-like, you could try to use red beet Juice instead of water.
all in all the result was sensational! all the stuff i buyed in supermarkets was not half that good! thank you soo much and Keep on experimenting 😀
vegan love!
Glad you enjoyed!
These are awesome! Best vegan steaks I’ve ever had, including bought ones. I did change the recipe a bit (can’t stick to any recipe), but it was only using red wine instead of water.
Yay!! So happy to hear you loved them, uta 🙂
OUTSTANDING!!! Best seitan recipe ever (and I’ve tried them all). Totally delicious, perfect mouth-feel and SO SIMPLE! Sam, you’ve outdone yourself – this recipe is a masterpiece. Thank you so much for sharing it!
Aww shucks, thank you so much, Sam! Great name by the way 😉
I have made many versions before this, and all different and good in their own way. This one, however, has been the only one my incredibly fussy husband has said was excellent and please can we not have any of the others again, please, thank you, please! Magic!! Thanks Sam….btw, goes really well with a side of mushroom bacon which I cook using sliced portobello mushrooms and homemade chips (a la easyvegan) with homemade coleslaw….! X
That’s amazing, Jo! So thrilled this one has become the fave 🙂
I love this recipe. I’ve made it twice now! I’ve seen many beef substitute recipes, but ever a pork chop substitute recipe. I’ve even gone as far as asking my local vegan diner and they haven’t come up with a recipe. Can you please tell me the ingredients in the seitan you would change to make it taste like a savory pork chop and marinade ingredients as well? I look forward to your future recipes and thank you for making vegan eating easy for those of us that aren’t as creative.
I would have to do recipe testing to know that answer as the texture and taste would need to be very different. I will add it to my idea list 🙂
Awesome post. Planning on trying it.
Which type of lentils do you find best? Can you sub with another pulse/bean?
I use canned brown lentil for their convenience. I did try other beans when recipe testing these steaks but I found they left bean skins spotted throughout the steaks which weren’t the ideal texture. Enjoy!
Do you drain the lentils?
Yes, drain and rinse the cooked lentils before using. Enjoy!
Hi! This recipe is amazing. I’ve done it regularly for my family for a few months now and we all love it.But I have a question: I want to prepare a large amount for a party and my steamer is very small (it only allows two steaks at a time). I wonder if they could be somehow steamed in the oven of if you can suggest any other way in which I could do it rather than spend several hours steaming them two by two.Thanks in advance.
Hi Ema, so happy you enjoy the recipe so much! It’s ok if the steaks overlap a so you could try squishing in more at a time. You could also make a DIY steamer so you can have a second or third pot going at the same tie. Hope that helps!
You can use a colander as a steamer inside a pot with a lid on top!
Followed the recipe….but not sure why, it came out REALLY chewy. The recipe calls for frying / bbq’ing a couple minutes each side…is that enough? I found that ‘resting’ it made it a bit tougher (good thing). Except for the liquid smoke, didn’t really get much flavour. What am I doing wrong?!
Hi Mike, it’s difficult to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you, but seitan gets chewier the more you knead the dough, so it is likely that you may have kneaded the dough too long. Marinating it overnight also will make it more tender. As for flavour are you sure you measured the seasonings exactly? There are lots of added flavours in this steak. Hope that helps a little!
What blade do you use in your processor?
Just the regular S blade.
I tried this recipe and it came out awesome. How I approached it was I put all the “steak” ingredients in a blender except the vital wheat gluten. I blended it into a fine paste then poured it into a mixing blow. I then slowly added the vital wheat gluten, a half cup to start with then a quarter cup after that, working it in as I went. I ended up using a little less gluten then the recipe called for but it came out really tender! I totally agree, steaming is KEY! I’ve tried boiling a similar recipe and it came out very chewy.
Wonderful, so happy you enjoyed it, John! 🙂
There are so many comment here so I may have missed this if someone else asked this question. I have an Instant Pot. Could I steam the steaks in that as opposed to the method you mentioned in the instructions? If so, any recommendations to how long, etc?
Hi Lesley, I don’t have an Instant Pot, so I can’t help you, but a reader left a comment about using her Instant Pot. Elke Speliopoulos said “Oh. My. First time EVER liking seitan anything. That was delish!
The dough was the best formed I have ever worked with.
I used my Instant Pot to steam the steaks. Depressurized mid-way through, turned them (I have a great steamer basket) and repressurized. Perfect!
