Description
This High Protein Vegan Seitan Burger recipe makes the best vegan burgers loaded with nearly 50 grams of plant based protein!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 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)
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
- Note 1: 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.
- Note 2: This is part of what makes our seitan burger so juicy! It also makes them more tender. 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).
- Note 3: 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.
- Note 4: 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. 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 wit hout it.
- Note 5: 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. 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!
- Note 6: 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!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Stove Top, Grill
- Cuisine: American, BBQ