A juicy, hearty, unbelievably tasty vegan burger that will hold up on the grill! This seitan burger is filled with umami flavour from mushrooms and miso paste, with a smoky, savoury bite. Prepare these in advance and when that burger craving hits, fire up the grill.
Ready for the best vegan burger ever? This one is shockingly delicious and satisfying.
Do you do burgers in the summer, or all year long?
We enjoy them at any time of year, especially since summers in Canada are short. That would be a shame to only enjoy this delicious and classic comfort food for a few months of the year.
This grillable seitan burger is inspired by my mushroomy seitan roast and pairs beautifully with potato wedges, poutine, or sweet potato fries.
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Ingredients + Substitutions
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Mushrooms: I used white button mushrooms this time, but cremini or baby bella will also work well. The mushrooms help keep your burger juicy inside and of course, flavourful.
- Broth: Use a salty, flavourful broth since there is no added salt. Or add some salt if you only have low sodium broth on hand.
- Miso Paste: I like white miso, but if you prefer the stronger flavour of red, feel free to use either. For soy free, replace the miso with additional tahini and add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Black Beans: For their hearty flavour. You may use red kidney beans if preferred.
- Tahini: If you cannot have tahini, sub for another neutral flavoured nut or seed butter, like cashew. OR if not avoiding oil, use a neutral flavoured oil, like avocado.
- Vital Wheat Gluten: Unfortunately there is NO substitute for vital wheat gluten. Nor is there a gluten free alternative. Do not use another type of flour, as the gluten is crucial to the outcome and texture of your seitan burger.
- Garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika: The spices are for flavour. None are overpowering, so do not skip unless you absolutely must. If you don’t have smoked paprika on hand, you may use liquid smoke, instead.
Instructions
(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Start by adding all your seitan burger ingredients EXCEPT for the vital wheat gluten to the bowl of your food processor. Blend until smooth. (photos 1-2)
Add approx. HALF of the vital wheat gluten and process until combined. Then add the remaining half and pulse, scraping down the sides as needed. Do not over process. (photos 3-5)
Transfer the mixture to a clean surface and knead (without overdoing it) until you see bands of gluten forming as shown below. (photo 6)
Now divide the mixture into 8 pieces to make 8 vegan burgers. Do your best to make them as equal as possible in size. (photo 7)
Roll each piece using a rolling pin to flatten it into a patty shape. The patties will grow as they cook, so roll them a little flatter than you’d like the final result to be. (photo 8)
Add a thin layer of broth to an oven-safe dish with a lid. Then layer your seitan burgers inside with broth in between each layer. (photos 9-10)
Cover the burgers entirely with the broth, place the lid on top and bake in your preheated oven. (photos 11-12)
At this point, treat the seitan patties like raw burgers. For best results, refrigerate overnight and then finish them off on the grill or in a frying pan. I like using the grill to get those nice grill lines. (photos 13-14)
Once grilled, serve your seitan burger with burger buns, plus all your favourite toppings and sauces.
What toppings should I use?
Top your seitan burger as you would any other vegan or veggie burger. Here are some ideas:
- Lettuce or shredded cabbage
- Tomato slices
- Pickles or relish
- Red onion
- Caramelized onion, pepper, and/or mushrooms
- Avocado slices or guacamole
- Spicy mayo, “regular” mayo, ketchup, mustard or BBQ sauce
Storage
Store leftover seitan burgers in a sealed container in your refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Or, you may freeze them air-tight in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Separate the seitan patties with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to one another in the freezer.
Expert Tips
- If possible, prepare your seitan burgers one day in advance of grilling. These taste best when refrigerated overnight, and grilled the next day. However, they’re still great if grilled straight after making.
- Weigh your vital wheat gluten for the most accurate results. Relying on cup measurements could result in a seitan burger that’s dry and dense as measuring tends to pack more flour into the cups, when compared to weight.
- Use salty, flavourful broth for the best results since there is no other added salt to this seitan burger recipe.
- Try to portion your mixture into 8 equal size pieces for even cooking and similar sized seitan burgers. If you want them to be perfect, use a kitchen scale to weigh the pieces.
- Roll your patties fairly flat, as they will grow and almost double in size during cooking.
- You want the patties to simmer in the broth and NOT boil, so they cook slowly, for the best texture. Don’t increase the oven temperature in an attempt to cook these faster.
More vegan burger recipes
If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don’t forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Buon appetito
Rosa
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the seitan burgers
- ¾ cup black beans cooked or canned
- 4 ounce white mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 280 grams vital wheat gluten approx. 2 ¼ cups
For cooking
- 3-4 cups vegetable broth room temperature
For serving
- vegan burger buns
- lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, avocado
- vegan spicy mayo
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 C).
- Add all the seitan burger ingredients EXCEPT the vital wheat gluten to a food processor, and process until smooth. Next, add about half of the vital wheat gluten and process until mostly smooth. Then add the remaining half and process until mostly combined, without over-processing.