We threw them on the grill, and the result was pure magic. I had roasted potatoes and a salad with it and a bit of steak sauce. Absolutely delightful. Thank you so much! Your recipes have always been hits.
I froze the other three (hubby is meat eater, so he didn’t partake) to use with your steak sandwich post from yesterday!”
Hi Sam, I love Seitan and will be trying these (having baked tofu bites tonight yum) On the nutrional notes is it 295 calories per steak or for the recipe? My husbad is watching his weight. Thanks Jean
Per steak. Enjoy!!
Thanks Sam, the recipe is amazing and my husband loves em too…we have not eaten meat for over 40 years so we are calling them Stakans as can’t remember what meat tastes like or it’s texture….love love love your recipes
Haha love it! SO thrilled you are enjoying my recipes so much 🙂
Oh. My. First time EVER liking seitan anything. That was delish!
The dough was the best formed I have ever worked with.
I used my Instant Pot to steam the steaks. Depressurized mid-way through, turned them (I have a great steamer basket) and repressurized. Perfect!
We threw them on the grill, and the result was pure magic. I had roasted potatoes and a salad with it and a bit of steak sauce. Absolutely delightful. Thank you so much! Your recipes have always been hits.
I froze the other three (hubby is meat eater, so he didn’t partake) to use with your steak sandwich post from yesterday!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BygzVXhgtZb/
Amazing! So thrilled you loved them so much, Elke 🙂
Looks amazing but damn thats alot of sodium 🙁 id try it with less soy sauce and see if it is still good.
The sodium mainly comes from the soy sauce. All of the marinade isn’t likely consumed so you make actually be getting less when enjoying these seitan steaks. You could substitute a low sodium soy sauce. Enjoy!
Hi Sam,
Will this recipe work without liquid smoke?
Ps. Sorry I did not know how to comment normally, could only click on a reply button from replies.
Hi Lin, just wanna say that I’ve made this a few times and always without the liquid smoke. Still very good!
Yes, but it will lack a bit of flavour. If you can’t get your hands on liquid smoke, try smoked paprika instead. Enjoy!
Use Braggs Liquid Amino’s. Taste just like soy sauce and low in sodium
I made these for dinner last night and something amazing happened that never happens. My ENTIRE family ate it all! My kids are 3 and 5 and it’s always so hit or miss and they never like the same things. WILL be making much more! Thank you!
Wonderful!!! So thrilled everyone loved it so much, Laura!
Hi, Sam! I tried these and they were amazing. It tasted very similar to a well done steak. I had two left over and I froze them, but didn’t freeze them in a marinade. I just froze them dry.
Do you think the steaks will still work? Or should I toss them and make a new batch? We’re going to make steak fajitas with them next time! Yum!
Hi Cait, so happy you love them! The steaks should still work but they may be a bit dry so I would whip up a larger batch of marinade and marinated them once thawed. Enjoy!
I made this about a month ago and it was so good! It freezed really well too! I gotta say though it was kind of “creepy” how much it is like eating an actual steak. I had to keep telling my self, “…it’s not meat, it’s not meat”!
Thanks for the recipe!
Hahaha!! I’m glad I creeped you out a little 😉
Is that frozen before or after cooked.
In the marinade?
Steam, pop it in the marinade, and then pop it in the freezer. Enjoy!
You nailed it! First time ever I liked a seitan recipe.
Been trying a lot of different approaches but this recipe with the steaming is the best.
Thank you so much, Jack!! I agree, steaming is the best, everything else I tried didn’t compare 🙂
I want to try this tonight. What is the difference if I use uncanned lentils?
You would just have to cook the lentils first. Enjoy!
I have been experimenting with different seitan recipes for almost a year now. I just made it and so far it looks better than anything I have ever made. I am sure the taste will be great as the ingredients aren’t too different from others I have made. It is marinating now and I can’t wait to try it.
Ok. Just cooked it up. Oh my goodness. That was good. It would have been even better on the grill but it rained. I can think of so many uses for this. Thanks!
Haha! You’re most welcome, Annie! Thrilled you enjoyed 🙂
Aww wonderful!! I hope you love it, Annie 🙂
I made Seitan from spelt flour, can I substitute it for Vital WHEAT Gluten, as I am allergic to Wheat.?
No, vital wheat gluten is mandatory for making seitan, unfortunately.
