Crafting your very own homemade seitan is super easy. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to make seitan with vital wheat gluten and a few pantry staples! Plus: a recipe for homemade seitan with three flavor variations.
Early on in my blogging days I posted a recipe for seitan. Just recently I set out to make some updates to that post, namely, rephotographing it, when I realized something more was needed.
A recipe is what kept me from making seitan for about ten years. I'll explain what I mean below, but for now, suffice it to say, seitan is more of a how-to, choose your own adventure type food. Seitan is super easy to make with the ingredients that are readily available these days, and once you've made a few batches you can totally wing it.
I first heard about seitan when I was about nineteen. I was a big fan of the show Christina Cooks with the Class. I loved that show! Ate up all of her seemingly crazy veggie concoctions, literally. One day she busted out some seitan, and I was intrigued, to say the least. I eventually got my hands on some, and later branched out into making my own seitan.
My first experiences with homemade seitan involved following a recipe that called for rinsing and massaging a big ball of wheat flour dough for a half hour or so to isolate the wheat gluten, which was a huge pain in the butt. This was before powdered vital wheat gluten became widely available.
That recipe also involved a big piece of kelp known as kombu, which was meant to give the seitan a savory flavor. The recipe instructed me to use kombu, so I dutifully searched every Asian market within a few city blocks until I found some.
After that I didn't make seitan again for a while because (1) the whole dough rinsing process was just way to daunting, and (2) I didn't feel like searching for kombu again.
I totally had it in my head that kombu was essential to seitan making. In my defense, the cookbook I'd been using, which was probably written in 1972, acted like kombu was the biggest deal ever and without it your seitan would be awful.
I know better now, and this is why I'm giving you a recipe today with three flavor variations.
Also, you don't even have to follow the recipe. Read my instructions below and make seitan your way. The only essential ingredient is the vital wheat gluten, which, thankfully, you can get at natural foods stores and some regular old supermarkets these days.
What is Seitan?
First off, it's a good idea to have some understanding of what seitan actually is. I feel like it makes people nervous! Seitan isn't as familiar as good old tofu. But it kind of is.
If you've ever eaten a vegetarian restaurant meal and were amazed at how meaty it tasted, you were probably eating seitan. If you've ever eaten commercial meat substitutes, they probably contained some seitan.
I don't eat a whole lot of store-bought meat substitutes though. I prefer homemade seitan because it's generally a lot better, and I know what's in it.
Seitan is made from wheat gluten, which is maybe why it scares people. But if you don't have celiac disease and you're not gluten sensitive, there's nothing to worry about.
Gluten is the protein that's in wheat. It's what gives bread dough its elastic, stretchy texture. When you isolate the gluten by removing the starch and bran, you're left with something that has a texture that's quite meat-like. Season it to taste like meat, and you've got seitan.
1. Make Your Dough
As you might have guessed, the dough starts with vital wheat gluten, which will be in powdered form. You can cut the gluten with another type of flour. I like to do this — I find gluten alone results in seitan that's a bit tough for my taste.
1 cup of vital wheat gluten to ¼ cup chickpea flour or soy flour is a good place to start. This will give you about 2 cups of seitan.
Add water. 1 cup is a good amount for the batch size we're working with. Mix and form a dough.
2. Knead Your Dough
Just like with bread making, we need to knead the dough a bit, to develop strands of gluten that give seitan a meaty texture.
About 5 minutes of kneading is sufficient. Let it sit for about 5 minutes after that.
3. Make Your Broth
The broth is what gives your seitan flavor, so you want it to taste how you intend for your seitan to taste. You can do whatever you want here, and this is a great place to experiment. Feel like searching every local Asian market for a big piece of kombu? Totally fine, but if you can't find one, please don't let it stop you!
For the batch size we're going with, six cups of broth is about ideal. If you take a look at the amount of dough you've got, six cups may seem like a lot, but it's not. Your seitan will double or even triple in size while it cooks!
I usually start with low sodium vegetable broth, but water works too. You'll want a good amount of salt in there (meat is salty!), which is best provided by soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos. ¼ to ⅓ cup of soy sauce is my standard.
