HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BEEF

Use this vegan beef recipe to make beef-flavored mock meat that you can swap it out for beef in just about any recipe. It’s a meaty, tender, juicy, beef-flavored seitan that has been seasoned and cooked to perfection. Use this faux beef to make vegan beef stew, vegan roast beef, pot roast, vegan beef and broccoli, soups, or stir-fries.

The beef flavor in this seitan roast beef comes from a beefy broth made from mushrooms, soy sauce, and tomato paste which is then pureed and mixed with vital wheat gluten for a meaty texture.

Beef seitan is easier than you may think to make, it only takes about 15 minutes to throw it together, and the only hard part is waiting while it cooks. Once your mock beef has steamed, it’s ready to baste and bake or simply slice and dice and add to your favorite recipes that call for beef.

❤️ You’ll love this recipe

🧾 Ingredients and substitutions

Olive Oil – for sauteing the onion and mushrooms.
Mushrooms – for a beefy flavor and texture. You can also use white mushrooms, baby Bellas, or portabella mushrooms. (Mushrooms are a key ingredient in this recipe to give a beefy flavor and help the seitan retain a juicy texture when cooked.)
Onion – for flavor.
Oregano – for flavor. You can use fresh or dried.
Black Pepper – for flavor. You can also use red pepper flakes if you want a little heat.
Salt – for flavor.
Garlic Powder – for flavor.
Soy Sauce – for a beefy flavor. You can also use Tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.
Tomato Paste – for an umami flavor and red color. (You can swap this for nutritional yeast or vegan red wine if desired.) (The acidity in the tomato paste helps subdue the gluten flavor in seitan.)
Smoked Paprika – to give your vegan beef a red color and a slightly smoky flavor. You can also use regular paprika.
Vital Wheat Gluten – for the base of the meat substitute and what gives it a meaty texture. This can not be substituted with any other ingredient. (I’m sorry, but this recipe can not be made gluten-free.) You can usually find it in the Bob’s Red Mill section or the specialty baking section of large grocery stores. I order a large bag from Amazon to make lots of seitan recipes.

🔪 Helpful tools

Blender or Food Processor – to puree the cooked mushrooms and broth.
A Steamer Pot – or pressure cooker or Instant Pot with a steam basket.
Thick Foil – heavy-duty aluminum foil works best, so it doesn’t break when cooking the beef.

🥄 Instructions

Step 1 – Peel and dice 1 small onion and wash and slice 2 cups of mushrooms. Then add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet and saute the diced onion, sliced mushrooms, and 1/4 tsp salt.

Step 2 – Add 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 2 tbsp tomato paste, and mix well. Then stir in 1 cup of water and turn off the heat.

Step 3 – Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree.

Step 4 – Pour the pureed mixture into a large glass bowl and add 1 1/2 cups of vital wheat gluten and stir with a silicone spatula.

Step 5 – Kneed in the last 1/2 cup of wheat gluten with your hand until a firm dough ball is formed.

Step 6 – Shape your dough ball into a loaf shape and wrap it tightly in thick foil.

Step 7 – Place the wrapped roast in a steaming basket and steam for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (Or in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot for 55 minutes and then let the steam escape naturally.)

Step 8 – Allow the vegan beef to cool for about 15 minutes before slicing.

🥘 How to use beef seitan

You can now use it for a seitan roast beef, a vegan pot roast, and a meatless beef stew. Slice it up for vegan Mongolian beef, vegan Philly cheesesteaks, vegan beef and broccoli, lettuce wraps, vegan beef stroganoff, or vegan fajitas.

You can serve the vegan beef with mashed potatoes, vegan brown gravy, and roasted balsamic vegetables for a hearty meal.