I think something went wrong for me, I steamed on a hob but deviated from the recipe using chickpeas instead of lentils but the whole thing came out gluey/ doughy any chance I could have overmixed in my blender? I made 4 steaks, so I have some left over but am a bit nervous about cooking them after last night’s catastrophe
Seitan is very picky so if you change the recipe or don’t measure exactly, it can yield unpredictable results. If you found that the seitan was gluey/doughy before steaming, that’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be! If it’s after steaming than it sounds like you might have not steamed it long enough. It will be doughy when raw and will be sliceable and chewy when cooked. Hope that helps!
This is amazing! I went off grid a little bit and cut mine into strips to use a “chicken ” in fajitas. I used the same marinade and they came out fantastic.
So happy you loved it, Amber! You might also enjoy my Vegan Seitan Tenders recipe which is designed to be a little more chicken-y in texture and flavour 🙂
This was great! It was super easy to follow and make. I was somewhat surprised after reading some comments. Just follow the recipe and you will make an impressive vegan steak! My husband had a bad experience recently so he was most hesitant to try but LOVED it! Already coming up with ideas for other “meat” dishes! Thanks so much Sam!
That’s so wonderful, marianne! Very happy you and your husband loved it so much 🙂
I have made these several times and they are the absolute best! I package them individually, each in different marinades then freeze them. Pull one out in the morning to defrost in the fridge and they are ready to grill or pan fry for dinner. I am vegetarian., my girlfriend is not and she even likes them. The best seitan recipe I’ve tried.
Ah that’s so very wonderful, Josh! So thrilled you love them so much!!
We failed at this one. We tried microwave steaming. Is that why they turned out rock hard and inedible? We followed everything else except the processor.
Hi Sarah, I had the same problem! After plenty of scrolling I found someone with the same issue and Sam did say it probably won’t work with microwave. I’m going to try this out again with an actual steamer!
Yes, I’m afraid a microwave would change the texture of the seitan. I recommend steaming in a pot on the stove.
Do you have an instant pot, by chance? It’s an electric pressure cooker, and I’ve become so obsessed with mine that I now own FOUR of them (it’s not a problem till I say it’s a problem, darn it!). I put the steaks into the pot on a steaming rack, steam for 25 minutes at high pressure, and let the pressure come down for about 10 minutes before quick-releasing the steam and pop it into the marinade straight away. No flipping needed. Try it. Life-changing and easier than stovetop steaming.
It’s not the recipe. It’s totally the microwave. This recipe is one of the best things on the internet. I use black beans instead of lentils to make the steaks darker more like a “steak” should. So good.
I dont have a pressure cooker cause I saw a video of a woman whose cooker blew up on her and she got shards of glass and metal flayed into her face, and the hot water in the pressure cooker globbed onto her skin and melted it. She needed major reconstructive surgery but doesnt look anything like a human.
So I jsut stick to my crock pot.
That woman must have done something wrong. People have been using pressure cookers for half a century. It is a great cooking method if you are not stupid. One incident is no reason to never have anything to do with something again. Millions of people drink and drive and crash. Does that mean you will never drive or ride in a vehicle again?
Agree with you BB Salzburg!
Agree 100%! And yes, once opened too soon and was spaghetti on the ceiling! Never did that again but love both my pressure cooker and crocko pot! Just follow instructions and use prpperly.
That person paid a huge price for a mistake. I’m sure you’ve never made any mistakes in your life otherwise how could you possibly be such a judgmental and mean asshole.
you can not screw up with the modern pressure cookers and the Instant pots are totally safe, nothing like your grandmother or great grandmother might have used, totally different, totally safe!
Hah, and my family woder why I want two! Thanks for the tips too, will be trying.
Hi Sam! I don’t have a food processor so tried using my blender, which (mostly) has worked as a substitute for a food processor. Well, it didn’t work with the seitan ‘dough’ and I really wasn’t able to get thedough smooth enough because of the lentils. Finally I finished the recipe and it was good enough (though crumbly) that I tried again a few days later. My secret weapon: my coffee grinder! I usually use it to grind up seeds for herbs but it ground up the dry lentil seeds quickly. The lentils were ground up so fine they didn’t take long to cook. Mixing and kneading was easy and the seitan steaks turned out great! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Wonderful! Glad you were able to find a good solution, Joe 🙂
If you read the recipe it says to use cooked lentils.
Hi Sam! I just tried the recipe today and IT TASTES REALLY GOOOOOOD but my steak texture is a bit off! It’s a bit spongey and chewy, which I don’t mind, but it doesn’t look like yours. I steamed it using a microwave steamer so I definitely didn’t go 25 mins. I was wondering how you can tell that it is done steaming other than it expands. Thanks!
