Elevate your vegan meals with this homemade seitan ground beef. You can use this plant-based meat to add extra protein in lasagna, tacos, bowls, burritos, spaghetti, chili, pasta sauce, and really anything your heart desires!
The first time I ever tried seitan, it was love at first taste.
No, really. I'm obsessed with the stuff. I put it in everything I possibly can. This seitan ground beef has quickly become one of my favorite recipes. I also have different homemade seitan recipes for vegan buffalo chicken sandwiches and vegan BBQ sandwiches if you're looking to try out more seitan.
Jump to:
- What Is Seitan?
- Benefits of Homemade Seitan Ground Beef
- Ingredients for Seitan Ground Beef
- Instructions for Making Seitan Ground Beef
- Tips for Achieving Perfect Texture and Flavor
- Using Seitan Ground Beef in Recipes
- I Made This Seitan Into Taco Meat for A Scratch-Made Mexican Food Dinner
- Storage and Shelf Life of Seitan Ground Beef
- Frequently Asked Questions about Seitan
- Recipe
- Now Go Experiment With Seitan Ground Beef!
- Want to lose fat sustainably — without counting every calorie or giving up carbs?
What Is Seitan?
Not to be confused with "satan," this vegan meat alternative is heavenly. It's made from vital wheat gluten, which is simply the protein from wheat.
Don't let the word "gluten" scare you away. Unless you have celiac disease, you don't need to worry about eating gluten. Steer clear of extreme diet culture claims that say gluten is bad for you!
Benefits of Homemade Seitan Ground Beef
- High Protein: Seitan is one of the highest protein vegan meat substitutes. This seitan ground beef recipe provides a whopping 38g per serving!
- Low Saturated Fat: Unlike traditional ground beef, seitan ground beef has 0g saturated fat, making it a heart healthy plant-based protein.
- Micronutrients: This seitan ground beef recipe is an excellent source of iron and a good source of vitamin A and fiber.
- Sustainable: Seitan requires less resources and produces less greenhouse gas emissions to produce than beef, making it a sustainable meat alternative.
- Versatile: Seitan has a great texture and takes on the flavor of anything added to it, making it a versatile ingredient to be used in all types of cuisines.
- Cheaper: Making homemade ground seitan is much cheaper than buying pre-made seitan at the grocery store. (And it's typically healthier with the ingredients that I use)
- Easy: Making this vegan ground beef substitute is as easy as mixing wet and dry ingredients together and throwing it in the oven. It's a fool-proof recipe!
Ingredients for Seitan Ground Beef
For this delicious vegan ground beef recipe, you'll need these simple ingredients.
- Vital Wheat Gluten (I use Bob's Red Mill)
- Nutritional Yeast (I use Bob's Red Mill)
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Paprika
- Oregano
- Celery Salt
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Vegetable Broth
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
- Tomato Paste
- Lemon Juice
- Olive Oil
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Making Seitan Ground Beef
Homemade seitan ground beef is not only healthier but also cheaper than the store-bought varieties. You may be surprised at how easy it is to make your own vegan meat alternatives.
Preheat oven to 350℉. Add all dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Add all wet ingredients into a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir with a large wooden spoon to combine.
Once the seitan dough is sticking together, knead with your hands in the large mixing bowl a few times until well-incorporated.
Place large pieces of foil on a cookie sheet and then place piece of dough on it. Roll the dough up into the foil in the shape of a burrito and twist the ends to secure. Bake at 350℉ for a cooking time of 1 hour.
Remove hot baking sheet from oven and let seitan cool at room temperature until you're able to handle it with your hands. Cut the seitan into large pieces and place in a food processor. Pulse a few times until the seitan resembles ground beef.
Hint: If you allow the baked seitan to cure overnight in the fridge before pulsing it into vegan beef crumbles, it will allow the flavors to enhance. If you don't have the time to wait till the next day, no worries - it'll still taste amazing.
Tips for Achieving Perfect Texture and Flavor
If you prefer your meat substitutes more chewy, knead more. If you prefer them more tender, knead less. This is because the gluten develops more and the "dough" becomes more firm as you knead.
