the Ultimate Vegan Meat
You can totally purchase pre-made seitan at the grocery store, but did you know that you can also make it from scratch right at home? No fancy tools are required—just a few key ingredients and the will to make some dough! The whole process of making seitan is easy peasy, requiring only 15 minutes of prep time and one hour of simmering. Plus, making it from scratch means you can cut it however you want for any recipe (some of my top picks include seitan wings, seitan burgers, and seitan steaks!). So today, we’re covering everything you need to know about how to make seitan, from the ingredients and seasonings to the kneading, simmering, and slicing. Let’s get to it!
Here’s What You’ll Need
This seitan recipe involves forming a dough and simmering it in a broth and vinegar combination. (Only 10 ingredients are needed in total!)
Vital Wheat Gluten: First, we’ll use 1 cup of vital wheat gluten. Seitan is made directly from gluten, so this ingredient is a must. The strong gluten strands create a meaty texture (that’s why they call it “wheat meat!”). Water: 1 cup of water is added to help form the dough. Chickpea Flour: To thicken it, we’ll include ¼ cup of chickpea flour. It can be store-bought or homemade (learn how to make chickpea flour here). Nutritional Yeast: Add ¼ cup of nutritional yeast, which will bring a savory, umami-rich flavor that helps replicate the flavor of meat. Spices: Finally, add 1 tsp each of salt, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Broth: As for the simmering liquid, we’ll start with 6 cups of vegetable broth (feel free to use low-sodium here!). We’ll then add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, which will add a subtle bite, and 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke to finish things off!
Here’s The Low Down on making seitan
Understanding how to make seitan is simple once you get the basics down pat (the trickiest part is probably creating the dough). Step 1: Prepare The DoughIn a large bowl, stir together the dough ingredients until a ball forms. Transfer it to a clean surface and knead for 5 minutes until elastic and cohesive. Form it into a log shape, and let it rest for 5 minutes while you prepare the broth. Step 2: Simmer In BrothAdd the broth ingredients to a large pot and bring to a simmer. Gently lower the seitan dough log into the broth. Partially cover and simmer for 1 hour. Step 3: Slice Or CrumbleRemove the seitan from the pot and let it cool enough to touch. Slice it into slabs, crumble it into nuggets, or use it however you need it (it will depend on your recipe and desired use)!
How To Slice And Dice It
After cutting or crumbling the seitan, you may be wondering about your recipe options. Well, it all depends on the type of meat you’re substituting.
Slabs: Cut it into slabs for seitan burgers and steaks (yes, with the right seasonings, you can give seitan a steak flavor!). Slices: Slices are great wherever you’d normally use chicken slices, like on a salad or in tacos and fajitas! They can also be seasoned and cut, like we do in our vegan pepperoni recipe! Cubes: Cubes are also great for salads, Buddha bowls, vegan chicken nuggets, or “steak” dishes. Crumbles: Crumbled seitan is perfect for tacos, chili, stew, or soup! Whole: Lastly, whole “loafs” of seitan make great pot roasts.
Use Seitan In These Dishes!
The following dishes were made with other ingredients but would be delicious with seitan! For each one, I’ll tell you whether you’ll be substituting something, as well as how you should cut the seitan.
Kimchi Tempeh Tacos: Substitute the tempeh with crumbled seitan. Coconut Kidney Bean Curry: Add small cubes of seitan to the curry in step #3. Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili: Replace the chili “meat” with crumbled seitan. I suggest omitting the walnuts and mushrooms but keeping the black beans. Oyster Mushroom Philly Cheesesteak: Use sliced seitan in place of the oyster mushrooms. Season and flavor as directed!