Hi Tyas, I imagine the problem is due to the microwave steaming, which is pretty different than steaming in a pot on the stove and would result in a very different texture. I recommend doing it on the stove instead. Enjoy!
Redid it. It worked!! Thank you Sam! Now I’m really sure I don’t have to miss meat!
Haha! Amazing 🙂
I have made these at least 6 times now and they are so fantastic!! My husband absolutely loves them too (I have even left him a batch in the fridge when I’ve gone out of town), so good grilled on my cast iron grill pan. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I am so incredibly thrilled you love them so much, Lauren!!
I make this recipe often and often ‘make it my own’. Sometimes I cut the steaks into strips, crisp them up in a pan then add them to stir fried veggies (works well in teriyaki or black bean sauce!). Or I just eat the crisp skin strips dunked in vegan mayo and BBQ sauce (droooool). Today I’ve made it into balls and will add them to curry and pasta sauce during the week. I don’t really do Instagram so I’ll send you the pics (Sam) for your interest 🙂
So happy you are enjoying the steak recipe in so many different ways, Toni! 🙂
Best seitan ever!!!
Can’t get a better review than that!!
I’m not sure why some folks are having issues. I suck at baking and I followed the proportions and got amazeballs results. I did alter the marinade, but that’s just a taste preference thing. Everyone wants to season it there own way. I’ve done a more Asain style steak or even a southwestern. There are so many ways you can go with a marinade and these steaks just soke up the flavor. I even did a pesto wrap with some steak strips. I believe someone else asked about the prospect of adding mushrooms into the mix. What would your thoughts be on that. I found that to be a very interesting question.
Thanks so much Tara! Thrilled you are enjoying the steaks so much. See below for my comments on mushrooms. Enjoy!
Have you tried adding mushrooms to this?
That’s a good question. I would like suggestions on that as well.
I would not recommend that. The measurements and ingredients have been tested thoroughly to get the best results and altering them could unpredictably change that. I would recommend sautéing some mushrooms and serving them alongside the steaks. Enjoy!
Obviously people should be smart enough to catch this, but as so many people are gluten-free these days and some even have celiac disease, it would be great if there was a warning that seitan IS gluten and if you are avoiding gluten, you should not be eating seitan! Again, fairly obvious but I wonder if there are people who just don’t get it – they see “vegan” and they just think “healthy! I can eat that.”
The first ingredient is gluten. If they don’t understand that gluten has gluten in it then there are a fair few more issues going on than just a gluten issue.
Best seitan recipe EVER!!
True, but it’s astounding how dense people can be.
Probably the same people that need a warning on peanut butter. ‘MAY CONTAIN NUTS’.
Yes. “Seitan” is actually an invented Japanese word that means “wheat gluten.”
Incidentally, most people who think they are gluten-intolerant, aren’t.
However, wheat flour does have some highly irritating lectins. People who have problems with wheat almost invariably conclude it is the gluten. But the lectins are washed away with the carbohydrates when making vital wheat gluten flour.
This is why so many vegans who are convinced they are gluten-intolerant eat seitan quite happily…and then are shocked when they find out it is gluten!
I have tried a couple other seitan recipes but this is the best so far and will be my go-to seitan recipe going forward! Thank you for sharing
Woohoo!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Vanya 🙂
I am an uncommitted cook (I am just not into cooking), and building my vegan tecipe repertoire. This was my first try at seitan and it was VERY DELICIOUS. I followed it to the letter – but with no food processor, thoroughly mixed the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately before combining them with a fork and then by hand in a bowl.
Added more soy and maple to the frying pan at the end to reduce into a sticky “sauce” to pour over the fried steaks and mash. It was spectacularly delicious.
Am about to make my second batch, with my husband urging me for the past few weeks to show him how.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipes.
Helen
Australia
Wow that’s wonderful, Helen!! I’m so thrilled the recipe worked out perfectly for you, and that you are getting adventurous in the kitchen! 🙂
I’m thinking of making this tomorrow but im wondering…
If I steam the stakes in an Instant Pot, should I use low or high pressure? also, should I steam them for 25 mins still?
Hi Julie, I’m afriad I don’t have an Instant Pot and have never cooked with one so I cannot give you any guidance on that.
When you steam in an Instant Pot, you don’t use the pressure function.
Yeah I learned that later that day lol, thank you anyway!
