Homemade Vegan Hotdogs

Hot diggity dog, y’all.

I love a good vegan hotdog. That said, I have not found many vegan hotdogs that I would consider “good.”

I won’t go name dropping any specific brands here, but if you have ever tried to grill a store-bought vegan hotdog, you may have noticed they can be a little rubbery, and just plain weird.

I am a big fan of Beyond brand sausage, and that is our normal BBQ go to, but they ain’t cheap when feeding a family of 6 and they also are not a hotdog…..they are sausage…..and sometimes you just want a chili slaw dog.

So I finally decided I had enough of subpar vegan hotdogs, and it was high time I just made my own.

Y’all, its not hard to make your own vegan hotdogs! It just takes a pack of super firm tofu, some vital wheat gluten, a few pantry staples, and a little patients.

If you have made any of my deli meats you know how easy they are. These vegan hot dogs are close to that easy. They just take a little more time to wrap up so they can steam and keep their shape.

I know a lot of people have feelings about foil. But because these hot dogs need to steam and keep their shape, foil is in order here. If you are anti foil, you can bake them in a covered dish, but they will NOT hold their shape and the texture isn’t as good as if they were wrapped and steamed. You have been been properly warned.

So, if you have yet to find a vegan hotdog you dig, then try your hand at making your own!! They are pretty easy to make, with fairly easy to get ingredients, and in my opinion (and even my picky kids opinions) they are really pretty tasty!

Hot diggity (vegan) dog!!

INGREDIENTS:

I have some notes for trouble shooting this recipe at the bottom of the page. Be sure to give them a read!

• 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

INSTRUCITONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. 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.

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 a 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, forming a kind of rectangular shaped loaf with the dough.

4. Evenly divide the dough into about 16 pieces. If you want larger hot dogs you can divide it into 12 or 14 pieces.

5. Using your hands shape the dough into a hot dog shape. Smooth the dough out by rolling it out on a clean cutting board or counter top. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.

6. Wrap each hotdog in a piece of foil that has been sprayed with a light mist of oil. Lay the hotdog at one long end of the foil and roll it up, twisting the ends tightly. Make sure the foil is smooth. If there are a lot of wrinkles in the foil it will cause creases in the hotdogs.

7. Place the foil wrapped hotdogs seam side up in a 9x13 baking dish (you will need 2 baking dishes to fit all the hot dogs) fill the bottom of the dish with about half an inch of water ( this is why the seam side needs to be up on the foil, you don’t want water getting into the foil!)

8. Place the pans in the oven and bake wrapped for 30 minutes.

9. Carefully remove the hotdogs from the oven but leave them in the foil. Pop them in the fridge to rest and firm up still wrapped in the foil for at least 5 hours. So if you want these for dinner, bake them up in the morning or the day before.

10. You can heat the hot dogs on the grill, in a pan, in the oven or boil them to serve. If you cook then a pan on the stove or on the grill, make sure to give the pan or grill a good spray so they do not stick. These got dogs will freeze well for up to 6 months or refrigerate for up to 10 days in an airtight container.

NOTES:

*I experimented with cooking methods for these hotdogs. I tired cooking them wrapped in foil, and I also tired baking them on a pan just covered in foil. Cooking the hotdogs unwrapped did not yield a desirable shape or texture. Wrapping them in the foil may seem tedious, but it actually does not take very long.

*I use SUPER FIRM TOFU that is vacuum sealed and not sitting in a tray of water. If you can not find this tofu and use extra firm, then you will need to press as much liquid from the tofu that you can. It will still work but the texture is still much better when you use the super firm.

*If you hotdogs come out bread like, or have little holes in them, your oven likely cooks hotter than what it registers. You can get an oven thermometer or bump the temp down 10-15 degrees the next time you bake. Because these hotdogs stay wrapped the whole time in a water steam bath, they are less likely to have this happen. If it does happen you may also need to knead the dough more the next time.

*When I say let the hotdogs rest, I mean it. Seitan NEEDS TO REST or you are likely not going to be pleased with the texture. Don’t email me if you bite right into one right away and the texture is weird…..the hotdogs MUST REST. Good fake meats come to those who wait..or something like that :)

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Savory Beet and Tempeh Burger

Casey’s Corner Slaw Dogs

The Best Vegan Chili

Vegan SpaghettiOs with Meatballs

Like most kids raised in the 80s and 90s, I ate a LOT of lot of pre-made, prepackaged convenient food.

With two woking parents, we ate things that were quick and easy, that we could make ourselves as kids.

Soups in a can , microwavable dinners, ramen from the packet, Hamburger Helper, Lunchables, and my fave, SpagettiOs WITH meatballs. Always with the tiny little meatballs.

We grew up living with my dad and I was always his grocery shopping helper. He was the king of couponing, and even had a little black coupon accordion style pouch he took with him. This was well before the couponing craze, tv shows, and websites dedicated to the art of coupon clipping. He was just a single dad, trying to save money, raising 2 kids.

The advantage to being his grocery store helper was getting to choose my lunchables and which cans of SpagettiOs I got. I always chose meatballs, and rarely was allowed to get the “character brands” that cost more just because there was a picture of Garfield or Alvin and Chipmunks on the can.

My kids have never had a can of SpagettiOs. SpagettiOs are not vegan. Which again it is one of those products that really could be, but isn't . How sad for my sweet vegan/dairy allergy kids who can’t eat the food of my youth and know what its like to have your own personalized can of spaghetti and meatballs.

Oh wait, they can! Because making your own vegan SpaghettiOs is actually SUPER SIMPLE.

Look, if you don’t want to make your own homemade vegan meatballs, don’t. Use frozen. And if you can’t find little O noodles at your local store (I looked everywhere and couldn’t find them locally) you can order them online or you can use any noodle shape you like! Easy Peasy.

I think the saddest part for me was that 2 of my 4 kids are not fans. Weird, I know. I, as a grown up lady, still love them as much as I did when I was a kid. Like cramming them in my face at an embarrassing rate, filled with nostalgia and pure joy.

But then again, half of my kids also don’t like chocolate or pie, or vegan hamburger, so I don’t trust that half anyways.

So if you have missed a good ol can of SpagettiOs because you are vegan or have a diary allergy, the answer is easy homemade Vegan Spagettios with Meatballs. I promise, they won’t disappoint (well maybe they won’t disappoint 2 of your 4 kids….still scratching my head over this one)

INGREDIENTS:

Yields 6-8 servings but would also freeze well. This recipe would be great for meal prep for school lunches or quick weeknight dinner.

• 3/4 lbs pasta of your choice. We used round ring pasta that I found on amazon

• 2 (28 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, or whole peeled tomatoes ( they will be blended up so use any 28 oz can of tomatoes you have)

• 1 small yellow onion

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 cups water

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1-2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2-1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 batch homemade vegan meatballs, or one bag frozen

VEGAN MEATBALLS:

• 1 lb vegan vegan ground of your choice (we used Beyond Meat Brand)

• 1/4 cup vegan panko bread crumbs

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Combine the vegan ground meat along with remaining meatball ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix well. Using a 1 inch cookie scoop or a regular spoon, scoop up the mixture and roll into small meat balls. Place the vegan meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cooked through.

2. While the meatballs are baking, bring a large pot or dutch oven full of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until they are done. Drain the noodles and leave them in the colander.

3. Quarter the onion and add it along wit the canned tomatoes to a blender or food processor and blent until smooth.

4. Pour the blended tomatoes into the pot that you boiled the noodles in. Add the sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Add in the water, noodles, and meatballs. Let everything hang out and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring to keep the noodle from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

5. Serve as is or sprinkled with vegan parmesan cheese. You can store in the fridge for 5 days or freezer for 2 months.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

Vegan Cheeseburger Helper

Vegan Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

Vegan Chicken Philly Cheesesteak

I used to work at Chili’s. Yeah the baby back rib place with the song.

This was back in college and I was extra broke and one of the perks was being able to eat after my shift for half price.

At the time Chili’s had a sandwich which I ate almost every day before it was taken of the menu. It was a chicken tejas sandwich and it was basically a chicken philly. I honestly could not tell you today what was in it. It has been 20 years ago…but I remember how much I loved it.

I remember the heartbreak I felt when they announced it was coming off the menu and eating the very last one our location had because one of the cooks and I were friends and they saved it for me.

Clearly I have a real attachment to that sandwich, enough so to retell my pretty uninteresting story. But, I told it because that is why I decided to make this sandwich. I was thinking about the Tejas sandwich the other day and how a local food truck here has a vegan philly that I like but the “meat” is more of a mock beef. And at the end of the day, I really just wanted a vegan chicken philly. So I made one!!

Our easy vegan baked chicken is well, actually really easy to make, and since it makes 8 breasts, you can can really get a few meals out of it. The seitan freezes really well, so I normally cook up a batch on the weekend and pop it into the freezer or fridge to use throughout the week.

And lets talk about he cheese!!! The easy vegan cheese sauce that you will want to eat on EVERYTHING!! I say to use half a batch and that means you can easily just make half a batch OR make a whole batch, use half, and save the other half for alllllllll kinds of things. Pizza cheese, lasagna , dipping chips, making quesadillas or enchiladas, dip your fries in it, put it on a burger, on some nachos, in a casserole. So many ways to use it up!

