Juicy, tender, and packed with flavors, this vegan roast beef is the perfect festive main that will wow even meat eaters! A simple recipe that only requires 10 minutes of prep time and 50 minutes of cooking.
You will be surprised by the texture and flavor of this vegan roast beef! It is moist and umami with a satisfying bite. Like my vegan steak and vegan gyro, this recipe is made from seitan, a popular meat substitute.
I especially love the versatility of this recipe. It is great served as a main dish, but you could also use it to make sandwiches, top salads, or a meat substitute (like in this vegan beef stroganoff).
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🧂What you will need
📃Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Vital wheat gluten - This is the main ingredient used to make seitan. It is mainly made from the wheat protein - gluten.
- Red kidney beans - Adding some beans cut the dough, preventing seitan beef from becoming too tough. You can substitute it with other beans like navy beans, chickpeas, or pinto beans.
- “Beef” broth powder or bouillon - Gives seitan a subtle umami flavor. I highly recommend going with Hella Phat bouillon powder.
- Tomato paste - Gives vegan roast beef a nice red hue to mimic traditional roast beef.
- Red wine vinegar (not shown) - This can be substituted with white wine vinegar or more water.
🔪How to make
- Step 1: In a food processor, place all ingredients except vital wheat gluten. Blend until a smooth paste forms.
- Step 2: Add vital wheat gluten to the food processor and pulse until a dough forms.
- Step 3: Knead for 2 minutes, and shape the dough into a loaf resembling beef. Optionally, top it with some beef seasonings.
- Step 4: Wrap it in aluminum foil. Steam for 50 minutes. Allow it to cool for 30 minutes.
💡Tip
Avoid overkneading the dough as it might cause the seitan to turn too tough and chewy.
- Step 5: Optionally, you can sear your roast beef in a pan to give it crispy edges.
- Step 6: Slice up your vegan roast beef, and it is ready to be served!
✔Helpful tips
- Adjust dough texture - Different brands of vital wheat gluten have slightly different absorbency.
- The dough should be moist but not sticky. If it is too tight, add more water, a tablespoon at a time.
- The reverse is also true, so add more flour if the dough is wet!
- Allow to cool completely before serving - Vegan roast beef can be quite soft straight after cooking but will firm up as it cools. For the best texture, allow it to cool completely before slicing and serving.
- Refrigerate seitan overnight - For the best texture and flavor, I recommend making roast beef the day before and refrigerating it overnight. When ready to serve, heat it in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 180C/350F.
- Make it in an Instant Pot - Fill the pot with a cup of water, and insert a steamer rack. Place wrapped seitan dough on the steamer and cook at high pressure for 45 minutes.
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❄Storing suggestions
Fridge - You can either refrigerate the whole loaf of vegan roast beef unsliced, or slices of it. Place the seitan in a zip-top bag or airtight container to prevent it from drying out. It can be refrigerated for 4-5 days.
Freezer - I recommend slicing and portioning the beef into individual portions before freezing. Seitan roast beef can be frozen for 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating - You can reheat the whole loaf or slices of beef in the oven preheated to 180C/350F for 20-25 minutes (or until hot). Optionally, sear slices of roast beef in a pan or add them to any dishes that call for beef.
🥔How to serve
- As a hearty holiday or Sunday roast - Serve it with gravy alongside other side dishes such as braised celery, air fryer potato slices, roasted vegetables, or Yorkshire pudding.
- Make salad - Slice it up thinly and serve it on a bed of greens to make a roast beef salad.
- Roast beef sandwich - Make a simple roast beef sandwich with thinly sliced vegan roast beef, horseradish sauce, vegan cheddar, and bread of choice!
- Soups and stews - Add it to creamy soups like my lentil carrot soup for extra flavor and texture. I also love adding thinly sliced roast beef to my vegan pho.
- Make stir-fries - Slice it up into strips or chunks. Add it to your favorite veggie or noodle stir-fry for a heartier, higher-protein meal.
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Hearty, flavorful, and have the perfect meat-like consistency
- Relatively simple and easy to prepare
- Jam-packed with protein - a serving contains more than 20g of protein
- Highly versatile and can be used to make sandwiches, wraps, salads, or served as a holiday main!
❔Commonly asked questions
This vegan roast beef mainly consists of seitan, a popular meat substitute that has a distinctive chewy and meaty texture. Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten, a flour mainly consisting of the wheat protein - gluten.
Unfortunately, vital wheat gluten cannot be substituted with other flour. Seitan relies on the high gluten content of wheat gluten to develop its distinctive chewy, meat-like texture.
