This Turkish-inspired vegan doner kebab includes homemade seitan, fresh veggies, and homemade tzatziki sauce, wrapped in a warm pita. The ultimate comfort food that is filling and packed with protein.
Sandwiches and wraps are our go-to packed lunch. Some of our favorites include vegan gyros, falafel hummus pita, and TVP tacos.
Most recipes on the internet use meat substitutes like Beyond and Impossible, which can be 1) hard to find in *cough* Malaysia and 2) pretty pricey. So, I decided to make my own using seitan instead.
Vital wheat gluten, the base for seitan, is inexpensive, protein-packed, and incredibly filling. (P.S. If you love seitan as much as we do, you will enjoy vegan Italian sausages, vegan gyros, and BBQ seitan ribs too!)
💚Why you will love vegan kebab
- A budget-friendly option - uses seitan instead of expensive faux meat
- Filling, juicy, and delivers all the authentic flavors of traditional doner
- Seitan doner freezes beautifully, making it great for meal prep
- Healthier option that is low-fat, high-protein, and packed with fiber
🧅What you will need
- Vital wheat gluten - Base ingredient to make seitan; DO NOT substitute it with other kinds of flour. I usually get wheat gluten online.
- Tofu - Use extra-firm or firm tofu; no pressing is necessary.
- Tomato paste - Gives seitan doner a reddish hue without affecting its taste.
- Nutritional yeast - An optional ingredient to boost the umami flavor of seitan.
- Sandwich ingredients (not pictured) - You will also need pita, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and sliced red onions.
- Sauce - you can go with the tzatziki sauce in my vegan gyro recipe, hummus (like smoked paprika hummus), or a simple tahini sauce.
🔪How to make vegan seitan kebab
Step 1: Sauté onion until translucent, then add garlic and fry for a minute. Set aside.
Step 2: Add all ingredients (except wheat gluten) into a food processor, and blend until smooth.
Step 3: Add wheat gluten, pulsing until everything is just combined. Then, knead the dough by hand for 3-4 minutes.
Step 4: Shape dough into a log, then wrap in foil. Bake in an oven preheated to 200C/400F, flipping halfway through.
Save this recipe!
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
Also get a FREE high-protein vegan recipe eBook + weekly new recipes! Unsubscribe anytime.
Step 5: Let the seitan cool before shaving it with a knife.
Step 6: Lastly, assemble your vegan doner by warming the pita, then layering on seitan doner, chopped veggies, and drizzling on sauce of choice!
✔Helpful tips
- Avoid overkneading seitan dough - This might cause gluten to overdevelop, yielding tough and chewy seitan. 3-4 minutes is sufficient.
- Let seitan cool completely - Seitan is delicate and breaks apart easily when warm but will firm up as it cools.
- Brown your seitan - Lightly pan-fry seitan in a skillet to help crisp up the ends.
- Warm your bread - Gently warm your pita in a skillet or in the oven to bring back its soft, chewy texture.
🥙How to serve
Make kebab bowls - Serve seitan meat on a bed of cooked couscous (or other grains of choice), fresh veggies, warmed pita or Lavesh, hummus, and tahini sauce.
Over salads - For a light meal, assemble a quick salad and top it off with some shaved vegan doner meat, such as my lettuce avocado salad or cucumber corn tomato salad.
Make a platter - If serving a crowd, load a large plate with vegan kebab meat, dips (including hummus, tzatziki, tahini sauce), fresh veggies of choice, olives, and toasted pitas.
❄️Storing and meal prep suggestions
Seitan doner meat - Shredded seitan can be refrigerated for 3 days, or frozen for 3 months. Before freezing, portion it into individual servings in Ziploc bags so you only take out what you need.
Reheating and assembly - Let frozen seitan thaw overnight in the fridge, then lightly pan-fry in a skillet. Chop veggies and make sauce of choice, then assemble your sandwich before serving!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Doner Kebab (seitan kebab)
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 7 oz extra firm tofu or super firm tofu (break into smaller pieces)
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari/shoyu
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cup vital wheat gluten
To serve
- 6-8 pita breads
- shredded lettuce
- chopped tomatoes
- onion slices
- hummus (or tahini sauce)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Prepare 2 sheets of aluminum foil about 20 inches (50cm) long.
- Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil (or other neutral-tasting oil) in a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Once pan is heated, add in onion and cook until translucent, about 3-4 2inutes.
- Add in garlic next and fry for a minute or so, until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add in all ingredients (including cooked onion and garlic) except vital wheat gluten into a food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Then, add in vital wheat gluten. Pulse until a dough form. The dough will be on the wetter side.
- Transfer dough to a flat surface. Knead for 3-4 minutes.
- Slightly overlap the 2 foils on each other by about ⅓, then place dough at one end of the foil. Shape it into a log about 7-8 inches long (18-20cm). Roll it up tightly in foil and twist the ends to seal.
- Bake for an hour, flipping it halfway through.
- Let it cool for at least an hour before slicing into it. Optionally, you can pan-fry shaved meat to lightly brown them.
- Warm your pita on the stove for a minute or so on each side. Assemble your sandwich, and enjoy!
Notes
- Avoid overkneading seitan dough - This might cause gluten to overdevelop, yielding tough and chewy seitan. 3-4 minutes is sufficient.
- Let seitan cool completely - Seitan is delicate and breaks apart easily when warm but will firm up as it cools.
Save this recipe!
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
Also get a FREE high-protein vegan recipe eBook + weekly new recipes! Unsubscribe anytime.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
CAROL says
Can this be cooked in an air fryer?
Janne Swearehbgen says
Can this be cooked in an Instant Pot? If so, how long?
Meesha says
I would not recommend doing so as the seitan is meant to be baked. 😅
Abba says
Hi, there, thanks for this - the link to Amazon for the vital wheat gluten goes to 2 products, vital wheat gluten flour and vital wheat gluten - which one do you use here? Thank you!
Meesha says
They are both actually referring to the same thing!😁
Sam says
If using pre-pressed tofu (like Tofood Co brand), should we still use 7oz?
Meesha says
Yes you will also need around 7 oz.😁