Vegan Steak Tips

I hava a lot of seitan recipes on the site. From vegan chicken breast to a whole array of vegan deli meats, but steak was not something I had never really prioritized. I was not a big steak eater way back when I ate meat, so it wasn’t of great importance for me to veganize. Until it was.

My oldest daughter however LOVED steak. Like she would have eaten it every day if would have let her when she was little.

Recently I mentioned that I was going to grill kabobs for dinner, and my oldest daughter asked if I could please try and make steak so she could have a vegan steak kabob. I was grilling that night so If I was going to make steak it needed to be smaller pieces because as I always preach to yall, SEITAN NEEDS TO REST!!!!

So the obvious solution was a vegan steak tip. I could make them that morning and we would be able to eat them that night. I still prefer my seitan rest a full day, but for smaller pieces like these, or the vegan chicken breast on my site that are thin, a good 8 hour rest will normally do.

I have watched all kinds of methods over the years for vital wheat gluten seitans and the washed flour methods for getting a “shreddier” meat texture, and decided to try and braid and twist this seitan dough to see if the texture would be more steak like. I think it was. Have I tried making without braiding then twisting to know the difference? No, no I have not. Probably because I actually think it’s fun to braid then twist it….sort of like adult play dough. Feel free to skip that part and let me know your outcome. As for me, I’ll stick with my method because the texture isn’t as smooth as the seitans I don’t do this with, and that was my goal.

Even if you have never made seitan in your life, I truly believe you can make these vegan steak tips. They mix up in like 10 minutes and bake in under 30. These vegan steak tips will keep in the fridge for a week or so, and can be frozen for up to 6 months. You can use these vegan steak tips in so many different recipes. For steak kabobs, fajitas, tacos, soups, stews, on pizza, in casseroles or quiche. Just about any recipe that calls for beef pieces, you could use these vegan steak tips.

My one suggestion is get a good steak seasoning blend. I have been using Kinder’s steak blend and swear this is one of the reasons these steak tips are so dang good! Any steak seasoning would do but this is the one that I have used for these tips, and now even use in my roast beef. I got mine at Costco but you can order it online as well. This is not an affiliate post, this is just the seasoning I bought and really like and am often asked for a link if I mention a seasoning or product I use. So there you go.

For the record my daughter was a fan of the vegan steak tips, and much to my surprise my 5 year old daughter ate more of them than anyone and asked for a second batch the next day which I gladly obliged in making,

So here is my 86eats steak recipe, a long time coming. If you wanted a full size steak I would follow the braid twist instructions then flatten that out into a disk like in my easy vegan chicken breast recipe. Then I would follow the cut and bake instructions in the chicken recipe, and I think you would get a pretty tasty full sized steak!

Either way, I think you will like this easy vegan steak! I did, even though it was never on my own radar. It will not be a staple recipe in my house!

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your steak has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for the whole bake.

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz package of super firm tofu (the kind that is vacuum sealed not in a tray of water)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 3 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 2 tablespoons beet powder

• 1-2 tablespoons No Beef or Vegetable Better than bouillon
  (I add 2 because I like the nice beefy flavor it gives but if you feel that is too much salt you can add 1 or less if you like)

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce ( I use low sodium or you can use coconut aminos)

• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce

• 2 teaspoons each of garlic powder, black pepper, and onion powder

• 2-3 teaspoons of any steak seasoning bled you like ( plus more for coating before you bake)

• 2 teaspoons neutral flavored oil or water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of loaf with the dough.

4. Evenly divide the dough into three pieces. ( see above for pictures of these following steps) Take one piece at a time a using your hands roll the dough into a rope around 12 inches long. Repeat with remaining two pieces. Lay the pieces on clean surface (cutting board, a borrowed ABC place mate from your 5 year old, clean counter top, whatever you got) side by side, pinch the top ends together. Braid the pieces as tightly as you can. Now cut the braid in half an roll each half into ropes about 16-18 inches. Pinch the ropes together at the top and twist them together as tightly as you can.

5. Now that you have one twisted rope, roll it back and forth on a smooth surface to sort of press it together. Cut the rope into 1 to 1 and 1/2 inch chunks. Press the chunks in the middle using your thumb kind of flattening them a bit. Braiding then twisting the dough give these beef tips a more beef life texture than just rolling out a smooth dough and cutting it. However you CAN just take the dough and roll it out into one long smooth 16 inch or so inch rope and cut it into chunks without the braid and twist. I just believe this is giving the shreddy texture. I have not tried without the braid and twist and if you try and find the texture beefy, by all means let me know and I will stand corrected!!

6. Lay a piece of parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the parchment in a steak blend seasoning. Lay the steak tips on the tray, give them a spray or brush with a little oil then roll them around in the seasoning. Take one or two large pieces of foil and cover the pan tightly with the foil.

7. Place the baking tray on the middle oven rack. Bake the beef tips for 15 minutes covered. Carefully remove the pan and from the oven and flip the steak tips using tongs. Replace the foil and bake for another 15 or so minutes depending on your oven and how hot it cooks. (read trouble shooting tips above about oven temp and oven thermometers)

8 .Remove the vegan steak tips from the oven and allow to cool at room temp. Once they have cooled place the baking sheet in there fridge or you can transfer the vegan steak tips to a storage container. Allow the vegan steak tips to cool for AT LEAST 5 HOURS. Seitan MUST rest for the texture to develop. It will seem soft or spongy before you let it rest. I prefer a full day rest but because these pieces are fairly small, a 6-8 hour rest will work. You can freeze the vegan steak tips for up to 6 months in an airtight container or freezer bag once I has cooled.

9. Use vegan steak tips in any recipe calling for steak or beef tips. Fajitas, tacos, kabobs, sandwiches , beef stroganoff, soups or stews, pizza topping , whatever!

If you like this recipe, then try these:

vegan chicken cordon bleu

vegan flank steak

vegan maple breakfast ham

Vegan Pork Chops

Truth be told I was never a big fan of pork chops growing up. I never really ate them until marrying my husband and being given a recipe by his aunt for a dish they called stuffed pork chops, which my husband loved.

This said, pork chops were never really on my make a vegan version to do list until recently. Like many recipes on the blog, this one came about when I was asked by a Facebook friend named Peter if had a pork chop recipe.

I thought it should be simple enough and why not give it a go. I had not thought about those stuffed pork chops in nearly 20 years but instantly I knew what I wanted to try and make with these vegan pork chops if they did work.

This seitan is easy and straightforward. If you have made my vegan ham, then this recipe is really similar with a few changes and I used my easy vegan chicken breast method for shaping and baking up these vegan pork chops.

They will keep in the fridge for about a week and can be frozen for up to a month for easy meal prepping.

You can dredge these vegan pork chops in flour and quickly pan fry to reheat. You can bake them, or simmer them in a sauce after they have rested. Use them any way you would use a non vegan pork chop!

And thanks again to Peter for inspiring me to make something I would have probably never made otherwise!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu, 14-16 oz

• 1 and 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup diced white onion

• 1/4 cup blueberry or grape jelly

• 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1/4 cup tapioca starch or corn starch

• 1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon allspice

• 1 teaspoon salt if you think it needs more (the bouillon adds a bit of salt as is)

• 1 tablespoon Garlic or Vegetable Better Than Bouillon (I used garlic)

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. *If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Add the onion to the food processor with the regular metal blade and let it mince up a few seconds. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor . Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If the dough seems too sticky, add a few more tablespoons of VWG.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval, flattened out shaped with the dough. Cut the dough into 8 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a pork chop shapes.

4. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or foil, spray with oil. Evenly space out the seitan pork chop pieces making sure they are not touching. They will expand as they bake. Spray the tops with oil and give them a sprinkle with any seasoning you like. Tightly cover the entire pan in foil, tucking the edges tightly around the edges of the pan. We want the seitan to steam inside the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes covered the whole time.

5. Remove from oven and let the seitan cool at room temp them transfer to the fridge for about 6 hours to rest. I often bake the seitan the night before I wish to fry it. But you could also bake it in the morning and it would be fine to fry by dinner. Seitan requires a nice long rest to firm up and achieve a more meaty texture. The longer you can let it rest, the better!

6. Once the vegan pork chops have rested, you can use them in whatever pork chop recipe you like. You can reheat them by baking, or pan frying until heated though as well.

7. They will keep in the fridge for a week or freezer for 6 months.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Easy Vegan Chicken Breast

Vegan Corned Beef

10 Minute Vegan Chicken (Seitan)

So if you have ever visited my blog before you probably already know I make a lot of seitan. Like a LOT. You name the meat and you will likely find a vegan version on the site. Including chicken.

I have recipes for easy chicken breast, chicken with crispy skin, fried chicken, buffalo chicken…..you get it.

But the truth is seitan takes time, because most seitan needs a nice long bake or simmer, and then it needs a very long fridge nap to firm up and turn from doughy, to convincingly meaty.

That is just the science of seitan.

So the recently I decided too late in the day I wanted chicken for dinner and didn’t have any in my freezer. I obviously could have deiced on something else for dinner but instead I started thinking there must be a way to make some vegan chicken a little faster.

Baking seitan and allowing it to steam covered in foil is my favorite cooking method. It’s quick and pretty fail proof. I also have a few recipes where I simmer it, but it is always larger pieces and it takes a good bit of time, and requires at least an 8 hour rest.

I though what if I quick simmered small chunks of vegan chicken to use in pastas, casseroles, salads, nuggets and such. I remembered seeming a lot of people make some tiktok skillet fried seitan that seemed really fast and easy ( I don’t tiktok) I don’t always need a full big vegan chicken breast, so small pieces would work for a lot of recipes, simmer up super fast, and the rest time would be minimal.

Simmered seitan holds some liquid. I mean you are cooking spongy dough in liquid, so it is naturally going to be more moist and a little softer in my experience than baked/steamed seitan. For me that is normally not the texture I am going for, but in this case it works fine. The pieces are small so cook super fast and firm up enough to slice up and use really quickly. I sliced up my test batch and heated it in a skillet with some seasoning to use on top of pasta and the whole family gave it a thumbs up!

Is this now my go to vegan chicken recipe? It depends on what I need to make chicken for, or how much time I have to cook and wait for it to rest. But if you are in hurry, don’t want to mess with shaping and baking up my easy vegan chicken breast, and just need small pieces of chicken to add to a recipe, this 10 minute vegan chicken may become your new go to!

Think pasta, casseroles, diced for chicken salad, soups, fajitas, on top of salads, or even breaded up and fried as a nugget. This 10 minute vegan seitan has a ton of delicious uses, It mixes in minutes, cooks in 10, and the rest time is hands down quicker than any other seitan I have made to date!! All of these things make this recipe and winner in my book!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoon neutral flavored oil

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

• 1 teaspoons salt

SIMMERING LIQUID:

• 2-3 cups water or broth

• 1-2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon ( no chicken, or vegetable) or similar bouillon paste or powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more!

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, and begin to flatten the dough into about a 3/4 to 1 inch thick rectangle. ( I use my cutting mat as a guide and try to just press it out to the size of the mat.) Cut the dough into about 1 inch cubed pieces ( refer to pictures.