From there, it's all up to you what you add. Think savory flavors. Here are a few suggestions:
- garlic (fresh or powder)
- onion powder
- dried herbs
- wine
- nutritional yeast
- vegan Worcestershire sauce
- miso (this adds quite a bit of salt, so use less soy sauce if you include it)
- liquid smoke
- Kitchen Bouquet, Gravy Master, or another all-purpose seasoning
(this adds quite a bit of salt, so use less soy sauce if you include it)
If you're not sure where to start, use the recipe below. If has three broth variations for seitan that's best suited to replace different types of meat: pork, chicken, and beef.
4. Simmer Your Gluten
By the time your broth is done, your gluten should be sufficiently rested. Cut it into smaller pieces. I recommend cutting it into at least 4 pieces because (1) if they're too big the broth won't fully penetrate them, and (2) remember that they'll expand during cooking, and if they get too big the broth will no longer cover them.
Bring the broth to a boil. Lower the heat until it's just at a simmer, and then add the dough pieces. Set the timer for an hour and keep an eye on the pot. You don't want to let it get to a rolling boil, or your seitan might end up overcooked and chewy. I like to keep mine just barely simmering.
5. Cook it Up
Technically, your seitan is already cooked and you can eat it straight from the pot — I often do!
Cut it into smaller pieces if you'd like, and if you aren't using it right away, store it in the broth. It'll be good for about 5 days in the fridge. If you'd like to use it more than five days out, you can seal it up and freeze it.
Now that you know how to make seitan, what should you do with it? You can use your seitan in place of meat in lots of recipes, or start with a recipe developed specifically for seitan. Here are a few to get you started:
Vegan Mongolian Beef (pictured above)
Seitan & Chickpea Salad with Dill and Almonds
Vegan Seitan and Mushroom Reubens
Teriyaki Seitan and Veggie Kebabs
Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!
Homemade Seitan
Crafting your very own homemade seitan is super easy, and you don't even need a recipe. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to make seitan with vital wheat gluten and a few pantry staples! Plus: a recipe for homemade seitan with three flavor variations.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- 1 cup water
For the Broth - Pork Flavor
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth or water
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
For the Broth - Chicken Flavor
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
For the Broth - Beef Flavor
- 5 ½ cups low sodium vegetable broth
- ½ cup dry red wine
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
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Stir the vital wheat gluten and chickpea flour together in a medium bowl.
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Add the water and stir to form a soft dough.
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Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead it for 5 minutes.
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Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
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While the dough rests, stir all of the broth ingredients for your choice of broth together in a large pot.
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Place the pot over high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a low simmer.
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Cut the dough into at least 4 large pieces, or if you prefer, smaller strips or chunks.
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Add the dough to the broth.
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Allow the broth to simmer for 1 hour, uncovered, watching closely to ensure it stays at a low simmer (don't allow it to rapidly boil).
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Remove the pot from heat and allow it to cool a bit.
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When the seitan is cool enough to handle, you can cut it into smaller pieces if you like. Use it in a recipe immediately, or store it in the broth. Refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze.
Recipe Notes
The nutrition information is very approximate for this recipe, since there are three flavor variations and it's difficult to estimate just how much broth is absorbed during cooking.
Ohhh Emmmm Geeee I wish I could give this recipe 10 stars!! I’ve been plant-based for almost 5 years and never tried making seitan before because I thought it was difficult and finicky. I looked at several recipes and chose yours because it was the simplest and I’ve made several of your recipes before! But to be 100% honest I was skeptical that it would turn out right especially when mine didn’t increase in size. I just knew it was going to be tough and I feared it would be spongy. But it was neither and the flavor is delicious and the texture and “bite” are divine! I made my own vegetable stock which had a lot of flavor and combined with your broth ingredients it’s amazing. The flavor is primarily on the outside but this is perfect because I want to make several dishes out of it. When I make it again I may add the broth to the dough as others’ have suggested, depending on how I’m going to use it.
Thank you for helping me get over my fear of making seitan! Excellent recipe.