I use the steam function with the pressure valve closed and it’s fine. Totally fine. 25 minutes on high pressure for this seitan recipe, 10 minutes natural release then QR and pop in the marinade. For the “chicken” one, I do 23 minutes steam with closed valve on LOW pressure, and then 10 minutes before quick-release. Also comes out perfect.
Thank you, Suzanne for the Instant pot tips, I have this recipe in the refrigerator and plant to grill it for Father’s Day to morrow, steamed it in the Instant Pot, I can;t wait after all these great reviews!!!
Yellow lentils are what you use in this recipe?
I used brown but any lentil will work. Enjoy!
I haven’t made these yet but I plan to because I love your seitan tenders recipe and have been sharing it on all my WFPB and vegan online groups. I do have one question, what type of lentils are used? I don’t have any canned lentils but I have green and red and could make either in the IP fairly quickly. just not sure whether the red would work to add color but change the flavor.
thanks again!
Hi Emily, so happy you enjoy the tenders so much 🙂 Any kind of cooked lentil will work well, so add whichever one you like best. The canned variety I use are brown lentils. Enjoy!
I made this for the first time tonight. My wife and I thought it was very good. Thank you for the recipe. One thing we would like to change is to make it a bit softer texture. Do you think adding more lentils or perhaps some tofu would accomplish this? Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it, Bob! If you found it too chewy, you probably over mixed it a little. The more the dough is kneaded, the chewier it will get. Also, the longer you marinate it, the more tender it will get, so try marinating it for a few days. Enjoy!
Wondering if I can leave out the lentils or use chickpea flour instead?
I haven’t tried that myself, so I am unsure of the result. I imagine it would make the dough dry, so you may need to add more moisture.
I am now marinating the steaks, and they look and smell great. I love that you don’t use oil in the recipe.
I’m wondering if you know of a good marinade that doesn’t have oil as well. Thank you.
Hi June, thanks so much! You can substitute aquafaba for the oil in this marinade. Also, check out these 12 seitan marinades, for the ones that contain oil, aquafaba can be substituted. Enjoy!
Hi Sam!
These are almost exactly like the Chickpea Cutlets by Isa Chandra Moskowitz that the Internet has been loving for about 10 years (here’s a recipe: https://www.isachandra.com/2010/11/doublebatch-chickpea-cutlets/). Don’t you think at least mentioning this inspiration would be nice?
Hi Paula, I’m not sure why you think my recipe is exactly like Isa’s as we have only two ingredients in common and the cooking method is completely different. I was actually inspired by Veggie Rose and The Happy Pear, and I credited them both at the beginning of the recipe. Hope that helps clarify!
There is almost nothing in common between the two recipes. They are shaped similar, but that’s about it. Did you even read the recipe ingredients?
Ciao bella in questi giorni la replicheró sicuramente! Solo a guardarla è un capolavoro, ho già comprato tutti gli ingredienti e anche i misurini americani perché qui in Italia usiamo i grammi.
Mi serve solo un’ultima informazione 1 Cup di lenticchie sono secche o cotte?
Cooked (cotte).
Hi Deborah, the lentils are cooked. Enjoy!
Came across your recipe today and definitely plan on trying it. I love reading the comments where I can get additional information and I like how you pay attention and respond to the comments. I’ll definitely be checking out the rest of your recipes. i do have a question. Here where I live, there is no nutritional yeast. I could order it online but most online sources here always seem to be out of stock and ordering from Amazon or some other source outside the country is just too expensive. Do you know of anything I can use instead? I’ve read a bit of miso works and miso is easy to find here. Obviously that changes the liquid ratio but I’m not sure it would change it too much. Any other suggestions? Thanks!
Thanks so much, David! In this recipe, nutritional yeast is just a little flavour booster and it would be fine if you just skipped it. You may want to bump up the flavours a tad to make up for it, but it won’t make or break the steak. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
OMG! I made these and they are awesome!! I bbq’d one on my grill with my cookina mat and didn’t have to baste with the extra marinade. I served it with a store bought bbq sauce I can buy here in Canada. President’s Choice Poblano and Lime….it’s my new fav!! Anyway, I tried a 2nd steak tonight on my salad with fried onions…the French’s kind. I sliced the steak in thin slices and heated in a fry pan with the bbq sauce and a little white wine. Best salad ever!! Thanks so much for sharing all your knowledge through your recipes!!
