Vegan Corned Beef Made Simple – with Seitan!

This protein-packed vegan corned beef makes a tasty and satisfying meal with plenty of leftovers for busy weeks!

You can customize the spices and level of sweetness or saltiness to suit your tastes.

Despite the name, there is no corn to be found in this recipe. The name comes from corns of salt (large grains of rock salt).

Some people call this dish salt beef for this reason, although any name with beef in it is a bit misleading for this recipe!

People commonly used salt to preserve meat (as well as other foods).

While we typically think of corned beef as as Irish food, it’s really more of an American/Irish immigrant/Jewish immigrant/New York City food that people now enjoy around St. Patrick’s Day (or anytime).

For the short version, you can see the USDA’s summary of the history of corned beef.

If you want the full details and more context, check out Food & Wine’s complicated history of corned beef. You may learn something fun, like the history of the phrase, “To the victor goes the beef.”

How do you serve vegan corned beef?

1. As vegan corned beef and cabbage

While your seitan is cooking, boil cabbage with carrots and potatoes in water with any leftover spices from the rub or a similar spice blend. I like plenty of black pepper on my cabbage.

If you want a more hands-off recipe, try my Instant Pot cabbage!

For a more unique and unconventional (but still delicious!) pairing, you can try this with my tikil gomen, or Ethiopian cabbage seasoned with turmeric.

2. As vegan corned beef hash

Simply chop up pieces of your seitan and fry it up in a skillet with potatoes and onions. This makes for a delicious breakfast the next day!

3. As a vegan Reuben sandwich

Create your sandwich on rye bread with vegan corned beef, sauerkraut, and vegan Swiss cheese.

You can make a vegan Russian dressing to put on your sandwich with a vegan aioli rather than mayonnaise for the full experience.

If you don’t need it to be vegan, but only vegetarian, feel free to use Swiss cheese and Russian dressing, which is typically made from mayonnaise and ketchup with other seasonings. It is similar to a Thousand Island or French dressing if that’s easier.

4. Any way you see fit!

Leftovers are great on toast with mustard for a quick meal. You can also serve it with pickled vegetables like my giardiniera!

What is seitan?

Seitan is a vegan protein source and meat alternative that is made from vital wheat gluten flour.

It contains lots of protein and minerals, while remaining low in carbohydrates and fat.

Many people enjoy the texture and consistency of seitan, as it is much “meatier” than tofu or tempeh.

If you’ve ever made homemade seitan the hard way by rinsing the starch out of all-purpose flour, you’ll be pleased to know you can now just buy vital wheat gluten flour for a much quicker and easier process!

Traditional seitan made just with vital wheat gluten is almost a complete protein on its own.

However, it’s missing lysine, an essential amino acid found in: beans!

This recipe includes kidney beans for a pink, “meaty” color, but feel free to use black beans or whatever you have handy.

Nowadays the consensus appears to be that you don’t have to eat a complete protein all at once in one meal, as long as you eat all the components throughout the same day.

That being said, it’s nice to not have to think about it later, and the beans add some nice texture to the seitan.

Is vegan corned beef supposed to be sweet?

Many people make (vegan) corned beef salty and tangy with pickling spices like mustard.

In addition, many others make it sweet with ingredients like maple syrup and a brown sugar rub, as well as cinnamon and allspice.

Even for those who do not make it sweet, many people add jelly or maple syrup as a condiment on top of their (vegan) corned beef.

I made this recipe twice, one time each way.

The savory version is as written, while the sweet version has the substitutions following the all-caps OR in the ingredients list.

The sweet

Generally, I don’t like sweetness in my savory foods, so I wasn’t sure I’d like the sweet version.

The first bite was definitely sweeter than I was expecting, but it grew on me quickly. The sweetness is perfectly balanced with the garlic and more savory spices.

If you like sweet barbecue or have ever enjoyed maple syrup on breakfast “meats,” you’ll probably love the sweet version.

The sweet vegan corned beef definitely has more character and personality, and is more unique.

The savory

However, if you have picky eaters in your home, I’m guessing the savory version would have more mass appeal. It uses commonly used (and loved) spices similar to a chili powder or typical dry rub.

It’s saltier, like real meat, and it’s more what I was expecting vegan corned beef to taste like.

It would make sandwiches much like you’d expect meat alternatives to taste like. My husband strongly preferred the savory version.

The combination

Since I made two batches in three days, I think I have enough leftover seitan for a while.

That being said, the next time I make some, I think I will try to combine the two. Half maple syrup and half liquid aminos is next on my list, with the sugar rub.

How do you store seitan, and how long does it last?

You can keep leftover seitan in the fridge for five days or so. If you don’t expect to eat it all that quickly, it also freezes well for several months.

You may wish to flash freeze individual servings on a cookie sheet before storing them long term so you don’t have to thaw the whole loaf to eat some.

Another option is using wax paper to separate slices before freezing.

Seitan has a tendency to dry out, so make sure you wrap it well before storing.

If you find it is too dry when you thaw it, you can re-steam it or cook it in some vegetable broth to bring it back to deliciousness.

Vegan corned beef ingredients

Before you begin, you will need:

Ingredients for the instant pot homemade seitan recipe (the base)

• 1 15.5 ounce can of dark red kidney beans
• 3 cups of vital wheat gluten flour
• 2/3 cup of pitted kalamata olives
• 2/3 cup of olive brine from above
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup liquid aminos or soy sauce OR maple syrup (depending on if you want this dish savory or sweet – see notes above)
• 2 tsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder

Dry rub – Spices for vegan corned beef seasoning

• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin OR 1/4 cup sugar and you can skip the salt if you want
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 1 tsp sea salt

Tools and equipment

• Large baking dish with a lid, like a dutch oven, or a large baking dish and foil
• Something to steam the seitan in. I used an Instant Pot with the steamer trivet. You could also use a steamer basket in a large pot or a double boiler with a steamer pot.
• Large and small mixing bowls
• Spoons and a spatula
• Stand mixer with bread hook (optional but the seitan base can be tough to fully mix)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Food processor or blender
• Can opener

How to make vegan corned beef

First, mix the homemade seitan base and steam it in an Instant Pot or dutch oven

1. To begin, rinse and drain the beans. If you have a large food processor or blender, you can make the whole recipe in it. I have a pretty small food processor, so I blitzed half of the beans at a time and emptied them into a large mixing bowl.
2. After that, blitz the olives in a food processor as well and add them in with the beans.
3. Next, add the liquids and spices: the olive brine, vegetable broth, and maple syrup or soy sauce/liquid aminos, as well as the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic power, onion powder, and ground mustard. Blend until well combined.
4. Then, start mixing in the vital wheat gluten flour until thoroughly mixed. You can use a spoon or a stand mixer with a bread hook if desired. The texture will be similar to a dry bread dough. Form it into one large loaf.
5. Once your seitan dough is ready, it is ready to steam. You can use an Instant Pot or just a pot on the stove. For the Instant Pot, pour 1 cup of water into the bottom of the inner pot. After that, add the trivet that came with it or a steamer basket if you have one (it’s not necessary). Place the loaf of seitan on top of the trivet (it will be above the water) and steam for 45 minutes after sealing the lid.

After that, add the dry rub seasoning and bake

1. Once the seitan is done, release the pressure carefully. Remove the lid and let it cool for 10 minutes so you don’t burn yourself. Preheat your oven to 400° F. While the seitan is cooling, blend the spices for the dry rub and spoon a little onto the bottom of a plate or bowl.
2. When the seitan is cool enough to move, transfer it to the bowl or plate with the dry rub. Spoon more of the rub over the top and sides of the loaf. Roll it around until the entire loaf is covered. Place it in a deep baking dish with a lid like a dutch oven. If you don’t have a lid, you can use foil. You may want to spritz the foil with cooking spray so you don’t lose all the spice blend on the foil.
3. Once the oven is preheated, bake covered for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for 15 more minutes. The crust should be somewhat hardened.
4. Then, allow your vegan corned beef to cool for at least 10 minutes. Use a bread knife or serrated blade to slice it for best results. Serve with cabbage, potatoes, sauerkraut, or in a vegan Reuben sandwich, and enjoy!

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Variations on this recipe

Once you know how to make seitan, you can vary the spices and seasonings to suit your tastes.

I’ve really enjoyed buffalo hot sauce seasoned seitan. Curry would be also be interesting, as would Sichuan seasoning. (Note: most store-bought buffalo hot sauces contain butter, so they are not vegan.)

You could also use poultry seasoning for a holiday roast.

Many people add beets for a more pink, meat-like color, as well as for their health benefits.

Others add nutritional yeast for some great umami flavor.

You can use black beans or chickpeas instead of kidney beans if that’s what you have on hand.

Many people cut the vital wheat gluten flour with up to a third all purpose flour or chickpea flour for a less tough and chewy seitan.

Some people add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice to their vegan corned beef recipes. If you choose the sweeter version with maple syrup and sugar rub, these would go nicely.

For a more savory dish, try fenugreek, cumin, or coriander. You could also add vinegar and mustard seeds to the steaming liquid.

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I hope you enjoyed this recipe for vegan corned beef!