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...
Vincenzo Recco says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
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 🙂
Bernadette Robinson says
I actually didn't have any tomato paste on hand, so I used 2 tablespoons of white miso paste.
Worked perfectly!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!
Arun Bhatia says
Hi there, any substitute for the lentils? My a legume lentil allergy daughter has a legume and lentil allergy.
Sam Turnbull says
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. 🙂
Isa says
Would chickpeas work instead of lentils?
Meredith Collins says
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
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Monika Kesminaite says
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
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Margie says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
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!
Karen Haworth says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww you're most welcome, Karen!! Thrilled you enjoyed 🙂
Jo says
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.
Sam Turnbull says
YAY! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Jo 🙂
Jessica says
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?
Sam Turnbull says
Unfortunately, there is no substitute for vital wheat gluten. I have some excellent bean recipes tho!
Hank says
Just curious, what does the nutritional yeast do for the recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Adds some umami flavour 🙂
Lea says
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???
Sam Turnbull says
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 🙂
Jake says
If I made half of the recipe, do you think I should steam less go the whole 25 minutes?
Jake says
*steam less OR go.....I am very well English.
Sam Turnbull says
Steam the entire time. Enjoy!
Molly says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
YAY! Thrilled you loved them so very much Molly! Now I want a French dip sandwich! Great idea 😉
Natalie says
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 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
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 🙂
Alice Lam says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you loved it, Alice... and now I'm jealous of your dinner. I must make this again soo myself! Haha
Shinita says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
I hope you enjoy it!
Lauren says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
I agree, it's even better the next day 🙂 So thrilled you love it, Lauren.
Jules says
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!).
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed, Jules! Yes, over mixing will definitely make them tougher and chewier. 🙂
avap says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! You're most welcome 🙂
Suzy Suzanne says
My Mom used to make this decades ago. I forgot about it. Yours tastes better, however I will share a few things she did and my substitutes. She added 1 Tablespoon OLIVE OIL so the dough does not stick to anything. Not even a blender/food chopper. (I made mine in a Ninja Blender from Costco) She formed (or rolled out) the dough into a long rounded cinnamon role shape. Then cut 1/2 inch slices with a sharp knife (easy to do with the added oil) Then she would flatten and score each piece with a serpentine shaped potato masher (makes it looked grilled) before dropping into about 1/3 stew pot of boiling water (for half an hour) I did not have Nutritional yeast so substituted BRAN; I did not have lentils so substituted GARBANZO BEANS. I added 1/4 cup of Honey BBQ sauce to marinade. They turned out fantastic. Thank you!
sherlock says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, this recipe is intended to be fried, grilled, or finished in some way to finish the steaks. Glad you enjoyed!
Amy says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
haha! Amazing! So happy you love them and thanks for sharing, Amy 🙂
avap says
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!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!