Aww you’re most welcome, Lisa! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much. I will have to try that BBQ sauce too, I live in Toronto 🙂
This is the 3rd time I’ve made it and it comes out perfect every time! Thank you!
You’re most welcome, Cheryl 🙂
Hi Sam!
I’m new to Vegan cooking and am looking forward to trying lots of recipes in your book, which I already have! I’m wondering if you think I cook cook this in the air fryer rather than pan frying in oil. Trying to keep calories down.
Thank you!
Hi Patty! Thanks so much for being a fan! Once you finish steaming it, you can prepare it anyway you think a steak might be delicious prepared, so yes I think an air fryer should work well. It may get a bit dry so be sure to splash it with marinade. Enjoy!
Thank you, Sam! 🙂
I made these the other day and although tasted great they were a bit like eating bubble gum so i think i did something wrong. I steamed them for 25 mins as the recipe says.
It sounds like you may have over kneaded the seitan. You just need to collect the dough into a ball, then cut and shape. The more you knead it the chewier it will become.
Made this. It turned out great. Used the instant pot. Steamed for 20 minutes then nature release for 5 minutes. Love it!! Thank you so much.
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it so much, Mc 🙂
Excellent! This is a regular for my fiancé and I. I don’t have a food processor, so what I do is put everything except the vital wheat gluten in my bullet blender until it’s a nice and smooth paste and dump it in a big bowl and work it into the VWG with my hands. This also works with chickpeas.
Wonderful!! So happy you love it so much, Kris!
I just did the same thing! It was the first time I’ve made seitan and I loved it so much I ate two steaks
Haha! Amazing!
Hi Sam, looking forward to trying this “steak”. I do not have a steamer but have a steaming function on my microwave. Do you think it would work out? All my previous attempts at seitan anything has not worked out so great so hoping this one is it! Don’t want to ruin though just because of the steaming. Thanks!
Hi Maria, I have no idea if the streaming function on the microwave would work or not but my instinct is no. Steaming is crucial to the texture and the recipe turning out correctly. If you don’t have a large steamer you can pick one up fairly inexpensively or you can make a DIY steamer using one of these hacks. Hope that helps!
I don’t have a decent size steamer. Could these be cooked in broth, like some seitan recipes are, or will it alter them to that icky, rubbery texture, I wonder?
That would change the texture to a weird spongey squishy thing. Not good! Haha. If you don’t have a large steamer you can pick one up fairly inexpensively or you can make a DIY steamer using one of these hacks. Hope that helps!
I just made these for dinner tonight and I can only say “oh my goodness”!! I am pretty finicky on textures but this was off the charts. My favorite part was when my 5 yr old said “ this is great steak mom” What???? This child has an amazing gag reflex for most faux meats I make so you couldn’t have gotten higher praise!! Thank you
Haha! That’s amazing!!! Delighted you and your daughter enjoyed the steaks so much, Valerie 🙂
I love this recipe! I made these seitan steaks on Sunday night and marinated them overnight in the fridge! I cooked them for a friend the next day. We pan-fried the steaks and served them over pasta with gravy! It was delicious! 10 out of 10 would make again!
I think I may play around with the marinade for next time and substitute something for the maple! It was very good and added a nice smokey flavor. It wasn’t too sweet, but I’m excited to see what other marinades will taste like.
Thank you for posting this recipe. It was fantastic! I look forward to making this many more times and freezing. (Also excited to try your other recipes!)
Thanks Lindsay! So thrilled you loved the steaks so much. You can try one of my 12 seitan marinades here if you like. Enjoy!
Hi , thanks for the amazing recipe.
One question though , can I add beetroot to make it redder ?
Add additional ingredients will change the texture, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Enjoy!
Yay, the food stores are open again in New Zealand and being summer here, we are well in to BBQ weather. My local bulk food store sells vital wheat gluten so I am looking forward to giving both your seitan recipes a try. The local store owner tells me that canned banana blossoms are all rage as a fish alternative. The Thai canned variety is cheap here. Any banana blossom recipes in the offing? Great work and my wife is not complaining at my new found enthusiasm for cooking great new things from your fail proof recipes. Thanks
So happy you’re enjoying my recipes so much, John! I don’t have a banana blossom recipe yet… I haven’t seen those for sale anywhere here in Canada yet. Hopefully soon!
Just finished making these and wow!!! Definitely the most successful vegan meat I’ve made. The fact that they are high protein is a huge plus. I didnt have lentils so I substituted pinto beans and it seemed to work out fine. It’s also one of the easiest seitan recipes I’ve come across. Definitely going to be a staple in my house!