4. Add a few inches of water or broth to a deep skillet. I used about a cup and a half per batch. If using water, add a teaspoon or so of bouillon and whisk it in. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Begin adding vegan chicken pieces to the liquid by pressing the pieces out as flat as you can between your fingers before adding to the pan. You will probably only be able to fit half the batch in the pan at a time. Allow the pieces to simmer for 5 minutes per side. Remove from the liquid using tongs kind of shaking off excess liquid from the the piece over the pan, and place the vegan chicken on a metal cooling rack on top of a parchment or paper towel lined baking sheet. Add more liquid and bouillon to the pan if needed and repeat with remaining vegan chicken pieces.

5. Place the vegan chicken on the cooling rack uncovered in the fridge for about three hours. It does need to rest to get a firmer texture and the longer it rests the better it will be. But for this recipe a 3 hour rest gets it firm enough to slice and use however you like.

6. Store in airtight container after the rest in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Chicken Philly

Vegan Dill Chicken Salad

Vegan Chicken Nuggets

vegan flank steak

Vegan Maple Breakfast Ham

I was recently asked on Facebook by someone named Mike if I had a recipe for a loaf of seitan bacon.

I seems Mike had a product he liked that was simply, best I could tell from the picture he shared and the description, a loaf of bacon like seitan. Nothing fancy like we see all the time these days. It did not remotely look like bacon, but had the flavor profile and was sliceable.

Mike had been looking for a recipe for a seitan bacon, and again best I can tell from our brief internet chat, kept finding recipes for fancy, realistic, vegan bacons. Mike just wanted the loaf he missed that he can no longer find.

So, I looked the ingredient list, it was pretty similar to most of my seitans, and figured I would give it a whirl and see if It was like the vegan bacon Mike was missing.

But really I kept thinking this was more like a Canadian bacon vs traditional bacon. Since it was going to be sliced from a loaf and round. I used to love Canadian bacon on an English muffin with egg and cheese as a kid. Essentially breakfast ham! So that is the direction I decided to go.

I already make a seitan glazed ham but it is intended to be sliced for sandwiches or served as a holiday vegan ham. Not really the cylindrical log of bacon Mike was referring too, but the base and many of the spices are similar.

And with that, I give you a simple seitan breakfast ham recipe. A vegan breakfast ham/bacon that can be sliced, fried up in a pan, and eaten with all of your favorite breakfast foods. No bells and whistles, no fancy 2 toned coloring to make it look like real bacon (Just so we are clear, I am fascinated by all of the amazing realistic looking vegan bacon recipes out there and think they are amazing, this is just not what we are aiming for in this recipe) Just an easy, anyone can makes this, maple laced, salty, vegan breakfast meat that maybe Mike will like?!?! And if not, I tried Mike, I really did!

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So if you have made seitan a million times, or never made it once in you life, this recipe is for you. It is easy, but tasty. Sometimes no matter your skill level, there is no need to over complicate a thing. And I tell you what, your breakfast sandwiches will be a whole lot tastier with this vegan breakfast ham! I am sure I will also find a lot of other uses for it, but for now I am focusing on ham, egg and cheese sandwiches for days to come.

Thanks for the challenge Mike, and y’all feel free to shoot me a message if there is a recipe you miss or think I should try to make. I like a challenge.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu, 14-16 oz

• 2 cups Vital Wheat Gluten

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon allspice

• 1 teaspoon salt if you think it needs more (the bouillon and soy add a bit of salt as is)

• 2 tablespoons Garlic or Vegetable Better Than Bouillon (I used garlic)

• 2-3 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons water if need (add last)

COATING:

• A few tablespoons maple syrup

• Salt

  TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

  *I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

  • *If you find your vegan breakfast ham has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 50 minutes and open for 10.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! This dough came out stickier than the turkey because of the addition of more wet ingredients, and I did not have to add ANY water to mine. If your dough seems too sticky, then add 2 more tablespoons of starch.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute. Divide the dough into 2 equal piece. Form each piece into a smooth 8ish inch log. To get the dough nice and smooth roll the dough back and forth on a smooth cutting mat using the heals of your hands. You may have to pinch any seams you see and roll them out smooth.

4. Take four pieces of aluminum foil about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay it out flat. Coat a piece of the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Brush the loaf with a tablespoon or so of maple syrup. Sprinkle salt ( this depends on your salt preference, but I maybe did a little under a teaspoon per loaf) onto the foil and roll the sticky loaf in the salt. Lay the foil out and place the loaf at one end and roll the loaf up tightly in the foil. If the foil is super wrinkled those wrinkles will transfer to your dough as it bakes, just a heads up. Pinch and twist the ends of the foil to tightly seal the loaf. Now use a second piece of foil and wrap the dough again so this foil has nice long ends where you twist ( refer to picture.) You are trying to create sort of arms with the second piece of foil to hammock the loaf over a pot. Repeat process with second loaf.

5. Using a dutch oven, roasting pan, or any deep pot or pan that is oven safe, suspend the loaves over the pan using the foil arms to keep them from touching the bottom. (again refer to picture above if this is confusing.) You want the loaves to bake suspended vs sitting on a pan to maintain their shape. If you baked them directly on a pan they tend to get a flat bottom and often the bottom can brown or harden depending on what kind of pan you are using. This method just keeps them nice and round. If you don’t care that they are perfectly round then you can certainly bake them directly on a pan.

6. Bake the loaves for one hour, sealed in the foil.

7. Remove finished “ham” and let cool at room temp in the foil. I leave mine just the way they are and put the pot with the suspend vegan breakfast hams still wrapped right in the fridge to allow them to rest. The breakfast ham MUST REST AT LEAST 8 HOURS. This ensures the texture we are trying to achieve. A firm, sliceable, breakfast meat. If you do not let it rest, it will seem under done, gummy, and just not that great. You have gotta let seitan have a nice long fridge nap if you want that meaty texture!

8. Once the “ham” has been in the fridge 8 hours per over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days. I suggest pan frying slices of this vegan breakfast ham with a little spray of oil. I makes one delicious ham, vegan egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich!

Vegan Buffalo Turkey

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Gyro Meat

vegan flank steak

Vegan BBQ Lil Smokies

I don’t know about you, but I am assuming if you found this recipe, you likely grew up on Lil Smokies too.

We used them for crockpot BBQ cocktail wieners or pigs in a blanket pretty often at my house. I actually can’t remember a holiday get together, or cookout without a crockpot of BBQ Lil Smokies sitting on the counter. They are nostalgic for me.

If you don’t know what a Lil Smokies is, it is simply a brand of a tiny little sausage links in the US. I guess there are different brands of the same kind fo product, but Lit Smokies are what we grew up eating.

I have thought about making vegan Lil Smokies for years but just never got around to it until now. I make homemade vegan hotdogs often enough but wasn’t sure these would work since I did not plan on indiviulay wrapping up a gazzilion lit franks to steam. Who would want to do that.

So I decided to try baking them with the pan wrapped up in foil vs the franks themselves.

Well yall, it worked!! I did add pictures of the batch I cooked on a lower oven rack that got weird. I got a little careless forming that last batch, and in my oven they seem to have cooked hotter than those on the top rack. Keep this in mind. ALL OVENS COOK DIFFERENTLY, this always effects seitan and it comes down to trial and error sometimes. Often ovens are not cooking at their registered temp. So it is a good idea to get a oven thermometer to know what yours is doing, and avoid cooking your seitan or baked goods too hot. This is true with all seitan. Don’t let this discourage you, just keep this in mind.

After you get the Lil links mixed up, baked, and rested, the rest is easy peasy. Mix the bbq sauce up, toss it all into a crockpot or slow cooker, and bust out the party toothpicks! Potlucks, football watching, birthday parties, BBQs, whatever the occasion, you can now enjoy the tiny BBQ Lil Smokies you used to love! What a time to be alive, y’all!

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*Below is a picture of the perfect vegan Lil Smokies vs the ones that got weird. Same dough, baked on same brand of pan, same oven temp, at the same time. The ones on the left were just on a different oven rack and I did not take as much care forming them. Truly they seemed to just have baked hotter on that rack causing them to bake faster and the bottoms to brown. This tells me my bottom oven coil must cook hotter than my top and my oven in fact. ( not surprised) does not bake evenly. I added both to the sauce and you could not tell the difference once it did. So if yours come out looking weird, the should still taste good!

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INGREDIENTS:

For the Vegan Lil Smokies:

• 16 oz package of super firm tofu, the kind that is vacuum sealed in little water

• 1 and 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten

• 1/3 cup yellow onion

• 1/4 cup sauerkraut (just the cabbage, not the juice)

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 3 tablespoons ketchup or tomato sauce

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil

• 1 tablespoonNo Beef Better Than Bouillon, or vegan beef bouillon powder

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1 teaspoons ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon dried mustard

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1-2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• a few tablespoons water if needed

For the Sauce:

• 1 bottle any bbq sauce you like

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 small onion finely diced

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

(You can easily half this recipe and use half a batch of the Vegan Lil Smokies)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• Dice the onion. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade along with the onion and sauerkraut. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu and onion are broken down.

• Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add a few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more!

• Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of rectangular shaped loaf with the dough.

• Evenly divide the dough into about 6 pieces.

• Take each piece and working them in your hands, one at a time, forming a dough rope. I like to roll between my hands and then lay the rope out on a clean counter top or cutting mat and continue rolling until each piece is around a 16 inch rope.

• Cut each rope into 8 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece in your hand to form a mini hotdog link shape, kind of pinching the ends to seal them. Try to get the dough as smooth as possible. I have pictured below the difference in taking your time to get the dough smooth, and the ones I rushed.

• Place all of the little smokies on 2 cookies sheets lined in parchment paper. Spray the smokies with some cooking oil and cover the pans tightly with foil. I wrap the foil around the pans and tuck it. You need the smokies to steam on the pan so make sure you have a nice seal around the edges with the foil.

• Place the pans in the oven and bake wrapped for 20 minutes. My smokies on the top rack of my oven came out perfectly. The ones on the rack below cooked too hot on the bottom. I suggest keep both pans on the top rack if they will fit, or swapping the pans mid bake so each batch bakes evenly.

• Carefully remove the vegan lil smokies from the oven and let them cool a minute on the pan. Transfer them to bowl and pop them in the fridge to rest for at least 4-5 hours. This rest is what gives you the correct texture for these vegan lil smokies. THEY MUST REST.

• Mix all of the sauce ingredients right in your crockpot or slow cooker and add the rested vegan Lil Smokies. I tuRned mine on high for 4 hours and switched it to warm. It will depend on your crockpot, but all you are really doing is heating the sauce for the sugar to melt and onions to soften, and heating the lit smokies through. After that has happened, just keep your crockpot/ slow cooker on warm. Alternatively, you can heat the sauce on the stove top in a pot. Add the smokies and let them heat through and transfer to a bowl to serve.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Kogo

Vegan Hotdogs

Vegan Casey’s Corner Slaw Carrot Dogs

Vegan Milk Bar Birthday Cake

So here is the truth. I have never in my life eaten a Milk Bar anything. BUT, I have always wanted to.

