Seitan Steak is a plant-based vegan steak complete with juicy tenderness and mouth watering flavor. Eat it like traditional steak, or serve it on vegan burrito bowls, salads, and sandwiches!
From plant-based meatballs and “chickn” tenders to soy lunch meats and Beyond Meat burgers, plant-based “meats” have started popping up everywhere! But one plant-based food that somehow always gets overlooked is the steak.
If you’ve been a part of the Live Eat Learn world for a while, you may recall my Watermelon Steak. It was my first attempt at a meatless steak, and it was… *chef’s kiss.*
Well, now that seitan has become a huge kitchen staple in my home (I use it for everything — meatballs, chicken wings, etc.), I decided that a Seitan Steak was in order! And after a few experiments, this steak was born. Want to learn how it’s done? Let’s go!
Ingredients in Plant-Based Steak
Veggie steak consists of 3 sets of ingredients: the dough, the broth, and the marinade. In this recipe, it’s truly the marinade that makes the magic happen! That soy sauce and brown sugar combo is simply to die for.
Dough
- Wheat Gluten: First up, start with 1 cup of vital wheat gluten. This is the main ingredient in making seitan!
- Water: Mix the gluten with ¾ cup of water to start developing those long, chewy gluten strands (it’s what gives this “meat” the right texture!).
- Chickpea Flour: Add ¼ cup of chickpea flour to help the dough form.
- Tomato Paste: Include ¼ cup of tomato paste for flavor.
- Dijon Mustard: 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard adds a nice bite!
- Seasonings: Season with 1 teaspoon each of salt, garlic powder, and smoked paprika powder, and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
Broth
- Vegetable Broth: First up for the broth, you’ll need 6 cups of veggie broth. See my note below for making your seitan taste extra “beefy”!
- White Vinegar: From there, add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar.
- Liquid Smoke: Finish off the broth with ½ teaspoon of liquid smoke, the magic flavoring.
Marinade
- Soy Sauce: The marinade starts with ¼ cup of soy sauce.
- Brown Sugar: 2 tablespoons of brown sugar help the outside of the steak to caramelize slightly, enhancing that smoky flavor!
- Tomato Paste: Last up, throw in 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for extra umami.
How to make vegan seitan steak
This seitan steak recipe begins like most seitan dishes — we’ll start by creating the wheat gluten dough! Then, we’ll shape and simmer it before marinating and searing/grilling. In the end, you’ll have 4 delicious, juicy servings!
Step 1: Create the dough
In a large bowl, stir all of the dough ingredients together until a ball forms.
Transfer the ball to a clean surface and knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and cohesive. It will still be lumpy, which is normal!
Form the ball into a rectangle, working it out to be about ½ inch thick. You may need a rolling pin. Then, cut it into four even rectangles and let it rest for 5 minutes while you prepare the broth.
Step 2: Simmer in broth
Add all of the broth ingredients to a large pot and bring it to a simmer. Gently lower the seitan steaks into the broth, ensuring that the dough is covered by the broth. If it isn’t, transfer everything to a smaller pot. Partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Marinade the steaks
Meanwhile, whisk together the marinade ingredients until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the steaks from the pot and let them cool enough to touch, and then brush them with the marinade. Let them sit in the marinade for at least 15 minutes.You can let them marinade for up to 8 hours for extra flavor!
Step 4: Sear or grill
Sear on a well greased pan or grill over high heat to slightly char the outside, then serve warm.
Achieve a “Meatier” Flavor with this Tip
Seitan is one of those foods that takes on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with, so to make it taste extra “meaty” or more like beef, you can use a vegetarian “beef” broth, such as Better than Bouillon No Beef Base.
More Delicious Seitan Favorites
Seitan is definitely a learned cooking art, and it gets easier (and more delicious!) with each recipe! Here are some more of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten 120 g
- ¾ cup water 175 mL
- ¼ cup chickpea flour 30 g
- ¼ cup tomato paste 50 g
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard 15 g
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Broth
- 6 cups vegetable broth* 1.4 L
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar 30 mL
- ½ tsp liquid smoke 2 mL
Marinade
- ¼ cup soy sauce 60 mL
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste 10 g
Instructions
- Dough: In a large bowl stir together all dough ingredients until a ball forms. Transfer to a clean surface and knead for about 5 minutes, or until dough is elastic and cohesive (it will still be lumpy, that's okay!) Form into a rectangle, working it to be about ½ inch thick (you may need to use a rolling pin). Cut into four even rectangles, then let dough rest for 5 minutes while you prepare the broth.
- Broth: Add all broth ingredients to a large pot and bring to a simmer. Gently lower the seitan steaks into the broth, ensuring the dough is covered by the broth (if not, transfer to a smaller pot). Partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Marinade: Meanwhile, whisk together all marinade ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Remove steaks from the pot and let cool enough to touch, then brush with the marinade. Let sit in the marinade for 15 minutes (up to 8 hours).
- Sear: Sear on a well greased pan or grill over high heat to slightly char the outside, then serve warm.
Emmie says
This was my first time making seitan. Recipe was easy to follow and it tasted delicious! Even my non-vegetarian husband agreed. Thanks!
Sarah says
So happy to hear it, Emmie! Enjoy! 😀
Renee says
This didn’t work for me. It was too wet. I used both the measuring cups and weights but now I have seitan soup. 🙁
Sarah Bond says
Sorry to hear that, Renee! How long did you knead the dough for? After kneading properly it’s usually very glutenous!
Jaime says
Thanks for the recipe, I’m making it now. I’ll be cutting it into strips to fry up with some peppers & onions for fajitas. Pro tip: you can make a lot of gravy with the leftover broth.
Sarah Bond says
Such a great idea! Thanks for the idea, Jaime!
Mónica says
I made both steaks and meatballs and they turned great! They taste amazing and the texture is perfect!
Sarah Bond says
I’m so happy to hear it! Enjoy! 😀
Pascal says
My dough is super wet and sticky 🙈
What changes do i have to make?
I even tried it a second time with less water. But my dough remains so sticky you can’t even knead it properly :0
Sarah Bond says
Add more of the flour until it’s dry enough to be handled! 😀
Stephanie says
Hi Sarah,
This recipe looks great, but I’m currently on a *very* restricted carb diet and chickpea flour is unfortunately not an option. Are there any substitutions you could recommend for this recipe? Thank you!
Sarah Bond says
You could try using almond or coconut flour here!