Homemade Seitan (For Vegan Chicken)

  • Basics

Better than store-bought Seitan made with vital wheat gluten and chickpeas. Protein-packed & filling — perfect for roasting, stir-frying, or deep-frying.

A blank canvas, if you will — this is your perfect opportunity to get creative in the kitchen! For example, you can pull them apart & use those pieces in your favorite stir-fry. I used them in a vegan “chicken” Pad See Ew:

Using a food processor to “knead” the dough creates fibrous, textures nearly resembling meat. The more you process the dough, the more fibrous/meaty your homemade Seitan becomes.


Homemade Seitan (Vegan)

4 from 23 votes
Recipe by George L. Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: NoneDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

2

hours 

Better than store-bought Seitan made with vital wheat gluten and chickpeas. Protein-packed & filling — perfect for roasting, stir-frying, or deep-frying.

Ingredients

  • 1 can (400 g) chickpeas, including liquid

  • 250 grams vital wheat gluten

  • 3 tablespoons light brown miso

  • 1 teaspoon distilled vinegar

  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup

  • 200 grams oat milk (or other plant-based milk)

  • 1 teaspoon mushroom bouillon powder

  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder

  • 2 teaspoons onion powder

  • 1 teaspoon paprika/cayenne pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Directions

  • Prepare Wet Mix. In a food processor, combine the can of chickpeas, light brown miso, distilled vinegar, maple syrup, oat milk, mushroom bouillon powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika/cayenne pepper, and fine salt. Blend well until completely smooth. Note: you can pass the wet mix through a mesh sieve if little bits still remain.
  • Prepare Seitan Dough. In a large mixing bowl, slowly add your wet mix to vital wheat gluten while stirring. Mix well until a rough dough forms. Turn the dough onto a clean counter and knead for about 8-10 minutes by hand, smearing it on the counter to encourage gluten development. Note: Be sure to knead the dough very hard, or else you’ll end up with gummy seitan! Place the dough back into a clean food processor and pulse for 2-3 more minutes. You should be able to see the gluten strands become stringy & fibrous-looking. Note: the more you pulse the Seitan dough, the more stringy & fibrous it becomes. Be careful not to burn the motor of your food processor, however.
  • Steam The Seitan. Split the dough in two & gather each piece of dough into an oval slab. Wrap each piece with two layers of parchment paper & use butcher’s twine to tie it all up. Wrap very tightly to prevent the Seitan from expanding too much. Then, using your preferred steaming method, steam the Seitan dough for 2-2.5 hours, or until completely cooked through. Let cool for about 30 minutes before using or transferring to store in the refrigerator. Best enjoyed within one week.

Notes

  • Steaming Method. As opposed to traditional methods of boiling and/or oven-baking, I believe that steaming gives the best Seitan texture.
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Connie Chartrand
Connie Chartrand
2 years ago

I’ve been making seitan occasionally for a few years now. I’ve only made it occasionally because vital wheat gluten is expensive (in Manitoba, at least). What I love about your recipe, compared to the one I’ve been using, is that you’ve replaced $3 worth of vital wheat gluten with 20 cents worth of chickpeas (or around $1-1.70 if using canned)! So now I can make seitan more often. You rock. Thank you for a great recipe! I made it yesterday and I think it will be great in a vegan chicken salad sandwich and in curry dishes.

Anna
Anna
2 years ago

where did this concept of chicken come from? did u make it up?

L.I.
L.I.
2 years ago

Hi George, your recipe is one of the best meat/chicken replacement I’ve tried so far. It’s not gummy at all and so tender. Thanks a lot for it! I fried it, and served it with kale, white cabbage, udon noodles and your dan dan noodle sauce (one of my other favourites 😀 ). Great work! I’m very excited for the recipes to come.

Hayley
2 years ago

Can this be frozen to be used at a later date?