15 Amazing Seitan Recipes (2024)

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Seitan is the protein-packed meat replacement you should be cooking with. Ready to get started? Try one of these scrumptious seitan recipes!

I've been a big fan of seitan for a LONG time now. I discovered this amazing plant-based protein shortly after I gave up meat, and it quickly became my favorite.

While tofu and tempeh required a little bit of time and adapting on my part, I pretty much knew what to do with seitan right away. Seitan recipes are easy! For the most part you can take (almost) any old meat-containing recipe, and replace the meat with seitan. It's that simple.

I love this stuff so much that I've even come up with a go-to method for making homemade seitan.

Is seitan a new ingredient to you? I'm here to answer your questions!

What is seitan?

Seitan is meat substitute made up of gluten, or the protein component of wheat. See, flour is basically composed of bran, starch, and gluten. If you remove the bran and starch (which can be done at home by a super tedious process of making a dough out of flour and water, then carefully rinsing those components away), you'd be left with gluten. It has a firm, stringy texture that's pretty similar to that of meat. If you add some flavor to that gluten by way of seasonings, you've got seitan!

Since gluten is essentially all protein, seitan is a great source of vegan protein.

But wait, isn't gluten bad for you?

First off, I'm not a medical or nutritional professional, so my opinion is purely that of a lay-person. Personally, I don't have celiac disease or any other condition that causes gluten-sensitivity, so I'm totally fine with including seitan in my diet.

What are some substitutes for seitan?

If you are sensitive to gluten, you'll obviously want to avoid seitan. Butler Soy Curls are my favorite seitan substitute, and they can be used in many of the recipes below, with minor modifications. Texturized vegetable protein (TVP) is another option. Tempeh and tofu are other great plant-protein ingredients, but the trade off is that they don't have much in the way of meaty texture.

For more help, check out my guide to cooking with seitan, and then get started with one of these delicious seitan recipes. They're all vegan, super satisfying, and of course loaded with protein!

Jump to:
  • Vegan Coq au Vin
  • Vegan Pepper Steak
  • Vegan Chicken ala King
  • Vegan Chicken Salad
  • Vegan Beef Stroganoff
  • Beefy Vegan Burritos
  • Vegan Butter Chicken
  • Vegan Hamburger Helper
  • Vegan Breakfast Sausage
  • Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
  • Vegan Sancocho
  • Vegan Barbecue Beef Sandwiches
  • Vegan Mango Chicken Stir-Fry
  • Vegan Beef Barley Soup

Vegan Coq au Vin

This super savory vegan stew is made with seitan and veggies in a rich red wine and brandy sauce. Perfect for warming you up on chilly days!

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Vegan Pepper Steak

This vegan spin on classic pepper steak is loaded with flavor and super easy to make. Perfect for a weeknight dinner!

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Vegan Chicken ala King

Made with seitan "chicken" in a creamy dairy-free sauce with pimentos, peas and mushrooms, this cozy stew is great over pasta, rice, biscuits or toast.

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Vegan Chicken Salad

This vegan version of chicken salad gets a flavor boost from fresh dill, along with some crunch from almonds. Perfect for stuffing into sandwiches or piling on salads!

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Vegan Beef Stroganoff

Made with seitan chunks in a luscious cashew-based sauce, this vegan stroganoff tastes just like the real deal!

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Beefy Vegan Burritos

Dicing up seitan super fine makes for a great ground beef substitute. Pair it up with creamy refried beans and spicy sauce, and you've got a recipe for one amazing vegan burrito!

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Vegan Butter Chicken

You'd seriously never guess that this scrumptious curry was both meatless AND dairy-free! Bonus: it's also super easy to make!

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Vegan Hamburger Helper

It's cheesy, savory, satisfying, and absolutely delicious! This vegan spin on Hamburger Helper is BETTER than the classic, and almost as easy to whip up!

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Vegan Breakfast Sausage

This vegan sausage is a great seitan recipe to try if you're interested in starting from scratch! You'll be making a dough from wheat gluten-lentils, and seasonings, then steaming it and slicing it int patties. It's lots of fun and worth the effort!

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Vegan Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

These delicious sandwiches are made with peppers, onions, seitan, and an amazing dairy-free cheese sauce!

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This soup is so comforting and so easy! It's hearty enough for a meal and perfect for chilly days!

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Vegan Sancocho

Sancocho is a Latin American dish that's kind of similar to beef stew...but with all kinds of delicious additions like corn, plantains and root veggies. This vegan version also includes seitan in place of beef!

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Vegan Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

Craving some barbecue but not down with meat? These DELICIOUS sandwiches are the solution! Seitan gets finely shredded and simmered in zesty barbecue sauce before being stuffed into buns and topped with creamy slaw!

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Vegan Mango Chicken Stir-Fry

15 Amazing Seitan Recipes (15)

This Thai-inspired stir-fry features seitan, green beans, and peppers in a sweet mango sauce. It's easy, delicious, and perfect for mango-lovers!

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Vegan Beef Barley Soup

You'd probably never guess this soup was vegan if you hadn't made it yourself! Made with seitan, veggies, and barley in a savory red wine broth, it's both delicious and satisfying!