I just made this, and it was ridiculously easy. I've been wanting to make some ever since I went vegan. A friend of mine (also vegan) told me not to bother, because seitan was too difficult, and she had a batch explode in her oven. (!!) I put together the broth and started it heating before making the seitan. By the time I finished mixing, kneading and resting, the broth was already simmering. I made the "chicken" version this weekend, and it turned out delicious, and beautifully textured. Great recipe -- thank you!
Hola, me gustaron tus recetas, podrías enviarme más a mi correo? Gracias, en verdad muchas gracias
¡Me alegra que los estés disfrutando! Aquí hay un enlace a la página donde puede suscribirse a mi lista de correo electrónico: https://www.subscribepage.com/connoisseurusveg
Hi Alyssa. Recipe looks great but haven’t made it yet. Regarding nutritional info, sodium quantity high , so is this for the entire slab of seitan, or an individual serving the size or weight of which is not indicated.
Thanks, Shirley Fraser
The nutrition info is for a serving, which is about one fourth of the batch - about 3 ounces, though the exact weight will vary from batch to batch.
Made this tonight for Valentine's Day feast. I made broth with veggie scraps, lots of mushroomy flavor. I chunked the seitan and stretched it in an attempt to get strips. I removed from broth, drained, squeezed and dried thoroughly, then tossed in cornstarch and spices, and fried in olive oil. Yes ma'am, so good. My seitan had the appearance of chicken nuggets--no complaints here, but I may try to roll the dough into a loaf next time and slice into strips before simmering. Great recipe!
I plan to fry the seitan. Is it safe to eat the dough after frying or do i need to boil it for an hour first before I fry it? Thanks
It should be safe to eat, but I'm not sure if the texture will be right. I'd boil it and then fry it - I'd done this before with great results!
I've just tried this recipe for the 1st time. I left the lid on (didn't read instructions properly) Seitan didn't expand - quite ap dense texture but am still going to try and make something out of it tomorrow- wish me luck 🤞🏻
I’m new to this and I’ve noticed most seitan recipes call for chickpea flour. Can you use regular flour, what is the difference?
The texture and flavor will be different, but I've had some readers tell me that this does work with all-purpose flour.
Hi Alissa, I was just wondering if I could use all purpose flour instead of chickpea or soy? Thank you 😊
I've had a few readers tell me they did this with good results, so I think so!
Hi everyone!!!
First of all, Im new here, but would like to thank Alissa for the wonderful seitan recipe plus all the fantastic advice.
And of course to all the guests who have added their valued comments. Ive read them all!!!! Good stuff.
I followed Alissas recipe and it turned out fantastic, just what Ive been looking for, a tofu/quorn/paneer/soy substitute.
I live in Slovakia, and some ingredients are very difficult to purchase. So Ive used really close substitutes that work brilliantly.
So, I want to share a recipe with you that will absolutely blow you away!!!!!
I call it Chinese Seitan and its jaw droppingly good.
Seitan dough.
Same as alissas, but add 1 tsp crushed garlic and 1 tsp crushed ginger, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 heaped tsp Vegeta, or any salty mix, and 1 medium finely diced onion.
I find this really adds huge flavour to the basic seitan dough. Remember to mix all the ingredients together well, BEFORE you add the water. This will lock those ingredients inside the seitan.
Cook with Alissas chicken broth recipe.
Now comes the magical part!!!
Make up a Chinese marinade.
4 tbsp medium or dark soy sauce
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp dry sherry, or 2 tbsp white vinegar and 2 tbsp chicken broth
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice or anise
1 tsp Vegeta or salty mix
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
half tsp chilli powder, mild or strong, depending on taste
half tsp garum masala
half tsp cumin powder
Mix all the ingredients together well. It should be a dark red colour, quite runny and smelling quite strong!!!!
Cut the cooked seitan dough into strips, maybe half inch square, 3 inches long
Place the marinade into a flat bottomed, sealable container
Add the strips of seitan until they are just above the marinade.
Seal container and marinate in fridge for 6 hours, shaking occasionally.
Remove strips from marinade and either grill or lightly fry with oil, until light brown or even charred!
Serve on a bed of fresh sliced seasonal raw vegetables, I normally use lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, etc.
Trust me, it is amazing!!!!!
