Tender, juicy and flavorful vegan steak! Perfectly spiced and looking remarkably like the ‘real thing’ these vegan seitan steaks are deliciously textured, super high in protein and heaps of fun to make.
Oh my gosh, can you actually believe the look of this vegan steak? It looks like a steak doesn’t it!
The last 10 days or so we’ve been in full vegan steak testing mode and I’ve been sending off photos to my sisters as I make this (practically my whole family is vegetarian) so that they can ooh and aaah in shock at how realistic it looks.
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter how realistic it looks, it’s NOT meat, it’s entirely vegan so there’s really no issue there.
I was inspired to make this recipe by a video that was made by the folks at Bosh featuring The Happy Pear and that I shared on my facebook page.
Well, a little debate immediately ensued whereby someone asked why a vegan would ever want to eat something that looked like a piece of meat. Well…. quite a few vegans had something to say about that because…well…it’s NOT meat. It’s just something tasty.
And when we can replicate some tastes and textures a little, without harming anyone, well why not? And then there’s the fact that the better we are at making tasty things, the more appealing a meat-free lifestyle becomes so it’s a win/win.
Truth be told though, while this vegan steak is totally delicious, it wouldn’t fool any meat eater. I haven’t eaten meat since 1999 and yet I know full well that this doesn’t taste like meat. It’s ‘meaty’ while being nothing like actual meat.
It tastes absolutely delicious though. And it has a chewy, ‘meaty’ texture, which is from the main ingredient, which is wheat gluten, commonly known as seitan.
We lived in Taiwan for a year in 2007/2008 and we used to often eat at Buddhist restaurants because they were strict vegetarian, and sometimes the mock meats you’d eat there would be so realistic, you really would be worried that it might actually be meat and would have to call someone over to confirm that it was really vegetarian. It was often made from mushrooms.
Vital Wheat Gluten
Getting hold of some wheat gluten wasn’t the easiest thing, and in the end I had to order it. You may have to order it too. I went to all the health food places that usually would sell ingredients like this and they were totally confused, they were like: ‘you WANT the gluten?’
And then we’d all have a laugh cos everything is gluten-free this and that and here we are coming in and asking them to give us the pure gluten!
If you do have to order it you can get it from Amazon, the full name is Vital Wheat Gluten. Or maybe you’ll have a larger selection in your health food store than we did and won’t have to order it.
It’s super high in protein, like super high (each vegan steak was 58g protein) since there is 75 grams of protein in 100 grams of wheat gluten.
Can You Make It Gluten-Free?
Unfortunately, no, this recipe is definitely not gluten-free and there are no adaptations for gluten-free either. This is definitely for the ‘yes I DO eat the gluten’ people.
Vital wheat gluten is really an essential component of this recipe and what creates the texture. If you are gluten-free, then you might like to try this gluten-free vegan steak from Gourmandelle, or try our portobello steaks or tofu steaks.
How To Make Vegan Steak
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Making it is super easy, but there are several steps involved.
- First you add canned chickpeas, spices, tomato paste and vegetable stock to your food processor.
- Process it until well combined.
- Move that into a mixing bowl and then add the vital wheat gluten. Mix it in with a spoon and then get in there with your hands and knead it for around 2 minutes.
- Once you finish kneading you flatten it out by smashing/bashing it a little (not too much, this also counts as kneading) and then cut it into 4 steaks.
- You can bash those a bit to flatten as well. A potato masher works well for smashing/bashing purposes.
- Then wrap the steaks in foil and steam them in a steamer basket over some boiling water for 20 minutes.
- Then unwrap them and soak them in marinade sauce for a minute or two before you fry them up!
Fry Them Up
We tested frying them on one of those lined grill pans and while that does cause them to have those pretty grill lines, I found that it wasn’t worth it in terms of the extra time taken.
If you fry them in a regular frying pan, it is super quick! Brush extra marinade sauce on every time you flip them and within a few minutes, they are charred and caramelized and utterly delicious.
