This seitan stir-fry is made with crispy bell peppers and a mouth-watering savory sauce. A meal that whips up in minutes and tastes just like classic pepper steak, but it's totally meatless!
I love a good vegan stir-fry, especially one that's loaded with veggies and plant-based protein! Most of the stir-fries I've featured on this site up until now have included tofu or tempeh as that veggie protein source — dishes like my tofu stir-fry with garlic sauce and my cashew tempeh stir-fry.
But you know what else I love to include in a stir-fry for protein? Seitan! The cool thing about seitan is that you can often just swap it right in for meat in non-vegan stir-fry recipes, enabling you to create dishes like this delicious (and easy!) vegan pepper steak.
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What You'll Need
- Soy sauce. You can substitute with tamari or liquid aminos if you'd like.
- Brown sugar. Use organic sugar to keep this recipe vegan.
- Rice vinegar. White vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be substituted if necessary.
- Cornstarch.
- Peanut oil. Feel free to substitute with another high-heat oil, such as canola, avocado, or coconut oil.
- Garlic.
- Ginger.
- Scallions.
- Seitan. Store-bought or homemade seitan can be used. If you make your own using my recipe, make the beef flavor.
- Bell peppers. You'll need one red and one green.
- Rice. This is for serving your stir-fry. Use your favorite variety and cook it according to the package instructions.
How to Make Seitan Stir-Fry
The following is a summary of the process for making this dish, with some tips. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe.
- Stir your sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or container: soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and cornstarch. Make sure to fully dissolve the sugar and cornstarch.
- Heat up some oil in a large skillet or wok, then add diced seitan. Cook the pieces for a few minutes until they begin to brown.
- Add minced garlic, grated ginger, and just the white parts of your scallions (finely chopped) and sauté them briefly. Keep an eye on them — they burn easily!
- Turn up the heat and add chopped bell peppers. Stir-fry everything for a few minutes until the peppers brighten in color and become tender-crisp.
- Turn the heat down a bit and add your sauce. Be super careful as it can sputter when it hits the hot cooking surface!
- Stir-fry everything for a minute or so more, until the sauce thickens up and coats the seitan and veggies, then take your skillet of of the burner.
- Top the stir-fry with the green parts of your scallions.
- Serve it with some rice and enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan pepper steak will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
That's a tough one, since seitan is practically all gluten! You could try substituting Butler Soy Curls (available on Amazon) that have been soaked in vegetable broth, and using gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce. I haven't tried this method, so no promises!
Seitan is pre-cooked, so there's no minimum cook-time! You can even eat it right out of the package. For recipes, just cook it until it's hot and has reached a texture you like.
More Seitan Recipes
- Vegan Butter Chicken
- Beefy Vegan Burritos
- Vegan Reuben Sandwiches
- Vegan Mongolian Beef
- Vegan Chicken ala King
Vegan Pepper Steak (Easy Seitan Stir-Fry!)
This seitan stir-fry is made with crispy bell peppers and a mouth-watering savory sauce. A meal that whips up in minutes and tastes just like classic pepper steak, but it's totally meatless!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons organic brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 2 (8 ounce or 227 gram) packages seitan, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 scallions, white and green parts separated and finely chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into ½ inch pieces
- Cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
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Stir the soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and cornstarch together in a small bowl or container.
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Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat.
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Once the oil is hot, add the seitan pieces in an even layer. Cook them until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes, flipping them once or twice.
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Push the seitan to the side of the skillet and add the garlic, ginger, and white parts of your scallions to the center. Sauté for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Add the bell peppers to the skillet and raise the heat to high. Stir-fry everything for about 2 minutes, until the peppers are tender-crisp.
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Turn the heat down to medium and carefully pour in the soy sauce mixture. Continue stir-frying, flipping the ingredients so the sauce coats the seitan and peppers.
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After about a minute, the sauce should thicken up. Now remove the skillet from heat.
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Top the stir-fry with the green parts of your scallions and serve it with rice.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition information does not include rice.
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