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...
marianne says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
That's so wonderful, marianne! Very happy you and your husband loved it so much 🙂
Josh McCartney says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
Ah that's so very wonderful, Josh! So thrilled you love them so much!!
Sarah says
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.
Tyas says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, I'm afraid a microwave would change the texture of the seitan. I recommend steaming in a pot on the stove.
Suzanne Nelson says
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.
Joseph says
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.
BB Salzburg says
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?
Jen says
Agree with you BB Salzburg!
Audrey says
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.
Chris says
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.
Suee33 says
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!
Audrey says
Hah, and my family woder why I want two! Thanks for the tips too, will be trying.
Joe says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Glad you were able to find a good solution, Joe 🙂
BB Salzburg says
If you read the recipe it says to use cooked lentils.
Tyas says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Tyas says
Redid it. It worked!! Thank you Sam! Now I'm really sure I don't have to miss meat!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Amazing 🙂
Lauren says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
I am so incredibly thrilled you love them so much, Lauren!!
Toni says
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 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you are enjoying the steak recipe in so many different ways, Toni! 🙂
Barbara Price says
Best seitan ever!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Can't get a better review than that!!
Tara says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
Thanks so much Tara! Thrilled you are enjoying the steaks so much. See below for my comments on mushrooms. Enjoy!
Roy Elahi says
Have you tried adding mushrooms to this?
Tara says
That's a good question. I would like suggestions on that as well.
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Preman says
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."
Danielle says
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!!
Preman says
True, but it's astounding how dense people can be.
June says
Probably the same people that need a warning on peanut butter. ‘MAY CONTAIN NUTS’.
David Isaak says
Yes. "Seitan" is actually an invented Japanese word that means "wheat gluten."
David Isaak says
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!
Vanya D. says
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
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Vanya 🙂
Helen Bergen says
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
Sam Turnbull says
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! 🙂
Julie says
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?
Sam Turnbull says
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.
Preman Tilson says
When you steam in an Instant Pot, you don't use the pressure function.
Julie says
Yeah I learned that later that day lol, thank you anyway!
Suzanne says
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.
Suee33 says
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!!!
Brenda L Winterhal says
Yellow lentils are what you use in this recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
I used brown but any lentil will work. Enjoy!
emily says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Bob says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Nancy says
Wondering if I can leave out the lentils or use chickpea flour instead?
Sam Turnbull says
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.
June says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Paula says
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?
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Allicia says
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?