So in conclusion, if you love a chicken philly too, and want a solid vegan chicken philly, this might just be the recipe for you! Pretty easy, super delicious, gooey, cheesy, chicken-y, sandwich magic!

And if you ever had the joy of eating a Chilis Tejas sandwich (that would require you being over 25 years old, sooooooooo yeah, now I feel extra old) let me know!! Because if you ever did get to eat one then you know exactly what Im talking about!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 batch Easy Vegan Baked Chicken

• 1/2 batch Vegan All Purpose Cheese Sauce

• 1-2 bell peppers (any color you like0

• 1 small yellow onion

• 8 oz button mushrooms, sliced

• 1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or liquid aminos

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2-1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 4-6 hoagie sandwich rolls

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare vegan chicken breast as instructed. You will need to allow the chicken to rest. So prepare it in the morning or the day before. You willl use half a batch and can freeze refrigerate the other half for another quick meal, later!

2. Once chicken has rested thinly cut 4 breast length wise.

3. Thinly slice the onion and pepper. I used 2 peppers but I like peppers. One would work fine as well.

4. Prepare the cheese sauce as instructed but wait to cook it until the sandwiches are made.

5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a few teaspoons of vegan butter or oil. Add the onions, garlic, and peppers and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms, chicken strips, spices, and soy sauce. Cook until the mushrooms are nice and soft.

6. You can slice and heat the buns in the oven or slice and toast them up, open side down, in a buttered skillet. Or leave the bread not toasted, if you prefer.

7. Evenly divide the vegan chicken Philly mixture between the buns. I was able to make 6 sandwiches with my filling.

8. Add the cheese sauce to a pan and heat over medium heat, whisking continuously until the sauce has thickened to the consistency of queso. Drizzle cheese sauce over the sandwiches to serve. You can also add some diced green onions if you like.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Dry Rubbed Vegan Brisket

Vegan Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Vegan Beer Battered Fish Fillets

Easy Vegan Baked Chicken Breast

If you are vegan or vegetarian and enjoy a good meat substitute every now and again (or every single day) you might know by now that the store bought options out there are not all created equal.

One of the things I have found the hardest to find is a basic grilled “chicken” substitute that isn’t full of weird ingredients or isn’t super over priced.

I found kind of groove creating really easy, really delicious, and inexpensive vegan deli meats, so decided all those same seitan principles would apply with an easy vegan baked chicken.

I have various vegan chicken recipes on the site. Battered, fried, crispy skin covered, tandoori style, but I had yet to type up a recipe for a basic, all purpose, vegan baked chicken.

You can use this vegan chicken in any recipe you would use chicken in. It mixes up in minutes and bakes in a little over half an hour. It also needs to rest like all seitan, but not for nearly as long a lets say a vegan turkey breast or vegan ham because these pieces are small and will firm up a little more quickly!

You can freeze this vegan chicken after it has baked and thaw what you need in a pinch. I like to bake up a batch on the weekend and have it to use throughout the week, making my meal prep that much easier.

The texture is super spot on “meaty” and the flavor is like, well, chicken! You can sprinkle any all purpose seasoning you like on the breasts before you bake them. I like a chili lime seasoning, hickory, or even an all purpose greek seasoning. Use whatever your little hear desires.

Please do read the note concerning my tofu choice. I use super firm tofu for optimal texture. If you choose to use extra firm, you will need less water in the recipe. It will work, but I still get a better result with the super firm kind. And as an added bonus, the super firm has nearly double the protein of regular or extra firm water packed tofu. That way when someone rando asks you the age old question “ but where do you get your protein” you can just laugh and laugh and laugh knowing you are about 15 grams per severing of the super firm tofu!!

Just know it is so super easy to make your own vegan chicken at home. You no longer have to search for, and waste money on store bought vegan chicken that probably isn’t anywhere near as good as this easy and afforable homemade vegan chicken breast!

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

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 chicken 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 by 25 degrees and keep the seitan covered the whole bake.

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, 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.

4. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or foil, spray with oil. Evenly space out the seitan chicken 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 25 minutes.

5. Open up the foil and allow the seitan chicken to bake for another 10 minutes uncovered. These chicken seitan pieces are thin, if you know your oven cooks hot or the temp is off, you may need to adjust your cook time by 5-10 minutes. If the seitan over cooks it tends to form tiny holes that look like bread. That is often an indication you oven temp is off and you may need a oven thermometer to check the actual temp.

6. 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!

7. You can reheat the chicken in the oven on 350 degrees covered in foil until warmed through. You can slice or cube the chicken to use in just about any recipe that requires a chicken substitute. Use in fajitas, tacos, casseroles, sandwiches, pastas, or as is.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Fried Chicken

Vegan Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Vegan Turkey Style Roast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with Celery Slaw

Way back when I was not vegan, a buffalo chicken sandwich was my go-to take out order.

I like spicy food and my husband is not really a fan. So when it was just the two of us, I never cooked anything with buffalo sauce because he wasn’t going to eat it.

But eventually we had kids, and a few of those kids have grown up to love buffalo everything just like me! Glory glory hallelujah!! Now I can finally justify a buffalo sauce themed dinner!!

My all time favorite buffalo chicken sandwich was at a place in Jax called, Chomp Chomp. If you live in Jax or have visited and ever eaten there, then you know! They sadly closed last year and broke many a locals heart.

Their buffalo sandwich was a perfectly crispy chicken sandwich, extra hot, extra drippy, slathered in celery slaw and blue cheese. CELERY SLAW, Y’ALL. Blue cheese celery slaw!!!!

I mean its been a long time ago that I ate that sandwich, and went back to a vegetarian diet pretty soon after I did eat it (they did offer a vegetarian version.) I had a bit of a slippery relationship with being vegetarian for some years due to being pregnant and at the time and being made to feel like I needed to eat meat and was not getting enough protein.

Ahh the age old “but how are you getting enough protein?” question. Did you know that the super firm tofu I use to make this vegan chicken is actually high protein! 14 grams per serving, actually. Cleary I now see that was all a load of garbage. Live and learn. The more you know and all that jazz…..moving on.

Fast forward to being vegetarian then vegan, and my order eventually changed, but even their vegan eats were delicious. But, I never got over missing that perfect buffalo chicken sandwich.

So, in honor of the closing of one Jacksonville’s best down town eateries, I have decided to recreate the Chomp Chomp Buffalo sandwich and make it VEGAN, full of protein for all the haters, extra spicy, and dripping with a pile of homemade vegan blue cheese slaw, and extra vegan blue cheese.

Don’t be intimidated by making your own vegan fried chicken. It is actually really easy. I have linked the recipe to our southern fried chicken for this sandwich. I am always preaching how easy seitan making is, and really y’all, its so easy. It mixes up in minutes, bakes in a little over half an hour, and fries up extra fast.

The catch its seitan has to rest to get it to meaty texture we all want. If you try and eat it right away it can be spongy and not great. Just let it rest! LET THE BREAST REST!

Seitan also freezes really well so if you are making a sandwich for one, two, four, six, whatever, you get 8 vegan chicken pieces from this recipe. They will actually freeze beautifully for up to 6 months. You can make all kinds of things out of one batch of vegan chicken breast. You don’t have fry them. You can thaw leftovers and use them in stir fry, make vegan chicken salad from them, use them in any dish you would need a vegan chicken for!!

The point I am trying to make is that the effort and time involved in making a batch of this seitan is 100% worth it! And once you make it, you can make one of the most delicious vegan buffalo chickens sandwiches ever!

Thanks again for the inspiration Chomp Chomp, you are missed. Please, please, make a come back..and if you do, give me call, I’ll be happy to help with some vegan offerings ;)

*This recipe will yield up to 8 chicken sandwiches. If you do not need 8, you can freeze any leftover chicken breast for later use, for up to 6 months. You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 10 days in an airtight container.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 batch vegan southern fried chicken (you do not need to add the rice paper skin)

• 1 batch vegan blue cheese dressing

• Vegan hamburger buns (we used Dave’s new Killer Hamburger Buns)

• 6-7 stalks of celery

• 2/3 cups matchstick carrots

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/2-1 cup Franks Buffalo Sauce (depending on how many sandwiches you are making)

• 1-2 teaspoons vegan buttter

• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

• extra hot sauce if you want the sandwich EXTRA spicy

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare the chicken according to the recipe. The chicken is made from seitan and needs to rest in the fridge before frying. It will need to be made the day before or at least 6 hours before frying. For this recipe I did not add the rice paper skin. Just form the “chicken” breast and bake. Then LET THEM REST!!

2. Prepare the vegan blue cheese according to the directions. You could also use store bought.

3. To prepare the slaw, cut the celery stalks length wise and as thinly as you can get them. Like thin matchsticks. Then cut them into quarters the other way. Toss the celery and the carrot match sticks into a blender or food processor and pulse a few times to chop it all up. If you do not have a blender or food processor you can try to finely chop the slaw by hand. You just want a slaw consistency. If you are making only a few sandwiches, you can easily half this recipe.

4. Add the celery and carrots to a bowl and mix with the vinegar, 2-3 tablespoons of vegan blue cheese dressing, and salt and pepper to taste.

