Seitan and vital wheat gluten are magical. They are. They let us make food that is so close to animal meat, it’s scary. They add stretch and elasticity to food and give it that “chewy” texture we want in burgers, cutlets, steaks and more. But what happens if you’re gluten-free? Beyond Meat is amazing but I can’t get it where I live so I had to figure something else out.

I have made recipes for gluten-free versions of the foods that usually contain gluten. You all know about my Gluten-Free Italian Sausage and Breakfast Sausage. If you don’t, check them out. They are very popular.

I have made burgers with all types of beans, TVP, eggplant and lentils. They are all delicious.

My Sorta Seitan Cutlets use only 25% of the gluten that regular seitan uses and they are amazing.

But I wanted a gluten-free version of seitan.

I searched the internet. There are some gluten-free seitan recipes out there. I tried them all. I hated them all. I’m serious. None of them tasted like seitan. None of them tasted like meat. I know I can’t expect something that doesn’t have gluten to taste exactly like seitan but these recipes weren’t even close. They all tasted like bread. I wasted a ton of ingredients and threw whole loaves of gluten-free seitan in the garbage. There is a boxed mix of gluten-free seitan you can buy but it’s just full of starches and sounds really unappetizing.

So I set to work on creating a type of gluten-free vegan meat that tasted good, that I would actually want to eat, that would be relatively healthy and that would pass the test of a meat-eater. After months and months of experiments, learning and coming to understand the reason behind each ingredient, eating less-than-perfect batches and changing the recipe multiple times, I finally made the batch that said, “Yes, this is it!”

Seitan and V-Meat. Which is which? Can you tell?

It doesn’t have the elasticity of gluten but it does have a similar taste, especially when prepared into dishes. Like seitan, you don’t just make it and eat it. You have to use it in recipes, season it, cook it, make it savory and delicious. After all, it is just dough so you have to season it generously and infuse the most flavor possible.

It can be formed into patties, balls, logs, cutlets, steaks, roasts and it can be sliced. I have used it to make French Dips, Pot Roasts, Stuffed Roasts, Burgers, Ribs, Sausages, and more. Here are some pictures that show how I have used it.

I didn’t want to call it gluten-free seitan since it might get confusing. After all, it is NOT seitan. It doesn’t taste like seitan. So I named it V-Meat. And then came V-Chicken, V-Sausage and V-Turkey. Each name describes what it tastes like. And “V” because it’s vegan and from The “V” Word. 🙂

It’s one basic recipe and then you can change up the seasonings and flavors to make it however you like. V-Italian Sausage can become V-Breakfast Sausage by switching from spicy seasonings to the ones usually found in breakfast sausage like maple, apple and sage. The possibilities are endless.

V-Meat is gluten-free. It contains oats so make sure to get certified gluten-free oats if you have celiac disease or are gluten-intolerant. I tried to make it without oats. I tried quinoa, rice and millet but it didn’t work right. Oats gave it that “chew” that other grains didn’t.

If you need V-Meat to be soy-free, you can simply swap out the soy flour for quinoa flour or rice flour and use Bragg’s coconut aminos instead of soy sauce (when it’s needed). But I will say that I made a few soy-free versions and it does taste a little better with the soy.

One thing that really surprised me: chickpea flour, my favorite flour, the flour I think runs through my veins (if flour could run through your veins) DOES NOT WORK. I made a million batches with it and couldn’t figure out why it tasted so much like bread. I thought it was the other ingredients. Then I took out the chickpea flour and TA DA! It was so much better. Don’t use chickpea flour.

High-protein flours are needed like soy flour, amaranth flour and pea protein and I added very little starch. I use arrowroot but you could use corn starch or tapioca starch. It does need the xanthan or guar gum. I tried it without it. It doesn’t hold up. Every ingredient that is in my recipe is there for a reason. By the way, you can find pea protein in health food stores, natural markets or online at Amazon, Vitacost, Swanson Vitamins and any place that sells health and fitness products.