Other flours, such as all-purpose or whole wheat, simply do not have sufficient gluten to develop a proper structure for seitan.
📖 Recipe
Juicy Vegan Roast Beef
Ingredients
- ¾ cup red kidney beans or chickpeas, navy beans, or pinto beans
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari/shoyu
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard or yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons vegan "beef" stock powder or boullion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ¾ cups vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except vital wheat gluten in the food processor and process until a smooth batter forms.
- Gently add wheat gluten to the batter. Pulse until a dough forms. If the dough is too wet/dry
- On a clean kitchen surface, knead for around 2 minutes. Shape it into a loaf to mimic beef.
- Steam it in a steamer basket for 50 minutes.
- Let it cool down slightly for 30 minutes. You can either enjoy your seitan as it is, or sear it in a skillet to slightly char it.
Notes
- Avoid over-kneading -I find that 2 minutes is the sweet spot, but you can knead for up to 3 minutes if you prefer tougher seitan. I would not recommend going beyond that.
- Allow to cool completely before serving - Vegan roast beef can be quite soft straight after cooking but will firm up as it cools. For the best texture, allow it to cool completely before slicing and serving.
- Using leftover vegan roast beef - Check out the section in the post above, "How to use vegan roast beef" for inspiration!
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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.
Steve says
Delicious and adaptable to make lunch meat
Luke Allison says
Tried this for the first time. I used tinned mushrooms in the place of beans. It came out fairly well but I also agree that it's a bit rubbery. I think 50 minutes of steaming is too long and 35 would be adequate. Nothing that a little olive oil can't fix. Thanks for this recipe. I'll use it as a starting point.
Meesha says
You are welcome! Feel free to experiment around, and do let me know how it goes.
Michael says
What do you use for the beef seasoning?
Meesha says
This is the particular one I am using - https://amzn.to/3B7vFrA. As it is on the saltier side, I recommend lightly sprinkling it on top for decoration. 🙂
Jackie Carey says
Thanks for this recipe, it looks yummy! I do have a question before I try making this: the recipe says to "add ALL ingredients" (except the vital wheat gluten) in the food processor. Then further down the recipe says to "Shape it into a loaf to mimic beef, and sprinkle on your beef seasonings". Does this mean the beef seasonings are NOT part of the "ALL ingredients" as noted above? I'm unclear as to whether the beef seasonings are added to the food processor OR they're sprinkled on top of the final loaf. Thanks again, can't wait to try this! 🙂
Meesha says
Oh, sorry about that confusion! The beef seasoning is meant to be sprinkled on top. 😊
Karen Coles says
How do you “steam it?” I have no clue how to do that.
Meesha says
Bring about 1-2 inches of water in a pot to a boil, and fit in the steamer basket. Place the wrapped seitan into the steamer basket and cover the pot. Hope this helps!
Kris says
Is it possible to substitute something for the vital wheat gluten? I need to be gluten free. Would oat flour work?
Meesha says
Sorry, this recipe will not work with other kinds of flour, and can't be made gluten-free.😅
Ivonne says
Where I live, nutritional yeast is quite expensive, can I ommit it or replace it for another ingredient?
Meesha says
Yes, you can omit it! You might need to reduce the amount of water used by 1-2 tablespoons. 😁
Sue I says
Just wondering about the steaming part. Do you think I could steam in in my instant pot? I assume I would have to reduce the time but not sure by how much. Wondering your thoughts.
Meesha says
Although I have never tried it, I think it will work! From past experience, I would recommend steaming for 45-50 minutes. Hope this helps!
Graham says
I made this and increased the oven time to 1 h and 40 min at approx. 190 degrees C. Let it sit as recommended for at least 30 min and it turned out great. Thank you, really enjoyed it.
Meesha says
I am really happy to hear that! 😊
Travis says
I followed this recipe to a T and it did not turn out very well. The middle was very soft and dough like and not like any faux meat texture. Not sure what went wrong.
Meesha says
Sorry to hear that! Did you let seitan cool down completely before slicing into it? The dough will be quite soft right after baking but will firm up as it cools. And you could also knead the dough longer if you prefer very firm seitan. Hope that helps!😁
Mike S says
Mine came out a bit chewy. Any way to add more 'juicy' back to it? Maybe broil and baste???
Meesha says
Yes, you can simply baste it in some vegan "beef" broth, or regular broth, along with herbs and spices of choice. Hope this helps!