5. In a medium size microwave safe bowl, heat the Franks hot sauce and butter for 1 and half to 2 minutes. You just need the Franks heated through and the butter melted. Mix in the garlic salt and dip each vegan fried chicken breast into the sauce to coat fully.

6. Smear some vegan blue cheese dressing on the top and bottom bun, add a coated piece of vegan fried chicken, and top with a generous portion of celery slaw to serve. (also is suggest a pile of napkins!)

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Challah

Vegan Fried Chicken and Waffles

Vegan Parmesan Chicken Sandwich

Vegan Beef Bourguignon with Mashed Potatoes

Beef Bourguignon, sounds super fancy….and I guess it kind of is, but really it’s pretty much just a thick and flavorful beef stew, and in the case it’s VEGAN.

Beef bourguignon originated in France and is really just a hearty beef stew where the beef is braised in red wine.

Yes, it has wine in it. So if you do not partake, then this is not really the recipe for you. I mean it originated in a region known for the cattle and wine. So if you leave out the wine you just a have a thick vegan beef stew which is fine, I do have a tasty vegan beef stew recipe you can try. But the wine is really what makes this recipe soooo delicious.

So, how does a vegan make a vegan beef bourguignon you might ask? Well for starters we need to make a convincing vegan beef. Making seitan is really a lot easier than one may think. This recipe for vegan beef tips is REALLY EASY, but it needs to rest. If you know me and are familiar with this blog, you have probably heard me shouting to let the seitan REST!!! And I’m not kidding. Let it rest y’all. Please!!!

Now don’t freak out about how long it takes between making the seitan and eating it. Just know if you want to make this for dinner, you need to get those beef tips cooking bright and early, or even better, the day before you acutely need them. Good things come to those who let the dang seitan rest! And these vegan beef tips are pretty dang good and worth the rest time. I made mine in the morning and had the stew for dinner.

Once the seitan is good to go, you can begin the stew. I like to let mine slowly cook in the oven. You just get it going on the stove top, pop it in the oven, and go about your day. That way that vegan beef soaks up all the lovey flavors from the stew, the wine and liquid reduces, and it thickens up to a velvety perfection. Seriously, if you are home for the weekend cleaning, relaxing, or putzing around, that is the perfect time to make this recipe.

No, this recipe is NOT QUICK. Again I repeat, good things come to those who wait. This is a Sunday dinner kind of recipe, a holiday kind recipe, a “you need a nice meal for entertaining or convincing your inlaws not all vegan food is lettuce” kind of recipe. And in my opinion it is worth the time spent on it.

Three of my four kids ate it and went for seconds. We can’t count the 4th, she is only 4 and pretty much in that beige diet phase where getting her to eat a full meal or anything of color or interest is a daily struggle. I am thankful she still likes a ton of raw veggies and berries, but don’t you dare suggest she eat a cooked vegetable at this juncture..sigh….toddler parents probably know my struggle here. Don’t worry, I now have teenagers too, and they will grown up and eat lots and lots of things.

Serving this meal with a nice glass of red wine, a side salad, and some crusty bread to soak up all of the delicious wine laced, gravy like goodness is a must. It is one of those dinners you eat slowly, you savor, and enjoy every last bite. So you might need two glasses of wine. Or maybe thats just me.

Also, we serve our vegan beef bourguignon over the creamiest vegan mashed potatoes. I think this is one of my favorite parts of this meal. In my regular vegan beef stew I add potatoes to the stew. In this recipe we are ladling the stew over mashed potatoes, which I prefer. Carbs, wine, warm comfort food. I’m allllll in!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 1 cup sliced carrots

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

• 2 teaspoon tomato paste

• 2-3 cups sliced button mushrooms

• 2-3 teaspoons No Beef Better Than Bouillon, or a bouillon powder **

• 1 1/2 cups water **

(**you can also reserve 1 1/2 cups of boiling liquid from the beef tips and use that instead of the water and bouillon listed here)

• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder

VEGAN BEEF TIPS:

super firm tofu, vacuum sealed

• 1 (16 oz) block of super firm tofu, the kind that is vacuum sealed, not in a tray of water

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1 tablespoons No Beef Better Than Bouillon (or a vegan beef bouillon powder)

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut amnios

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2 teaspoons dried thyme

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil

• 2 tablespoons water (if needed)

**If you can not find the super firm, vacuum sealed tofu, you can use extra firm tofu, but you will need to press it for at least half an hour. You will likely not need to add any water to the recipe and the texture will still be nice, but I still prefer the super firm tofu (sometimes called high protein tofu.)

BOILING LIQUID:

• 6 cups water

• 2 teaspoons No Beef Better Bouillon

• 2 splashes soy sauce

MASHED POTATOES:

• 4-5 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter

• 2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese or plain vegan yogurt

• salt and pepper to taste

• a few splashes of plant based milk

INSTURCTIONS:

1. For the beef tips: 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.

   * If you do not have a food processor, you can try and break down the tofu in a blender. You want it the consistency of a thick ricotta, almost. You can try adding the liquid ingredients in with the tofu to help break it down. Once you break it down you can mix the rest by hand, making sure to knead the dough well, for about 5 minutes if doing it by hand.

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 a 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, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough. Cut the dough into 4 pieces and shape them into ovals. (see pictures above)

4. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large pot, or dutch oven. Add the bouillon, and soy to the pot. Add the seitan pieces and reduce the heat to medium low. Allow the seitan to simmer for 30 minutes then flip the pieces. Let simmer another 30 minutes. Remove from the liquid and place in a shallow dish or on a plate. Lightly cover and allow to rest in the fridge for 4-8 hours. This helps firm up the seitan yielding a more meaty and less spongy texture. I often prepare the seitan the day before I intend to use it!

5. Cut 3 of the 4 pieces of seitan into roughly 1 inch cubes. You can save the 4th piece for something else like sliced thin for sandwiches, or freeze it for later. It makes a nice stir fry beef as well.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, moving the oven racks so you have enough room to fit a the dutch oven or oven safe pot.

7. In a large dutch oven or oven safe pot, heat a few teaspoons of oil or vegan butter. Add the sliced onions, garlic, and carrots and liquid smoke to the pot. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add the flour and cook for about a minute.

8. Whisk the bouillon into the water or use the reserved beef tip boiling liquid. Slowly add the broth and wine to the pot whisking the flour into the liquid. Add the tomato paste, dried thyme, pepper, and vegan beef tips. Bring the liquid to a boil, then carefully transfer the pot to the oven with the lid on.

9. Allow the vegan beef bourguignon to cook in the oven for 2 hours. After 2 hours add the sliced mushrooms and cocoa powder to the pot and allow to simmer another 30 minutes.

10. Peel and dice potatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes, and boil until they are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork. Drain the water and return the potatoes to the pot. Mash potatoes and remaining ingredients with a hand masher or electric hand mixer until creamy.

11. Sever vegan beef bourguignon over mashed potatoes. Garnish with fresh thyme or parsley if you like.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Beer Cheese and Potato Soup

Beyond Sausage with Cabbage and Cider

Vegan Lasagna Soup with Beyond Meat

Vegan Chicken and Waffles with Strawberry Butter

If you are from the United States, in particular the southeastern region of the United States, you probably know all about chicken and waffles.

Although research will tell you that people believe this dish originated in Harlem and there is chatter of it coming from the Pennsylvanian Dutch, way way back in the day.

So who really knows but whoever thought it up, I so very thankful they did.

Growing up outside of Atlanta I was no stranger to the dish but it was not until adulthood that I finally ate it.

We did not eat many waffles as kids, or even pancakes for that matter. We ate cereal or whatever other thing we could make ourselves, or my dad made eggs.

So when I was all grown up and had the chance to finally eat my first plate of chickens and waffles I thought I might have died and gone to heaven.

I am not normally a fan of super sweet breakfast foods first thing in the morning , and if and when I do make pancake or waffles, it is often for dinner.

But chicken and waffles are different. Because it’s fried chicken on a waffle. It’s enough savory to cut the sweet, and that makes it perfect!!!

A local restaurant where we live was my favorite place to order non vegan chicken and waffles back before we were vegan, because they added strawberry butter and maples syrup with hot sauce…if it sounds weird, it’s not. It’s amazing. All hail the Metro Diner for their chicken and waffle genius!! Except theirs is not vegan soooo…

So, I knew I had to make a vegan equal to my favorite chicken and waffle recipes and that is just what I did.

Everyone out here needs to have chicken and waffles this way, even us vegans. So I used my easiest, best seitan chicken recipe, fried it up, tossed it on some waffles with an easy strawberry butter, and drizzed it all with the pure maple syrup spiked with a few heavy shakes of hot sauce.

I could have cried I was so happy we I was eating this! I had been SOOOOO long, TOOOOOO long since I have eaten one of my most favorite pre vegan meals. I could no wait to share this recipe as I feel so strongly that everyone needs to eat this meal at some point in their lives!!

As my mom says, don’t knock it til you try it. So if you are thinking this is not something you would ever want to eat, you are probably mistaken, And if you already know the pure joy of eating chicken and waffles and have waited for the day you could eat a vegan equal, today is your lucky day.

