Savory Seitan Roast
Seitan (pronounced “say-TAN”) is a type of veg-friendly protein made from vital wheat gluten. If you or someone in your family has gluten allergies or sensitivities, you may wish to skip this one. But, if you can eat bread, you can eat seitan.
I have never bought pre-made seitan at the store.
The thought of eating “faux meats” really creeped me out when I first went veg. That is, until I tried some veggie “meat”-based dishes at some of our local (and non-local) vegan restaurants, and it changed my world.
I still remember the first time I tried the honey-mustard “chicken” wrap at Evolution Fast Food (the only 100% vegan drive-thru in the country, located here in sunny San Diego). Holy moly, my eyes practically popped out of my face when I took the first bite – the texture, the seasonings, and the juiciness were even better than eating real grilled chicken.
Then, when my hubby and I took a late summer road trip along the central coast of California, we made it a point to stop at El Cantaro, a vegan Mexican restaurant just two blocks from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. I ordered a “chicken quesadilla.” All I can say about it is “Dayummm!!”Β – the amaranth “chicken” was cut into tender little chunks, the large corn tortilla was soft and slightly thick (like the kind and they make in rural Mexican villages), and the “cheesy” filling was saucy and creamier than I remember real cheese tasting. Oh, and there was some shredded lettuce in there too, for a little fresh crisp. This was probably the first time I ever had to eat a quesadilla with a fork and knife. I’m kind of sad now that we don’t have an El Cantaro in SD… but it makes me happy to know that it’s out there.
Those (and other) tasty experiences opened my mind. If these super vegan chefs can use nothing but plant-based ingredients to mimic the taste and texture of the animal products I used to love, why can’t I?
Hence, my first seitan roast.
Not gonna lie; it looks really weird when it’s just a mass of uncooked dough. It looks like brains. Juicy brains with a surprisingly wonderful Italian aroma. But bear with me, because it’s going to transform in the oven, baby!
The smells emanating from the oven within the first 30 minutes of baking reminded me of Thanksgiving heaven (without the butchered animals). Ooh la la, when it came out and I sliced into the roast, it was so tender. The texture and taste is somewhat similar to an Italian sausage, but all its own at the same time.
Major plus… this seitan roast is very versatile!
You can serve it traditional-style, sliced thick straight out of the oven with mashed potatoes and (vegan) gravy. You can cut it into little chunks and use it like sausage, tossed over your pasta (like I did here). You can slice it thin to make sandwiches. Or, my favorite use so far… make seitan fajitas! I tell you, even the leftovers are juicy – which you’re not likely to get with leftover cooked chicken or beef.
One seitan roast “log” lasted me (and the hubby) all week, used in many tasty meals – which makes it a pretty cheap alternative to meat. I believe one bag of vital wheat glutenΒ (I bought mine at Sprouts) is enough to make 3 or 4 roasts – so go get one and make this!
Notes
Recipe adapted from Amanda Eats SLC .
Ingredients
- 2 cups vital wheat gluten
- 2 Tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. dried sage
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups cold water
- scant 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix all of the wet ingredients in a large measuring cup.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until it creates a dough.
- Use your hands to knead the dough (either in the bowl or on a large cutting board) for 3 minutes. This will develop the elasticity of the dough. If the dough is too wet, add a little bit more vital wheat gluten. If the dough is too dry, add a little more water. Let rest for 10 minutes after kneading.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare baking sheet. Lay two sheets of aluminum foil of equal length, as long as your baking sheet, onto the pan, overlapping each other lengthwise by 6 inches. Lay a sheet of parchment paper over the center of the aluminum foil.
- Knead the dough one last time for 30 seconds, then form into a log shape. Place log over the parchment paper.
- Wrap the log first with the parchment paper, then with the aluminum foil, folding it over the top. Roll in the edges of the aluminum foil to make a sealed packet. It should be sealed well, but not too tight - it will need a little bit of room to expand.
- Bake in the oven for 1 hour, pausing to flip the packet every 15 minutes to ensure even cooking (wide tongs work well for this). Remove from oven, carefully open packet, and serve seitan as desired.
Nutrition information below for 1/12 of seitan roast.
Scott
Good recipe. Seitan tasted great and moist. Think it had something to do with the tomato paste, which I don’t always use in seitan recipes. I actually spread the seitan into a flat layer and put a strip of stuffing down the center, then rolled it into a loaf for a stuffed seitan roast.
Vegan Petite
Hi Scott, I’m glad you liked the recipe! The stuffed seitan roast sounds delicious; thank you for the suggestion!
