Over this Thanksgiving holiday, I experimented with a turkey-flavored seitan. I recently came across a recipe for “Veggie Lunch Meat” from the Vegan Dad. He has this ingenious way of steaming the seitan in a roll and then baking in the oven to firm up. It’s quite brilliant and works very well. I used his recipe two weeks ago and was quite pleased.
I decided to try his method and experiment a little with seasonings. I was inspired by Chef Chloe’s “Golden Gravy” recipe and decided to try to marry the two. I’m not usually successful with experiments on the first try, but this one worked well beyond my expectations. I’ve been able to replicate it a few more times before posting. I hope you enjoy it as much as Dave and I have. It’s the closest thing to Native Food’s seitan that I have been able to accomplish. The seitan is made more tender by the addition of chickpea flour.
Turkey Style Seitan Cuisine: Vegan Author: Sylvia Bass Prep time: 25 mins Cook time: 1 hour 45 mins Total time: 2 hours 10 mins Serves: 22 A tender, turkey-like, seitan loaf. Ingredients
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup white beans
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon “No Chicken” Base
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons of powdered sage
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
Instructions
- Before mixing your ingredients, get the steamer ready and bring water to a full boil.
- In a saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and cook until the onions are translucent and just turning brown.
- Add the cooked onions and oil, the beans, water, and seasonings to a blender and process until smooth.
- In a bowl, whisk together the wheat gluten and chickpea flours.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the flours and mix to make a dough. You can use a stand mixer or mix and knead by hand.
- Tear off a large sheet of heavy duty foil and spray with oil. Shape the dough into a log and wrap like a tootsie roll. Try to make it as thick as possible.
- Steam for 60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees in the last 15 minutes of steaming. Carefully remove the seitan from the steamer, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 – 45 minutes. The seitan will swell and press against the foil.
- Cool and slice as needed.
Serving size: 1oz Calories: 102 Fat: 3g Saturated fat: 0 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 7g Sugar: 1g Sodium: 125 Fiber: 2g Protein: 12g Cholesterol: 0 Notes If you want a more firm seitan, use more wheat gluten flour. If you want a more tender seitan, use more chickpea flour. This recipe is tender but still holds up well for slicing. 3.2.1753
FIrst of all, I really like the layout of your website. From one web dev to another, I love the way the recipe posts and that you added the process images. Thanks so much for posting this recipe! Just made it and we are really happy with the results. I can’t believe how much seitan it makes. This is way cheaper and less processed than Tofurky! Will make again and play with the spices.
Thank you for the kind words and for letting me know you liked the seitan. I’ve also tried a “ham” version, but haven’t quite found the right spice combination.
I found a couple turkey glaze recipes I’d like to try with this. Could I unwrap it and brush the glaze on several times while it’s in the oven? Do you think it would dry the “turkey” out too much?
I’ve never tried that, but I don’t see why not. It actually sounds quite tasty. Please let me know how that works out.
It might be difficult to unwrap while cooking. I would cook for 2x 40min, cool for 20 minutes, unwrap, glaze and put back in for 10 minutes – then cool in a sealed container before refrigerating overnight.
Made this yesterday so I could have something on my plate resembling everyone else during Xmas dinner. I used Garbanzo beans (had them precooked already) and I steamed in the pressure cooker for 45 minutes. Was firm and moist and had an eerie turkey feel and taste to it. I liberally covered it with Chloe’s gravy and it was so yummy! My plate looked almost identical to every other plate, was equally tasty and was harm free….perfect. Thanks for the recipe, it is a keeper.
Thank you so much for the compliment. I’m glad you liked it. I’ll have to try garbanzo beans sometime.
This looks delicious! I am planning on making this for Thanksgiving this weekend {Canada}.. Do you think I could prep and steam cook it a day before thanksgiving and do the final bake in the oven before the meal?
Thank you. I hope you enjoy it. I haven’t tried doing the prep the day before, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. Let me know how it turns out and Happy Thanksgiving!
How did the day before work out for you? I’m thinking of making this for Thanksgiving this year and wondering about making it ahead of time. I’ve found it sometimes helps seitan to rest a day in between steaming and baking. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
Hi, sorry I didn’t see this until now. It should work out fine. Let me know if you tried and if it worked out.