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Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!

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About Alissa Saenz

Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

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15 Amazing Seitan Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Is it okay to eat seitan everyday? ›

How Often to Eat Seitan. As Churchill pointed out, it's about finding the perfect balance when incorporating seitan into your diet. “Eat it sparingly,” he says. “It's not necessarily a once a day thing, and if you think you need a plant-based option I'd actually suggest tofu over seitan.”

How to make seitan taste good? ›

soy sauce or tamari - Adds saltiness, umami, and depth of flavor. balsamic and apple cider vinegar - Vinegar rounds out the flavor profile and helps disguise the subtle bitterness of vital wheat gluten. fat - Including a little bit of oil or other fat improves the overall flavor and tenderizes the seitan.

What does the vinegar do in seitan? ›

Spices: If you decided to eat plain seitan, the product would taste bland with a strong gluten flavor. To cut this flavor, add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the recipe. To season seitan, get creative with spices!

Why is my seitan rubbery? ›

Boiling seitan makes it have a brainy spongey texture, frying seitan (without first steaming it) makes it rubbery and spongey, baking it makes it dry and rubbery. Steaming seitan, on the other hand, will yield the perfect meaty, juicy, chewy, yet tender seitan every single time.

What are the disadvantages of seitan? ›

What are the cons?
  • Not suitable for those with gluten-sensitivities or coeliac disease.
  • Doesn't absorb much flavour.
  • High amounts of sodium (salt) in the packaged product.
  • Seitan is hard to source unlike other vegetarian protein alternatives meaning you may have to venture to a specialty vegetarian “butcher”

Who should not eat seitan? ›

Because seitan contains gluten, it should not be enjoyed by individuals with a gluten allergy. If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, then seitan is not the meat alternative for you. Instead, we recommend munching on other plant-based meat alternatives like tofu, tempeh and legumes.

Why does my stomach hurt after eating seitan? ›

If you are sensitive to gluten, have celiac disease or are following a gluten-free diet, steer clear of seitan. Those with a wheat allergy should also avoid it. Seitan allergy symptoms can include swelling, itching, abdominal pain, cramps and diarrhea.

Is it cheaper to make or buy seitan? ›

Because of its meaty texture, seitan can be used in a variety of dishes, from sandwiches and stir-fries to stews and soups. The best part is that making seitan at home is easy, and it's much cheaper than buying pre-made or store-bought seitan.

Which flour is best for seitan? ›

For a better flavor and a cheaper price, try washing the flour and make your seitan from bread flour! The brand of bread flour doesn't matter. Choose a high protein flour for a larger yield. You can make this with all-purpose flour, however you will have a smaller yield.

Why do you wrap seitan in foil? ›

It is the only way to get it nice and tightly wrapped and get a good steam in the oven. I suggest if you don't want the foil touching the food, to first wrap it in parchment paper then foil. The foil can be reused many times to avoid waste.

Why add chickpea flour to seitan? ›

An excellent source of fiber and a popular ingredient in many baked goods, chickpea flour, is commonly used in gluten free recipes. However, it's recently become a popular addition to vegan seitan dough as it helps complete the protein source with additional amino acids.

Is seitan healthier than tofu? ›

Both seitan and tofu are plant-based proteins. However, while seitan is an excellent plant-based protein alternative, tofu is a complete protein (seitan lacks the amino acid lysine). Unseasoned tofu is typically lower in sodium than store-bought seitan, which can be processed with salt, sugar or other flavors added.

Can you overcook seitan? ›

It's possible to overcook the seitan (it can get tough). Rest: After the seitan chicken has steamed, remove the pot from heat, take off the lid, and let them cool for 5 minutes in the foil. They'll settle, so this step is important.

How to make seitan more stringy? ›

The texture of the dough will be extremely rubbery so you want to cut the wheat gluten with some other type of flour. This will give it the flaky, stringy, break apart texture you are looking for. A ratio of 5:1 gluten to flour should work out nicely. Boil your gluten dough in vegetable stock for flavor.

Can you let seitan rest overnight? ›

STEP 5: Let the seitan rest.

It's best to cook it the same day, but you can also refrigerate it, covered in water, overnight or up to 12 hours. Once it's cooked, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within two days, or freeze for up to three months.

How much seitan per week? ›

Anyway, it is advisable to consume it at maximum once or twice a week, in order not to fossilize on only one food, but to vary the diet as much as possible (alternating it with soy and tofu), and to avoid the onset of gluten intolerance.

Can you build muscle with seitan? ›

Its devilish name may seem apt to paleo types: seitan is gluten. But with as much protein per calorie as chicken breast, it's also a top source of muscle fuel.

Can I eat wheat gluten everyday? ›

It is important to note that gluten is a problem only for those who react negatively to it, or test positive for celiac disease. Most people can and have eaten gluten most of their lives, without any adverse side effects.

Can you lose weight eating seitan? ›

So seitan is the perfect ingredient for meals in a protein diet. If you're on a protein diet, you often lose a lot of weight in a short time. It's also important to be aware that, at the start, you'll lose quite a lot of fluids. So if you have problems with fluid retention, a protein diet would be great for you.

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