Entrees, Vegan Food

Vegan Steak with Garlic Butter

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This might be one of my most proud recipe moments to date. This VEGAN Steak with Garlic Butter is such a delicious, rich and indulgent recipe that is made from very common ingredients I can get at my local stores! It is the perfect recipe for a special occasion (like New Year’s Eve) or an at home date night for you and someone special.

Ps: if you haven’t heard the news, Greg and I are engaged!!! I shared some photos on Instagram a few days ago. He proposed Christmas morning and we are just so excited! Even though I somewhat knew it was coming, I was still so surprised and cried like a baby. Lol. I’ll insert a photo at the end of this post for those who are interested.

The details & story of this vegan steak:

But let’s talk about this recipe for a second. Two years ago, my mom and I attempted a vegan steak recipe from a popular YouTuber. It took AGES, used so many random ingredients, and was just a whole production. And guys? It turned out AWFUL. I am pretty experienced with seitan and even I am not sure what went wrong. I mean, it was like a fluffy loaf of bread with a black crust…. not meaty or tasty at ALL. It was sad. And I decided I wanted to just push the idea of a vegan steak out of my mind for a while.

But then, our local vegan “butcher” shop came out with vegan steak and I got the craving back and just had to try making my own. I have to give a huge shout out to Sam from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken for her recipe because I tried it out one afternoon and it turned out SO similar to the one I get from Real Fake Meats! I feel like I have joined an elite club of people who know how to make an actually tasty vegan meat, without breaking the bank or needing a million ingredients.

Through trial and error I have changed it up quite a bit to make it less time intensive, a bit more flavourful and even easier to make! So today, I am sharing my version of vegan seitan steak and we are jazzing it up even more with garlic butter! This meal is rich, perfect for winter, great with a glass of wine and roasted potatoes, and just feels so *special*.

More to come…

And you’ll want to try out this recipe ASAP because I have a few recipes coming your way this month that use this steak! So you can make a double batch, and then use the leftovers for the upcoming recipes! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

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Vegan Steak with Garlic Butter


  • Author: Liv B
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 2 steaks

Description

A rich and flavourful vegan steak with garlic butter. Perfect for date night at home or a special occasion, but easy enough to make on a regular old day too!


Ingredients

  • 3/4 cups vital wheat gluten (no substitutions. You can get this from Bulk Barn or Amazon)
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (again I get this from Bulk Barn or Target)
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 cup canned/cooked brown lentils (*SEE NOTE)
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp ketchup or tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp oil, divided
  • 1/4 tsp liquid smoke or 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional, but recommended because it adds a really amazing and authentic smoked flavour)
  • optional: 1 tbsp steak spice to rub before frying. I just buy steak spice in the spice aisle of my local grocery store!

Garlic Butter:

  • 4 tbsp vegan butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion, optional
  • dried or fresh parsley or other herbs, for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, chilli powder, black pepper, salt and onion powder and whisk until combined.
  2. In a blender, add the cooked lentils, water, ketchup, soy sauce, 1 tbsp oil and liquid smoke. Blend until combined, about 30 seconds/1 minute. *See note below if you are using canned lentils.
  3. Pour wet mixture into the dry and mix with a spoon until it comes together in a spongy dough ball. Use your hands to knead it so all the dry mixture is incorporated. Knead a few times on a clean, dry surface until the dough ball is nice and smooth and elastic.
  4. Break into two halves, then use your hands to flatten them into “steak” shapes. Keep in mind they will expand a bit when they cook, so if it seems a bit flat or small, it will be bigger once cooked.
  5. Use the left over 1 tbsp oil to rub the outside of each “steak” so it doesn’t stick to the steamer basket.
  6. Place a steamer basket in a large pot and add several inches of water until it just reaches the basket. I got my steamer basket from my grocery store, here is a link to a similar one. Place the steaks in the steamer basket and turn the heat on high.
  7. Steam for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through. You will want to check the water periodically and add more as needed.
  8. Remove from the steamer basket and set aside to cool slightly. If you wish to use the steak spice, rub some on the outside of each “steak”. This just adds a more authentic flavour!
  9. To a frying pan on medium heat, add the butter, minced garlic and onion (if using) and cook a few minutes until fragrant. Add the steak and fry a few minutes per side, until browned. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. I also like to serve mine with a side of my favourite BBQ sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Notes

*IF USING STORE BOUGHT/CANNED LENTILS, ADD 2 tbsp EXTRA WATER. Canned lentils are more dry than ones you cook yourself.

*To easily cook lentils for this recipe, add about 1/4 cup dry brown lentils to a pot with 2-3 cups of water. Boil on high for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are quite soft. Drain. The lentils don’t need to be cooked perfectly or hold their shape for this recipe, since they are getting blended anyway. Cooking your own lentils vs using canned adds more prep time to this recipe, so keep that in mind when planning!

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes

Our engagement! December 25, 2020.

5 Comments

  1. Congratulations!
    The “steak” looks divine and super easy to follow. (BTW, I had a similar experience with the YouTub “steak”…)

    Would you happen to know what the weight of the VWG was that you used?
    I find it best to use VWG by weight for best success.

    • I hope you enjoy!! I just got out my little kitchen scale and measured with a measuring cup (how I do when I make this) and weighed that amount, and it came to 120g. I hope thats helpful! 🙂

  2. Have you had any success freezing this either whole or sliced? I would love to make it and have it on hand in the freezer. Can’t wait to make it!

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