I have seen countless friends post pics of delicious looking Milk Bar cakes and cookies. I have seen the mixes in the grocery store, and every part of me has dreamed of a vegan version of their sprinkle filled original birthday cake.

I mean I love sprinkles, and funfetti was my go to box cake pre vegan.

And here is another thing, I LOVED BOXED CAKE AND CANNED ICING before going vegan. I can bake from scratch and am pretty good at it. My daughter is a crazy amazing baker. But sometimes I just crave artificial tasting, buttery, boxed cake.

So this year for my mother-in-laws birthday we sent her a Milk Bar cake. She is not vegan and she has not had a birthday cake in like 20 years or something crazy like that. So we sent her one because Milk Bar delivers their famous cakes all over, with just a couple days notice, even to the middle of nowhere mountain towns with no local bakery to order from.

My oldest daughter was like “hey why cant we get a cake” and I was like “umm they are nowhere close to vegan, or allergy friendly, but why don’t I just try to make one.” At which point I had committed to this venture and also expect it to be a total failure. I have veganized a lot of recipes with success but when I dug into this one I got scared!

For starters I used the Boston Girl Bakes recipe for reference. She explains EVERYTHING so well and with great detail. I strongly suggest you read through what she has to say about this famous cake. I obviously had to make several changes since I am making the vegan version. But I followed her advice as closely as I could while making the necessary vegan changes.

I had to test several ideas to get this Milk Bar Vegan Cake right. Now remember, I have not had an original Milk Bar Cake to compare it to, so I had to rely mostly on pictures and descriptions online to see that mine was close, and then I shared samples with friends who HAVE EATEN the famous sprinkle cake, and got their feedback. Even my “failed” attempts were so delicious. The tricky part for me was getting the crumb right and I think the combo of starch eggs and aquafaba did the trick and also making sure you use CAKE FLOUR. I used a high protein flour in my first attempt because I didn’t have any cake flour and thought I might not really matter, IT MATTERS, A LOT!!!

If you have never heard of Milk Bar or seen this or any of their other desserts then let me help educate you at least on this particular cake. You NEED this cake in your life. I PROMISE!

The Milk Bar is a bakery that started in New York. There are locations all over now and you can order online. You can also buy their mixes in Target stores. Their Sprinkle Birthday Cake is like a boxed funfetti cake on steroids. The cake is light and fluffy and buttery and packed full of sprinkles. The frosting is my new favorite buttercream. Seriously I will be using this as the base of all my future butter creams. And then there are the CRUMBS. The perfect little crunchy cake crumble crumbs you bake separately, and put between every layer of cake. I could make a double batch of just the crumbs to snack on and be one happy lady.

The cake calls for clear vanilla extract…so artificial vanilla flavor, and this is the magic of this cake. You NEED TO GET THE CLEAR VANILLA!! It’s important not to skip this part. This is what gives you that boxed vanilla flavor!! The cake originally calls for glucose syrup but I just doubled my corn syrup and believe that works just fine.

You also have to have a cake ring and some acetate to form the cake. I ordered mine together on amazon. I feel like now that I am not intimidated anymore about using a cake ring, I will be using it a lot. It is so much fun to use!! Stacked cakes for everyone from here on out!!

And there you have it, my best effort a veganizing the classic Milk Bar Sprinkle Birthday Cake.

So if you are like me and dreamed of a day this cake was vegan, or you have never heard of Milk Bar and this cake, trust me when I say I think you will love this vegan milk bar sprinkle birthday cake. And really, no need to wait for a birthday to make it. Everyday is worth celebrating with sprinkles!

INGREDIENTS:

You will need the following for this recipe:

• 6 inch cake ring and acetate cake collar

• 10x15 sheet pan, jelly roll pan

• Clear vanilla extract

For the Cake Crumbs:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 3/4 cup cake flour ( cake flour is a must for this recipe)

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons vegan rainbow sprinkles

• 1/4 cup grapeseed or canola oil

• 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract ( this is an important ingredient, don’t substitute with real vanilla extract)

For the Cake:

• 4 tablespoons vegan butter. (I used Trader Joes block of butter. I recommend a vegan butter block or Follow your heart. Not all vegan butters are created equal)

• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening ( I use Spectrum)

• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch mixed with 6 tablespoons water

• 2 tablespoons aquafaba ( liquid from a can of chickpeas or white beans. We are not using the whipped version, rather just the liquid this time)

• 1/2 cup oat or almond milk

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/3 cup grapeseed or canola oil

• 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

• 2 cups cake flour (I used Swans Down)

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles, divided

For the Frosting:

• 16 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening

• 4 oz vegan cream cheese (I used Trader Joes brand)

• 4 tablespoons corn syrup

• 2 tablespoons clear vanilla extract

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/8 teaspoon lemon juice

For the Cake Soak:

• 1/4 cup almond or oak milk

• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:

For the Cake Crumbs:

preheat oven to 300 degrees

1. Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl of a stand mixer ( I have been using a Hauswirt for the last year and am in love after having my one year old kitchen aid break and not being able to get a replacement in the pandemic) and mix until combined. Add the wet ingredients and mix just until clusters form.

2. Line a cake sheet with parchment paper. Pour the cake crumb clusters onto the pan and spread them out.

3. Bake for 20 minutes. Halfway through the bake, use a wooden spoon to break up the chunks a bit.

4. The crumbs will still seem a little soft when you take them out of the oven but they will harden more as you allow them to cool. You can make these ahead of time if you like, just store them in an airtight container at room temp. And try not to eat them all before you get around to using them (I had to bake a second batch for snacking)

For the Cake:

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. In a small bowl combine milk, vinegar, oil, and vanilla.

2. In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 cup of sprinkles.

3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the butter, shortening, and both sugars. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium high for 2 to 3 minutes until the butters and sugars are creamed together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the tapioca starch mixed with water, and the 2 tablespoons of aquafaba. Mix on high for 3 minutes. Scape down the sides of the bowl again.

4. On low speed, slowly pour in the milk mixture. Once the mixture is all in the bowl, increase the speed to high and allow to beat for 5 minutes. This step is important so make sure you let it mix that entire 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

5. On low speed once again, slowly add in the flour mixture and mix only unit the batter has come together. Do not overmix!! Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and make sure the flour on the very bottom got mixed in.

6. Cover your 10x15 jelly roll pan in parchment paper and evenly pour the cake batter over the pan. You may need to use a spatula to even out the batter. Cover the top of the batter with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sprinkles and kind of press them in.

7. Bake for about 30 minute or until a cake tester or tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

8. Remove cake from oven and place the pan on a wire cooling rack.

9. Once the cake has completely cooled, use your cake ring to press 2 full circles, and 2 half circles from the sheet cake. (look at pictures above to see how to do this) There will be plenty of cake scraps leftover. Seriously y’all, these are “snacking scraps” not waste. Not one crumb of this cake was “wasted” in my house.

For the Frosting:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the butter, cream cheese, and shortening. Beat for a few minutes until creamy, fluffy, and smooth. No lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. Add the corn syrup and mix another minute or 2, until the mixture is silky and kind of shiny.

3. In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar with the salt, and baking powder. I do this to help if there are any clumps in the sugar. Just put it all in a bowl and whisk it good to mix it all up and break up any sugar clumps.

4. Add the mixute to the mixer along with the lemon juice and mix on medium speed a few minutes until the frosting is creamy and smooth.

Build the Cake:

1. Set your cake ring set to six inches if it is one that adjust. Some are adjustable so if yours is, get it to the right size. Cut a circe or parchment the same size as you cake ring. Place the parchment on a cake board or plate and place the ring in the center. Unroll and cut a piece of acetate cake collar big enough to wrap around the ring. Fit the acetate inside the ring. It should stick up higher than the cake ring!

2. Place one of your full circles of cake in the bottom of the ring. Brush the cake with 1/3 of your milk soak.

3. Divide up the frosting into thirds. I just kind of eyeball it in bowl and cut through it with my rubber spatula to give me an idea of how much to scoop up. Put 1/3 of the frosting onto of the cake. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread the frosting over the cake. Add 1/3 of the cake crumbs evenly over the frosting and kind of press them down into it a bit!. Repeat this process this time using the two cake halves to make a whole circle for you middle layer. Then repeat with the last layer, this time instead of spreading the cake crumbs out, I like to pile them up in the middle and sprinkle more rainbow sprinkles around the edge.

4. Place the cake in the freezer for at least 12 hours (these are instructions I read on the original recipe) This is going to help everything set up and stay put. When you are ready to serve, thaw the cake in the fridge for 3 hours. Remove the cake ring and gently peal off the acetate. Slice and serve. Store cake in the fridge covered in plastic wrap or in a cake carrier for up to 5 days. You can keep the cake frozen for up to 2 weeks.

** Again, I have just tried to turn the original recipe into a vegan version. I have researched why for example you would add baking powder to the frosting and can not find a good answer (I predict some of y’all will ask the same question) But I could not find anything to really clarify that would have been done. If you have any insight on this I would love it! I have never seen a recipe use baking powder in a frosting so it is definitely a new concept to me.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

Vegan Nostalgic Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake

Vegan Meringue Cake with Lemon Ricotta and Berries

Vegan Tzatziki

Vegan Tzatziki. I mean, you can’t have a vegan gyro without tzatziki, and you probably also might want some with your falafel, or even to dip you grape leaves in (that’s me, I want it to dip my grape leaves in it).

So I have created a pretty simple vegan tzatziki to serve all of those needs.

Sadly I have yet to find a vegan yogurt in the United States as thick as Greek yogurt, which is what I used to make tzatziki with in my pre vegan days.

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To solve this issue, I decided to use the almond milk yogurt I normally use and mix in some vegan mayo to thicken it up. It worked like a charm.

I also think it would work rather nicely to substitute a thick, but not too thick, vegan sour cream in place of the yogurt. If you did this I would maybe skip the mayo.

So, if a Mediterranean meal is on your menu, and you are looking for an easy and delicious vegan tzatziki, look no further. This one should do the the trick.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup vegan plain unsweetened yogurt

• 1/4 cup vegan mayo

• 2 Persian cucumber finely diced. Or you can use one small English cucumber

• juice from 1 lemon

• 1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 tablespoon fresh minced dill

• a few finches of salt to taste

• a few minced mint leave (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a medium bow,l mix together all of the ingredients. I like to add a few pinches of salt and taste to adjust.

2. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Marshmallow Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Reuben Dip

Vegan French Onion Dip

Vegan Gyro Meat

Have you ever seen the Luke Bryan and Jimmy Fallon song about how to pronounce Gyro? Well I am linking it because its hilarious! Go watch it and giggle.

I grew up in Georgia and live in Florida now, and let me tell you, southerners seem to really struggle hard with how to pronounce gyro, and I have to assume that issue goes beyond the south.

Regardless of how you have been pronouncing gyro, or mispronouncing gyro all these years, we maybe can agree, if you ever had a gryo pre vegan, they were delicious!

