Name: The Best High Protein Vegan Seitan Burger (Grillable)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 15 Ounce Can Dark Red Kidney Beans (see Note 1); 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (See Note 2); 1/2 Cup Vegan Beef Broth or Vegetable Broth; 1/3 Cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce (See Note 3); 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder; 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder; 1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper; 1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast (See Note 4); 300 Grams (or About 2 Cups) Vital Wheat Gluten (See Note 5)

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This High Protein Vegan Seitan Burger recipe makes the best vegan burgers loaded with nearly 50 grams of plant based protein and a delicious meaty texture! Whether you cook them on the grill or in a frying pan, you're going to love these juicy seitan burgers. Make them for meal prep (they freeze great!) or bring them to your next cookout!

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Hey Internet, we've made a new seitan recipe and it's pretty awesome if we do say so ourselves! Even the omnivorous eaters we tested them on loved them! And it's BBQ season, so it's the perfect time for a good burger, cruelty-free style of course.

This definitely isn't our first rodeo with seitan recipes. We've really enjoyed years of experimenting and have develop tons of seitan meats. Our favorite seitan mock meats include our Vegan Steak, Vegan Pepperoni, Vegan Salami, Seitan Turkey, Vegan Ham, Vegan Corned Beef and Vegan Pastrami, Beef-Style Instant Pot Seitan, and Vegan Drumsticks. Check out our Vegan Meat Recipes post for more ideas!

Is this your first time making seitan (affectionately called wheat meat, hehe)? It's so meaty and delicious, but completely cruelty free. Now, there are ways to make seitan out of plain flour, but it is a LOT of work, and using vital wheat gluten will save a lot of time. Keep in mind that this recipe requires wheat protein, so if you can't have gluten, this is not the recipe for you.

These vegan seitan burger patties definitely aren't your average veggie burgers. They're also quite different from store-bought vegan burger patties (such as Beyond Meat or Impossible Meat). We actually think they're quite a bit better (and healthier!).\

Many burger recipes require cooked brown rice, breadcrumbs, flaxseed, etc. to bind the burger. In this recipe, the vital wheat gluten IS the binder and still gives the best burger texture. As much as I love lentil burgers, it's hard to get them to stick together. No one wants a vegan hamburger that falls apart! You'll see, these burgers don't fall apart!

If you're planning a cookout (or going to a friend's BBQ), this is also the best vegan burger recipe for that type of party. You can prep them at home (up to a few days in advance) and have whoever's running the grill throw them on for you. They cook quickly (no need to worry about consuming raw burgers!) and won't fall apart on the grill at all. If you're concerned about your food touching meat drippings, I highly recommend bringing a little aluminum foil and asking the person operating the grill to just use the foil for your burgers.

I also mentioned above that this recipe is great for meal prep. The yield for this recipe is 6 burger patties, but you can easily double the recipe (I'll leave tips for that in the instructions section below).

Cooked seitan also freezes very well, so you can make up a few batches of these at a time if you like and freeze them! Simply freeze on a plate or tray until solid, then store in a freezer bag until ready to use (up to 6 months for best results / avoiding freezer burn, etc.).

Alright, are we ready to start making some seitan? Let's do this.

Why You'll Love This Juicy Seitan Burger

Flavorful and Meaty: This mazing seitan burger has as much (or even more) flavor as a beef burger and we feel it's healthier and just as (if not more) satisfying. Our flavorful and meaty burgers are loaded with protein, low in fat, and contain ZERO cholesterol.
Packed with Protein: Tired of meat eaters asking you where you get your protein? These vegan seitan burgers have almost 50 grams of protein per serving! This makes them the perfect protein to pair with your favorite veggies and starch for any macro-friendly meal. Also great if you're looking to put on a bit of muscle!
Inexpensive and Easy to Make: You can buy vital wheat gluten in bulk, making it a very cheap way to get quality plant based protein. The other ingredients are quite cheap too. And this recipe is SO easy to make; it's honestly difficult to screw up seitan. I've refined my technique over the years, so try following this recipe as written at least the first time you make it. You can always modify it to your preferences later!