The Best Spices
The spices used in these vegan steaks really complements the sort of ‘meaty’ flavoring. We used soy sauce, cumin, paprika, liquid smoke and ground coriander, to name a few. And the marinade sauce is made with soy sauce, paprika, brown sugar, tomato paste and liquid smoke.
The result is really vegan steak perfection! They are massively filling too. I served myself a plate with one of these steaks and a few sides. I ate one of the steaks and couldn’t eat any of the sides I was so full!
Chef’s Top Tip: Don’t Knead Too Long
You knead the seitan like a pizza dough BUT you don’t want to knead it for too long. You have to be quite conservative with your kneading while at the same time kneading it just long enough to activate the gluten.
I found about 2 minutes to be just perfect, but it’s more about the feel than the time. It will go from sticky and soft to firm and when you stretch it, it will sort of snap back.
The reason you don’t want to knead it for too long is that the longer you knead, the tougher the texture will be.
On one of our recipe tests, Jaye took over the kneading and he thought it was supposed to be for 4 minutes, well lets just say our jaws got such a workout, we ended up cutting those vegan steaks into very thin strips (it was kinda like jerky!) and then putting it on sandwiches. It was still good, but not juicy and tender like you want a delicious vegan steak to be.
If you knead it for an even shorter time than we did here you get a texture that is so tender that it doesn’t really work for a vegan steak, but works well for different things like seitan strips if you want to use this for something else.
We adapted this recipe to make some soft and delicious seitan strips and then put those into a vegan shawarma, so if you’re looking for different ways to use this steak recipe then that’s a great option too.
Through my experimenting (and our experience of the super tough steak from too much kneading), I found a great article about working with seitan. The best tip I got was about kneading for less time if you want a more tender result, but there are loads of other great tips about spices and flavorings too, so check that out if you want to read more about wheat meat, it’s called: How To Make Perfect Seitan.
Serving Suggestions
I couldn’t resist making a mushroom sauce for this, it’s totally not necessary, they have all the flavor and deliciousness that is required, but c’mon with some mushroom sauce? That’s next level!
So the mushroom sauce I made was from our tofu burger recipe. If you’re inspired to make a sauce as well, I can highly recommend it. It’s a perfect match. Our vegan peppercorn sauce would be delicious with this as well.
And if you’re thinking of what to serve with your vegan steak, well, a classic baked potato with vegan sour cream and salad always make great sides. Some vegan mashed potatoes would also be great, and if you want a vegan gravy with it, that would be amazing too. Baked potato fries or a vegan potato salad or some vegan coleslaw on the side would also be really delicious.
Make Ahead, Storing and Freezing
Make Ahead: If you want to make them in advance, you can make them up to the point that they’ve just finished steaming, then unwrap them and store them in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days and then marinate and fry them up when you’re ready.
Alternatively, you can place them in the marinade sauce, and then let them marinate for 1-2 days in the fridge and then fry them up when you’re ready.
Storing: Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 5-7 days. We were making vegan steak sandwiches for the next couple of days after making these because like I said, they are super filling, but leftovers are not an issue since they are delicious over the next few days.
Freezing: If you would like to freeze them, then freeze them in the marinade sauce before you fry them up. Then thaw in the fridge and fry up as usual. If they suck up more of the marinade sauce while doing this, leaving you without much left to brush on while frying, then make up some more of the sauce.
More Vegan ‘Meat’ Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Steak
Ingredients
For the Vegan Steaks:
- ¾ cup Canned Chickpeas (Drained) (123g)
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast (15g)
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- ¼ tsp Cumin
- ¼ tsp Ground Coriander
- ½ tsp Oregano
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Tomato Paste (130g)
- 1 tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- ¼ tsp Liquid Smoke
- ½ cup Vegetable Stock (120ml)
- 1 ¾ cups Vital Wheat Gluten (263g)
For the Marinade:
- ¼ cup Soy Sauce (60ml)
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 2 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- ⅛ tsp Liquid Smoke
For Frying:
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil or other oil
For Serving (Optional):
- Baked Potatoes
- Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Instructions
- Add the chickpeas, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, coriander powder, oregano, soy sauce, tomato paste, paprika, black pepper, dijon mustard, liquid smoke and vegetable stock to the food processor and process until well mixed.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the vital wheat gluten. Stir in with a spoon briefly and then get in there with your hands, mixing it into a dough. Knead the dough for around 2 minutes, you want it to go from sticky and soft to firm and stretchy, so that when you pull it, it snaps back into place. See our full post for lots more info on kneading. Make sure you don’t over-knead it because that will cause your steaks to become very tough.