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One of our favorite local restaurants is a place in Jacksonville Florida called Wafaa and Mikes. It is a Mediterranean restaurant attached to their family auto shop. And that alone probably tells you the food is amazing. Wafaa used to run the the restaurant and Mike ran the shop. Over the years other family members have taken the reigns, and now Wafaa’s son- in- law, Alabed, runs Wafaa’s. I could go on for days about this man’s genius. His food is delicious and so creative. And most importantly for us, he offers PLENTY of vegan options on the regular menu, and normally even creates a vegan special similar to the regular special they are offering. If you are ever in Jax you must go try this place. Seriously!!

I say all of this because I want the world to know about Wafaa and Mike’s, but also it is because of them that I ever made vegan gyro meat to begin with.

Several years ago we were chatting, and Alabed asked if I could create a meat for a vegan Mediterranean taco special he was going to be running. Side note, Mediterranean taco special is hands down my favorite special he does. So I said of course, and attempted to make a vegan gyro meat. This was early on when I had really only made some basic seitans and my vegan brisket was one of the few seitan recipes on my site.

Over all for an early seitan creation, the gyro meat was good, and then I never made another.

Why?!?! I don’t know really. I loved gyros before going vegan, but I also love a good falafel, or vegan grape leaves, or a hummus wrap, so when I do eat Mediterranean I am not usually pining for a gyro….until recently when out of nowhere I was?1?!?! Who knows why or what spurred it, but I suddenly really really needed a giant vegan gyro with EXTRA tzatziki. So I decided to give gyro meat another go.

This time I did things a bit differently. I didn’t want to just use my go to tofu vital wheat gluten base. This meat needs more texture since traditional gyro meat is beef and lamb combined. So I decided to also toss in some jackfruit for hopefully more texture. Beyond that I kept it pretty basic with traditional gyro spices, did my regular foil wrap bake, but this time added a simmer before the bake to get some extra flavor in there…..and once again you have a pretty beginner level, easy peasy, delicious seitan recipe.

This gryo meat will keep in the fridge in an air tight container for 10 days or can be frozen for up to 6 months. I often slice up my seitans and freeze half for later. Toss the seitan on the counter to thaw, and weeknight dinner just got that much easier.

Also I love to encourage anyone who has never tried their hand at setian to just TRY IT. Most of my seitan recipes and so simple and pretty forgiving. Be sure to read my troubleshooting notes below the ingredients list to see easily solvable, common issue with any seitan. It will save you some heartache down the road.

So, there you go, a simple way to make vegan gyro meat, and a song to help you pronounce it correctly. All in one blog post. Thats what I am here for y’all. And don’t forget to go see Alabed at Wafaa and Mike’s in Jax if you are ever in town. Best hummus, falafel, chickpea tacos, and unsweet tea you will ever have. EVER!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups vital wheat gluten

• 20 oz can jackfruit in brine ( not in syrup)

• 8 oz (half block) super firm/high protein tofu (the kind in the vacuum sealed package with little liquid)

• 1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1-2 tablespoons no beef or vegetable Better than Bouillon, or similar bouillon paste or powder

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil, like canola or grapeseed ( can use water if oil free)

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon dried parsley

• 2 tablespoons dried marjoram

• 1-2 tablespoons dried or fresh rosemary

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 2-3 teaspoons garlic powder

• 3 teaspoons celery salt

• 2 teaspoons black pepper

SIMMERING LIQUID:

• 4 cups water

• 1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 2 teaspoons dried parsley

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch whisked in a 1/4 cup of water.

DRY RUB:

• 1-2 teaspoons marjoram

• 2 teaspoons onion salt

• 1-2 teaspoons rosemary

• 1 teaspoon each black pepper and salt

• a few teaspoons of oil or spray oil

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS RECIPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

*If you do not like foil, you can wrap this seitan in parchment then foil. The foil then won’t touch the food and you can reuse it several times, limiting foil waste. It does need a tight wrap and to steam in the oven inside the foil.

*I do NOT hava a GLUTEN FREE suggestion for this recipe. It is a vital wheat gluten based recipe and I do not have a suitable replacement for the VWG.

*If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your oven’s temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 60 minutes and open for 10-15.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Begin by adding the drained jackfruit to a food processor with the regular blade and blend until minced up a bit. (This is all the bits of jackfruit! Everything in the can besides the liquid!)

2. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. You just need to mix until the dough has come together. Just a minute or so.

4. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute. Cut dough in half, forming TWO kind of oval shaped loaves with the dough. It is hard to get one giant loaf to cook through with the recipe. Trust me, I tried.

5. Fill a large pot or dutch oven with 4 cups of water and all of the simmering spices BUT NOT THE STARCH. Bring the liquid to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Add the 2 seitan loaves to the liquid. Allow the seitan to simmer 15 minutes then flip. NOW ADD THE STARCH slurry and allow the loaves to simmer another 20 minutes. Thickening the liquid forms a kind of gravy that will coat the seitan in the seasoning before baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees while the seitan simmers.

6. Take 2 pieces of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay them out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Sprinkle half of coating seasoning in the center of one piece of foil. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around using some tongs. Repeat with the other loaf. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

7. Place the loaves back in the center of the pieces of foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal them up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

8. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes carefully open up the foil, and continue baking for another 30 minutes. (bake times vary depending on oven, if holes are present in loaf after slicing, look at troubleshooting notes above.)

9. Remove finished gyro meat and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place back in the fridge over nigh or at least 8 hourst to rest. You can also let it rest unwrapped on a wire cooling rack. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm. LET IT REST…THE SEITAN MUST REST!!!!! (if you choose not to let it rest, don’t come round leaving sassy comments about the texture being off, you have warned)

10. Once the gyro meat has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

11. Serve with pita, tzatziki, lettuce, tomato, mint, cucumbers or however you like. You can heat sliced gyro meat in a lightly oil pan for a few minutes before making a wrap If you like
    

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Easy Vegan Chicken Breast

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

86eats vegan gyro

Vegan Challah Cranberry Orange Jelly Donuts

Donuts how I love thee, let me count the ways….

If I were counting, I would love them a million different ways, including this one.

I make love making vegan donuts and make them often enough and my regular glazed donut recipe is DELICIOUS! I always make homemade vegan donuts for Hanukkah, but never until recently did it occur to me to try and make them with challah dough. I mean why, WHY did this revelation take me so long. They are both yeast doughs and pretty similar, but challah dough is an easier dough to make with less ingredients!

I make challah almost every week for shabbat. I make plain challah, stuffed challah, challah pretzels, challah rolls..all the challah things, but never a donut. I have never until now fried challah dough. And I am from the south and we fry everything down here.

After a week of testing various holiday challah recipe, I was honesty challahed out….I didn’t even think it was possible, but it is. I didn’t want to make another loaf of challah this week.

Never the less it is Friday and I feel like every shabbat NEEDS challah so I went to mix up my dough when it occurred to me to try and fry it up as a donut!! AND further more, try and make a Thanksgiving themed jelly filled donut on shabbat because on this particular year Hanukkah begins 3 days after Thanksgiving! A holiday donut mashup if you will.

Not that you could only eat this vegan challah donut for Thanksgiving or Hanukkah.. This cranberry orange challah donut would be good any and every day.

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I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cranberry and orange together! It might be one of my all time favorite desserts combos. I think I love it so much because the tartness fo the cranberries offsets the sweetness of a desert and that I can appreciate. I don’t love super sweet desserts, and I want frosting in very measured portions. So this donut has now become my favorite that I have ever made, and filing a donut with cranberry is now my favorite vegan donut jelly filling!!

If you don’t want to make cranberry sauce, you can use store bought as well. If using whole cranberry sauce, make sure the cranberries are mashed up pretty well. If you don’t want the cute little cranberry on top, that Is no issue either, but candied cranberries are super easy to make and a real tasty snack. or cute cocktail garnish…just sayin.

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So if you love donuts, love challah, and love all things orange cranberry, these donuts are for you. And even if you have never made or had challah, it is an easy dough that fries up to one amazing donut!

And if you are celebrating a shabbat, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, or whatever, Happy Challah days, y’all! And if you are making challah donuts just because, then happy eating!!

INGREDIENTS:

• batch vegan Challah Dough

• 1 batch homemade Cranberry Sauce

• 1 batch candied cranberries (optional)

• 1 orange

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 2-3 tablespoons plant milk or plant milk plain or vanilla coffee creamer

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INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Follow instructions for preparing challah dough but add 1 teaspoons of vanilla and zest from half an orange to the dough…follow the remaining instructions up until the first rise.

2. Prepare cranberry sauce while dough is rising.

3. Prepare candied cranberries while dough is rising.

4. Once the dough has finished its first rise, transfer to a lightly floured countertop. I like to divide the dough in half and work it in two batches. It makes it easier to roll out. Roll out one half of the dough to about 1/4- 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3 inch circle biscuit or cookie cutter (or donut cutter if you have one) begin cutting circles. Repeat with other half of dough. You should get 14-18 donuts depending on cutter size.

5. Place donuts on cookies sheets, and let rest for about 25-30 minutes. They will become bigger as they rest.

6. While they are resting, heat 2 - 3 inches of oil in a deep skillet or medium sized pot to 350 degrees. I’d you do not have a thermometer you can poke a wooden chopstick or skewer to the bottom of the pan. If tiny bubbles form around the tip then the oil is ready.

7. Once oil is hot, begin adding the donuts to the oil, 2 or 3 at a time. Fry the donuts for about 20 second on each side then flip. Repeat one more time. This helps them cook though and not burn. If you don't have enough oil in the pan, and they are hitting the bottom, they will easily burn. So make sure to use enough oil! If the donuts seem to browning too quickly, reduce your heat.

8. Allow donuts to cool on a wire cooling rack, placed on top of a paper-towel-lined cookie sheet. Once donuts have cooled, use a long piping/filling tip (we used Witons 230 tip) or use a regular fat piping tip ( #12) and chop stick or skewer to poke a hole into the donut on one side. You can kind of turn the chop stick or skewer inside the donut to widen the hole. This is making room for the jelly. You want to make sure you have created enough room for a good amount of filling .

9. Fit a piping bag fitted with a filler tip or a large piping tip, and fill with cranberry sauce. I will warn if using a filling tip the cranberry skins will tend to clog it, I had to use a skewer to unclog it every couple of donuts, a large piping tip should not clog as much but the filler tip is easy to use since it is long enough to get to the center of the donut without having to create a hole with a chopstick. Fill each donut with the cranberry sauce.

10. Mix the 3 cups of powdered sugar with zest from half of an orange and remaining vanilla extract. Using a few teaspoons of milk at a time, mix the frosting for the donuts. I like a thick frosting that needs to be applied with a spreader. You are looking for a cake frosting consistency.

11. Spread frosting on each donut and top with a candied cranberry. Store in the fridge or at room temperature in an air tight container.

If you like this recipe, try these:

Vegan Jelly Donut

Vegan Maple Bacon Donut

Vegan Key Lime Donut

Vegan Breakfast All Day Burger

We have a popular burger chain here that we like to frequent because they offer a vegan burger.

Just one vegan burger with your run of the mill vegan toppings. I mean I guess I am thankful they have an option at all.

BUT, this doesn’t mean I don’t gaze at the menu longingly, wishing that I could order one of their other delicious sounding burgers and it be vegan too.