Ingredients

Pick up these simple ingredients for this amazing vegan burger recipe the next time you're at your local grocery store (while you can find vital wheat gluten in the baking section of many grocery stores, we find that you can buy it in bulk for a much better value online). See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredients, instructions, and accurate nutrition information (to the best of my ability; please consult your physician, registered dietitian, or healthcare professional if you have specific dietary needs or need to meet certain daily values of any nutrient). I give substitutions for the ingredients in the section below this one, so most people can still make this recipe!

15 Ounce Can Dark Red Kidney Beans: Really any beans would work (lupini beans will actually give you even more protein), but dark red kidney beans give it a more authentic color. Black beans or chickpeas would be fine. I like to blend beans into my seitan recipes because it makes the seitan more tender, more robust, and it actually turns it into a complete protein. Vital wheat gluten in and of itself has all essential amino acids except lysine, but beans add those so it's an easy addition to make sure you get what you need.
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This is part of what makes our seitan burger so juicy! It also makes them more tender. This amount gets split between 6 servings, so these fantastic burgers remain relatively low fat.
½ Cup Vegan Beef Broth or Vegetable Broth: To add to the flavor of this vegan burger recipe, I used Better Than Bouillon No Beef Broth Base for the liquid in this recipe. It’s delicious and beef-flavored but vegan. I buy mine online; that’s the only place I can personally find this flavor.
⅓ Cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce: This is for the salt, the umami flavor, the color, and the liquid—but feel free to substitute something like NoSoy if you can’t have soy products. Full sodium soy sauce is fine but it’s really very salty to me, but that’s personal preference!
Spices: We used 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and a half teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper for this recipe.
Nutritional Yeast: Affectionately known as nooch, nutritional yeast adds a lot of flavor to our vegan burger recipe. But did you know it also positively affects the texture of the seitan? I've learned over the years that seitan has a better, more meaty, more tender texture when you add a bit of nutritional yeast to the recipe. I don't recommend skipping this ingredient as it adds a lot to the recipe, but don't worry as it's not a dominant (or even noticeable) flavor at all.
300 Grams (or About 2 Cups) Vital Wheat Gluten: This is wheat that’s been stripped down to the proteins. It’s essentially a flour that we’ll mix into the blended mixture to make a “seitan dough” so we can make our seitan burger. I like to purchase mine in 4 pound bags online; it lasts a long time and we make a lot of seitan in our house. It freezes really well so it's a very solid vegan protein option. I do highly recommend getting an inexpensive food scale and weighing your vital wheat gluten (and flour whenever you're baking and want accuracy). Every time we dig our measuring cup into a bag of flour, we could be getting a different amount of flour and your recipe might need some alterations to work the way it was intended. At least in the case of seitan, if you have a crumbly dough you can add a little moisture, or if it's too wet you can add a little more vital wheat gluten. But honestly, it's best just to weigh your flours to make sure it turns out great!
Optional Burger Ingredients: If you want to put together your seitan burgers right away, you'll need a burger bun and your favorite toppings such as red onion (try my quick pickled red onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, a slice of vegan cheese, etc. Condiments that go well with this recipe include ketchup, mustard, bbq sauce, vegan garlic aioli, steak sauce (many are vegan friendly), relish, etc.

Substitutions

Kidney Beans: Any beans should work fine in this recipe, although I recommend a darker colored bean if color matters to you. You can also substitute tofu, about the same amount. Drain and squeeze out any excess liquid (I would recommend using extra firm tofu if trying this substitution).
Olive Oil: You can use any relatively neutral oil since you like since you need so little oil for this recipe. I think olive oil is the nicest choice, but avocado oil, canola oil, etc. should all work fine. If you are oil-free, just add another tablespoon or two of broth and it should be fine, just a little less tender and juicy (I've had pretty good luck making seitan without oil, I just think it's better with a small amount of oil).
Broth: I don't recommend using just water (though it will technically work) since it won't add any flavor. You can do vegetable broth instead of the vegan beef broth if you'd like.
Soy Sauce: You can do an extra third cup of broth if you can't use soy sauce, but you may want to add a little bit of salt to the recipe. I don't recommend using coconut aminos in this recipe since it is rather sweet and might not work as a burger flavor, but most soy sauce substitutes such as liquid aminos and No Soy should work.
Nutritional Yeast: If you don't have this, don't worry. You might need to add a touch more vital wheat gluten, but the recipe should still work without it. The nooch adds a great taste AND a really good burger texture, but it's OK if you don't have it and still want to make this seitan patty.
Vital Wheat Gluten: There is no substitution for this ingredient. If you cannot have wheat or you don't have this ingredient, you cannot make this recipe, sorry!
Optional Addition of Liquid Smoke: We didn't really think this recipe needed it, but you could add just a teaspoon of liquid smoke if you want to.