P.S. For the liquid smoke used in the original Alissas broth, you can substitute for 1 tsp smoked paprika powder.
Excellent! I used this recipe to make mock duck. I'm a home chef with tons of experience who just went vegetarian (sorry, I have to have real cheese), but was a bit wary. This is easily as good as you can get at any vegetarian/vegan restaurant. I can't wait to try all the versions.
Simple and delicious, this! I've tried other recipes, yet this one is by far the best because it's so simple. With this, I can experiment to my heart's desire. In school, they fed us vegan hamburgers, and I loved them. This recipe takes me back a bit. I plan on experimenting with one "hamburger" after another!
Followed the recipe for the chicken version and ended up with a sponge like seitan which totally lacked in flavour. So much so, unfortunately I have given this a generous 3 star rating, which I generally don’t believe it deserved.
Sorry
Try adding dry ingredients when making the dough. Use a veggie bullion cube mixed well into the vital gluten and chick pea flour, dry garlic, dry onion powder, nutritional yeast. Add other spices if you want. It will taste better than just cooking it in broth. To make a tasty sauce. Simple, 2 ingredients.
Date syrup which is a date molasses and minced garlic. Pan fry your seitan and add the 2 mixed ingredients. Keep the sodium down and leave out the soya sauce. Those bullion cubes have at least 19% salt, usually higher. I steam my seitan in a veggie steamer rather than simmering it. Tear it into small pieces and takes 10-12 minutes.
All purpose flour works as well as chick pea flour. The point of using chick pea is to increase the protein content which for vegans is helpful.
I only made this because my partner wanted to try it. I had been put off by tesco seitan which tasted like dodgy yogurt and looked horrible (it had dots that set off my almost Trypophobia).
I honestly didn't think it would work but gave it a go - it is so low effort and the ingredients are cheap.
Omg it is so good a quarter of the batch never made it out of the pan and the rest is in a stew for dinner. It tastes better than the alternatives and i know what's in it, it will be my go to from now on.
Ps. Love your recipes, they seem to just work in a way a lot of other ones online don't.
Hi, thank you for the recipe.
First time made a very small batch just to try the process and it was a success.
Made a second batch this weekend. When you freeze the seitan, do you remove it from the broth or do you freeze it with the broth?
Glad it worked out for you! I like to freeze it in the broth.
Here's my low-effort trick to get the flavour infused throughout the seitan - make the broth first, add an extra cup of water to it. Then remove 1c of this liquid and use it as the 'water' for the seitan! No extra ingredients.
Great idea!! I made my first batch today b4 reading this suggestion, but that's what I'm gonna do in the future.
Love these recipes but have a question and hoping someone has some thoughts on it. The broth didnt seem to penetrate, and am wondering where I went wrong, or if anyone has some ideas on how I might get it to penetrate.
Thanks, NK
One thing you could try is cutting it into smaller pieces before cooking. I also find that the broth continues to soak into the seitan after it's cooked, so you could make it a couple days in advance and store it in the fridge.
You mention that the seitan will double in size while cooking. I couldn't find vital gluten flour so I used bread flour. I also didn't find nutritional yeast so I used bakers yeast which "google" said would be the same thing (almost) bakers yeast is alive and nutritional is dead. Are these merely used to thicken?
Also is it possible to over knead the dough? I did way more than 10 minutes.
Anyway, the taste is adequate for just simmered "meat", but it sure didn't double in size. This was my first ever even learning of this. After I did my trial I went to Amazon. These to items are EXPENSIVE!!
TIA
Hi Colleen! Unfortunately, neither is really a sufficient substitution for what the recipe calls for. Bread flour has gluten in it, but it's also got a ton of starch and bran, so I'm not surprised that it didn't work. Baker's yeast wouldn't work either. Are you sure you didn't mix it up with brewer's yeast? That's much closer to nutritional yeast. The nutritional yeast is in there for flavor, whereas baker's yeast is a leavening agent. Do you have a supermarket nearby with a good natural foods section? You might be able to find the right ingredients at better prices than Amazon there.
In the process of making this. So you store in the broth whether refrigerating or freezing? Thanks!
That's correct! Enjoy!