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...
Paul says
new to vegan love your bubbly personality steak looks good cheers paul
Sam Turnbull says
Thanks so much, Paul! Welcome 🙂
han says
how would this do for buffalo wings in your opinion?
Sam Turnbull says
I would try my Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower recipe instead. 🙂
Cindy Olen says
Please share if you have substitute for olive oil for those that are oil free? This recipe looks delicious and the benefit of extra protein. Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Cindy, as the oil is only in the marinade you can skip it. Just add more water or seasoning to the marinade and be sure to brush the steaks liberally while they cook so they stay moist. ENjoy!
Martine says
Omg this was so delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
You're very welcome! So happy you loved it.
Sheree says
Hi Sam,
Can't wait to try this, I just have 2 questions. Would a nutri bullet work instead of a food processor? And do you know what I could do if I don't have a steamer?
Many thanks
Sam Turnbull says
I wouldn't suggest a nutri bullet and would instead suggest doing it by hand. It's a lot of dough and I don't think it would fit nor blend well. You can fit a metal strainer basket into a pot and top it with the lid. Enjoy!
Tova says
This was my 1st time making seitan as I was always a little nervous of texture, complexity etc. I’d used gluten flour but not like this. Well..my 1st steak attempts were AAAAMAZING! My newly vegan hubby was stunned & ate 3 in one sitting! And I’ve used this recipe with tweaks now as the basis for; stroganoff, pot pies, ‘beef’ in black bean sauce, tandoori pieces, chorizo - & didn’t THAT open up a world of vegan food adventures?! This recipe is a fail proof for me, every time. PLEASE...a ‘chicken’ seitan recipe really soon???
Sam Turnbull says
Oh that's so wonderful, Tova!! Thrilled you and your hubby enjoyed them so much and used them in so many ways! A chicken like recipe is on my idea list. Hopefully I perfect it soon 🙂
Sawyer says
I've made this several times by now because it is DELICIOUS and an easy fallback meal when I'm feeling lazy since it can just marinate in the fridge a while! I like to swap out some or all of the soy sauce for vegan Worcestershire sauce for an extra steak-y taste. It's great. I normally don't like seitan on its own, but this has proven to be the exception 😀
Sam Turnbull says
Wow that's so awesome Sawyer. Yes, I am the same as you! I often have a bunch of these just hanging out in the marinade in the fridge, ready to be grilled up when hunger strikes!
Christine Shaw says
hello! We loved this recipe! I made a batch and sliced them up to make a stirfry in blackbean sauce! its delicious! The texture is fab and i used a little more oil for the stirfry. Absolutely fab 🙂
check out instagram conbo_food Stir fry baef in black beans sauce
happy cooking and thanks again for the brill recipe!!
Sam Turnbull says
Sounds super yummy!!! So happy you enjoyed them, Christine 🙂
SHERRY says
Hi Sam,
I'd never had a seitan steak so can't say how it stacks up. But it was easy, steaks came together easily, rolled out pretty easily, looked like meat. After marinating I pan fried them. Hmmm, I liked them, but sort of tasteless/bland. And chewy/rubbery. I think I'll try them again but with the 1T. of vegetable shortening someone else mentioned. And marinate in the marinade I used for beef steaks.
But my husband, the meat eater, said no, didn't like the texture or lack of flavor. But I will try it again, I was just excited that they came together exactly as you wrote it. It worked!
Sherry
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Sherry, these steaks a full of spices and flavour so if you felt they lacked flavour I am guessing there was a measurement off somewhere along the lines. Sorry you didn't enjoy them more!
Maureen Cram says
I didn't have tomato paste so used crushed with puree same amount. That is the only change I made and they came out so tough we could hardly cut them even with a steak knife! So... I am going to grind the leftovers (I pan fried all of the steaks) and then use the mixture for something with more liquid - maybe in a chili :).Any other suggestions why they would be tough? Did I steam them for too long? I used a timer but did leave them in the steamer after the time was up to cool down... maybe that was it?