Especially their “breakfast all day burger.” I mean they had me at maple syrup and hash browns on a burger.

So, I finally decide there wasn’t any reason I couldn’t just make this masterpiece at home. And so I did.

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For starters I was out of hash browns, but am never, NEVER, out of tater tots, and since tater tots are just little baby hash brown nuggets, they would work just fine.

Next I use JUST EGG. I you don’t have have this product where you live you could use tofu egg scramble but fry it, of just add it scrambled.

You can buy any store-bought cheese you like or try your hand at making you own. Trust me when I tell you homemade vegan cheese is actually pretty easy and cheaper than store-bought. But I also respect the convenience of just buying it already made. But if you are feeling extra and wanna try making your own, we have over 40 easy cheese recipes right here on the 86eats site!!

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If you are weirded out by adding maple syrup to the burger, DON’T BE!! Seriously it is one of the best parts of the whole thing. Like, the more the better! Mixed with the ketchup, it is really just magical.

So yall, that is my vegan version of the breakfast all day burger. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. If you are one the fence about this burger, just try it, I promise it is amazing!! Maple dipped burger amazing!

And hats off to the genius that decide to make a breakfast burger to begin with. Whoever you are, I think I think I might love you.

INGREDIENTS:

This recipe makes 4 burgers

• 4 vegan burger patties. Homemade or We used Beyond Burgers for this recipe.

• 4 slices vegan cheddar, Homemade or Store-bought

• 4 vegan hamburger buns

• 1/2 bottle of Just Egg, or you can use tofu scramble

• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 4 hash browns or 20 tater tots

• 8 teaspoons maple syrup (or more If you extra like maple syrup)

• ketchup

• Kala Namak salt (this salt smells and taste like eggs)

• 2 teaspoons vegan butter

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INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cook hash browns or tater tots in the oven or air fryer according to cooking instructions.

2. Begin by heating a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the sliced onion and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Remove onions from the pan and set aside.

3. Spray the same pan generously with some cooking oil or add a little more vegan butter. Pour 4 puddles of the just egg in the pan, about 2-3 tablespoons each. Fry the Just Eggs a few minutes per side until cooke through. Sprinkle each fried egg LIGHTLY with a little Kala Namak salt. A little goes a long way. If you have not tried to fry Just Egg before, it helps to make sure the pan is nice and oiled, this helps the egg not stick and flip easier. I use a small, sharp edged spatula to help scrape the sides mine before flipping. Set eggs aside.

4. Grill or pan fry the vegan burgers. I like to brush extra maple syrup on the burgers while they grill. I also like to put my buns to the grill right before the burgers are done. I add the cheese to the meat before it is done grilling to help melt it.

5. Brush each bun with a few teaspoons for maple syrup. Add some ketchup, the hash browns or tater tots. ( if using tater tots just use a fork and gently press each one down into the bun to help flatten them out a bit, this is what I used) the burger patty, and top with the grilled onion to serve.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan French Fry Corn Dogs

Vegan Cheese Burger Egg Rolls

Vegan Buffalo Deli Turkey

I make a lot of seitan based vegan meats.

I have recipes for a holiday roast, holiday turkey style breast with crispy skin, chicken breast, pastrami, brisket, and even pepperoni. But until I made our original deli turkey I had never added tofu to the mix.

If there was ever a sandwich I missed since going vegan it is a regular old turkey sandwich. I used to love a good deli carved turkey sandwich more than almost anything. So I decided I would try to add tofu to my regular turkey style breast recipe to see if I could get it to a more deli sliced texture.

Y’all, the answer is YES! I have seen other people adding tofu to seitan recipes, and obviously Tofurkey lunch slices are a mix of tofu and vital wheat gluten so I decided to give it a go. It only took one experiment and it came out pretty perfect the first time. I was elated.

Even my husband who normally passes on vital wheat gluten recipes loves it! I was so excited that I made sandwiches to take to my Mah Jong group, i’m sure I have mentioned my Mah Jong group before. Y’all, side note: learn to play Mah Jong, it’s SO FUN!! Sorry back to the point of this! They were skeptical at first but everyone who tried it was floored and surprised by how good it was! Yay for my Mah Jong crew loving vegan meats!!

So after I created my original turkey recipe I have started playing with different rubs and spices. I am a sucker for any and all things buffalo and Franks Buffalo sauce is bought in bulk in this house. Why it took me so long to deicide to rub one of these bad boys down with some melted butter and Franks is beyond me but thank the heavens it finally occurred to me because OH MY GOSH, Y’ALL!!!!

If you are not into buffalo, check out our original deli sliced turkey recipe. Just as tasty but not spicy! But when the recipe tells you to LET IT REST IN THE FRIDGE, you have to muster all of your strength and patience and do as I say! You will not have the texture you want unless you “let the breast rest. “ So just cook it one night and let it sit in the fridge til the next day. And if you don’t let it rest and decide to dig right in, don’t message me and tell me it was not firm enough, not even joking.

So if you are missing some legit turkey but don’t want to eat an actual turkey, this is your answer! I promise, PROMISE, it will be worth your time and effort. Maybe just go ahead and make 2 at once!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1 block extra firm high protein tofu (14oz -16oz block)

• 1/2-3/4 cups water

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil ( you can replace with water if you are oil free)

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any chicken-less bouillon cube or powder (if using cubes or powder just dissolve in with the water)

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 1 teaspoon salt optional if you feel like the bouillon is not salty enough

• For the coating: 3 tablespoons up to 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, 1 teaspoon melted vegan butter ( we used Franks Buffalo sauce, it is vegan), plus 1/2 teaspoon garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon onion salt

• A few teaspoons dried parsley (optional)

TROUBLESHOOTING THIS RECIPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipe as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 50 minutes and open for 10.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the buffalo sauce and parsley and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough.

4. Take a piece of aluminum for about 3x bigger than the loaf of dough, and lay it out flat. Coat the foil in spray oil or wipe it down with any oil you have. Mix the buffalo sauce, garlic, onion salt and butter in a small bowl. Pour half of the mixture in the center of the foil. Place the turkey on the foil and roll it around in the sauce. Sprinkle with dried parsley if you like. Pour the remaining sauce on top of the turkey. Seal up the foil nice and tight around the roast, twisting the ends. If you feel like the foil may leak then add a second piece tightly around the first.

5. Place on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the middle rack. Bake sealed for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes carefully open up the foil, and continue baking for another 25-30 minutes.

6. Remove finished “turkey” breast and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the “turkey” breast in the fridge over night to rest. This step is important to get the texture we are trying achieve. If you try and serve it before it rests it will not be nearly as firm.

7. Once the “turkey” breast has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. It should at this point be firm enough to slice using a mandolin or a sharp knife. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Corned Beef

Vegan Salami

Vegan Turkey Breast with Crispy Skin

vegan flank steak

Vegan Reuben Dip

I think if I were forced to choose a favorite sandwich it might come down to a reuben.

It would for sure be in my top 3!

Our vegan conned beef recipe is quickly becoming my favorite deli meat on the site, and there is normally a batch in my fridge!

So recently I saw a recipe for reuben dip that was not vegan, and decided it need to be! I mean I already had the vegan corned beef, and I always have vegan cream cheese, sour cream, and sauerkraut in my fridge!

I have included links to homemade cheese, and even a quick and easy sauerkraut for this dip, but you can just as easily use store-bought!

The corned beef does take a while. You have to prepare the seitan and then allow it to rest for around 8 hours. So if you are planning to make this dip, keep that in mind and get started on the vegan corned beef, STAT!

If you are a fan of a reuben sandwich or corned beef, you won’t regret having a batch ready in you fridge. You only need about a quarter of what you make for this recipe and that means you get to use the rest however you like!

The vegan corned beef also freezes well, so you can freeze what you don’t use for later if you like. It will keep frozen for about 6 months.

This dip is delicious served with crackers, cut up veggies or even used in a sandwich. Currently I have been using up my leftovers as a sandwich spread! I like it on soft white bread, with thinly sliced cucumbers and sprouts! Even my daughter who claimed not to really care for the dip , loved it on a sandwich!

So if you love all things reuben and want a new twist on an old classic, try this vegan reuben dip! I think you will love it as much as I do!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 loaf of 86eats Vegan Corned Beef, finely chopped (or around 8oz of any other recipe or store-bought)

• 8 oz vegan cream cheese

• 4 oz vegan sour cream

• 1 cup vegan mozzarella, gouda, or Swiss shreds

• 1 cup Sauerkraut, drained

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds

• 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Slice and finely dice the vegan corned beef.

2. In a medium sized bowl mix the cream cheese and the sour cream. Add in the sauerkraut, cheese, vegan corned beef, and seasoning. Stir well.

3. You can garnish the top with dried or fresh dill or parsley.

4. Serve with crackers, or cut up veggies. This dip also makes a really delicious sandwich spread. I like to make a sandwich with the dip, and some thinly sliced cucumbers!

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Cashew Queso

Vegan Dill Chicken Salad

Vegan Frech Onion Dip

Vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu

Truth be told, I never really ate Chicken Cordon Blue before I was vegan.

I don’t know why? I mean it was certainly something my parents never made, so maybe that’s why.

My husband on the other hand adored it, and ordered it often if we ever went somewhere and it was an option. I don’t know why I didn’t jump on the band wagon back then, but I didn’t.

So recently I decided I would give it a go since I had just baked up a vegan deli glazed ham and we still have a little left over. This ham is so super easy and if you haven’t tried making it yet, I highly recommend it. It is one of my favorite seitan recipes on our site! You can also use something like Lifelight smart bacon. But if you make the ham then USE IT!! It is so good!

I also make a really easy and very convincing vegan chicken breast. I normally make a batch or 2 each week for meal prep, because it is so quick and easy, and it keeps for a week in the fridge or months in freezer. For this recipe you do need to make a fresh batch of the chicken because you actually have to stuff the chicken seitan when it is still in its dough form.

For the cheese I used our all purpose cheese sauce, and I literally use it for almost any recipes that requires a gooey cheese. I make a ton of sliceable, shreddable vegan cheeses BUT this sauce is still my go to because it is so good, so easy, and most people have the ingredients in their pantry already! For this recipe you have to let the sauce cook until its good and thick and gooey! This just makes it easier to get it into the vegan chicken breast without it all oozing out! I say to make a half batch for the recipe, but if you make a full batch you can use it to make all kinds of things later in the week. Pizza, quesadillas, grilled cheese, nachos, lasagna, all kinds of things!

It might seem like this vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe has a lot of steps, or too many ingredients, and you are not wrong, but also you are. If you have recently bake a vegan ham, or use pre-made vegan ham or bacon it is really easy! I really think once you make the cheese sauce it will become a staple in you fridge once you discover all the different ways you can use it! Because I already had the ham, this recipe did not take me any longer to make than regular vegan fried chicken! For us the cheese and ham are already staples in our house, making this recipe relatively quick and unfussy. So I guess it just depends on what you keep on hand.