INGREDIENTS:

SEITAN CHICKEN:

• 1 (16 oz) block super firm tofu (in the vacuum sealed package)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch

• 1 tablespoon Not Chicken Better Than Bouillon. You could also use Trader Joes Chickenless season salt or some other no chicken flavoring or bouillon.

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

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

• 1 -2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1/2 to 3/4 cups water

CHICKEN COATING:

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

• 1 cup plant milk

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons each, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, onion powder, sugar

• 1 teaspoon each turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, smoked paprika

• 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

WAFFLES:

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 4 tablespoons white sugar (If vegan, not plant based, make sure the brand you use is in fact vegan, not all white sugars are. I use Florida Crystals)

• 4 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 1/2 cup plant based milk

• 2 tablespoon melted vegan butter or oil

STAWBERRY BUTTER:

• 1/3 cup vegan butter

• 2 strawberries, finely diced

*You will also need maple syrup ,and if you can just trust me here, you will need a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce!!

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degress

MAKING THE SEITAN CHICKEN BREAST:

*If you attempt this recipe with REGULAR EXTRA FIRM TOFU you will need to press it well, and reduce the water added to the recipe. Add the water last only a tablespoon at time until the dough resembles the picture. This will cause varying results and I really do suggest finding the super firm, vacuum sealed, high protein tofu if you can. It gives the seitan a far better texture.

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, forming a kind of oval, flattened out shaped with the dough. Cut the dough into 12 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a fat chicken tender shape. (the pictures above are from when I make regular fried vegan chicken breast. For this recipe I like to form them more into fat chicken tender shapes vs a thin breast. Somehow I lost my pics I took for this recipe so these will serve as a rough guide. Just make them fatter)

4. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or foil, spray with oil. Evenly space out the seitan chicken pieces making sure they are not touching. They will expand as they bake. Spray the tops with oil and 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 20 minutes.

5. Open up the foil and allow the seitan chicken to bake for another 15 minutes uncovered. These chicken seitan pieces are small, if you know your oven cooks hot or the temp is off, you may need to adjust your cook time by 5-10 minutes. If the seitan over cooks it tends to form tiny holes that look like bread. That is often an indication you oven temp is off and you may need a oven thermometer to check the actual temp.

6. Let the seitan cool at room temp them transfer to the fridge for at least 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!

VEGAN FRIED CHICKEN AND WAFFLES:

1. Begin by making the waffles: In a large bowl whisk the dry waffle ingredients. Add in the wet ingredients and mix until the batter if fully combined and free from most lumps. If the batter seems a little too thick you can add a splash more of plant milk. Heat your waffle maker and make the waffles according to your waffle maker instuctions. I am able to get 4 large waffles from the batter. Half of one large waffle is a serving in our house. If you are making this dish for less people, just half the waffle batter recipe. Once all of the waffles are made, pop them on a baking sheet covered in foil into the oven set to 150-200 degrees so they stay warm while you fry the vegan chicken.

2. Remove the rested vegan chicken from the fridge. In a medium sized bowl or pie pan whisk the plant milk and yogurt for the chicken coating. In another larger bowl mix the starch, flour, and seasoning together. Dip a chicken piece first into the wet mix, then over to the dry making sure to fully coat, then back in the wet, and one more time in the dry mix. Repeat with remaining pieces of vegan chicken. Double coating the vegan chicken pieces will give them a nice crunchy coating.

3. Pepare a baking sheet with a few paper towels and place a metal cooling rack on top. This will be where you place the chicken pieces once they have fried.

4. Heat a large cast iron skillet or other high sided pan with a few inches of oil over medium heat. You can use any neutral flavored oil for frying that you like. I use grape seed but you can use peanut or canola oil. You can make sure the oil is hot enough by poking a wooden chopstick or skewer into the pan. If tiny bubbles form around the stick, the oil hot enough is ready for frying.

5. Add vegan chicken in batches making sure not to over crowd the pan. Fry on each side util crispy and golden brown. Place finished pieces on the wire rack you prepared. Placing the pieces of vegan chicken on a cooling rack vs straight onto a plate with paper towels allows the excess oil to dip off and keeps the pieces crispy. This is true with any food you are frying.

6. In small bowl mash the vegan butter up and mix in the finely diced strawberries.

7. I like to heat a cup or so of maple syrup and add a few splashes of hot sauce. This may sound weird but trust me on top of the chicken, it is so, so, so delicious.

8. To serve, place 1/2 to 1 whole waffle on a plate with 1 to 2 vegan fried chicken strips on top. Top with a scoop of vegan strawberry butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Vegan Cheese Grit Waffles

Vegan Country Fried Steak

Vegan Glazed Deli Ham

I make a lot of seitan based vegan meats. So bare with me while I talk turkey for a minute. The ham talk will follow.

I have recipes for a holiday roast, holiday turkey style breast with crispy skin, chicken breast, pastrami, brisket, and even pepperoni. But until our turkey recipe, 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.

So once I realized how easy the turkey was, I went on to make a vegan roast beef using the same method!

Ham was my next stop on the vegan lunch meat deli tour, and I knew if I made it the same way as the turkey but changed a few wet ingredients and spices, I would get the same successful results I got with the turkey and roast beef.

Oh and a glaze. Whats a ham without a glaze?!?!

Growing up I LOVED when my parents bought a Honey Baked Ham for the holidays. I was never a fan of packaged deli ham but I lived for leftover Honey Baked Ham sandwiches on a Hawaiian roll with mayo. So that was the kind of ham I was looking to recreate.

You can slice this ham extra thin if that is your preferred texture, or leave it a little on the thick side to mimic more of a holiday ham. And because I loved a glazed ham the most, I gave this one a nice sweet brown sugar glaze with a hint of soy for the salt and to add a little color to the top.

My kids love our easy vegan deli turkey recipe so when I offered them this ham (2 of my kids have only ever had ham once at a friends how when they were really young, the other two, never) they announced “I don’t think I liked ham that one time I ate it.” But since we were out of turkey and they wanted and sandwich, they gave in and made a vegan ham sandwich for lunch.

We were out and about and my 14 year old daughter was super reluctant to eat said sandwich, but y’all, if I could have videoed her face when she took that first bite…priceless. Lets just say she is now a big fan of vegan ham non white bread with mayo and vegan American cheese.

So if you have made any of other vegan deli meat recipe and looking to switch it up, try the ham. Its just as good as the turkey, roast beef, or brisket, just more, well, ham like!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu, 14-16 oz

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup ketchup or tomato sauce

• 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

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

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

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

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons water if need (add last)

Glaze Coating:

• 2 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons dry mustard

• 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

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.

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 consistency of the ketchup 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, forming a kind of oval shaped loaf with the dough. Using a very sharp knife, score crisscross marks across the top of the loaf about an eighth of an inch deep.

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. Sprinkle the brown sugar, mustard, and salt in the middle of the foil and give a little mix. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

5. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

6. 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 brush the top with a teaspoon or two of soy sauce, and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

7. Remove finished “ham” and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the “ham” 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.

8. Once the “ham” 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 Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Vegan Deli Sliced Roast Beef

Vegan Philly Cheese Steak Roll-Ups

I am a big fan of a vegan Philly Cheese Steak, but sometimes all that seitan and all that bread doesn’t make my stomach as happy as it makes my brain.

So the simple solution was to just make Vegan Seitan Philly roll ups, no bread required.

Just perfectly seasoned seitan, veggies, and the best vegan cheese sauce, hands down.

This way I feel like I can eat more of all good stuff, and a nice big side of fries with a little less guilt.

And let me tell you that cheese sauce makes some dang good cheese fries while you are at it….you might just want to go ahead and double that recipe.

This seitan recipe is easy and comes together quickly, and bake up pretty fast too. Since the pieces are thin, they really don’t need to rest like a big piece of setian would. So This recipe is perfect for a fairly quick weeknight dinner.

But by all means, you could bake them the night before, and reheat them the following day for a super quick supper.

We use jackfruit in this recipe for a nice meaty texture, plus its low fat and full of fiber so a nice healthy bonus to bulk up the recipe and use less vital wheat gluten.

So if you are into Philly cheese steaks, then I can not recommend trying this recipe enough! Its easy, filling, and super delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 bell peppers

• 1 medium yellow or white onion

Cheese Sauce:

• 1/2 cup cashews or sunflower seeds (plus water for soaking)

• 1 cup fresh water

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 1/2-1 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1/2 -1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Setian:

• 1 can jackfruit in brine, drained and rinsed (20 oz can)

• 1 and 2/3 cups vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 3 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 1/4 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cut the peppers into matchstick, long pieces. Cut the onion into rings, then cut the rings in half. Set aside.

2. Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Chop the jackfruit in your food processor by pulsing a few times.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and mix for a minute, until a sort of dough forms.

4. If you do not have a food processor, finely chop the jackfruit using a sharp knife. In a medium bowl add the jackfruit and remaining ingredients. Using your hands, (I promise its just easier) mix all of the ingredients together until a dough forms. Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes.

5. Flatten the dough into a disc shape. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal pieces. Flatten and stretch each piece into a flat rectangular shape (see picture, just do the best you can.)

6. Lay 4 pepper pieces and 2 or 3 onion pieces in the middle of each flattened piece of seitan. Roll each piece up and pinch the seam closed.

7. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Spray or brush some oil on the foil and place the rolled seitan pieces on the pan spaced out an inch or so apart. Give each roll up piece a spray with oil as well. You can sprinkle the rolls with an all purpose seasoning or more garlic and onion powder if you like or give them a brush of soy and Worcestershire sauce. Take a piece of foil bigger than the pan and place on top of the rolls, pinching and tucking the foil around the pan so it is sealed up best you can. We want the seitan to steam inside the pan so try and not leave any gaps or holes when covering the pan.

8. Bake the seitan Philly rolls for 20 to 25 minutes covered. Uncover the rolls, and allow to bake for 10 more minutes.

9. While the the rolls are cooking prepare the cheese sauce. Place the cashews or sunflower seeds in a microwave safe container and cover in water. Heat on high for 3 minutes. You can do this in a small pot on the stove if you do not have a microwave. Just let them boil about 3 minutes. Drain. Add the nuts or seeds and remaining cheese sauce ingredients to a high speed blender or food processor. Blend until there are no more pieces of cashews or seeds and the mixture its totally smooth. Add the mix to a medium sauce pan. Whisk continuously over medium heat until the sauce is a thick queso consistency. If the sauces gets too thick you can whisk in more water and thin it back out.

10. Once the Philly rolls come out of the oven you can serve them by drizzling the cheese sauce over them. We eat our with a side of fries. You can garnish with some chives or diced green onions if you like.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Philly Cheese Fries with Vegan Beer Cheese Sauce

Dry Rubbed Vegan Brisket

Vegan Pulled Jackfruit Torta

Vegan Dill Chicken Salad (seitan)

Vegan dill chicken salad

If you have made or regularly make the 86eats vegan deli sliced turkey or Easy vegan chicken breast , then you have to try this easy vegan dill chicken salad with your next batch.

I call this vegan chicken salad even though you can also use the turkey breast. But that is because I actually use vegan chicken seasoning in the deli turkey, so I think the name is acceptable…and who makes turkey salad anyways. (and now I wait for all the comments of people who do in fact make turkey salad.)

A lot of people ask me if the turkey breast or chicken can be frozen because they can not eat the entire turkey breast or 8 pieces of chicken them selves in a reasonable amount of time …..and it in fact can be frozen! But, now if you don’t want to only eat turkey sandwiches, you can mince it up for some delicious vegan chicken salad and add it to salads, wraps, stuffed tomatoes, or on a cracker for a late night snack. More uses for that turkey breast may mean you don’t have to freeze it after all.

The vegan deli sliced turkey recipe and chicken are really easy and yield about a pound and a half or turkey or chicken breast. Both slices super thin making it perfect serving cold on a sandwich or even warmed with gravy and mashed potatoes.

vegan deli sliced turkey breast

So if you are feeling adventurous and want to make the most versatile and convincing turkey/chicken seitan breast, trust me when I say you will love these, and can use it so many ways. But, this easy vegan chicken salad is one of my personal favorite ways to use it!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 batch Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey Breast , or 4 Easy Vegan Chicken Breast

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup vegan mayo

• 2 celery stalks, finely diced

• 1/4 cup white onion, finely diced

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon greek seasoning, like Cavender’s brand

• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon of chickenless seasoning, like Trader Joe’s brand

• tablespoon of fresh dill, minced

vegan dill chicken salad

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut the deli turkey breast into 1 to 2 inch cubes. Pop them in the food processor and pulse until the deli meat is minced up. If you do not want to use a food processor, you can mince up the turkey breast using a very sharp knife.

2. Add the minced turkey breast and remaining ingredients into a medium sized bowl and mix. You can use more or less mayo and seasoning depending on taste. I like a lot of dill some tend to be heavy handed with it.

3. Serve on a sandwich, with crackers, or on a salad.

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

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Herb and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Turkey Breast

Vegan Southern Fried Chicken

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

vegan dill chicken salad

Vegan Deli Sliced Roast Beef

I want to give credit where credit is due, and this recipe idea gets all it’s credit from a person named J Sweeney! J left me a comment recently about taking our vegan deli sliced turkey recipe and adapting it to make a roast beef.

It maybe took me 2 minutes from the time I read the comment until I was standing over my food processor making this recipe happen.

J had asked for suggestions on turning the turkey to vegan roast beef and I had ideas but needed to test them out. I knew it need a beet for color and a change of spices and seasoning. I have brisket and pastrami recipes where I use jackfruit instead or tofu and that works very well to accomplish the textures I am trying to accomplish there. But tofu would be better suited for deli sliced vegan roast beef. So I that’s what I did, and thanks to J for sparking me to even try to make this recipe, it worked and is delicious.

Vegan deli meats are actually really easy to make at home and way cheaper than buying per made versions. You can control the seasoning, and you know every single ingredient that is going into you vegan deli meats.I love knowing what my family is eating and I love saving a ton of money because with a house full of kids and few teenagers, we go through a LOT of sandwiches!

Now, when I say let this recipe rest, I mean it! If you bake this roast beef and decide to slice it right away, DO NOT COME SASSING ME WHEN THE TEXUTE SEEMS OFF!! It needs to rest. That is what will help the “roast beef” to firm up and slice deli thin. Sorry, I didn’t make the rules about seitan, and I don’t really love rules, but this is one I always follow. It’s for the good of the vegan roast beef, y’all!

If you are not a fan, or never have been a fan of roast beef, try one of our other deli meats, they are linked at the bottom of this recipe. I would go as far as to say you would be hard pressed to find a better vegan turkey recipe anywhere. That’s a bold statement, but seriously, for as easy as it is to make, and for how convincing and delicious it is, you will probably never look for another vegan turkey lunch meat recipe, again. And maybe the same will be true for this vegan roast beef, as well.

So thanks J Sweeney for the inspiration, and I hope y’all are happy with this vegan roast beef effort. I know I was, and am so glad you reached out and that this was the result!

*This recipe calls of super firm tofu, the kind vacuum sealed and not sitting in a tray of water. If you choose to use extra firm tofu packed in water, the results will vary. Too much liquid will alter the texture of this vegan roast beef. I highly suggest looking for the super firm tofu.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu, the kind in a vacuum sealed pack

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup raw beet, cubed (one small beet)

• 2 tablespoons - 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 2 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons dried thyme

• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 tablespoon No Beef, or Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch

• 2 tablespoon neutral tasting oil

Spice Coating:

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

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. 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. Sprinkle half of the spice coating in the center of the foil. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the top and press it in. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

6. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

7. 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 30-40 minutes.

8. Remove finished vegan roast beef and let cool at room temp. Seal the foil back up and place the vegan roast beef 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.

9. Once the vegan roast beef 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.

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 Sliced Turkey

Vegan Pastrami

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Southern Fried Chicken

My mom can fry the heck out of some chicken. Pre-vegan, pre-vegetarian, fried chicken was my favorite food.

We are from the south, my parents are from Alabama, so frying foods is something you are basically born doing. My mom taught me young.

I have tried all sorts of vegan fried chicken variations over the years, using tofu, and basic seitan. I have seen people using jackfruit to mimic the shredded texture. But I decide to take my turkey seitan recipe, change a few things and fry that up.

It is by far the most convincing vegan meat recipe I have made to date, and surely it would work well for a vegan fried chicken. And it did!

The basic recipe for this chicken is pretty similar to the turkey, with some changes to certain spices, and the addition of adding rice paper skin when baking to add another element of crunch to the whole thing.

I am always preaching about letting setian rest, and it does need to rest. I did find this recipe did well when I baked it in morning and fried it that night. The pieces are thin enough that a 6 hour rest seem sufficient. I do think it would have been even better if I gave it overnight but 6 hours works.

I like to add the coating to a large zip lock bag, although you can use a clean brown grocery bag as well. It just makes for less mess when getting the pieces coated. I also like to double coat them so they are good and crispy. Thats what you want, a nice crispy “skin". You can also cut the pieces once they have rested and make chicken fingers pretty easily.

I have not tried this recipe in the air fryer. It should work just fine, it just won’t be nearly as goo. If you give the pieces a spray with oil, I think you could cook them on 375 for 10 minutes but check on them to see how they are doing. I have reheated the pan fried pieces in the air fryer and that works great.

So if you are looking for a crispy, flavorful, vegan fried chicken, this is my favorite, and now my go to recipe! My only other suggestion is be sure you also bake up a batch of fluffy southern biscuits when you deiced to make this recipe. Every southerner knows you can’t have one without the other.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (the kind that is vacuum packed with little liquid)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons tapioca or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons poultry or Trader Joes Vegan Chicken Seasoning

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoons onion salt

• 2 teaspoons No Chicken Better Than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 1/2- 3/4 cups water

RICE PAPER SKIN:

• 10 pieces of rice paper, summer roll wrappers

• 1/2 cup warm water

• 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon vegan chicken seasoning or poultry seasoning

COATING:

• 1/2 cup plain unsweetened vegan yogurt

• 1 cup milk

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup tapioca or corn starch

• 2 teaspoons each, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, onion powder, sugar

• 1 teaspoon each turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, smoked paprika

• 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

MAKING THE SEITAN CHICKEN BREAST:

*If you attempt this recipe with REGULAR EXTRA FIRM TOFU you will need to press it well, and reduce the water added to the recipe. Add the water last only a tablespoon at time until the dough resembles the picture. This will cause varying results and I really do suggest finding the super firm, vacuum sealed, high protein tofu if you can. It gives the seitan a far better texture.

