Meat Lovers Seitan Meatloaf

People think our food is boring.

I’m here to tell them I beg to differ.  

Last night I made this amazing Seitan Meatloaf which I sliced up and smothered in some savory Mushroom Gravy, and served with a side of mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, and of course, my Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits with my wife’s homemade Strawberry Jam.

Boring?   Heh….if you say so.

For a lot of people, getting past the “no more meat” thing seems to be the hardest part.

Then wait till they get a load of this Meat Lover’s Seitan Meatloaf.  

Sliced up thin on a sandwich with all the fixings, or sliced up thick and smothered in some homemade gravy, THIS meatloaf will have them coming back for more.

Meat Lovers Seitan Meatloaf

The cool thing about Seitan is, you can make it taste any way you want.  I can make it taste like chicken, bbq, sausage, or even meatloaf.  It just depends on the spices you add.

Seitan itself is just like a dough, made from wheat gluten.

Seriously you’d swear you were making pizza dough.  You mix it up, knead it a few minutes, and then toss it in the oven.  Nothing could be easier.

You will need some Vital Wheat Gluten.  This is the ‘flour’ that makes the dough.  It’s basically wheat flour that has all the starch removed.

You can use everyday bread flour, but then you have to wash the starch out of it – which looks like a major pain from the YouTube Videos I watched.  But that is an option if you want to go that route.

Me?  I keep it simple and just use Vital Wheat Gluten.  I had to go to Whole Foods to find it, but it’s also available on Amazon.  I’ll post a photo and link here if you’d like to buy online, just remember these are affiliate links and I do make a penny or two when you buy through my links.  (I have to tell you that.  See Amazon?  I’m being good and legal and stuff).

Amazon link to Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten

Making the Seitan

You’ll need two bowls for this recipe, one large bowl for all your dry ingredients, and a smaller bowl for your wet.  Mix each group of ingredients separately and then combine the two in the largest bowl.

It will mix like a spongey dough, just keep mixing until all the dry ingredients have become moistened and incorporated into the dough.

Dump out your dough onto your work surface (no need to flour first) and give it a quick knead.  I just smash it down in the middle and then fold it into itself from the edges.   Do this for about 3-4 minutes.  The gluten will make it really stretchy and elastic-like, which is what you want.

When you’re done kneading, let it rest for about 5 minutes and then prepare your foil and containers for cooking.

You can get different textures depending on how you cook your Seitan.  For my Italian Sausage Recipe.  I wrapped them up in foil like tootsie rolls and steamed them in my rice cooker.

With this recipe I’m simply baking it which I like even better.  And I used a loaf pan lined with foil.  It gave it that typical meatloaf shape when it was done.  No muss no fuss and it came out great.

Line a loaf pan with foil, and add your seitan dough.  Using your fingers, squish it all down until it is evenly distributed and then bring the foil up over the top to seal.  Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 90 minutes.  I peeled back the foil during the last 5-10 minutes to allow a crust to form on top.

If you haven’t noticed, many of my recipes lately have been centered around meat substitutes.  Italian Sausage, BBQ Soy Curls, and now this Meatloaf.

From reading my Facebook comments, I know that many of you have stubborn  “I have to have meat” types at home.  It is my hope that these recipes will allow them to see we can still have ‘meat-like meals’ full of texture and flavor, without all the artery clogging grease, saturated fat, and cholesterol we know is so bad for us.

Love the comments – I do read them, so keep them coming!

Print Meat Lovers Seitan Meatloaf

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  90 mins

Total time:  1 hour 45 mins

Serves: 1 loaf

A meat lovers Seitan Meatloaf - without all the meat. Same great texture and flavor without the saturated fat and cholesterol we know is so bad for us. Perfect smothered in gravy or sliced into sandwiches. Ingredients Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups vital wheat gluten
• 1 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbls garlic powder
• 1 Tbls onion powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp rubbed sage
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Wet Ingredients

• 1½ cups vegetable broth (low sodium)
• ¼ cup ketchup
• 2 Tbls soy sauce (low sodium)
• 1 Tbls tomato paste
• ½ tsp chile garlic paste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl
3. Mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix well
5. Dump onto work surface and knead gently for 2-3 minutes
6. Let dough rest for 5 minutes
7. Line a loaf pan with aluminum foil and add seitan, smashing down until even
8. Bake for 90 minutes

Notes Peel back the foil during the last 5 minutes of baking to form a crust on top. 3.3.3077