But I will also say that if you do not already have a vegan ham laying around or a batch of cheese sauce made up, it is worth the effort to make both just to make this reicpe!! You will have lots of leftover ham that you eat on sandwiches, or freeze for later, and again the cheese sauce is so versatile and can be used in a ton of recipes!

I know not all Chicken Cordon Bleu comes with a sauce on it, but I am a fan of sauce. So I decided to use some reserved cheese to make a creamy sauce with a zesty kick from the dijon mustard. Again, you can skip this step but y’all, its soooo good. I might be my favorite part of the whole reicpe! So again I say just try it!!

So there you go, my versions of Vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu from a former non fan. Easier than you might think and now I have to wonder why I never ate it more when we were not vegan, because it is delicious! I hate to tell my husband he was right, but…….

INGREDIENTS:

• I cup thinly sliced vegan deli ham. or 8 sliced Lightlife Smart Bacon

• 1/2 batch all purpose vegan cheese sauce (1/4 cup for chicken, 1/2 cup for sauce)

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

• 1/3 cup vegan sour cream or plain unsweetened yogurt

• 1/3 cup unsweetened plant milk

• 3/4 cups all purpose flour

• 3/4 cups vegan panko bread crumbs

• 1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon of any all purpose sesoinng you like

• Oil for frying

CHICKEN BREAST:

• 1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoon neural flavored oil

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

• 1 teaspoons salt

CREAMY DIJON MUSTARD SAUCE:

• 1/2 cup of prepared all purpose cheese sauce

• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk

• 1-2 teaspoon dijon mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare cheese sauce according to instructions. You want the sauce pretty thick so allow it too cook until it is thick and kind of stretchy. Allow it to cool while you prepare the chicken.

2. You can use our 86eats deli ham recipe or you can use a premade vegan ham or bacon. If you want to use our ham recipe it will have to be made ahead of time and allowed to rest.

3. For The Chicken: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

4. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

5. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval, flattened out shaped with the dough. Cut the dough into 8 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a chicken breast shape.

6. Flatten out the chicken breast shapes to about a half inch thick. You are going to stuff and fold the pieces in half so make sure you have formed them big enough and flat enough to accomplish this.

7. Take about a tablespoon of the cooled cheese sauce and spread it in the middle of the chicken breast but leave and edge of seitan dough untouched by the cheese ( the dough won’t stick together if it gets wet with the cheese.) Lay a few thin pieces of vegan ham on the cheese and fold the breast in half. Pinch the edges to make sure the vegan chicken breast is perfectly sealed. You don’t want any cheese oozing out while baking.

8. Place the stuffed chicken breast on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spray the tops with some cooking oil and tightly cover the entire pan with foil. If you don’t want the foil touching your food, lay another piece of parchment paper on top of the breast before covering in foil.

9. Let the chicken breast bake covered for 30 minutes.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Pop the chicken in the fridge and let it rest for at least 4 hours. This rest time is important for the texture to develop.

1. To Coat The Chicken: In a medim bowl mix 1/3 cup plant milk, 1/3 cup sour cream or yogurt, and 1 teaspoon dijon mustard. In another bowl mix the flour, starch, bread crumbs, salt, onion powder, and all purpose seasoning.

2. Dip the chicken breast first in the wet mixture then the dry. Make sure the pieces are coated well and entirely.

3. Place a wire cooling rack on top of paper towel lined cookie sheet and place it next to the stove.

4. Heat a deep skillet with several inches of any neutral oil you prefer for frying. I like peanut or grapeseed oil. Get the oil good and hot (350 degrees if you have a kitchen thermometer, if you don’t you can put a chop stick in the pan touching the bottom. If little bubbles form around the tip of the chop stick then the oil is ready.) Fry a few pieces at a time, just for a few minutes per side or until the chicken breast begin to brown and are crispy. Place on cooling rack for a few minutes after they are done to allow excess oil to drip off. You can alternatively use an air fryer. Just fry at 375, giving them a mist with oil. You will need to flip the mid fry and probably fry them for about 10 minutes depending on how many you have in there. Just check on them and when they are brown and crispy they are done.

5. Prepare the sauce by whisking 1/2 cup of cheese in a sauce pan with the 1 cup of plant milk, dijon and spices. Heat on medium heat whisking continuously until the cheese sauce thins back out and the sauce is smooth. It will be lumpy and kind of weird at first, but just keep whisking and it will come together. You can add less or more dijon mustard depending on preference.

6. Serve the vegan Chicken Cordon Bleu with the creamy dijon sauce on the side or drizzled on top.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Chicken and Waffles

Vegan Chicken Nuggets

Vegan Chicken Parm Sandwihc

Vegan Ham and Cheddar Scones

Scone, or biscuit? I guess it depends on where you live!

But here in the United States this is a scone. Denser than a biscuit (not to be confused with a biscuit that we call a cookie) but still buttery and delicious.

I typically bake sweet scones but recently came across a non vegan recipe for some savory ham and cheese scones, and could not wait to create a vegan version.

My vegan ham recipe is one of my families favorite seitan recipes I make, so I knew the next time I baked up a super easy vegan ham, I needed to save some of it for these scones! This ham is SO easy. Seriously! Even if you have never made seitan once in your life, this recipes is so super easy. I works well for deli slices, or sliced thick for ham steaks, or cubed up for salads, or diced finely for recipes like these vegan ham and cheese scones!

You can use store bought cheddar shreds or make homemade. Homemade vegan cheese is actually easier to make than you may think and I have around 40 cheese recipes on the site to choose from. You could make a spicy cheddar, a smoky cheddar or even a spredable pimento cheddar for this recipe. All would be delicious. Or you can just buy whatever brand of premade vegan cheddar you like. My favorite brand is Follow Your Heart. It seems to melt the best out of any I have tried.

So combine that delicious vegan ham and vegan cheddar into a savory, buttery, scone, slathered in spicy and sweet pepper jelly, and oh my gosh y’all!! I will be making these things ALL THE TIME!!

They mix up quickly and bake in about half and hour making them perfect for a weekend breakfast or brunch or even for weekday meal prep as an easy grab and go morning bite!

And really no matter what call these, scones, biscuits, some other name I have yet to hear, just make them. Who cares what you call them. I bet we can all agree on calling them flipping delicious!

INGREDIENTS :

• 2 cups of all purpose flour

• 8 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

• 1 cup vegan sour cream

• 1 starch egg (1 tablespoon corn or tapioca starch with 3 tablespoons water)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 and 3/4 cups finely diced vegan ham

• 1 and 1/2 cups vegan cheddar shreds

TOPPING:

• 1 tablespoon softened vegan butter

• 2 teaspoons maple syrup

• 1/4 cup vegan cheddar shreds

• dried parsly

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast flour, baking soda, baking powder, garlic, and salt. Mix well.

2. Add the butter, and using your hands, work in the butter until the mixture seem coarse and sort of crumbly. Add the diced vegan ham and vegan cheddar shreds.

3. Mix the starch and 3 tablespoons of water together and let sit for a minute.

4. In a small bowl whisk the sour cream, liquid smoke, and starch egg.

5. Add sour cream mixture to the dry mixture, and stir until combined. Knead until the dough comes together. I used Tofuti brand sour cream which is super thick. I you use a brand that is thinner it may change the consistency of the dough. If you dough seems to be on the wetter side then add a few more tablespoons of flour.

6. Once it has come together, form a disk with the dough about 7-8 inches wide, and 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut the disc into 8 equal triangles. Place scones onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Mix the softened butter and maple syrup together, and brush the tops of the scones with the mixture. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup fo cheddar shreds and some dried parsley for color.

7. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the scones are cooked through. Bake times will vary depending on your oven.

8. Allow scones to cool a bit before serving.. Serve as is or with some pepper jelly or apricot jam.

9. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Vegan Sausage Balls

Vegan Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs

Vegan Pineapple Coconut Scones

Vegan French Fry Corn Dogs

Recently my friend Yanira was over and stumbled upon a French fry coated corn dog while scrolling through her phone.

I personally had not seen such a thing and when she showed me, but I knew we had to make them.

Then of course, because I am old and lame and know nothing, my kids informed me “its a thing, its on TikTok.” Well there you have it, the teens confirmed its a thing, and everyone is doing it?!?!?

Well I took to google to find out where it started and from what I can gather (can I even google being so old and lame?!?! barely) and found out that it seems to have stared in Korea, and is a popular street food called Kogo!!

I mean I would have really guessed this thing hailed from America. We love to combine all the bad foods together and deep fry them. I really was shocked it did not originate as American Fair food.

All that said I just wanted to get one of these French fry corn dogs in my face ASAP.

Y’all, its perfect really. You get your corn dog and a side of fries ALL IN ONE!! Its magic really!

So I did it. I made a vegan Kogo, or vegan French fry corn dogs, and it is everything I imagined and more.

For everyone who quickly wants to nay say this amazing and brilliant creation, I am sure there is a salad bar somewhere waiting for you, and being honest, I am right behind you in that salad line, right after I stuff a few of these beauties in my face, once or twice a year.

You can make your own vegan hot dogs, I mean I can hook you up with a pretty tasty recipe, or you can just buy a package of store bough. No judgments from me.

The batter mixes up quickly, frozen fries are your friend in this recipes, and really start to finish you can be munching away in about half and hour. It might actually be a little too easy to whip up a batch of these vegan french fry corn dogs, but I am not mad about it.

Thank you Korea!!! I will be forever grateful for this weird but amazing food!

INGREDIENTS:

You will need 8 popsicle sticks or thick wooden skewers

• 8 vegan hot dogs, homemade or store-bought

• 4 cups frozen French fries (I used Trader Joe’s Fries)

• 3/4- 1 cup dairy free milk

• 1 starch egg (1 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch and 3 tablespoons water)

• 2 tablespoons pickle juice (you can omit this but will need a splash more milk)

• 1 tablespoon dijon or regular mustard

• 3/4 -1 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup corn meal

• 3 teaspoons sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Remove the French fries from the freezer and let them sit at room temp while you prepare the batter.

2. Mix the wet ingredients together in a small bowl starting with one cup of milk.

3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a larger bowl

1. Add wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. If the mixture seems too thick, then add a little more milk. You the batter to be on the thicker side so that it will hold the French fries.

2. Once the batter is all mixed up, pour some into a mason jar, tall glass, or pyrex measuring cup. This makes dipping the hot dogs easier than if you try dipping them in the bowl.

3. Poke a popsicle stick into each hot dog about halfway up.

4. Place the French fries in a blender or food processor and pulse until they are chopped up. You don’t want to turn them to crumbs but you want the pieces small enough to easily coat the hot dogs. You could also chop them with a knife if you like. It’s just faster and easier in the blender. Dump the chopped fries onto a plate.

5. Dip the hot dogs in batter making sure they are completely covered. Roll the battered hot dogs in the plate fries, making sure they are completely coated. Repeat with all of the hot dogs.

6. In a medium sauce pan, deep skillet, or deep frier, heat enough oil to fully cover the corn dogs. I suggest frying with grape seed oil or peanut oil.

7. Once the oil is nice and hot, reduce the temp to medium/low. You can test the oil by placing chop stick or one of the popsicle sticks into the bottom of the pan. If little bubbles form around the tip then the oil is ready.

