We can’t say enough good things about this recipe. Homemade crispy seitan, deliciously sweet caramelized onion, soft bell pepper slices, all doused in creamy cheese sauce and stuffed in soft hoagie rolls? Yes, please!
LOOK. AT. THOSE. DETAILS.
And did you know how easy it is to make homemade seitan? Check out our how-to post here! It gets its meaty texture from vital wheat gluten. We use this kind.
We add the following to the vital wheat gluten for extra flavor:
Nutritional yeast (our go-to brand)
Garlic powder, onion powder, and sage
Vegetable broth and soy sauce to form your seitan patty
This will cook for an hour in your broth mixture – and then it’ll slice like lunch meat!
To pair with the seitan you’re gonna make caramelized onions, sautéed peppers, and cheese sauce. Thick, creamy, delicious vegan cheese sauce. Yeah, you’re gonna wanna get started on this recipe.
Note: Allow yourself 1.5 hours for the seitan to cook and cool and 30 minutes for the caramelized onions to cook.
Seitan Philly Cheesesteak
Ingredients
Seitan
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 3/4 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Broth Mixture
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Caramelized Onions
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 medium or large onion, chopped into thin, long pieces
Sautéed Peppers
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large bell pepper we used half red half yellow
Cheese Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp vegan margarine
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour
- 3/4 cup rice milk
- 3/4 cup vegan mozzarella cheese
Extras
- Olive oil, for sautéing the seitan
- 6 vegan hoagie rolls
Instructions
Make the seitan:
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, and spices.
- Mix in the vegetable broth and soy sauce until well combined.
- Knead the mixture for 4-6 minutes (either by hand or using a stand mixer with the hook attachment).
- Form into a rectangular patty that is about 3/4″ thick.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the ingredients for the broth to a boil.
- Place the seitan patty into the broth (making sure it is fully covered but it will float to the top) and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Cover and allow to cook for about an hour, flipping every 15 minutes.
- Once it is done, allow the seitan to cool for at least 30 minutes in the broth.
Make the caramelized onions:
- Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place the onion into the pan and cook for five minutes.
- Turn down the heat to low and allow to cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once done, remove from heat.
Make the sautéed peppers
- Chop the pepper into long thin strips.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the pepper slices to the oil.
- Cover and cook until the pieces are cooked thoroughly and are slightly brown, stirring occasionally. If the pieces are beginning to burn or sticking to the pan before they are completely cooked, add a little water to the pan.
Make the cheese sauce:
- In a saucepan over low-medium heat, melt the margarine & whisk in the flour to form a roux.
- Add the milk while continuously whisking until there are no flour chunks.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high. Continue to whisk until it begins to boil then add the cheese. Cook until it is completely melted, stirring often.
Form the subs:
- Remove the seitan from the broth mixture (feel free to save the broth and use it in soup!) and slice into long, thin pieces (will make ~24 slices, look at pictures above for example of how to slice).
- In a saucepan, add a bit of olive oil and lightly fry the seitan slices until crispy on each side (or air fry the slices!). Repeat until all the slices are crispy.
- For each hoagie roll, add ~4 pieces of crispy seitan, onions & peppers, and a big drizzle of cheese sauce. Enjoy!
LITERALLY AMAZING!! this is sooo good!! love them!
This is my go to dinner. I make it at least 2 times a month and make enough for 2-3 days each time! I love it that much!!
Thanks for all your ideas
It sure looks good. I can’t wait to try this.
We’re sure you’re going to love them!
Wow this was incredible!! Been vegan for almost 8 years and I’ve always loved getting vegan “cheesesteaks” at vegan restaurants. I’m so happy to have made this recipe and see that I can do just as deliciously at home too!! The only modifications I did were that I added a couple dashes of paprika to the seitan when I fried it, and also omitted the flour when I melted the vegan cheese. I used Better than Boullion garlic base for my veggie broth and it was BOMB.
Thanks so much for this delicious recipe!!
Could the seitan be cut into flanks before being boiled? Wondering if that would cut down on boiling time needed? It seemed to work for your nuggets
This came out great! I made the seitan days ahead of time for convenience sake. For the record, it kept just fine for one week in the fridge. I had tried your seitan chikn nuggets, but this was my first time making a seitan loaf. Went perfectly except I think I needed closer to two hours and more liquid to finish cooking it.
This recipe is definitely some hands-on work – 4 pots/pans on the stove simultaneously. Tasted great though. The frying of the seitan pieces is a nice touch. Made a delicious sandwich. Husband enjoyed it with marinara sauce as an additional topping. “Smells like a subway in here” – his exact quote.
Thank you for another great recipe! Keep spreading vegan love!