This juicy and tender vegan roast beef will please even meat-eaters! It is packed full of flavor and perfectly meaty with a great chew. High in protein, filling, and hearty, this seitan roast beef is the perfect meatless main dish for festive dinners.
You will be surprised by how close this vegan roast beef resembles the real deal! Like my vegan chicken breast and seitan bacon, this meat substitute is made from seitan, which gives this vegan roast beef its perfect meaty texture.
Oh, and the added bonus - It is way cheaper than store-bought roast!
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💚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!
- Can be made ahead of time and freeze well
🤔What is vegan roast beef made of?
As mentioned above, this vegan roast beef is made from seitan, a popular meat substitute made from vital wheat gluten. Wheat gluten is a high-protein flour that mainly consists of wheat protein - gluten. If interested, you can read about vital wheat gluten in this blog post.
Unlike tofu or beans, seitan is chewy, has a meat-like texture, and is super high in protein.
🧂What you will need
📃Ingredients notes and substitutions
- Vital wheat gluten - Also known as gluten flour. Do not attempt to substitute this flour with other ingredients, as it simply would not work!
- Red kidney beans - Can be substituted with other beans like navy beans, pinto beans, or chickpeas.
- Beef seasoning - An optional ingredient to top seitan.
🔪How to make
In a food processor, place all ingredients except vital wheat gluten. Blend until a smooth paste forms.
Gently add vital wheat gluten to the food processor, and pulse until a dough forms.
Knead for 2 minutes, and shape the dough into a loaf resembling beef. Optionally, top it with some beef seasonings.
Wrap it in aluminum foil. Steam for 50 minutes, and let it cool down slightly, around 30 minutes. You can serve your seitan roast beef as it is or sears it in the pan before enjoying it!
✔Helpful tips
- Avoid over-kneading your dough. 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.
- If you do not feel comfortable with aluminum foil touching your food, wrap the dough with a layer of parchment paper first before wrapping the aluminum foil.
- It is highly recommended that you let vegan roast beef cool down for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Freshly cooked seitan might be slightly softer right after cooking but will firm up as it cools.
❄Storing suggestions
Let your seitan roast beef cool completely, and remove the foil before storing. You can either store the whole loaf unsliced or slices of it.
Fridge - Place it in an airtight container, and it will stay well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezer - This vegan roast is freezable too! You can either store it in a freezer bag or a sealed container before freezing.
Reheating - If reheating from frozen, let the seitan thaw in the fridge overnight. You can then proceed with heating it in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for 20-25 minutes. Alternatively, you can slice it up and char it in an oiled pan on both sides.
🥔How to serve
Side dishes - You can serve seitan roast beef with a side of roasted potatoes or other vegetables, air-fried portobello mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
Salad - For a lighter meal, you can serve it on a bed of salad greens along with dressing (This Italian dressing is my favorite!) Or, you can serve it with this protein pasta salad or lettuce avocado salad.
Roast ‘beef’ sandwich - Slice it thinly and use it as a sandwich filling with tomato slices, shredded lettuce, and your favorite vegan cheese and condiments.
Soups and stews - I love chopping it into smaller chunks and adding them to soups and stews to bump up the protein content.
Rice or other grains - This vegan roast beef is incredibly flavorful on its own; hence it pairs well with freshly steamed rice or other grain of choice. To make it low-carb, opt for cauliflower or broccoli rice.
❔Commonly asked questions
It is not recommended to substitute vital wheat gluten with any other kinds of flour. Due to its unique characteristic, it is impossible to replace wheat gluten with other ingredients.
You can find wheat gluten in most well-stocked groceries, and they are usually located in the health food aisle or baking aisle. You could also get it at your local health food store. If not, wheat gluten is also sold online through Amazon.
Unfortunately, vital wheat gluten is not gluten-free as it contains nearly all gluten. Hence, this recipe is unsuitable for those who are intolerant or sensitive to gluten.
🍽More vegan seitan recipes
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📖 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
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ¾ cups vital wheat gluten
- 2 teaspoons beef seasoning optional
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except vital wheat gluten and beef seasoning in the food processor and process until a smooth batter forms.
- Gently add wheat gluten to the batter. Pulse until a dough forms.
- On a clean kitchen surface, knead for around 2 minutes. Shape it into a loaf to mimic beef, and sprinkle on your beef seasonings. Wrap it using aluminium foil.
- 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 your dough. 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.
- If you do not feel comfortable with aluminum foil touching your food, wrap the dough with a layer of parchment paper first before wrapping the aluminum foil.
- It is highly recommended that you let vegan roast beef cool down for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Freshly cooked seitan might be slightly softer right after cooking but will firm up as it cools.
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.
Luke Allison
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
You are welcome! Feel free to experiment around, and do let me know how it goes.
Michael
What do you use for the beef seasoning?
Meesha
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
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
Oh, sorry about that confusion! The beef seasoning is meant to be sprinkled on top. 😊
Karen Coles
How do you “steam it?” I have no clue how to do that.
Meesha
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
Is it possible to substitute something for the vital wheat gluten? I need to be gluten free. Would oat flour work?
Meesha
Sorry, this recipe will not work with other kinds of flour, and can't be made gluten-free.😅
Ivonne
Where I live, nutritional yeast is quite expensive, can I ommit it or replace it for another ingredient?
Meesha
Yes, you can omit it! You might need to reduce the amount of water used by 1-2 tablespoons. 😁
Sue I
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
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
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
I am really happy to hear that! 😊
Travis
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
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
Mine came out a bit chewy. Any way to add more 'juicy' back to it? Maybe broil and baste???
Meesha
Yes, you can simply baste it in some vegan "beef" broth, or regular broth, along with herbs and spices of choice. Hope this helps!