You can decide whether you want the pieces slightly larger or more fine and adjust the duration of processing accordingly. In our home, our favorite way is to grind it into small pieces that are still big enough to bite into for extra flavor.
Using Seitan Ground Beef in Recipes
These beefless crumbles can be a great addition to:
- Lasagna
- Vegan Tacos (see my video below!)
- Burritos
- Buddha Bowls
- Meatballs
- Spaghetti
- Chili
- Burgers
- Salads
- Stir Fry (it goes so well with peanut sauce and rice!)
- Nachos
- Etc!
Note: This recipe is specifically for seitan ground beef, but you can also thinly slice it to use for sandwiches as a vegan deli meat substitute as well. (I do this all the time!) If you prefer to freeze the whole or halved seitan log after baking so it's more versatile for future recipes, definitely go for it!
I Made This Seitan Into Taco Meat for A Scratch-Made Mexican Food Dinner
To make it into a taco meat substitute, heat a pan over medium heat and add oil. Let the oil heat, then add the ground seitan, chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. (You could also just opt for a pre-made taco seasoning if you prefer!) Stir to combine, heat through, and serve!
Storage and Shelf Life of Seitan Ground Beef
I typically make several batches of this recipe at once to have plenty of seitan beef available for meals in the coming weeks. You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months (or more!).
I'm a big supporter of meal prepping, and this recipe is a fantastic one to make in bulk ahead of time! Then you already have it ready to add to whatever dish you're whipping up. If kept frozen, simply move it from the freezer to the fridge 1-2 days before you need to use it for best results.
Frequently Asked Questions about Seitan
Seitan has a meaty texture and neutral flavor that takes on whatever flavors are added to it, which makes it extremely versatile!
The main ingredient in seitan is vital wheat gluten, which is a fancy word for the protein in wheat.
No. Gluten is the main ingredient in seitan and it cannot be made without it.
This seitan recipe has a whopping 38g of protein and 246 calories per serving!
Recipe
Seitan Ground Beef Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cup vegetable broth (I use reconstituted vegan bouillon paste)
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Add all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp celery salt, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground black pepper
- Add all wet ingredients into a separate bowl and whisk to combine.1 ½ cup vegetable broth, 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir with a large wooden spoon to combine. Once the seitan dough is sticking together, knead with your hands in the large mixing bowl a couple times.
- Place a large sheet of foil on a cookie sheet and then place the seitan dough on it. Roll the dough up into the foil in the shape of a large burrito and twist the ends to secure. Bake at 350℉ for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and let seitan cool enough to handle with your hands.
- Cut the seitan into large pieces to place in a food processor. Pulse a few times until the seitan resembles ground beef.
Notes
Nutrition
Now Go Experiment With Seitan Ground Beef!
Congratulations. You have unlocked the next level of vegan cooking. Go try this seitan ground beef in everything you can think of and let us know how it turns out!
This vegan meat substitute is extremely versatile and can be used in pretty much anything that calls for ground beef. So go experiment!
Want to lose fat sustainably — without counting every calorie or giving up carbs?
If you're loving these high-protein vegan recipes and you're ready to take things to the next level, check out my course:
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Debbie Wicks says
I just came across you blog and this looks amazing. I was curious if you had any thoughts on placing this in the instant pot and steaming it rather than putting it in the oven?
I steam my “nuggets” for 5 min in the instant pot rather than steam on the stove for 12.
Anyways. Thanks a bazillion for sharing your expertise!
Blair Persyn, MS, RDN, LDN, CNSC says
I've surprisingly still never used an instant pot myself (crazy I know), but it could work. It may have a slightly different texture though and it would probably take longer than 5 minutes because of its size and thickness. If you try it out, let us know how it goes!
Anonymous says
Amazing recipe! Oven baking (rather than steaming) makes it really simple to do. The texture was perfect and it's by far the best vegan mince I've ever tasted- shop bought or homemade
Blair Persyn, MS, RDN, LDN, CNSC says
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!