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, forming a kind of oval, flattened out shaped with the dough. Cut the dough into 10 triangles. Using your hands, form the triangles into a chicken breast shape.

4. In a shallow dish or pie plate, add the warm water, bouillon and seasoning for the rice papers. Stir well until the bouillon is mixed in. Place one rice paper at a time in the mix until it is super soft and pliable. Lay the rice paper flat on a cutting board. Place one piece of chicken seitan in the middle and wrap the rice paper skin around the seitan. Repeat with process with remaining rice paper and seitan pieces.

5. Line a baking sheet in parchment paper or foil, spray with oil. Evenly space out the seitan chicken pieces making sure they are not touching. They will expand as they bake. Spray the tops with oil and 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 20 minutes.

6. Open up the foil and allow the seitan chicken to bake for another 20 minutes uncovered. These chicken seitan pieces are thin, if you know your oven cooks hot or the temp is off, you may need to adjust your cook time by 5-10 minutes. If the seitan over cooks it tends to form tiny holes that look like bread. That is often an indication you oven temp is off and you may need a oven thermometer to check the actual temp.

7. Let the seitan cool at room temp them transfer to the fridge for at least 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!

FRYING THE SEITAN CHICKEN BREAST:

If you want chicken fingers, you can slice the chicken breast into 3 pieces now that it has rested.

1. In a medium bowl or pie plate, whisk the plant milk and yogurt together.

2. In a large zip lock bag combine the flour, starch, and spices. Shake it up really well to get it all mixed together

3. Take a piece or seitan chicken breast and first dip it in the milk mixture, next shake it in the bag of flour, shake off any excess flour and dip it in the milk again, then back in the bag for another shake. Place on a plate and repeat with remaining pieces.

4. Place a wire cooling rack onto of a paper towel lined baking sheet. This is where the fried seitan chicken will go once its cooked. This helps it stay crispier than if you just placed it on a paper towel lined plate. This method works for all fried foods.

5. Heat a large, deep skillet with 2-3 inches of neutral flavored oil good for frying like canola or peanut, over medium heat. You will know the oil is hot enough if you place a chopstick or wooden skewer in the bottom of the pan and little bubbles form around the tip.

6. Place 3 or 4 pieces of seitan chicken in the pan, careful not to over crowd and let it fry on each side until golden brown. Place the finish pieces on the cooling rack. Fry remaining pieces.

7. Serve with southern vegan biscuits, mashed potatoes, or whatever side you like.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Seitan Ribs

Popcorn Tofu

Fluffy Southern Vegan Biscuits

Vegan Oven Tandoori "Chicken"

Indian food is something my husband and I have never seen eye to eye on. I adore it. I would eat it all the time and be so very happy. My husband will not.

So going out to eat Indian food is something I just stared going to do with my girlfriends. There is no need to drag Dave out and make him eat a food he doesn't like. I am a nice wife. Here is my proof if ever there was any question.

Before we were vegan or even vegetarian, I would go to Indian restaurant near us that served tandoori chicken tikka masala. It was tandoori chicken with a side of the sauce for dipping. I always loved this more than having the chicken simmered in the sauce. The chicken was so delicious and flavorful on its own, that I only wanted a little sauce with it. I have always been one to order sauces, dressing, condiments on the side. I have not found another restaurant near me that serves it this way, and that was always my favorite thing to order.

Making Indian food at home is also something I hardly ever do since 2 out of 6 people in my house actually enjoy it. The handful of times I actually have made Indian food, I have had a ton of leftovers to give away. I also am no expert at Indian cuisine but have always enjoyed trying new Indian recipes.

But the other day I was thinking about how much I miss chicken tikka masala and how I really wanted to make it with seitan vs tofu which is what I have done in the past. I also knew I could make it and share it with my friends next door, Yanira and Dustin, because they also love Indian food! I was confident I could try and make a vegan tandoori chicken that would be super flavorful on its own or could be turned into vegan chicken tikka masala as well. I basically just researched oven tandoori chicken recipes and decided how I could adapt that to work with seitan.

So I made my favorite seitan recipe and did just that. You really do need a roasting pan for this recipe or need to figure out a way to fashion something similar. Air needs to be able to circulate around the pieces of seitan while it bakes and also it needs to be wrapped in foil so it cooks all the way through without drying out. Truth be told, I had to borrow a pan from my neighbor, Fran. I will now be buying one because I will be making this all the time.

Despite my husbands feeling of Indian food, he actually seemed to like this vegan tandoori chicken. I tried to keep the heat down with the spices in hopes that he would actually eat it.

So if you loved tandoori chicken pre vegan, and have wanted to try you hand at making it at home, I think this recipe is a winner! It does take some time to cook it and allow it to rest. Trust me when I tell you to let it rest, as seitan firms up and the texture gets far more meat like if you let it rest!!! Just make this chicken a day or two before you actually want to eat it! Good things come to those who wait and all that jazz!

*You will need a roasting pan with a rack and aluminum foil for this recipe. This recipe will also take some time. Marinating and cook times equal 2 hours. There is also a need for the “chicken” pieces to rest to firm up after cooking. It is best to prepare this dish the day before you wish to eat it.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 block super firm tofu (the kind that is vacuum sealed in little water)

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/2-3/4 cups water

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil

• 1 teaspoon salt (optional if they Bouillon isn’t enough for you)

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or Trader Joe’s Chickenless seasoning

TANDOORI MARINADE:

• 1 cup plain vegan yogurt

• juice from 1 small lemon

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 3 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1-2 teaspoons Thai chili paste/ garlic chili sauce (its super spicy so add according to your tolerance)

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

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! 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 flatned oval shaped loaf with the dough. Cut the dough into about 12 chicken breast triangular shapes.

4. In a large bowl or baking dish, whisk the marinade ingredients together. Add the the seitan pieces to the marinade . Place in the fridge for about an hour.

5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees once the seitan is almost finished marinating. Spray the pan rack with some cooking and place the seitan pieces in the roasting pan on the rack spacing the pieces, making sure they are not touching. Brush the pieces of seitan with any leftover marinade from the bowl, covering any bare spots on the seitan.

6. Using 3 or 4 large pieces of foil, completely cover the pan, trying to seal it up the best you can. We are trying to create a makeshift tandoori oven and also make sure the seitan steams inside the pan so it cooks through but doens’t dry out. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for one hour. Do not open the foil to peek! It’s gonna be fine in there, I promise. After one hour remove the foil (Save for wrapping the seitan piece to let them rest later.) Give the seitan pieces a little spray with some oil and flip the pieces. Let it bake uncovered for 30 more minutes.

7. Let the “chicken” pieces cool at room temperature. Once they have cooled off, wrap them in the reserved foil and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours. I normally make this the day before I want to eat it.

8. To reheat the “chicken” preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place “chicken” pieces on a baking sheet and heat until warmed through. Serve as is with rice or you can prepare and serve as Vegan Chicken Tikka Masala.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey

Garlic Lemon Vegan “Chicken” Breast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Mongolian Beef with Soy Curls

Before we were vegan, my husbands favorite Chinese takeout meal was Mongolian beef.

If you have never had Mongolian beef vegan or otherwise, and you are a fan of garlic, gingery, sweet, sticky sauces, then this is one you need to try!

I was never a big beef eater pre vegan but could appreciate my husbands love for this dish. My go to was always garlic chicken. Being that both of those dishes are a thing of the way back past, I needed to find a way to make my husbands old Chinese takeout favorite a thing of the vegan present.

When it comes to soy curls I have always felt inclined to fry them in to vegan clam strips, or fry them like a “chicken” tender with dip. I LOVE soy curls. They are one of my favorite vegan meat alternative, because they are so tasty, have the perfect chewy texture, are easy and quick to cook, and pretty affordable. But I really never have used them in a saucy recipe. So when pondering what to do with the three bags I had just gotten in from Amazon, Mongolian beef popped into my head.

I knew I wanted to make a Chinese style dish with at least one bag of the curls and knew Dave, my husband, would be thrilled if I attempted to recreate his old fave!

Well y’all, this recipe is just as easy as any other of my go to soy curl recipes and my entire family liked it. That is 6 people y’all, all in agreement. Two teenagers, a super picky 9 year old by and a toddler. Let me tell you something, this says a LOT!! My kids live to be contrary and I am pretty convinced conspire to push me to the edge where dinner likes and dislikes are concerned. I have just resolved to know that at least 2 of us are going to leave the dinner table hungry upon refusal of the dinner placed before them. Its exhausting and frustrating, so when I find a meal everyone likes, it gets put on a regular rotation.

Vegan Mongolian Beef is now on regular rotation! Hallelujah for small miracles!

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz package soy curls

• 4-5 scallions (green onions)

• 3 cups hot water

• 1 teaspoons vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut amnions

• 1/3 cup all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup corn or tapioca starch

• neutral flavored oil for frying

SAUCE:

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or coconut amnios

• 1 teaspoon Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons grated ginger

• 3 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1-2 teaspoons rice vinegar

• 1/3 cup water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large bowl add the bag of dried soy curls, along with 3 cups of hot water, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon better than bouillon. Let the curls soak for 10 minutes.