Lauren Calabrese
Could you provide some more instructions on cooking with the stuffing? Was it baked for the same amount of time? Same heat? Thank you!
Lori
This. Was. Fabulous. I just fried it in a white wine sauce — my lord!
Thank you. I tweaked to suit my own needs (don’t like onions or garlic), and included links to it in my blog. My husband raved about this! I think it’s the tomato paste that pushed it over the top.
Vegan Petite
Hi Lori, I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the seitan recipe! Your white wine sauce sounds awesome; thanks for linking π
Jackie van der Meer
I have just made this for the second time. I followed the recipe to a T and it is yum. I will slice and pan fry for dinner this evening and serve with onion gravy, garden peas and potatoes with mint. I might have a sneaky slice on a sandwich for lunch first though ?.
Vegan Petite
Hi Jackie, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Your pairings sound delicious; can’t go wrong with potatoes and gravy!
Susan Hyde
I made this for Thanksgiving. I substituted garbanzo bean flour for the all purpose flour. Homemade veggie stock for the water and increased it to 1 2/3 cups. Tamari for the soy sauce and decreased it to a scant 1/3 cup. Came out great.
Vegan Petite
Hi Susan, thank you for sharing; those sound like good substitutions. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Chris
This is an excellent recipe! I was looking for a seitan roast that I could use in an old medieval recipe for Cinnemon Bruet, basically roast beef in a cinnemon gravy. This recipe worked perfectly. I just added top steps. After roasting I stewed the seitan in a mixture is wine, broth and cinnamon ginger and cloves. I thickened the rest of the broth with almond flour for a gravy. It was a hot with my cosplay crowd, even the non-veggies. Thanks so much.
Vegan Petite
Hi Chris,
Thank you for your kind comments! I’ve never tried pairing the seitan with cinnamon gravy – sounds perfect for the holidays. Glad to hear it was a hit!
madonna
Chris your version sounds delicious! definitely noted for Christmas this year! thankyou! <3
Whitlyn Miller
I tried the roast it was a hit
Vegan Petite
Thanks, Whitlyn!
Kathy Cisneros
We live 12 miles from El Cantaro! We go there often! It was nice to see it mentioned in a blog. We want to spread the word about how good the food is because we want them to say in business!! The tamales are wonderful and my husband loves the chili relleno! Love your recipe!!!!!
Vegan Petite
Thanks Kathy, we do miss it! Glad you loved the recipe π
Rayna
Used this recipe which a friend shared, but added a few extras to it (mustard powder, celery seed, smoked paprika, thyme & marjoram and half a cube of vegetable stock.
Didn’t wrap it tight at all, so wondering if I should have made it tighter &/or made a bit flatter… it was a bit spongy, but was my very first time and really enjoyed it… added a drizzle of bbq sauce.
Vegan Petite
Hi Rayna, those sound like yummy extras! Yeah, it’s a bit of a balance, since making the packet too tight leaves less room for it to expand, but it sounds like it turned out great, nonetheless. Thanks for sharing!
Ben
I added 3 tbsp of peanut butter. Was epic. Amazing recipe.
Vegan Petite
Hi Ben, sounds like a great addition! Glad you enjoyed the recipe π
Sabina
My husband and I have been making this recipe for years!! Itβs amazing and never fails us. Thank you
Vegan Petite
Hi, Sabina! That makes me so happy to hear π
Sabine C Walter
I just made this with a few adjustments. I wasn’t sure if using fresh shallot and garlic would affect the outcome, but guess what? It didn’t! So instead of using the dried stuff, I used 15g fresh garlic & 44g fresh shallot mixed in the blender with Veggie broth and concentrated tomato. I opted for less soy cause we’re on low sodium. This was really good! I cut 2 slices off for dinner, painted them with a bit of olive oil, and popped them in our toaster oven on “roast” for 15 min on 450F. Nice and crispy and soft inside. Great recipe!
Vegan Petite
Ooh those mods sound yummy, especially the crispy slices! Thanks for sharing π
Thanu
How can I stop the parchment paper from sticking to the roast?
Vegan Petite
Hello! I would recommend brushing the parchment paper with olive oil before wrapping the seitan. Hope that helps π
Thanu
My seitan stuck to the parchment paper! How can I stop this?
Linda Campbell
My 1st loaf was spongy and a little raw in the middle. I cut it in half, rewrapped it in parchment and foil, and put it back in the oven for 20 minutes. Here’s hoping (fingers crossed)
Vegan Petite
That sounds like a good plan! Sometimes cooking times can vary depending on the oven and how thick the loaf was.