- As soon as you have a firm, stretchy texture, flatten it out and cut it into 4 roughly equal sized steaks. Use a potato masher to bash the steaks down a bit to flatten, but don’t do this too much as it counts as kneading, and you don’t want to overdo it.
- Wrap the steaks individually in tinfoil and then steam them for 20 minutes. Don’t wrap them too tight as they will expand while steaming. You can steam them in a steamer basket over a pot of boiling water, or in any steamer that you have.
- While the steaks are steaming, prepare your marinade sauce by adding all the ingredients to a bowl and whisking them together. Let it sit for a little while and then whisk again. You want it to be nice and smooth and it can take a couple of minutes for the brown sugar to dissolve properly.
- After steaming for 20 minutes, unwrap the steaks from their tinfoil and place into a square dish. Pour over the marinade sauce and use a brush to make sure the steaks are properly covered. Turn them over in the sauce a few times.
- Heat a pan with a little olive oil (or other oil, 1 Tbsp is fine) and then fry the steaks (I found they all fitted into the same pan) flipping them regularly and brushing more marinade sauce on them every time you flip them, until they are nicely browned and caramelized.
- Serve with a side salad, baked potatoes with vegan sour cream, and if you like sauces with your steaks, then a creamy mushroom sauce goes wonderfully with this!
Video
Notes
- I really recommend you weigh out the wheat gluten for accuracy. I couldn’t find a ‘standard’ measure for a cup of wheat gluten, so just weighed it out and this is what I came to. But for accuracy, it would be best to weigh it.
- These steaks keep very well in the fridge for 5-7 days and leftovers can be sliced up and used for vegan steak sandwiches.
- If you want to make these in advance, you can make them up to the stage where they have finished steaming, and then unwrap them and place them in a sealed container for 3-4 days until you’re ready to marinade them and fry them up. You can also place them in the marinade sauce and then leave them for a day or two in the fridge soaking in the marinade and then fry them up when you’re ready. If they’re already in the marinade sauce then a couple of days is fine, if you want to keep them a little longer (3-4 days) then don’t put them in the marinade, just steam them, unwrap them and put them in a sealed container and only soak them in marinade when you’re ready to make them.
- Nutritional information is for 1 vegan steak (of 4) without mushroom sauce.
- Recipe adapted from Bosh with The Happy Pear.
I’m the only vegan in my family and this recipe makes 4 steaks. Are they freezable?
Yes they freeze really well!
I’m thinking of putting this in a Vegan chili. I’m going to cut up the vegan steaks into cubes and put them into the chili. How do you think this steak will do soaking in chili?
I think it would be delicious!
Amazing. I almost cried eating it.
Yay! So happy you loved it Lu! Thanks so much for the amazing review.
Great idea, I will add it to my steak house as a vegan option soon.
Fantastic idea! 🙂
where is your steak house ? 😍😋
This recipe was so easy to do, and tasted and chewed in a wonderful way! I subbed one of the tablespoons of soy in the dough with one tablespoon of Marmite. Thoroughly good.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Hello, l am making this recipe for my university work, and l was wondering if you have the number of ingredients for 1 serving? An amazing recipe btw.
Hi Lesley, glad you like the recipe. I’m not sure what you mean, but all the info is in the recipe card. 🙂
Love the recipe! I make it everytime I can buy gluten.
I got a question about the nutrional info… the 400 cal and 58 g of protein are per recipe? I mean when you say “Serving Size=1 Vegan Steak”, you mean “serving size=1 recipe” ?? or do you mean 1/4 of the recipe since at the beggining you say it yields 4.