2. In another large bowl, whisk flour and starch. Drain all of the liquid from the soy curls and add them to the flour and starch. Toss to coat the curls. The curls will still be a little wet so the coating can get kind of of sticky. Thats ok!

3. Prepare a wire cooling rack by placing it on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Placing the curls or the rack after frying, vs just a paper towel lined plate helps them to stay a bit more crispy. This is true with any pan fried food.

4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon or two of oil. Add the coated soy curls in batches to the hot pan, frying on each side until they begin to brown and get a little crispy. Place finished curls on the cooling rack and continue frying all remaining. Add extra oil to pan as needed.

5. You can use the skillet you fried the curls in if its deep enough or use a sauce pan to cook the sauce. I use a large iron skillet and wipe it clean after frying the curls. Add all all of the ingredients for the sauce into the pot/ pan and whisk . Heat the sauce on medium/low util it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, regularly stirring the sauce unit it has thickened some and seems sticky.

6. Slice the green onions on a diagonal into 1/2 inch to 1 inch pieces. Toss the curls into the sauce and add the onions. Serve vegan Mongolian beef over rice.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Asian Summer Roll Salad with Grilled Tofu

Crispy Sesame Tofu

Clam Strips with Soy Curls

Vegan Cheeseburger Egg Rolls with Beyond Meat

The other day I stopped by my friend Bevin’s house so my daughter could drop off a beautiful piece of toddler art for her best friend, who happens to be Bevin’s son.

We are in the thick of social distancing at the moment so it was a quick stop to wave between a glass door, drop off the lovingly crafted popsicle, yarn, cupcake liner, BFF rendering she created, cry a little, and wish we could actually hang out, and spend time with the people we love and miss.

This all sucks to say the least. And hopefully one day I will read back over this recipe, read this blurb, and life will be normal again and social distancing will just be a word of the past. A horrible thing that happened and we all survived. But as I write this, life is weird!

---

So when I stopped by and Bevin opened the door to quickly grab the picture, the most amazing smell wafted from the house..and I was all “what in the world are you cooking, that smells crazy good?!?!” The answer was CHEESEBURGER EGG ROLLS!! WHAT?!?!?! How has she not told me about this sooner!?!

Bevin is a vegetarian so gave the the basic run down of what she did to make them…and I went right home knowing I was making them the next day!

Bevin and I both used Beyond meat in the recipe. She mentioned diced onions and pickles so I added those as well. I used vegan cheddar shredded cheese to make them vegan and added a few spices and a dash of vegan Worcestershire sauce just like I would if were making vegan burgers. These days it is really easy to find vegan egg roll wrappers as well. My how times have changed.

---

Bevin baked her cheeseburger egg rolls, but I live to fry…I mean I’m southern, so I fry all the things, regardless of the knowledge that this is not exactly healthy…but moderation y’all, moderation. That said, I also really do love the ease of my air fryer and the lack of mess involved..also that whole “its healthier” thing. So, I often try any fried recipes I make both ways. Pan fried with oil and in the air fryer. Results are in and it works both ways y’all. I actually really liked the air fried version but my husband preferred the pan fried vegan egg rolls. I think the wrappers cook up really crispy in the air fryer but the texture is more spring roll-ish to me when cooked that way. But I wouldn’t turn away either option. Bevin warned that when cooked in the oven the wrappers were a little weird. So if you decide to bake them, don’t say we didn’t tell you. (the picture below is the air fried version)

These vegan cheeseburger egg rolls are now, without a doubt, my new favorite thing to do with an egg roll wrapper. They are SOOOOO FLIPPING GOOD! I used cheddar shreds but you could use whatever cheese you like. I also loaded them with pickles because I LOVE PICKLES. If you hate pickles, we are not friends, and you can leave them out. You could always add diced mushrooms and some vegan swiss or provolone. That would be amazing too.

We dipped ours in mustard and ketchup but how good would these be dipped in vegan 1,000 island…like a vegan Big Mac egg roll…Y’all….next batch I’m 100% dipping them in 1,000 island dressing.!!!

So everyone says thank you to the beautiful, brilliant, clever, Bevin. Without her, I wouldn’t be sharing this recipe. Although I wish this whole stupid social distancing thing would end and Bevin and I could be eating these together, with our crew of kids laughing and playing and being the goons they are…soon I hope, soon!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb vegan ground meat, I used Beyond ground

• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

• 1/2 cup finely diced dill pickles

• 1 cup shredded vegan cheddar, homemade or store-bought

• 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion salt

• 1 package vegan egg roll wrappers

• neutral flavored oil for frying. I used grapeseed oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add the diced onions, pickles, vegan ground meat, Worcestershire sauce, onion salt, and garlic powder to a large skillet. Cook over medium heat until the vegan meat is cooked through and onions are soft and translucent. Set aside and allow to cool for a bit.

2. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in 1 cup of vegan shredded cheddar cheese.

3. Lay out the an egg roll wrapper to look like a diamond (points up and down) and scoop a heavy handed tablespoon of filling into the center. Fold the bottom corner up, then fold in the sides, and roll away from you. Continue until you used all of the filling. You will have a few wrappers left over.

4. Pan Frying: Heat a large skillet with a few inches of oil. Once oil is good and hot, add a few egg rolls at a time, letting them cook on each side unit crispy and brown. Place finished egg rolls on a wire cooling rack that you have placed on a paper towel lined cookie sheet. Continue until all vegan cheeseburger egg rolls are fried.

5. Air Fryer: Place egg rolls in air fryer and give them a light mist of oil. Cook at 375 for about 10 minutes or unit golden brown and crispy.

6. Server with a side of ketchup and mustard, or vegan 1,000 island for dipping.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Fried Cheese Grits

Vegan Fried Mac and Cheese Balls

Vegan Chorizo Empanadas

---

Vegan Slow Cooker Brisket

Slow cooker roast is the thing I used to ask my mom to make me ever time she came to visit before going vegetarian then vegan.

My moms roast is better than your moms roast….I mean, that’s maybe kinda of mean, and maybe your moms roast is amazing…so, never mind.

But once you stop eating meat, your moms roast is a thing of the past and you only have memories of the smell and the nostalgia of it all.

Truly my favorite part was always the veggies more than the meat. I LOVE potatoes and carrot that have been cooking in a crock pot all day!

But these days I make a pretty mean vegan brisket, and after many disappointing attempts at a vegan roast, it finally dawned on me that I should just try and use my brisket. The brisket is made with vital wheat gluten and jackfruit. It is covered in a spice rub and is actually one of my favorite seitan recipes! So instead of wrapping in foil to cook in the oven, I seared it, and made my moms roast recipe, just meatless…..and it was amazing.

I cooked my roast for 6 hours on high heat. One thing I have noticed is not all slow cookers/ crock pots are created equal and some cook faster and seemingly hotter than others. My moms crock pot cooks so much faster than mine. So keep an eye on the roast. You may only need to cook it for 5 hours.

This brisket roast is tender, flavorful, and delicious. The veggies are just as good as moms roast veggies and that part made the happiest of all.

Just because you give up meat does not mean you have to give up recipes you always loved. Recipes that remind you of home and family and growing up. You just have to learn how to adapt those old recipes into something new and vegan! This brisket will hopefully bring you back to memories of your favorite old slower cooker roast recipe.

I hope you and your family will enjoy this recipe as much as we have! Happy eating, y’all!

INGREDIENTS:

You will need slow cooker/ crock pot for this recipe.

BRISKET:

• 1 can jackfruit in brine

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/4 cup tapioca starch

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1 teaspoon Vegetable Better than Bouillon

• 2 tablespoons water

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or coconut aminos

• 2 tablespoons oil ( I used grape seed)

• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 2 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper

DRY RUB:

• 1 teaspoons dried rosemary

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• 2 teaspoon dried thyme

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 russet potoates

• 1 yellow onion

• 5-6 carrots

• 4 cups water

• 1 tablespoon Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine

• 2 teaspoons each, thyme, and rosemary

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 or 2 bay leaves, optional

Instructions:

1. Drain and rinse the jackfruit. Chop the jackfruit in your food processor by pulsing a few times.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and mix for a minute, until a sort of dough forms.

3. If you do not have a food processor, finely chop the jackfruit using a sharp knife. In a medium bowl add the jackfruit and remaining ingredients. Using your hands, (I promise its just easier) mix all of the ingredients together until a dough forms. Knead the dough by hand for a few minutes.

4. Form the dough into a sort of oval shape, mimicking a brisket.

5. Mix up the ingredients for the dry rub in a bowl.

6. Pour dry rub into the middle of a clean surface like a cutting board. Take the “brisket and roll it in the rub to cover all sides.

7. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and give it a spray with some oil. Once it is nice and hot place the brisket into the skillet letting it cook on each side just a few minutes to sear the “roast.” This step just helps give the outside a firmer texture and helps keep the outside coating on while in the crock pot.