8. Add 1 to 2 corn dogs to the oil at a time. If you do more than one at a time they may stick together depending on the size of your pot or pan.

9. Fry each corn dog for a few minutes, using tongs to turn them several times until they begin to get golden brown all over and the fries seem crispy (unless you are using a deep frier with a basket, in which case just fry until they are golden brown). Then place finished corn dogs on a cooling rack while you finish frying the rest.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Fried Dill Pickles

Fried Vegan Mac and Cheese Balls

Vegan Gorgonzola Fried Brussels Sprouts

Vegan S'mores Cupcakes

I am not gonna lie. I love s’mores. Like they are 1,000% one of my biggest weakness and I will never turn one down.

That being said, It is not always convenient or possible to light up a roaring fire to make some vegan s’mores.

Well, now you don’t have to! Because now you can just bake all of that goodness into a vegan s’more cupcake, no campfire required!! No more hunting for vegan marshmallows either!

I saw a reicpe for a non vegan versions and thought how brilliant….but how do I make them vegan?!?!

The original recipe made a homemade marshmallow topping that wasn’t anywhere near vegan!

But we love to make vegan sweet aquafaba whip in our house for all kinds of recipes and I knew it would work perfectly for this recipe as well.

It’s light, sweet, sticky, fluffy and toasts up beautifully!! Oh and most importantly it is delicious. It’s also super easy and cheap to make! No need for an actual marshmallow here!!

The cupcakes are actually made with crushed up graham crackers and are topped with the perfect amount of easy vegan chocolate ganache!

These vegan s’more cupcakes have a few extra steps but overall are really pretty easy, and are so fun and super delicious!

Don't let the aquafaba whip intimidate you if you have never made it before. It is so easy to make! Once you start making it, I promise you will find so many reasons to make it over and over and over again!!!

So when you are craving s’mores but can’t light up a fire, try baking up a batch of these vegan s’more cupcakes instead! I think it will satisfy your craving and then some!

INGREDIENTS:

GRAHAM CUPCAKES:

• 1 sleeve vegan graham crackers

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 cups vegan butter

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 starch eggs (2 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch plus 6 tablespoons water)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup plant milk plus 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 batch sweet aquafaba whip

VEGAN GANACHE:

• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips or chopped vegan chocolate

• 2/3 cup canned full fat coconut milk

• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup

INSTRUCTIONS:

You will need a 12 cup muffin tin for this recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Begin by crushing up the sleeve of graham crackers in a food processor or blender until they are completely broken down into a fine crumb.

2. Prepare your starch eggs by whisking together the starch and water, and set aside.

3. Prepare the ganache by heating the coconut milk in a medium sized pan over medium heat. Once the milk comes to a boil, add the chocolate and corn syrup. Remove from heat and mix in the chocolate until it is creamy and smooth. Transfer to a glass bowl and pop the ganache in the fridge while you prepare the cupcakes. Check on the chocolate periodically to see that it is thickening. Once it is a thick but a spreadable consistency, remove from the fridge and allow it to sit out at room temperature. It will harden completely if left in the fridge too long, and if that happens just pop it in the microwave for 15 second intervals, stirring well until it is back to a spreadable consistency.

4. In a large bowl whisk together the graham cracker, flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.

5. In a separate bowl using an electric hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light a fluffy. This should only take a minute or two. Beat in the starch egg mixture. Add the vanilla.

6. Mix the vinegar into the milk and let it sit for a minute, until it begins to curdle. (we are making a vegan butter milk alternative)

7. Add the dry mixture and milk to the butter and sugar mixture, adding first a little dry mixture, then a little milk, alternating between the two, and mixing just until everything is well incorporated.

8. Line a baking tin with cupcake liners and divided the batter equally between each cup.

9. Bake the cupcakes for 25 to 30 minutes or unit a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

10. Set oven to broil.

11. Prepare the sweet aquafaba whip according to instructions while the cupcakes are cooling. You want the whip to resemble meringue and form stiff peaks after it has been whipped.

12. Fill a large piping bag with any large tip you like or cut a small corner off of a zip lock bag. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe out 12 large dollops of whip onto the paper. You will not need all of the whip but can save the leftover in the fridge and use as whip cream for later.

13. Pop the meringues into the oven but WATCH THEM THE WHOLE TIME!!! You just want to leave them in long enough for the tops to brown BUT they will go from brown to burnt in a split second so do not take you eyes off of them!!

14. Remove from the oven and let them cool at room temp for a bit.

15. Prepare the cupcakes by spreading the tops with some of the ganache. Carefully slide a spatula up under the meringues ( you will need to use your other hand to help scoop them up more than likely) the bottoms may still be wet but they will scoop up! I use a small metal cookie spatula to do this. Place the meringues on top of the cupcakes.

16. Store leftover cupcakes in the fridge for several days.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Lime Mojito Cupcakes

Vegan Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Vegan Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

vegan flank steak

Vegan Corned Beef

So I have been making vegan deli meats for a while now.

The one goal has always been making the best vegan sandwich I can get my hands on!

I could live off of sandwiches. They have everything! Bread ( bread is my love language) veggies, delicious vegan deli meat, and in my case, vegan mayo. Almost ever sandwich needs mayo or some mayo based spread, but that is just a matter opinion.

I also get asked regularly if I have a recipe for “fill in the blank.” So far I have covered turkey, ham, roast beef, brisket, pastrami, salami, and pepperoni. All the meats I missed after going vegan, and all the meats I wanted on a perfect vegan sandwich.

A reuben is by far my all time hands down favorite sandwich. And I don’t discriminate. Before I was vegan I had a favorite reuben variation from all my favorite restaurants. From an original corned beef reuben to a turkey reuben, and even the most untraditional BBQ brisket with slaw reuben. I even make reuben latkes every year for Hanukkah.

I mean you can make a reuben with lots of different meats, and I just kept making mine with my vegan pastrami recipe, but one would argue the correct, traditional way is to make one with corned beef. And recently someone asked if I had a corned beef recipe. And I did not. Even with my fierce love of a reuben, I had just not delved into the world of corned beef making.

So I decided it was high time! And that is just what I did.

Making homemade seitan, especially deli meat is much easier than most people think, and if you have made any of my other deli meats recipes, you were probably surprised just how quick and easy it actually is.

If I were going to rate the other deli meats on my site as “beginner level’ then I might would rate this corned beef “intermediate.” Not as quick and easy, but truly to get a corned beef you are going to have to take a few extra steps.

Regular corned beef needs to hang out in a pickling brine for a time, hence the whole “corned” part of the name. It is also suppose to be sort of fall apart tender. This gave me some challenge as most of my deli meats are super firm so you can slice them nice and thin.

So for starters I needed a nice tender, and flavorful seitan, but I needed it to be able to slice thinly as well. So I opted to simmer the seitan in a pickling spice liquid and then wrap and bake it to steam. I really wanted all that flavor from the spice blend to sink in and simmering seemed like the answer. Baking it in the foil helped to firm it up and give it that nice outter coating.

This deli meat is not harder to make than the others on my site, but making the spice blend, and allowing it to simmer before the bake does take more time.

Outside of using this vegan corned beef to make the perfect reuben, it will also work great in you St Patty’s day corned beef and cabbage recipes. After you have allowed it to rest and firm up (NO, you may not skip this step) you can reheat it however you like. And now all the other vegans missing corned beef and cabbage will be green with envy….(bad St Patty’s day joke, I know)

Really, if you are on the fence with this recipe, it really is not too much harder than any of my other deli meats. It does take a little more time and effort, it may not end up on your weekly vegan meat making rotation, but I will be so worth it when you do make it! I promise.

And really yall, keep the seitan requests a comin’. I mean it only took me a year to get around to tackling this one but really, I do consider all the requests I get, and when I find the time and inspiration I am willing to try and tackle just about anything yall throw at me. Just don’t throw an actual deli meat at me, that would just be weird.

INGREDIENTS:

• 16 oz package of super firm tofu, the kind in a vacuum sealed package

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/3 cup diced raw beet, peeled

• 1 teaspoons No Beef Better than Bouillon

• 1/4 cup corn starch or tapioca starch

• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 1 tablespoon oil ( I used grape seed)

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 2 teaspoons ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 2 teaspoons powdered mustard

• 1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper

Pickling Spice :

You will need to use a spice grinder, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle for this

• 2 star of anise

• 2 teaspoons juniper berries

• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

• 2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds

• 2-3 teaspoons black pepper

• 2 teaspoons all spice

• 1/4 teaspoons ground clove, or 3 whole cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon cardamom

• 2 teaspoons dried dill

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 2 whole bay leaves

Simmering Liquid:

• 4 cups water

• 1 heaping teaspoons No Beef Better Than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• All of the pickling spice

• 2 teaspoons corn starch or tapioca starch

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add the peeled and cubed beet to the food processor. Let it run for a minute and get the beet good and broken down.

2. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor along with the beet. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If the dough seems too dry, you can add water, just a teaspoon at a time until the dough comes together. I added NO water to my dough. The other liquid ingredients and the beet added enough moisture to mine.

4. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough.

5. Add all of the spices to a spice grinder, or clean coffee grinder. Grind into a powder. I even dump in my already ground spices just to help mix it all up together. If using a mortar and pestle then just grind up the whole spices and mix them with the ground. I tend to have a decent selection of ground spices in my pantry at all times. I only added whole spices that I coudln’t find already ground. Use ground if you have it already.

6. In a large pot or dutch oven, add all of the simmering liquid ingredients EXCEPT for the starch. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat.

7. Add the beef seitan to the liquid. Simmer with a lid for 25 minutes. Remove the lid for the remainder or the simmer, turning the seitan a few times as it cooks. After 45 minutes the liquid should be reduced by more than half.

8. Take a piece of foil at least double the size of your seitan and spray it with some oil. Using tongs and a spatula, transfer the vegan corned beef to the foil.

9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

10. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of starch into the boiling liquid and whisk well. Scrape any bits of stuck seitan off the bottom of the pot into the mixture. Once it has thickened to a gravy consistency, spoon a few nice spoonfuls over the seitan and brush it on with a pastry brush. Flip the seitan and do the same on the other side. You won’t use all of the gravy you made.

11. Tightly wrap the foil around the vegan corned beef and repeat with another large piece of foil giving it a nice tight double wrap.

12. Bake for 40 minutes. Carefully open up the foil and allow to bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for at least half an hour. Transfer to the fridge either wrapped back in the foil or you can drop it in a gallon freezer bag or some Tupperware. Allow the vegan corned beef to rest in the fridge over night or AT LEAST 6 HOURS. Seitan MUST REST to achieve the texture we are looking for. Trust me here. Let it rest.

13. After the vegan corned beef has rested, you can slice it and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a 10 days or freeze for up to 6 months. You can reheat the full roast by slicing it thick and heating in the oven at 350 covered in foil so it does not dry out or reheat it in a pan or even the crock pot if cooking in a broth with cabbage and other veggies.

TROUBLE SHOOTING THIS REICPE:

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough.