Awesome!!! Thrilled you enjoyed them so much, Jessica 🙂
Amazing recipe! Very good. I used them to make a Vegan Chicken Fried Steak. Worked out very well.
Awesome! So happy you enjoyed, Doug 🙂
Sam, I absolutely adore you because EVERY. SINGLE. RECIPE. comes out exactly as described when I try anything from your blog or cook book. My mind is blown! I have tried several pies, sides, and last night I attempted the steaks thinking I’ll probably somehow mess it up. NOPE. They are delicious. I feel like you helped me crack that make-it-taste-like-store-bought-seitan code. Thank you for that. I followed the recipe exactly, but swapped out the maple/agave syrup for Cholulah hot sauce.
Awwww shucks, thank you, Kate!! So happy you enjoyed the steaks so much, and all of the recipes you have tried 😀
Hello! I read the recipe, it sounded pretty straight forward so I never looked at it again- in my haste I missed the steaming step and only pan froed them- they were like bubble gum! Lol WOOPS!!! The taste was great though… we only cooked two and have the other two im the marinade… i’m wondering if they would come out okay if i steam them in a coupme days when we are ready toncoom them… any thoughts on this? Thanks!
I can’t say that I have ever prepared the steaks in such a way so I cannot know if they will turn out ok. You’re welcome to try tho. Best of luck!
I haven’t made this yet but I was wondering how long can I store this in the freezer for? Can I substitute lentils for Chickpeas?
I would say 1 – 2 months. Chickpeas work ok, but their skins don’t mix to well so it works a little less successfully, but still good. Enjoy!
I just tried and my liked it. =) My hubby called it devil steak. (Satan steak)
I was wondering….would it be weird to marinate the dough and then steam it?
Thanks
Haha! Funny. That might change the texture. I recommend marinating after it is steamed. Enjoy!
Hi.
I want to try making there this weekend as I’ve recently adopted a vegan diet.
I want to get these right so what is the weight (grams) of the Seitan and is the drained weight of the lentils around 265g? I’m in the UK so want to check pls.
I’m looking forward to the weeks. And experimenting making a Saturday night steak meal!
Thanks
Hi Robin, welcome 🙂 I don’t know the weight of the seitan and the drained lentils as I didn’t do those specific measurements when writing the recipe. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Hello! I would use dried lentils and cook them. What color of lentils would you recommend?
Thank you!
Brown or green. Enjoy!
Where can you get Seitan and is it in powder?
This recipe is to make seitan. To make seitan you need vital wheat gluten which is a powder and you will be able to get it at any health food store or online.
Hi, Sam.
Is there a different way to steam or prepare these? I only have a small-ish pot that comes with a steamer basket and I am sure it won’t work for this (plus, it’s not really a basket, per se; it just comes with the pot and only has holes on the bottom). I have a larger pot but nothing to use as a steamer. Maybe there’s no other way, but I figured I’d ask! Thank you!
They need to be steamed in order to have the correct texture. If you don’t have a steamer basket for your large pot you could use one of these methods to make a DIY steamer. Hope that helps!
Hi, just made this, it’s terrific. I made a few changes, of course… I don’t care for liquid smoke and used a teaspoon of smoked paprika instead. Also, I added 2 teaspoons of porcini powder. So tasty, thanks for all you do!
You’re most welcome, Karen! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much 🙂
Wanna try out your recipe!
Is steaming better than pressure cooking? I usually pressure cook my seitan so am more familiar with that!
I don’t have a pressure cooker, so I’m not sure. I know steaming works beautifully for this recipe, I have no idea how it would turn out in a pressure cooker.
Hello
You are saying 1.5 cups of vital wheat plus the ingradiants serves 4?
Trying this recipe and have noticed that when I put the ingredients into my fitness app it says each serving is 84g protein not 42g. Have you got your figures incorrect?
Vital wheat is between 70-75 % protein which means 1,5 cups, in the uk 375g works out to be 300g protein. Split into 4 is 75g. just for the vital wheat, that’s not including the lentils and other ingredients.
Can you confirm please?
Is your comments where you say each strak is 42g protein in relation to a serving for 8?
It also says double the calories per steak when having the recipe as 4 steaks. so 590 calories instead of 295 as you say.
Seems a bit of a coincidence of how it is exactly double.