8. Wash the veggies. Quarter the potatoes, carrots and onion.

9. Set you slow cooker to med/high heat for 6 hours. Add the water, wine, seasoning, garlic and bouillon to the pot. Give it all a whisk. Place the brisket in the center and spread the veggies around it.

10. My slow cooker seems to cook extra slow. My moms seems to cook way faster. Times may need to be adjusted depending on your slow cooker. But somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 to 6 hours is probably good!

11. After about 3 hours of cooking pull the brisket up out of the liquid and let it rest on top of the veggies for the remainder of the cook time.

12. Serve the brisket as is with veggies or you can serve over rice.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Turkey Style Roast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Pastrami

Beyond Meat Vegan Meatloaf

Herb and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Vegan Turkey Breast

One of the most popular recipes on this site is our Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey. And for good reason! It’s delicious and super easy to make.

We mixed vital wheat gluten, tofu, herbs and spices to create a very convincing vegan turkey breast. The texture and flavor are just spot on!

So when I was thinking over new spring dish ideas, specifically main dishes, I decided I wanted to stuff that turkey breast with some herbs, roll it up, and see how it would turn out.

I had imagined using a variety of herbs and bread crumbs to stuff the vegan turkey breast with, but because I am wrote this recipe durning some very strange, unprecedented, quarantine times, I had to use what I had on hand.

I had a bunch of basil and a bag of sun dried to tomatoes so decided to work from there. I love basil and sun dried tomatoes together and decided the combo would give this stuffed turkey breast and Italian feel. The flavors are bright but also light and zippy.

Even though the filling was not what I had originally dreamed up, it just goes to show using what you have on hand sometimes can create happy accidents….errrr, well, this is less an accident and more a product of availability, and mandatory shelter at home orders. But still the result was happy!

You can use any herbs you have on hand, as well. If do not have sun dried tomatoes you can skip that and just use herbs and bread crumbs.

We ate this vegan turkey breast as a dinner, but you could easily slice it thinly and use it for one dang delicious sandwich, too.

So if you have been thinking about what you would make for your next spring holiday meal, or have some extra time on your hands and want to give seitan turkey a go, there is no better time than now!

This recipe is beyond easy, and so delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

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

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 1/2-3/4 cups water

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil

• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1 teaspoon rosemary

• 1 tablespoon No Chicken Better Than Bouillon

• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke

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

• 3 tablespoons mix Italian herbs for the coating, plus 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

*I used high protein tofu in a sort of 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 ads a result as well. Add the water last, adding just enough to accomplish a firm dough. Be advised that I have not made this turkey with regular firm tofu and I have gotten several comments that using it has caused the tofu to have more of bread texture with many holes in it. I am sure moisture is what is causing this issue. I really suggest only using the HIGH PROTEIN EXTRA FIRM for this recipe if you can find it.

FOR THE FILLING:

• 1 cup bread crumbs (make sure they are vegan, many brands are not)

• 1/2 cup fresh basil

• 1/4 cup fresh parsley (optional)

• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

• Juice from 1/2 lemon

• 2-3 teaspoons olive oil

• 1 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Begin by adding all of the ingredients for the filling in the food processor. Mix for a few minutes until all of the ingredients are minced up and browned down into a crumb consistency. Place filling in a bowl and set aside. Rinse the food processor.

2. 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.

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 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.

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. Flatten the dough out into a regtangle-ish shape. About 12 inches by maybe 8 inches.

5. Spread the filling over the dough leaving some room around the edges so the filling does not spill out.

6. Begin rolling up the dough starting at one of the shorter ends. Once you have rolled it up, tuck in the ends.

7. 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. Sprinkle half coating seasoning you are using in the center of the foil. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the top and press it in. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

8. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. Once the “turkey” breast has been in the fridge over night, you can remove it and slice it to serve. Since this turkey is better hot, Just slice and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until it is heated back through. I like to give it a little spray with oil when reheating and cover with foil to keep it from getting too dry.

*If your oven cooks hotter than the temperature registered, your “turkey” may develop little holes around the edges. If this happens you can decrease the temperature by 20 degrees the next time you make this dish, or cook uncovered for less time . The turkey will still be delicious but this has been a question asked often in our regular deli turkey breast. It could also be a matter of making sure you knead the dough long enough.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey Breast

Garlic Lemon Vegan “Chicken” Breast

Vegan Dry Rubbed Brisket

Vegan Beyond Meatball Filled Bread Bowls

I love meatballs. Vegan “meatballs” that is.

I love that Beyond Meat can be used to make a deliciously convincing meatball so I can still enjoy one of my all time favorite pre vegan foods.

Before Beyond started selling the beyond meat in a 1 lb. block, I simply bought the burgers and thawed them, mixed them all up and used them as I would ground meat. It works really well and 4 burgers equal 1 lb. of vegan ground. You can use any brand of vegan mince you like. I prefer Beyond but I know there are a lot of new brands popping up these days, so use your fave or what you can find locally! What a glorious time to be a vegan!

So, that said, what do you do with your vegan meatballs? Add them to spaghetti? Sure, I guess, I do love spaghetti and meatballs. Put them on a sub roll and make a sandwich? Sure, It’s one of my favorite sandwiches. OR, you can bake up you very own homemade bread bowls and fill it with vegan meatballs.

Hear me out. These are way BETTER than a sub! For starters it’s less messy, and also you can pile up a LOT of meatballs into a bread bowl. Then you can smoother it, cover it, drowned it, in vegan cheese sauce and bake it up til it’s bubbly brown, and extra gooey. You will likely look a little more classy eating this than you would with marinara running down your chin as you chomp on a meatball sub. Just saying.

Bread bowl meatballs get my vote!

If you don’t want to make bread bowls, you can go buy some smaller round loaves of bread at the bakery and use those. I have done this with a giant round bread loaf and just made one giant bread bowl for sharing. “Sharing” sure…. if you even believe me, then yeah, I shared it.

Anyways, our all purpose vegan cheese sauce gets extra stretchy and gooey, and is perfect for topping these meatball bread bowls. Also, you are going to want to lick the pot you cook it in, so just a heads up, it’s actually that good. You can use the bread scraps to clean up the cheese pot. I am a genius like that, y’all!

So I you are a fan of meatballs, then try them in a bread bowl. Bread makes all meals better and carbs are for sure my love language. Can you even eat a meatball without bread? I would strongly argue that you for sure can not!

INGREDIENTS:

You will need one batch of our Easy Vegan Bread Bowls or 4-6 store bought bread bowls

• 4 thawed Beyond Beef burgers, or 1 lb block of Beyond Meat

• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (a mix of thyme, sage, basil, marjoram, rosemary, and oregano) if you do not have Italian seasoning feel free to add a combo of any of the listed spices

• 1 teaspoon tomato paste

• 1 flax egg

• 1/2 batch All Purpose Vegan Cheese Sauce

THE SAUCE: ( or use a favorite pre-made sauce)

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

• 1 small 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes

• 1/3 red wine (optional)

• 2 teaspoons crushed garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

---

INSTRUCTIONS:

Meatballs:

1. Mix thawed burgers, panko bread crumbs, garlic, spices, and flax egg together in a bowl.

2. Once well combined, form meatballs with a small scoop, or spoon, and place them on a baking pan. You can line the pan with parchment paper for easier clean up.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sauce: (you can also easily use store bought sauce)

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, sauté onions and garlic in 1 teaspoon of oil, and a teaspoon of salt, until onions are translucent.

2. Add the wine, and let it cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Add the cooked meatballs, and let simmer in the sauce for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Prepare cheese sauce according to directions, allowing it too cook until it is thick and stretchy.

2. Cut tops of bread bowls and hollow them out. You can save the extra bread to make croutons, or just save the scraps to dip in extra sauce. No judgments from me. It’s what I do. Fill the bread bowls equally with vegan meatballs and marinara sauce.

3. Evenly top the bread bowls with dollops of the cheese sauce, and sprinkle with some parsley if you like.

4. Place bread bowls on a baking sheet.

5. Place in the oven on the top rack just until the cheese starts to get extra melty and gooey.

6. Allow to cool a bit before serving. You don’t want to burn you mouth ( I am a mom of 4, I can’t help but give this warning)

---

If you like this recipe, then try these:

Vegan Beyond Meatloaf Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

Minestrone Soup with Vegan Meatballs

The Perfect Vegan Lasagna

Vegan Deli Sliced Turkey Breast

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 now 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!!

If you do not like the spice profile I used, feel free to change it up. That part is up to you. 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

This is what the tofu looks like that I used. Vacuum sealed, not in a tray of water.

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

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten

• 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

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1 teaspoon rosemary

• 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

• 3 tablespoons hickory seasoning, or any other seasoning you like to coat the “turkey.” I often use a chili lime seasoning, jerk seasoning, or even Italian blend.

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.

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, 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. Sprinkle half of the hickory, or whatever seasoning you are using in the center of the foil. Place the loaf on the seasoning and roll it around. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the top and press it in. The goal is to fully coat the loaf in the seasoning!

5. Place the loaf back in the center of the foil and fold up the sides, pinching at the top to seal it up, then twist the ends to fully seal the foil.

6. 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 30-40 minutes.

7. 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.

8. 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 Dry Rubbed Brisket

Garlic Lemon Vegan “Chicken” Breast with Crispy Skin

Vegan Pastrami