• *If you find your turkey has A LOT OF LITTLE HOLES, and a more BREAD LIKE TEXTURE this can be caused from under kneading the dough, BUT more likely cooking the seitan at too high of a temperature, or for too long. Check your ovens temperature with an oven thermometer. Your oven may just be cooking hotter than it registers. Also gas and electric ovens tend to cook differently. If you do not have an oven thermometer you can reduce the heat in your oven by 25 degrees, and keep the seitan covered for 50 minutes and open for 10.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deli Glazed Ham

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Vegan Roast Beef

vegan flank steak

Southern Vegan Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie

I grew up eating a lot of frozen, individual sized pot pies.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was big fan as a kid.

Even after I grew up and started cooking on my own, I often made homemade pot pies, but I always made individual sized pies and used traditional pie crust.

And then one day I saw a skillet pot pie in a magazine with a biscuit top and I knew I had been missing out on something my whole life.

I mean I have been making homemade biscuits since I was a kids. My grandmother taught all of the grandkids who wanted to learn how to make biscuits. My grandparents lived on a farm in Alabama and my grandmother made biscuits every single day.

These biscuits are buttery, fluffy and a southern staple. And since making biscuit pot pie, I rarely crave pot pie with a traditional pie crust anymore. I mean I will look for any reason to make biscuits!!

So taking a traditional pot pie filling and adding a biscuit top was a no brainer.

As far as the chicken part goes, I make a LOT of vegan seitan meats. I often cook up a batch of easy vegan chicken breast on a Monday so we have it to use in recipes throughout the week. The vegan chicken is SO easy to make yourself, far less expensive than store bough vegan chicken, and taste a lot better.

If you already regularly make the 86eats vegan deli turkey, you can easily use 1/3 of that recipe in this as well. Both the chicken or the turkey recipes will work great for this pot pie!

Instead of adding plant milk to this recipe, I use cashews to make a super delicious vegan heavy cashew cream. You can also use sunflower seeds if you prefer, they work just as well.

So if you love pot pie and have never had one with a biscuit top, what are you waiting for. This pot pie is the perfect vegan comfort food, packed with veggies, vegan chicken, savory herbs, in a creamy sauce and topped with buttery vegan biscuits. It is also a good and delicious way to use up that 86eats deli turkey or easy vegan chicken breast and a great take on traditional pot pie!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Easy Vegan Chicken Breast or 1/3 of the 86eats Vegan deli turkey, diced into cubes

• 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced

• 3-4 stalks of celery, diced

• 3 carrots, diced

• 6 button mushrooms, quartered

• 1 can of green beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/4 cup cashews or sunflower seeds

• 2 1/2 cups water

• 1 teaspoons each thyme, rosemary, and sage

• 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1-2 teaspoons No Chicken Better than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon corn or tapioca starch plus 3 tablespoons water, whisked together

• 1 batch vegan southern biscuits

• 4 teaspoons vegan butter, divided

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare chicken or turkey according to instructions. Both seitan recipes require a rest time so make sure you account for that when planning this recipe.

2. Place a large dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top. Add two teaspoons of vegan butter and the onion. Cook until the onion becomes soft and translucent.

3. Add the carrots, celery, and mushrooms and let the veggies hang out and cook for about 5 minutes, giving them some time to soften up a bit.

4. Add 2 cups of the water, Better Than Bouillon, and spices to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium/low and allow the veggies to simmer until they have completely softened and you can easily pierce them with a fork.

5. While the veggies are simmering, place the cashews or sunflower seeds in a microwave safe container and cover in water. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. If you do not own a microwave, you can bring them to a boil on the stove top for 3-5 minutes as well. Drain the water.

6. Add the nuts and 1/2 cup of fresh water to a high speed blender or food processor and blend until the nuts are completely broken down and you have a creamy liquid. Make sure there are no little bits of nuts left. You want the mixture completely smooth.

7. Add the cashew cream to the pot with the veggies. Add in the diced vegan chicken or turkey.

8. Whisk the starch and 3 tablespoons water together and add to the pot. Stir well and the mixture should quickly thicken.

9. Prepare the biscuit dough according to recipes instructions. Press the dough into a large half inch thick circle and cut the dough into 1 1/2 to 2 inch squares.

10. Preheat oven to 425 degrees

11. Transfer the chicken and veggie mixture to a 9 or10 inch cast iron skillet or any other large oven safe high sided skillet.

12. Using your hands spape the biscuit dough squares into a crude circle shape and place the biscuits on top of the chicken and veggie mixture in an even layer. Melt the remaining butter and brush the biscuit tops with the butter and sprinkle with some additional garlic powder and dried parsley if you like.

13. Bake the pot pie for about half an hour or until the biscuits are cooked through and have began to brown on top.

14. Allow to cool just a bit before serving.

15. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Vegan Jackfruit Divan

Vegan Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

Vegan Chicken Fries (seitan fries)

My kids have missed out on a lot of foods their friends regularly eat. The joys of being raised vegan.

I don’t regret any decisions we have made regarding our kids diets, but I do often feel a little guilty that they don’t have the slightest clue about so many odd culture foods that most teenagers are eating their weight in.

Like Burger King’s Chicken Fries.

Two of our 4 kids already have one foot out the door headed to college, and are driving. What they eat when they are out with friends or at college is their decision. As they have gotten older we have allowed them make decisions regarding their diets. I mean you have to let them grown up and think for themselves. What they eat at this point is up to them (when they are out and about on their own, with their own money) We can only hope that most of what we taught them sticks…you know go out into the world, make good choices, don’t eat real chicken fries, please!!!

That all said, I do try and recreate the foods they see and wish they could eat so they don’t feel totally deprived. I mean they are homeschooled and vegan often causing the to feel like the odd man out, but its not like we are raising them on lettuce, green juice and air. I like to fry things.

Again I am 100% aware that nobody “NEEDS” chicken fries in their lives, but my kids were very curious recently when we went through the Burger King drive thru on a road trip to visit their Grandparents.

I mean really, I find it genius. I LOVE fries. Like LOOOOVE them. And I am pretty into a vegan chicken nuggets, too. So turning vegan chicken into a crunchy, little dippable, stick of fried goodness was super appealing to me.

So I deiced as soon as we got home I was making some vegan chicken fries. This way my kids would feel like they were getting a weird drive thru junk food like everyone else, but I can sleep at night knowing it is a much healthier alternative (minus the whole deep fried part) and hopefully it’s things like vegan chicken fries that will help them continue on this diet path when they are on their own, knowing you can veganize just about any food you want!

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Y’all, they were a hit with everyone in the house. Including the 4 year old who currently lives off blueberries and edamame pretty exclusively these days. She LOVED them, and at this point her loving anything new is a huge triumph!

Can you air fry these you may ask? Sure you can! I actually popped a batch into my air fryer as I was pan frying a batch for comparison. I actually air fry my vegan chicken pretty often. It is obviously healthier and normally faster. This time was the exception to that rule. They did NOT fry faster in the air fryer! I had finished 2 batches in my frying pan and the ones in my air fryer were still not really golden and crispy.

That is not to say its a bad choice for frying them. I was frying them at 400 and after 5 minutes they still were not done. I suggest giving them a spray of oil and turning them once or twice until they are golden brown if you choose to air fry them!

However you decide to fry them, I am pretty sure you, and maybe your whole family will love these vegan chicken fries. And If you do have kids, they can know the joy of weird American fast food creations without having to actually eat meat. And hopefully once they are adults, that will keep them on a vegan path. Fingers crossed!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (16 oz) the kind that is vacuum sealed in not much water

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 2 -3 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon, or any vegan chicken flavored bouillon powder or seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1-2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoon neural flavored oil

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

• 1 teaspoons salt

*I used high protein tofu in a vacuum sealed package and this what I strongly advise using. It is much firmer than regular firm tofu and has less moisture and a more chewy texture. If you opt to use regular firm tofu you will need to press it first and remove as much liquid as possible. You may need to adjust the amount of water in the recipet as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough but pliable dough.

THE COATING:

• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream or unsweetened plain vegan yogurt

• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened plant milk

• 1/2 cup corn or tapioca starch

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

• 2 cups panko bread crumbs (make sure they are vegan, many are. not, I use Trader Joes)

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons of your favorite all purpose seasoning (I use Cavenders all purpose greek)

• Oil for frying (I use grapeseed oil)

CHICKEN INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Break up the tofu and place it into a food processor with the regular metal blade. Run the processor for around a minute until the tofu is broken down.

2. Add all of the remaining ingredients and let the food processor run for a couple of minutes. You want the mixture to form a dough. Letting the processor run will help knead the dough. We want this seitan to be firm so we need it to knead for a bit. If you dough seems a bit too dry, you can add another few tablespoons of water, just don’t add too much more! I start at 1/2 cup and work from there.

3. Once you have a smooth but firm dough, remove it from the food processor and place on a clean counter. Knead the dough with your hands for about a minute. Begin pressing the dough out flat into a rectangle shape. Place the rectangle on a pieces of parchment paper around 12x16 inches. I like to spray the top with a little oil and place a piece of parchment paper on top, using my hands I press the dough out and then take a rolling pin and roll it out until I have a 12x16ish inch rectangle. This just helps the dough not stick on your hands and helps you get it pressed out more easily. (see pictures below for the process)

4. Using the parchment paper pick up the dough rectangle and transfer it to a large cookie sheet. Sprinkle the top with any all purpose seasoning you like. Cover the pan tightly and completely with aluminum foil creating a seal. The goal is to let the seitan steam inside the foil.

5. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for about half an hour then transfer to the fridge and allow the seitan to rest for 3-4 hours. This seitan is really thin so a 3-4 rest is normally enough for it to cool down and firm up! You must, MUST let the seitan rest! If you don’t, the texture will not be as firm as it needs to be!

   ** If your seitan has little holes in it and looks like bread, it is pretty likely your oven is cooking hotter than it is registering. You can get an oven thermometer to check this or you can reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees the next you bake it.

FRYING INSTUCITONS:

1. Once the dough has rested and has firmed up, remove from the fridge, and place on a cutting board. Begin at one end of the rectangle and cut 1/8 inch strips all the way across. Next, cut each strip in half. The goal is to cut the dough the size of a long fry.

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk the plant milk with the sour cream or yogurt. In another mixing bowl, combine the flour, starch, panko and seasoning.

3. First dip the fry into the wet mixture, then into the flour mixture, pressing the dry mix into the seitan to make sure it’s well coated.

4. Heat several inches of a neutral flavored oil in a deep skillet. Bring the oil to 350 degrees. If you do not have a thermometer you can place a chop stick into the oil touching the bottom the pan. If little bubbles form around the tip of the chop stick then the oil Is ready.

5. Place a wire cooling rack on top of a paper towel lined baking sheet near the stove.

6. Add some of the coated fries to the oil in batches. Use some metal tongs to help straighten out the strips, and making sure not to over crowd the pan! These vegan chicken fries cook up REALLY fast and only need a minute or two per side! They are done once they are golden brown and crisp. Place finished fries on the cooling rack to allow excess oil to drip off while you fry the remaining vegan chicken fries.

7. Serve with your favorite dip on the side.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

Easy Vegan Chicken Breast

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Sandwich