Homemade Seitan

Overhead View of a Sliced Piece of Seitan on a Cutting Board

4.92 from 138 votes

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Resting time5

Total Time1 15

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 173kcal

Author: Alissa Saenz

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

Stir the vital wheat gluten and chickpea flour together in a medium bowl.
Add the water and stir to form a soft dough.
Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead it for 5 minutes.
Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
While the dough rests, stir all of the broth ingredients for your choice of broth together in a large pot.
Place the pot over high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a low simmer.
Cut the dough into at least 4 large pieces, or if you prefer, smaller strips or chunks.
Add the dough to the broth.
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).
Remove the pot from heat and allow it to cool a bit.
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.

Video

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.

Nutrition