How to Make the Best Vegan Seitan Burger

Special Equipment Note: You need either a food processor or blender to make this recipe. I'll give you instructions for both; they're slightly different. Depending on the strength and size of your food processor, you may need to use the blender method (you can still use the food processor, it just changes when you add the vital wheat gluten). If you don't have either of these, you'll have to forego the beans (or you can mash them by hand with a fork or potato masher if you don't mind the workout).
Blend Everything But the Vital Wheat Gluten: In your food processor (or a blender, if you do not have a food processor), blend together everything except the vital wheat gluten.
Add the Vital Wheat Gluten: You have two options here, and if you're using a blender or a small or weaker food processor, you should take the second option. Option 1 is to add the vital wheat gluten into the food processor with the blended ingredients and process just for about 30 seconds to a minute until the dough comes together. This saves a bit of time and effort but isn't as accessible. Option 2 is to simply scrape the contents of the blender into a large mixing bowl and add in the vital wheat gluten. Mix with a strong spatula or wooden spoon (or just get in there with clean hands). You don't want to knead the seitan dough, just mix it together so all the vital wheat gluten is incorporated. This step isn't that bad, I often do it this way with just my blender and a large bowl.
Divide into Equal Portions: I like to use a food scale for this step too as it helps me make sure each burger is about the same size (which is great to make sure it fits the buns) and also the same macros... If one burger is smaller than the others, it will have less protein. If that matters to you, I recommend getting a cheap food scale. Otherwise, simply divide the dough into 6 equal portions to make a typical size pattie to fit a standard hamburger bun. You can make mini patties if you want to make sliders instead! This recipe can also be used to make seitan meatballs!
Mold the Burger Patties: Kind of like a small version of pizza dough, you can work the portions of seitan to look like burger patties. They might look like funny shapes but just do the best you can.
Optional 30 Minute Rest: I have made a lot of seitan and have learned that letting your seitan rest for 30 minutes (covered to keep it from drying out) really helps the gluten develop more and creates a much better meaty texture and tender seitan burger. I like to simply place the "raw" burger patties on a plate and cover with a clean tea towel or cloth napkin to keep the air from drying them out. Once they have rested 30 minutes, they are ready for the initial cook.
Steam the Patties: Wrap your "raw" burger patties in parchment paper or aluminum foil (aluminum foil is best for maintaining the round shape, but it doesn't really matter). Wrap them up like a package and place in a steamer pot with the edge of the wrapper facing down (seitan expands a bit as it cooks and sometimes the parchment doesn't stay put; aluminum foil is usually just fine). You can use a steamer pot, layered bamboo steamer baskets, or even just a steamer tray in a pot. Just make sure you bring a few inches of water to a boil first. Cover and steam for 20 minutes. While you can alternatively bake these, I find that the best results come from steaming the seitan burgers.
Note if you're prepping in advance: If you're not going to eat/serve these yet, stop here. Allow the burgers to cool and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Then proceed with the next step.
Sear or Grill: The last step is to cook your patties in a skillet or frying pan or on the grill. I recommend adding a little spray oil or a tablespoon or two of regular oil (don't add too much oil or the burgers will get greasy) and cook the patties for a couple minutes on each side over medium high heat until lightly browned. Don't overcook or they will get tough. Depending on the size of your pan, you may want to cook only a few at a time.
Serve: Serve up your seitan burger on a toasted bun with your favorite toppings and condiments. Enjoy!
Storage: Refrigerate leftover seitan burgers in an airtight container for up to 5 days or you can freeze in a freezer bag for up to 6 months. When reheating, thaw if frozen and either sear in a pan or you can microwave them. I don't recommend an air fryer as this will dry them out.

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