Sam Turnbull says
Oh no! It's hard to know without being in the kitchen with you, but it sounds as tho a measurement may have been off somewhere along the line. They definitely shouldn't be that tough!
Maureen Cram says
Very likely a measurement as I am in our US home and am using or was using cups and spoons that are not the ones I really know (I just bought a complete new set of cups and spoons in stainless steel)! But I ground it all up and made it into a great stew and we ate it all with mashed yellow potatoes two nights in a row :).
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!
Nova Brilliant-Smith says
Wonderful stuff Sam! I've made this 3x already and my husband loves it. The only change I made was the addition of 1 tablespoon porcini mushroom powder. I've been making seitan for years and found this really amps up the flavor, Thanks again for posting this.
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!! So happy you both love it so much 😀
Andrew Gair says
Hi,
I’d like to use this in a steak pie. Would that work?
How would you recommend doing that? If I cook it for as long as you say in the recipe, then put it into a pie and cook the pie, surely the steak would over cook? Would you recommend just making the dough, then cutting that into pieces and just cooking it in the pie?
I’m sure you’ll just be guessing, same as me, but I’d love to know your thoughts.
Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
You will need to steam the seitan steak first. This not only cooks it, but it also gives it its unique steak texture. After that, you can treat it as you would traditional steak. You don't have to worry about overcooking it. I believe steak pies usually start by browning the meat in a pan before adding it to the pie. I would do the same thing. Marinate the seitan steak as directed in my recipe, brown it in a pan and proceed with the pie recipe. Enjoy!
Mary says
This recipe is game-changing! So far, I've served it three different ways: grilled on the BBQ, in a wrap (thinly sliced and sauteed with onions and mushrooms and topped with marinated, grilled eggplant and vegan mayo), and as steak and tomato croustini. It's great in any form.
After the first time, I took some online advice about tenderized seitan and added a tablespoon of vegetable shortening to the mixture. It did seem to make it less rubbery. The second time I also used my husband's standard tenderizing marinade (2 parts olive oil, 1 part balsamic, 1 part pineapple juice, 1 part soy sauce, ground oregano and fresh garlic). Very yummy!
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you are loving it so much and in so many different ways, Mary! 😀
Kelly says
This is so good! Perfect texture and none of that weird "wheat" taste you get from some seitan. I let my mom have a taste and she was super impressed, even said it was so meat-like she was surprised I liked it, lol 😀
Will definitely be making a double batch to keep in the freezer.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it so much, Kelly!! (And like it even though it's so meaty) haha
Catherine says
This recipe has changed my life! Amazingly easy and delicious! I have been craving meat lately, which I haven’t eaten in 5 years. Thank-you so much! Now if only you could give us a great chicken seitan! PLEASE? I can’t find one that really satisfies.
Sam Turnbull says
I've added it to my idea list!! So happy you enjoyed this one 🙂
Lee says
Could I use the dough hook on my Kitchen Aid for the kneeling?
Sam Turnbull says
The dough is very stiff, and you only knead the dough for a minute or two. Most of the kneading is just collecting the dough together. I don't imagine a dough hook would work for that, but you are welcome to try!
Melodie L Meissner says
I have used the dough hook quite successfully. Just make sure you lock the mixer down properly into the bowl first, and your bowl tightly onto the base. And if you see particles in the bottom that haven't been incorporated into the dough, try adding a few more drops of liquid, or just pressing the dough ball into the dryer particles with your hand, then letting the mixer work it in a little more until smooth...hope it works for you!! I have a lot of pain in my hands, so working the dough can be difficult at times without the mixer. But I do love seitan, so if I can't get my appliances to work for a certain recipe, I still think kneading this dough by hand (when necessary) is worth the pain that results!!