- Transfer the mixture to a clean surface, like a cutting board or countertop, and knead the dough for about 30 seconds, but don't go overboard. Once you see strands of gluten, the dough is ready. (See process shots above for a visual.)
- Divide into 8 equal pieces for even cooking. I use a kitchen scale to make them perfectly equal, but this is not necessary. You can eyeball it.
- Roll each piece into a ball and then use a rolling pin to flatten each one into a patty. They will expand during cooking, so make them a little flatter than you'd like the final result to be. As you're stretching the burgers, you should see them spring back a little.
- Use an oven-safe dish with a lid, like a dutch oven, and add a thin layer of vegetable broth to the bottom. Then layer your seitan patties on top, adding more broth in between the layers of patties. Add enough broth to ensure the patties are completely covered.
- Then place the lid on top and bake in your preheated oven for 80 minutes, carefully flipping them at the 40-minute mark. Be very careful when flipping to prevent breaking the patties. When the 80 minutes is complete, remove from the oven.
- If you're making these in advance, transfer the patties to a container to refrigerate overnight and finish cooking on the day you're serving. (Reserve the broth for drinking, it's delicious, don't dump it! 😉 )
- Treat these as you would raw burgers. They are NOT ready to eat straight out of the oven. Finish off your seitan burger on the grill, or in a frying pan. Brush a little oil to prevent sticking and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. Then grill or pan fry for a few minutes on each side until brown and heated through.
- Enjoy with burger buns and all your favourite toppings.
Dee Lee says
I did what you said but 350°F makes the burgers burgers. Maybe the oven should have been at 150°. I’m going to let the broth cool down and maybe the burgers will stay together.
Rosa says
I’m sorry Dee, I don’t understand your comment.
Dinah says
In searching, I’m finding Vital Wheat Gluten FLOUR and POWDER–which are we supposed to use please? Thanks!
Rosa says
Hi, the one I use says flour but you may use either one. Enjoy!
Ajmm says
Wow these were fantastic! I was a tad concerned at the 40 minute Mark that the broth was all gone, but I went ahead and flipped all the patties over rearranged them in the container and put them back in for another 40 minutes. I let him sit overnight and then grilled them the next day. Fantastic burgers!
Rosa says
Yay! Thrilled you enjoyed our grillable vegan burgers! Thanks very much for taking the time to leave us a review. 🙂
Joe H says
Love these burgers. Are your nutritional facts per burger?
Rosa says
Glad you enjoyed them! Yes, the nutritional info is per burger.
David Glickman says
This was amazing! My non-vegan family loved them and would eat them again.
Rosa says
Fantastic! Thrilled everyone enjoyed these seitan burgers and thanks very much for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂
Joe says
Juicy, flavorful, and irresistible!
Umami, meaty, earthy and moist.
I add marmite when I make it.
This is the first burger recipe I’ve found that isn’t mushy, doesn’t crumble apart, nor just a granola mix of various carbs on a bun.
Excellent grilled or heated in a cast iron skillet. Very versatile cutlets. A burger, a steak, a fajita, a shepherd’s pie.
They really double up when they’re poached, so after the first time, I’ve been making them into 16 VERY thin patties. It’s a more manageable size for when I heat them in the skillet or grill them. Plus, who isn’t satisfied with a “double” lol
Thank you so much for sharing this outstanding seitan recipe.
Rosa says
Thanks for taking the time to leave a detailed review, Joe. I’m so thrilled you loved the seitan burgers. 🙂
Jean TEMPEST says
Lovely tasty burgers and easy no fuss ingredients – a winner
Rosa says
Thrilled you enjoyed them Jean! 🙂
Teri says
Mine turned out HUGE! I need to divide into 10 or 11 patties next time and roll seriously thin, which will be a challenge because they prefer to spring back after rolling. That said, I sliced one in half, which fried okay as a patty, and another one got sliced into strips and seasoned with shwarma seasoning – seriously good. I love the broth cooking – puffs up the results more than steaming, but so much simpler. This recipe opens up a lot of possibilities for me; I personally think I’ll use them sliced more than as patties. I’m thinking bulgogi, shwarma, gyros, fajitas:)
Rosa says
So glad you enjoyed it Teri. Thanks for sharing all these great ideas with us. 🙂
Meagan says
Do you think it’s possible to sub the mushrooms for anything else?
Rosa says
I haven’t tried making this without the mushrooms, but if you must omit them, you could try some eggplant or zucchini in their place.
MAS says
We don’t eat mushrooms, in other homemade veg meat I have substituted tofu in place of mushrooms successfully.
Mary P says
I can’t get over the odd taste seitian has. Someone suggested washing the flour first. If I do that do I just follow the recipe as is and just add all ingredients to the washed seitan?
Rosa says
Hi Mary, I haven’t tried washing flour for this recipe but in theory, yes that should work. Please let us know if you give it a try.
Holly says
MaryP, try adding a small amount, 1tsp, of apple cider vinegar to your seitan dough. I find that cuts the “bready” flavor of seitan. I hope this helps!