Please confirm. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Hi Rob, the recipe makes 4 steaks. For the macronutrients, the recipe plugin I use calculates the nutrients, and it was for one steak. Hope that helps!
ok. How much vital gluten wheat are you using for 4 steaks?
Your recipe states 1.5 cups (375g) for 4 steaks. 375g is roughly 300g protein. 300g divided by 4 is 75g protein per steak before adding the protein from other ingredients. Once they are added it is 84g protein per steak?
Regards
Rob.
Well maybe my nutrition program is off on the vital wheat gluten! Trust the program you are familiar with. Enjoy!
Your figures are off Rob. 1.5 cups of wheat gluten is 180 grams, not 375 grams. The calories and protein are accurate when using 180 grams of wheat gluten in the recipe.
We LOVE this recipe so much, and have passed it (and your blog, and cookbook) along to many others to enjoy! Thanks for creating it! I wonder if you are up for a challenge… how about creating a seitan chick’n nugget recipe the kids will love? Sort of like a fast food version? My kids eat soy nuggets like they’re going out of style, but I really think the seitan would lend itself nicely to that flavour. What are your thoughts?
Aww thank you so much, Emily!! I don’t have a seitan style nugget yet, but I do have these baked tofu bites which are my current obsession 🙂
I am definitely trying this method. since you are seitan expert I wonder did you ever hear that someone prepare seitan in the sea waves? I recently discovered that method at small no-traffic Croatian island Zlarin. I think you might like it, so I share with you this sea-seitan unique recipe
Yes, I have heard of that. There’s no sea near me tho!
I have been meaning to send you and comment about these steaks. The first word that comes to mind is FANTASTIC! My husband made the first time back in June. The were so delicious we decided that they would be part of our camping menu for July and again in August. We can’t say enough about how fabulous these taste and how much my whole family loves them. We’ve even had left overs the next day and made steak sandwiches!
You have great recipes and I will continue to tell my friends about all the goodness you create!!
Thanks!!
Thank you so much, Christine! I really appreciate your kind words, they totally make my day 🙂 So very happy you are enjoying my recipes so much!
First triedseitan while on holiday in Tuscany at a vegetarian place…theirs was very thin and brown with a very soft texture like liver…it was ok but not great, but the idea of seitan intrigued me. Just tried your seitan recipe and it came out great!
Made two larger steaks in marinade and left in the fridge, and tonight had two slightly smaller ones that I breaded and fried to make yummy crunchy burgers.
This is a foolproof fantastic recipe I’ll be using again and again!
Quick note…liquid smoke isn’t that easy to get in the UK so I substituted with a teaspoon of truffle oil and a tablespoon of Hawkshead relish (vegetarian Worcestershire sauce).
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe Sam.!
That’s wonderful!! So thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Steve. Another great sub for liquid smoke is smoked paprika, not sure if that is easily available?
Hi Sam,
Smoked paprika is a great tip, I’ll try that, but I see we can get liquid smoke in the UK from online retailers, so I’ll get hold of some for that extra special flavour.
Just made my second batch today (this time with a can of drained lentils instead of chickpeas) and it came out just as good as last week.
Don’t have a steamer and our colander is plastic, so improvised with a non stick perforated pizza tray over a large brim deep pan and used the pan lid over the four steaks.
This recipe is so much fun…thanks again Sam!
Wonderful!! So glad you are enjoying it so much 🙂
I just tried grilling one and it tastes and feels like the seitan hasn’t cooked properly. It’s soft and doughy, much like it was before I steamed it. I tried steaming for another 25 minutes but nothing much has changed.
Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas about what it might be.
My suggestion would be to make the “patties” a bit thinner at first. Or, you can do what I do. (1) Make the steaks quite large and quite thick. Steam them fully. Then, take these and cut each big piece into cutlets. These go into the marinade. Then, pan fry or bake. The texture comes out great for me…I have not had a “bad” batch yet. Hope it works for you as well.
That’s never happened to me before. My guess would be that a measurement was off. It’s difficult to know without being in the kitchen with you. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Hi Sam! Could you please help? We followed your recipe to the T and somehow, the texture was tough and chewy. Is there something we missed in terms of kneading, steaming, etc? We steamed for 25 min, marinaded for 30 and kneaded a good 20 min. Thanks!
There is no need to knead the dough for 20 minutes. I knead it just until it comes together into a tight ball. That’s probably what made it tough. Also the longer you marinate it, the more tender it will get. Hope that helps!
The same thing happened to me 🙁 very gummy and soft. I suspect that I might have added too many lentils.