👩🏻‍🍳 Pro Tips

Use a glass bowl and a silicone spatula to mix your seitan. Vital wheat gluten is very sticky once it gets wet and will stick like glue to a plastic bowl or a wooden spoon.
Wheat gluten is a very fine powder that will get everywhere if you are not careful with it. Pour it low down and slowly over the broth mixture so it doesn’t splash out of your bowl.
Knead the seitan until all of the gluten flour is incorporated and you have a dough that’s a little firmer than you would have for bread. Only knead it for about 60 seconds so your wheat meat doesn’t get too chewy.
If you don’t want the foil to touch your food, you can wrap the mock beef in parchment paper first, and then wrap the foil around that.
Seitan expands when it cooks, so be sure to use strong foil, or it will break the foil when it is steaming.
Be sure to steam the seitan for a full hour and 15 minutes. The internal temperature needs to reach 160° F.
If you are going to bake the roast after steaming to make my vegan pot roast or vegan roast beef recipes, you only need to steam it for 1 hour since it will heat the rest of the way in the oven.

This mock beef freezes well, so slice it up into small pieces and store it in the freezer so you always have some on hand for quick weeknight meals. You can simply toss it into stir-fries or vegan soups for extra protein. Your whole family will love this great recipe and even meat-eaters will be surprised by how much this tastes like the real thing.

Vegan beef pot roast.

❓ Frequently asked questions

Grab your free guide to making homemade seitan!

Make amazing vegan “meats” from wheat gluten like ham, turkey, chicken, beef, and sausages with this free printable cookbook! Plus learn all my tips and tricks for making seitan come out perfect every time. First nameEmail address

🥡 Storage and reheating

Refrigerate: This mock beef will keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 – 5 days.

Freeze: Beef seitan freezes well and can be stored in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. (Cut it into small pieces before you freeze it if you plan on using it for soups or stir-fries. You can reheat small pieces directly from the freezer.)

Reheating: You can reheat the vegan beef in the microwave for about 5 minutes, pan-fry in a little oil, or bake at 350° F for about 15 -20 minutes until warm. (Times vary depending on how much you are reheating.)

📋 Vegan beef recipe

5 from 10 votes

Vegan Beef

Mock beef made from seitan. This vegan beef can be used in place of beef in most recipes.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, vegan

Keyword: mock meat, seitan beef, vegan beef

Servings: 6

Calories: 216kcal

Author: Monica Davis

Equipment

food processor
Steamer Basket

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil
2 cups mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 cup onion (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste (or vegan red wine)
1 cup water (or low sodium veggie broth)
2 cups vital wheat gluten

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Peel and dice 1 small onion and wash and slice 2 cups of mushrooms. Then add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet and saute the diced onion, sliced mushrooms, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Add 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 2 tbsp tomato paste, and mix well. Then stir in 1 cup of water and turn off the heat.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree.
Pour the pureed mixture into a large glass bowl add 1 1/2 cups of vital wheat gluten and stir with a silicone spatula.
Kneed in the last 1/2 cup of wheat gluten with your hand until a firm dough ball is formed.
Shape your dough ball into a loaf shape and wrap it tightly in thick foil.
Place the wrapped roast in a steaming basket and steam for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (Or in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot for 55 minutes and then let the steam escape naturally.)
You can now use it for a seitan roast beef, a vegan pot roast, slice it up for vegan Mongolian beef or use the seitan strips in a lettuce wrap. (Allow the vegan beef to cool for about 15 minutes before slicing.)

Notes

Use a glass bowl and a silicone spatula to mix your seitan. Vital wheat gluten is very sticky once it gets wet and will stick like glue to a plastic bowl or a wooden spoon.
Wheat gluten is a very fine powder that will get everywhere if you are not careful with it. Pour it low down and slowly over the broth mixture so it doesn’t splash out of your bowl.
Knead the seitan until all of the gluten flour is incorporated and you have a dough that’s a little firmer than you would have for bread. Only knead it for about 60 seconds so your wheat meat doesn’t get too chewy.
If you don’t want the foil to touch your food, you can wrap the mock beef in parchment paper first, and then wrap the foil around that.
Seitan expands when it cooks, so be sure to use strong foil, or it will break the foil when it is steaming.
Be sure to steam the seitan for a full hour and 15 minutes. The internal temperature needs to reach 160° F.
If you are going to bake the roast after steaming to make my vegan pot roast or vegan roast beef recipes, you only need to steam it for 1 hour since it will heat the rest of the way in the oven.

Nutrition

I hope you love this recipe – please let me know in the comment section below! If you make this vegan beef, make sure to take a photo and share it on my Facebook page or on Instagram, using the hashtag #vegan-100%.

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