Oh! One more tip in regard to using your Kitchenaid with the seitan: if, like me, you tend to prepare large batches of seitan at once (to freeze ahead), be sure you only add a moderate amount of the mixture into the Kitchenaid bowl at a time. If the bowl us too full, as it gets firmer (which happens really quick), it will just flop all over the place and you'll end up with a mess on your hands (and countertop, and machine, and everywhere else ☹). Leave a good 3 or more inches at the top of the bowl and just repeat until you use up all of your mixture. If you divide it into 2 batches, just add about half the liquid to each batch. If 3 batches, try 1/3 of the liquid, etc. If a batch is too dry, just add a few more drops of liquid at a time until the dough is the right consistency...you'll learn to gauge it by feel and texture pretty quick! And if it seems too sticky, do the same thing, but with more of the dry mixture instead. Good luck!
Sam Turnbull says
Great tips, thanks Melodie 🙂
Casey Jennings says
4th time I have made these will be this afternoon! Wow! Oh Wow! What an amazing recipe. Thank you ever so.
Sam Turnbull says
That's so awesome!!! Thrilled you love the recipe so much, Casey 🙂
Naomi says
These look so good. I don’t use oil and like to be gluten-free so my questions are will the marinade come out leaving out the oil? And is there anyway to make this gluten-free? Thank you.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Naomi, yes you can leave out the oil in the marinade but it does help make the steaks juicy so I might double the marinade and keep brushing them while they cook to keep them moist. This recipe cannot be made gluten-free, however.
Diana Hinson says
Sorry to jump in on this question but I have made this recipe gluten free ... and it works ... by using a product called "Gluten Free Gluten Substitute" in a 1:1 ratio to substitute the seitan. A company called Orgran make it.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! I have never heard of that product before. Thanks for the tip, Diana. 🙂
Pippa says
Doh!was very hopeful on this but am also allergic to maize. Any other substitutes that you know of?
Thanks
Pippa
DJ says
The primary ingredient is gluten. You can't get gluten-free gluten.
Diana Hinson says
This products works perfectly instead though, making this recipe gluten free.
http://www.orgran.com/products/gluten-free-gluten-substitute-gfg/
Isabel I says
Hi Sam!
Instead of lentils,Can be used chickpeas?
Same amount ?
What do you think ?
Love your book and my girls love the pillowy pancakes ❤thanks Sam
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome! Yes you can just chickpeas. The skins of the chickpeas will be visible in the steaks and will fall out of the dough a bit, so be wary of that, but it will still taste great!
Isabel says
Next time I will try with peeled chickpeas. This time I folowed your recipe and used red lentils..
Let me tell you that this is the most amazing and tasty Seitan I ever had. All my family loved that. Thank you so much
Sam Turnbull says
That's so awesome! So happy you enjoyed it, Isabel 🙂
Hannah B says
WHOA!!!!!!!! This is amazing!!! I was skeptical but I just tried out this recipe and WOW - they are so tasty. I fried mine up in a cast iron pan on medium-high heat with some butter, whole garlic cloves, cremini mushrooms, and tomatoes and it was one of the best meals I've had in a while. I pre-made these to bring to my family bbq on Thursday where me, my partner, and my sister-in-law are the only vegetarians out of the 8 of us.. can't wait for them to try these!!!
Thank you, Sam, for sharing these easy, delicious recipes that make being a vegetarian more delicious and easy than ever before!!! I legit had all of these ingredients on hand so this was SO EASY.
ps. I've been eating vegetarian for 2 years now and I'm working my way to a vegan diet. It can be tough though, as you say in your video, when you grew up in a animal product consuming household all your life, and have to break so many habits!!! This vegan steak gave me some renewed hope and browsing your recipes makes me both hungry and excited to leave behind more animal products and align more purely with my values for a more just and healthy world. Have a great day.
.
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!!!! So very happy you loved it so much, Hannah!! Congrats on your journey towards veganism, let me know if you ever need any support 🙂