Whether you’re new to veganism or an old pro, seitan is probably one of your staples. It’s a nice meat substitute when a recipe calls for it, and it’s also a decent source of protein (about 18 grams per 3-ounce serving).
Seitan is versatile, too. It’s pretty much a blank canvas to which you can add lots of different flavors and find whatever cuisine you want it to work with. For this recipe I’ve kept it kind of simple, making it “chicken”-flavored, which I think even adds to its versatility.
The spices I’ve used are more or less what you’d find in your grocery store’s spice aisle under “poultry seasoning,” but with a few adjustments. And I’ve used fresh ingredients for a more enriching flavor.
This recipe is really easy and yields enough seitan to last you for several meals. With its adaptability, you can incorporate it into a Thai recipe one day and a Cajun dish the next. It’s also cheaper to make it yourself than to buy premade from a grocery store in most cases. What’s the old adage? Give a man seitan and feed him for a day; teach a man to make seitan and you’ll feed him for a lifetime? Or, at least for three days . . .
Tell Me What You Think
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this recipe if you make it. So drop me a comment below, and be sure to tag @nutfreevegan on social media if you’re posting photos. It’s always super fun to see these dishes out in the wild!
Tastes Like Chicken Seitan
Ingredients
Wet
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup vegetable broth
Dry
- 2 cups vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup chickpea flour
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. dried sage
- ½ tsp. ground dried thyme
- ½ tsp. marjoram
- ½ tsp. dried rosemary
Broth
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup soy sauce
Instructions
- Whisk olive oil and vegetable broth together; add dry ingredients. Stir until you have a tacky dough ball.
- Remove dough and knead thoroughly, then let rest for 10 minutes.
- Add broth ingredients to stockpot and stir thoroughly. Bring just to a rolling boil and lower heat to a simmer.
- Make three separate loaves out of dough and add to stockpot, covering it partially. Let cook for 55 minutes to one hour, stirring occasionally. Seitan will expand slightly.
- Drain seitan and let rest for 20 minutes before serving.
My brother is a vegetarian and loves seitan! I will have to make this for him next time he visits. Thanks for sharing and showing how easy this is!
Cool!! Ive never made this before. Looks delicious! On my to-do list now!
This sounds fabulous! Thank you for sharing, I am adding the ingredients to my shopping list.
That’s great! I hope you love it 🙂
I make my “chicken” seitan with no-chicken broth and white miso to replace the soy sauce. This gives a much lighter color to the seitan which looks more like chicken.
And sometimes I replace a couple tablespoons of broth with white wine – just cause it tastes good.
Those are great tips, Annie! Thanks for sharing; I’ll give them a try.
I’ve never actually tried seitan. I never craved meat substitutes and was always pleased with my chickpeas and lentils. Also, it always looked a bit “meh” to me. Now, this finally looks like something I’d try!
That’s great, Kate! I know what you mean; seitan is kind of weird. I think that despite it’s meaty look though, this recipe is definitely tasty. I hope you like it!
Do you have directions to do this recipe in an instant pot instead?
Hi p,
I don’t have instant pot directions for this right now. But I will do some testing over the next few weeks and try to come up with some. When I do, I’ll update the recipe and reply to your comment so you know. Thanks for bringing it up! I wouldn’t have thought about trying that if you hadn’t mentioned it 🙂
Hi! I have almost everything listed except for the chickpea flour. Since we’re in quarantine/isolating and avoiding going to the store, I was hoping you might have a suggestion for a replacement. We have AP flour, bread flour, pastry flour, almond meal, cornstarch, and gluten free cornbread mix. I know those are all the most ridiculous substitutions available, but since you know what the chickpea flour does for the recipe, I was wondering if you think any of them might work okay. It’s okay if the answer is no– I will just save this recipe for another time. 😊
Hi Sarah! I did a little research to figure out the ratio with AP flour and the best I could come up with—my math skills are rusty1—is that 1/3 cup would probably work. What I found is that there’s a 3/4 cup chickpea flour to 1 cup AP flour ratio. So you’d want to go slightly higher with the replacement. I’d maybe start with the 1/4 cup though and see how it goes as you mix it. You can always add a little more if it seems thin (I don’t think it will).
If you make this, please let me know how it goes! I’ll add a note for substitutions.
Stay safe out there!