Thank you so much, I would really appreciate the clarification
So glad you like the recipe! The nutritional information is per serving, and there are 4 servings. 🙂
Hi! This recipe looks awesome and I’m planning on trying it. However, in my experience, it’s not easy to find VWG in store and ordering online isn’t an ideal option for me.
Therefore, I looked up substitutes for it and it said the best one is xanathan gum. That got me excited because I’ve seen that on the shelf before, so I’d probably be able to find it. The problem is, any tips for subbing it don’t seem to fit this recipe. Do you by chance know how? Thanks!
Hi Meg, I would not sub it. If you can’t use vital wheat gluten, then I would recommend to use a different recipe altogether, there isn’t any good sub in this recipe for the VWG.
Alright, thank you. Hopefully I can find vwg then!
Oh, never mind. I’m shopping and actually just found some! I’ll be sure to let you know what I think of the recipe
Walmart carries VWG that’s where I purchased mine. Hope this helps
I really appreciate this recipe. Bravo, flavor is perfect! I have tried The Gentle Chefs and although it was good it was too labor intensive. This was just as easy 2 do as any recipe, had staple ingredients which made the taste SPOT on 4 steak. The only “beef” hahah I have is the texture was too spongy/chewy. If I could figure out how 2 change that…it would literally b PERFECT!! I know the solution is out there… I won’t give up and will update if I find it! Thank u 4 this great recipe!
Texture is all about the kneading. It can take a bit of experimenting to get the ‘feel’ right. We do have tips in the post about kneading.
I followed the instructions based on feel/bounce back…if kneading is stopped at that point, does the end result still end up tender but rubbery/stretchy? That is what I ended up with
To answer my own question and help anyone make this recipe just right… I kneaded all ingredients in the food processor timing it at 2 minutes which finally produced a texture akin to meat. Saving the step of just adding everything in the processor also saves time etc so its the only way I’ll do it from now on. I’ve tried many recipes and this one has the best flavor, the texture is the tricky part. Another tip..lentils sub well for the chickpeas if you have lots of lentils to use as I often do….
These are nice,I cooked mine in the oven because I am avoiding fried food.
Please tell me how baking affected the inside texture, was it more firm or spongy/rubbery?
Have you thought about adding beets or beet juice to the recipe? Beets used in some of the fake meats out there help give those plant-based proteins that “iron” flavor. Makes them “bleed,” too. Wondering if that could be incorporated here…?
I haven’t tried that myself, but I’m sure you could try it.
Can I make these using an instant pot? Any ideas how long for etc if so. Thanks in advance!
Hi Nicola, sorry I have no idea!
I found someone on Facebook says they steamed in an instant pot for 25 mins for future reference!
Oh great, thanks for sharing!
Hi Nicola,
I cook almost ALL seitan in the instant pot. Works way better, uses, less energy. I tend to halve the time and if it feels too soft will up the time by 5 or 10 minute increments. Once you have that, write down on your recipe how long and what setting on the instant pot you used. Seitan tends to come out firmer in the pressure cooker. Works like a charm.
Really really great . I Used to be a big steak eater so miss the texture of meat , however this recipe more than compensates . Looking forward to trying it over coals .
Delicious. Your tweaks and tips made a great recipe amazing!!
Thanks so much Kathryn!
The steaks turned out to be very chewy. The flavors were good though.
Hi, Alison. Thanks for the recipe. I liked them. The texture was a little better the next day. I think next time I will use my blender, instead of the food processor, to incorporate the liquid ingredients. Would you please tell me what the tinfoil is for? I’ve seen some people steam them without it.
Hi Sergio, it lets them cook without taking in extra moisture (getting soggy) from the steaming.
Could you steam in parchment paper and get the same effect? I don’t use aluminum foil.
You could probably wrap in parchment and then cheesecloth. I don’t think parchment alone would seal it off well enough.
Sergio, I discovered that you don’t really need to wrap them in foil. I try to only use reusable things. I did once use my silicone bags which worked fine but they kinda molded to the bags lol making the shape a bit odd. But steaming just as is worked fine for me too! I do find it’s important to add a fat source so I pan fry it in oil and perhaps that more than makes up for it? But my advise is try it–it’s still perfect!