V-Chicken Dough

When you make the dough, you could just fry it right up but it tastes much better if you steam it first. It really solidifies the ingredients so you can do whatever you want with it afterwards. You also don’t have to wait hours to use it but again, it tasted a bit better to me when I did.

I hope you have fun with V-Meat and the other versions. V-Chicken and V-Sausage are my personal  favorites. All of the versions have been meat-eater approved! Please share with us what you do with it. I really hope it adds another choice to your menu. Enjoy!

V-Meat

GF

1 “beef” flavored bouillon cubes +

1 cup boiling water or 1 cup “beef” broth

1/3 cup rolled oats

¼ cup soy flour

¼ cup amaranth flour

¼ cup pea protein

2 Tbs. arrowroot powder

2 tsp. xanthan or guar gum

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

4 Tbs. tomato paste

3 Tbs. gluten-free, low-sodium tamari or soy sauce

2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

2 Tbs. flaxseed

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

½ tsp. black pepper

Set up a pot of boiling water with a steamer inserted. In a small saucepan, dissolve the bouillon cube in boiling water to make “beef” broth. In a bowl, combine the rolled oats and 1/3 cup of broth. Mix and let sit for 10 minutes or until the broth is completely absorbed. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the soy flour, amaranth flour, pea protein, arrowroot and xanthan or guar gum. Stir well to combine.

In a smaller bowl, combine the vegetable oil, tomato paste, tamari, nutritional yeast, flaxseed, seasoning and 1/3 cup of broth. Mix well to combine. Add the cooked oatmeal to the wet ingredients and stir until everything is well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, mix until you have a dough. Then wet your hand and knead the dough in the bowl until it feels smooth and holds together. If the dough feels too wet or loose, add more soy or amaranth flour. If the dough feels too dry, wet your hands and knead rather than adding water to the dough. You add less water this way. When you are happy with the consistency of the dough, let it rest for 10 minutes. It should be a bit sticky and not too dry.

Divide the dough into 4 sections. Shape each section into the shape you want – round or oval patties, logs, etc. – if you are making patties, make them very thin as they will expand during the steaming process. Alternatively, you could shape the entire dough into a log to make a roast. Let them sit again for 5 minutes. Wrap each piece in foil and steam them for 20 minutes. Remove the packets from the steamer, let them cool and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you are ready to cook them, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Prepare them however you want.

V-Chicken

GF

1 “chicken” flavored bouillon cube

1 cup boiling water

1/3 cup rolled oats

¼ cup soy flour

¼ cup amaranth flour

¼ cup pea protein

2 Tbs. arrowroot powder

2 tsp. xanthan or guar gum

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

2 Tbs. flaxseed

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried sage

2 Tbs. grated carrot

Set up a pot of boiling water with a steamer inserted. In a small saucepan, dissolve the bouillon cube in boiling water to make “chicken” broth. In a bowl, combine the rolled oats and 1/3 cup of broth. Mix and let sit for 10 minutes or until the broth is completely absorbed. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the soy flour, amaranth flour, pea protein, arrowroot and xanthan or guar gum. Stir well to combine.

In a smaller bowl, combine the vegetable oil, nutritional yeast, flaxseed, seasoning and 1/3 cup of broth. Mix well to combine. Add the cooked oatmeal to the wet ingredients and stir until everything is well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold in the carrots. Using a rubber spatula, mix until you have a dough. Then wet your hand and knead the dough in the bowl until it feels smooth and holds together. If the dough feels too wet or loose, add more soy or amaranth flour. If the dough feels too dry, wet your hands and knead rather than adding water to the dough. You add less water this way. When you are happy with the consistency of the dough, let it rest for 10 minutes. It should be a bit sticky and not too dry.

Divide the dough into 4 sections. Shape each section into the shape you want – round or oval patties, logs, etc. – if you are making patties, make them very thin as they will expand during the steaming process. Alternatively, you could shape the entire dough into a log to make a roast. Let them sit again for 5 minutes. Wrap each piece in foil and steam them for 20 minutes. Remove the packets from the steamer, let them cool and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you are ready to cook them, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Prepare them however you want.

V-Turkey

GF

For the “poultry” seasoning mix­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ (makes 2 ½ Tbs. worth)

1 ½ tsp. ground sage

1 ½ tsp. ground thyme

1 tsp. ground marjoram

1 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped

½ tsp. ground rosemary

½ tsp. celery seed

½ tsp. ground allspice

½ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 cup boiling water

1/3 cup rolled oats

¼ cup soy flour

¼ cup amaranth flour

¼ cup pea protein

2 Tbs. arrowroot powder

2 tsp. xanthan or guar gum

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 Tbs. low-sodium tamari or soy sauce

2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

2 Tbs. flaxseed

1 Tbs. “poultry” seasoning

2 Tbs. grated carrot

1 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped

Set up a pot of boiling water with a steamer inserted. In a small saucepan, dissolve the bouillon cube in boiling water to make “chicken” broth. In a bowl, combine the rolled oats and 1/3 cup of broth. Mix and let sit for 10 minutes or until the broth is completely absorbed. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the soy flour, amaranth flour, pea protein, arrowroot and xanthan or guar gum. Stir well to combine.

In a smaller bowl, combine the vegetable oil, tamari, nutritional yeast, flaxseed, seasoning and 1/3 cup of broth. Mix well to combine. Add the cooked oatmeal to the wet ingredients and stir until everything is well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold in the carrots and fresh parsley. Using a rubber spatula, mix until you have a dough. Then wet your hand and knead the dough in the bowl until it feels smooth and holds together. If the dough feels too wet or loose, add more soy or amaranth flour. If the dough feels too dry, wet your hands and knead rather than adding water to the dough. You add less water this way. When you are happy with the consistency of the dough, let it rest for 10 minutes. It should be a bit sticky and not too dry.

Divide the dough into 4 sections. Shape each section into the shape you want – round or oval patties, logs, etc. – if you are making patties, make them very thin as they will expand during the steaming process. Alternatively, you could shape the entire dough into a log to make a roast. Let them sit again for 5 minutes. Wrap each piece in foil and steam them for 20 minutes. Remove the packets from the steamer, let them cool and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. When you are ready to cook them, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Prepare them however you want.

V-Sausage, Italian

GF

1 ½ tsp. garlic powder

1 ½ tsp. fennel, crushed

½ tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 ½ tsp. sweet paprika

1 ½ tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/8 tsp. allspice

1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

1/3 cup rolled oats

¼ cup soy flour

¼ cup amaranth flour

¼ cup pea protein

2 Tbs. arrowroot powder

2 tsp. xanthan or guar gum

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

3 Tbs. gluten-free vegan Worcestershire sauce

A few drops of Liquid Smoke (optional)

2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

2 Tbs. flaxseed

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried sage

Set up a pot of boiling water with a steamer inserted. Heat the vegetable broth until boiling. Prepare the spice mix and set aside. In a bowl, combine the rolled oats and 1/3 cup of the hot broth. Mix and let sit for 10 minutes or until the broth is completely absorbed. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the soy flour, amaranth flour, pea protein, arrowroot and xanthan or guar gum.  Stir well to combine.

In a smaller bowl, combine the vegetable oil, Worcestershire sauce, and Liquid Smoke, if using. Add 1/3 cup broth and the spice mixture. Whisk until smooth. Add the cooked oatmeal and stir until everything is well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, mix until you have a dough. Then wet your hand and knead the dough in the bowl until it feels smooth and holds together. If the dough feels too wet or loose, add more soy or amaranth. If the dough feels too dry, wet your hands and knead rather than adding water to the dough. You add less water this way. When you are happy with the consistency of the dough, let it rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the mixture into 4 parts. Shape each part into a log. Wrap the logs individually in foil and steam them for 20 minutes. Let them cool. Then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, if possible. This will help them firm up even more.

When ready to use, unwrap and cook them however you desire. We cook them on a grill pan and top them with mustard and either sautéed bell peppers and onions or my I Y NYC Red Onion Sauce (which you can find in The “V” Word Cookbook Preview. It’s free. Just email info@thevword.net to request one.)

The “V” Word: Say it. Eat it. Live it.

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