Author: 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, Vegan Seitan Steak! Mouth-watering, flavor packed, tender, chewy, juicy, flavourful, meat-like texture. You can BBQ, skillet, or pan fry. Then serve whole or slice and put on top of salad for a steak salad or in a vegan steak sandwich. So delicious and satisfying!
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.
What is Seitan?
OK, 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.
How 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 ½" 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.
How To Cook Vegan Seitan Steaks:
Bon Appetegan!
Sam Turnbull
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Seitan Steak
Servings: steaks
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Ingredients
For the vegan seitan steaks:
- 1 ½ 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
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the vegan seitan steak marinade:
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave
Instructions
To make the 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.
- 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. Do not over-knead the dough, the more you knead it, the tougher the steaks will be, so knead it just until it comes together. Cut the ball into 4 sections, then use a rolling pin to roll out each section into ½" thick steaks. The dough will be very tough and stretchy, but just keep working at it until you get your desired steak shapes.
- Fill a large pot with several inches of water and place a steamer basket inside. Bring the water to a boil, then add the steaks to the steamer basket, overlapping them if needed, and cover with a lid. Steam for 25 minutes, flipping the steaks halfway through, or until their internal temperature reaches at least 160°F (71°C) when tested with an instant-read thermometer. If the temperature goes higher, that's perfectly fine—you can't really oversteam seitan. The steaks will double in size as they cook.
- 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.
To serve the vegan seitan steaks:
- 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! * Learn my secret tricks to making perfect seitan in my free masterclass. Click here to learn more and register.
Notes
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕
More vegan seitan recipes you might enjoy...
Nigel says
Make this regularly. Great for BBQ.
Stephanie says
Sam is A Seitan queen, this is my go to steak recipe. I've even seen a great adaptation from The Burger Dude who makes a seitan carne asada that uses this recipe as its base. Hail Hail Seitan!
Deniz says
I love this recipe. I’ve made it not only as the steaks but for French dip style sandwiches. I just put everything in the bread machine, it’s tough at first when it comes out, but after I slice it up and heat it in the broth it’s super soft and delicious.
I’m glad I found your site, I’m on to the chicken and burgers today.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Terrific! Sounds delicious!
Andrea says
I used the suggestion to blend everything but the VWG, which is a good idea. But it was way too dry. I added a good 1/2 c of additional water. I got four steaks of about 170gr each. I don't find seitan doubles when steamed, only when simmered.
I also suggest emulsifying the marinade so the oil actually is combined with the other stuff. Just shake it all up really hard in a little jar. I added minced garlic too, which was great.
Julie Kelley says
The cover page of this recipe says 1 cup lentils, cooked. The recipe, itself calls for 1 cup cooked lentils. These are two very different things. I used the 1 cup cooked lentils and the texture seemed right. Which is correct? I have a bunch of left-over lentils!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
It should be 1 cup of cooked lentils. Hopefully you can make good use of your leftover lentils!
Louise says
Tried this last week, really nice, both kids enjoyed it, my husband said it tasted better then it looked, my daughter said it looked better then it tasted but my son & myself thought it was great. Everyone ate it, and enjoyed it, so will be a regular for our menu rotation thank you
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Thanks for sharing your experience, Louise!
ADRIANA NEIVA says
My first vegan seitan steak. My family Loved. Thank you.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Terrific, thanks for sharing!
Pam says
I took the seitan class & cooked the steaks. My husband & I loved the taste & texture. I cooked two in a fry pan & two on the grill. We slightly preferred the grilled steak.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Thanks for sharing, Pam!
Janice says
Delicious recipe. I added the dry ingredients to the seitan. Added the wet ingredients to the lentils. Blended the wet in food processor. Then added dry ingredients and pulsed. looked exactly like the picture. I also added Montreal steak seasoning and cumin paprika and garlic to the marinade. I cooked one steak and it is very favorable. Thank you.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
We love to hear it!
Ryan says
Not in the win column. Was bland could have used something or a sauce other than A1 to take it up a notch. And coloring doesn't look appetizing. Should be included in the recipe to mix Vital Wheat Gluten last and not in the food processor. This may have been the reason why the taste was lacking but I doubt.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Ryan, it sounds like something might have gone wrong for you while making this recipe. Did your seitan match the pictures? This recipe is full of flavor and the color will look like the pictures.
Pat says
I love this steak - any suggestions on how to make it using seitan made with washed flour method?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Pat, so happy you love it! That would be an entirely different recipe so I can't recommend without recipe testing it myself.
Pam G says
Thank you so much for this recipe, it is freaking delicious!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Wonderful! Thanks Pam!
Sal Fountain says
I made the 'dough' and the pulled off tiny pieces and stretched them out unevenly so I could make deep fried shredded 'beef'. It worked Brilliantly! Steamer 15 mins. Marinated in the sauce during the day. Removed from sauce, cornflour until sticky, rice flour to dry, fry in 1 tbs oil til brown and crispy. Fantastic!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
That's terrific! We're happy to hear it!
Dee says
hi excited to try this recipe!
is the nutritional info per steak? so 295cals, 4g fat 42g protein per steak?
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Yes, the info is per steak!
Kelly says
I haven't played with seitan in a long time. I decided to make this last night and the steaks were SUPER MEATY and tasty, so this is the perfect recipe if that's what you're after. Wondering if I could sub the lentils for chickpeas or white beans?
Poppy says
Hi ! Can I do without food processor?! I have a liquidiser … 🙁
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Poppy, yes, if you see in step 1 of the recipe I also give instructions for if you don't have a food processor "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.". Enjoy!
Poppy says
Thank you! Xx
Brittney says
Truly enjoyed this texture! Absolutely amazing. Thank you!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Fantastic!
Elina says
I love this recipe! It’s my go-to. I’ve made it a bunch of times. I double or triple all the spices, including the liquid smoke, and add some more, even fresh garlic sometimes. I also make 50% more of the marinade and baste with any that’s leftover. The thing about seitan is that you have to add all the flavor. And we like loads of flavor!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Excellent! Thanks for sharing your tips!
Patricia Sackett says
My husband and I really like the seitan steak. We aren't vegan or vegetarian but when we want steak and don't have any or want meat, this recipe is a nice addition to our line up of foods. I have visited several vegan sites and this is the easiest and most straight forward. Thanks
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
We're thrilled to hear it!
Tanya says
Are there any instructions for steaming in the instant pot?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Other readers have tested it and told us it works best to steam in the Instant Pot for 13mins, let out the steam, and then turn them over to steam them for another 12 mins.
vanni says
any idea how to cook this in an instant pot?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Other readers have tested it and told us it works best to steam in the Instant Pot for 13mins, let out the steam, and then turn them over to steam them for another 12 mins.
AR says
UGH I took the recipe literally when it said put all steak ingredients in the blender together. NO DON'T DO IT. I have a Vitamix and it was not able to blend with the vwg in there. Always put the other ingredients in the blender then pour it on the vwg. I hope you change the recipe to reflect that. Now I have a ton of unpleasant lentil parts all through it.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
I'm sorry you had a bad experience with this recipe. It is designed to be pulsed in a food processor, which works differently from a blender.