Vegan Corned Beef! My vegetarian alternative for classic corned beef recipe made vegan! Tastes unreal! Juicy meaty and easy to make seitan! Serve with potatoes and cabbage, sliced deli meat for reuben sandwich or corned beef hash! Perfect St Patrick’s day meal. Not gluten free.
Ok today were making seitan! My homemade meatless planet based corned beef to be exact! Adapted from my vegan ham recipe, which is the best!👍
One of my favourites growing up was corn beef brisket with veggies! That my mom made every year for St Paddy’s Day.
Left overs the next day were just as good! corned beef hash, reuben sandwiches, etc… and no we never bought canned corn beef- ewww!
This seitan corned beef was a labour of love and it turned out incredible! Enjoy!! The flavour and texture will you blow you away! Ok let's get to it!
Jump to:
What is vegan corned beef?
- My vegan corned beef recipe is made with tofu, vital wheat gluten, pickling spices and more…You’ll love it! Super flavourful and goes with so many dishes: potatoes and cabbage, corned beef hash,.. etc and you’ll never have to miss a reuben again!!
What is seitan?
- Seitan is a vegan meat substitute made using vital wheat gluten. It is sometimes referred to as “wheat meat”
What is vital wheat gluten?
- Vital Wheat Gluten is made from wheat. It is made by washing the wheat flour with water until all the starch has been removed. And you are then left with the gluten which must be cooked before eaten.
How to make vegan corned beef:
- Preheat oven to 375° To make seitan: Drain tofu wrap in paper bowl squeeze out extra moisture with your hands. Break into chunks and add to food processor with rest of ingredients EXCEPT GLUTEN and process until smooth like a puree.
- Now add vital wheat gluten evenly over the top and mix until just combined, it’s ok if you see a bit of flour on top.
- Turn dough onto counter and knead 20-25 times and form into loaf shape. Set aside while making brine.
- To make brine: add all ingredients EXCEPT FLOUR AND BUTTER to a 8x11 casserole dish with high sides or similar size. Not smaller though as the seitan will double in size. Cover tightly with tin foil. (if wanting to add vegetables see Notes* section)
- Bake for 1 and ½ hours carefully flipping half way through.
- