Seitan: The Best Products to Make Your Homemade Recipes

Is it Seitan a new thing? Not at all. Not at least among the vegan community. But it's definitely easier now to get it at -practically- any green store. This article will present you with the best products to make your own homemade recipes!

Seitan is actually a rather old ingredient with a “new” name, so to speak. “Mian jin”, was already a popular preparation in China in the 6th century, while in Japan "Fu" still present in almost every Japanese dish disguised as tofu.

Both these two are sort of "seitan ancestors" (both pre-cooked seitan, dried and then soaked again in a particular preparation). However, in the early 1960s, it was George Ohsawa, the father of the macrobiotic diet, who introduced the term “seitan” which derives from "sei" (meaning “made of") and "tan" from "tanpaku" (meaning "protein"). The word seitan survived to these days and fortunately it popularized even more in western countries!

With no further introduction, let's check on some of the best products available online to make your own homemade vegan recipes!

Our Top Pick for Seitan

Anthony's - Vital Wheat Gluten

Highly nutritious vital wheat gluten powder to prepare the most practical and delicious seitan vegan dishes. Buy on Amazon

It's Just - Vital Wheat Gluten Flour

Vital Wheat Gluten is a natural protein found in wheat and definitely not gluten free. Ideal for using in the meat substitute known as seitan. Also recommended for low carb diets! Buy on Amazon

Upton's Naturals - Chorizo Seitan

If you enjoy the mildly spicy of tex mex food, this Chorizo Seitan is for you! It is an oil-free version of a traditional ground sausage to enjoy on tacos, nachos, over rice, or in a breakfast scramble. Buy on Amazon

What comes next is a close depiction and review on each of these products for you to make an informed choice, which we always encourage!

Anthony's Vital - Wheat Gluten

1
Sustainable Warriors Score
5_5

Buy on Amazon

What I Like

  • Quality! Premium Vital Wheat Gluten.

  • High in Protein > Improves elasticity and texture of dough

  • Made from 100% Natural Wheat Gluten

What I Don't Like

  • Might be harder to shape than other brands, that's the quality of the gluten working, thou.

First a friendly reminder about the products we''ll review and describe here and it's that they are not gluten free. So if you can't tolerate gluten, seitan is not gonna work for you. In case you are unfamiliar with this information, seitan is exclusively made of the protein obtained from wheat, that is gluten. Gluten contributes a lot to an alternative vegan, meat-alternatives preparation because its properties and that's our focus here!

In case you want to check our very nice article on Gluten Free Diet: 7 Products for Your Integral Wellbeing, be our guest!

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What's great about this Vital Wheat Gluten is its powder form, and that it's made from wheat flour that has been hydrated to activate the gluten, and then processed to remove everything but that gluten. That gluten is then dried and grounded back into a powder.

When mixed with water and spiced, this gluten powder will turn into ready to use seitan in the blink of an eye. The most traditional way of fabricating seitan is rather complex since you need to extract the gluten from wheat first, it honestly requires a lot of practice. However, this powder brings the possibility of preparing seitan, a vegetarian "meat" that is rich in protein, in your own home!

You can use this vegan modern alternative to tofu in countless of vegan recipes like stews, chilies, wraps, tacos or even sauces!

It's Just - Vital Wheat Gluten Flour

1
Sustainable Warriors Score
3_5

Buy on Amazon

What I Like

  • Ideal for low-carb breads!
  • The price is fair for 20oz
  • High protein gluten flour

What I Don't Like

  • The math of the serving size and servings per container don’t add up. Still fair price.

A note on seitan and sustainability: apart from being a very good vegan source of proteins, seitan is also more eco- friendly than other plant-based options, particularly soy. However any plant-based option produces a much lesser impact on CO2 emissions than any animal-derived product. But there's one thing about seitan that makes it different from tofu or other already vegan subs for meat: it's extremely delicious and non expensive.

It's Just Vital Wheat Gluten is another great choice for preparing your own seitan recipes at home! Let's read on for some details.

I honestly think that this is a really nice product, especially because you get 20oz at a very reasonable price. Besides, it’s exactly what it says it is.Let me tell you about my experience: I made seitan at home for the first time a couple of weeks ago. And I couldn't be happier with the results, Much tastier than readymade seitan options. It is yummy and just the right texture.

Now, I'm nocking off some stars since the math with the proportions suggested and the product obtained doesn't not add up. It might be a little deceiving, but as we always say mind checking the labels carefully! It's a good deal, anyway.

Upton's Naturals - Chorizo Seitan

1
Sustainable Warriors Score
5_5

Buy on Amazon

What I Like

  • Good source of protein

  • Low in carbs and fat

  • Non-GMO project verified

What I Don't Like

  • I wish there was more in the package!

If you like the traditional taste of meat food but you are vegan, you already know probably that there are plenty of options available today that are plant-based and even more delicious (and easier on the body and the Planet) than any meat-derived product.

But in case you do not know, let us present this perfect scorer here: Upton Naturals Chorizo Seitan. Chorizo is a Latin rooted type of sausage (very much used in Spanish cuisine, too) which tastes delicious! And you can bring your vegan chorizo to life with this amazing product. Ideal for tacos, nachos, dive Rice or even breakfast!

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This mildly spicy Seitan is an oil-free version of a traditional ground sausage. Enjoy it on tacos, nachos, over rice, or in a breakfast scramble.

Do you want to enjoy a taco night) Simply mix this with sauteed vegetables and add into taco shells or quesadillas. I honestly wish the product had a longer shelf life but it has little preservatives which I can appreciate! The texture is fabulous and the mild spicy flavor is something you don't want to miss! Highly recommended!

I hope I gave you a hint on the versatility of seitan and the variety of dishes you can prepare! Seitan is an eco-friendly, vegan meat substitute with a high amount of proteins and extremely delicious.

Any of these products are great for starting preparing seitan at home and delight your loved ones with the most appetizing traits.

You may be interested at: Low Carb Vegan Recipes: Five Easy Recipes for You to Master

Gisela Possetto

Copywirter, Cats + Tattoos + Music Lover

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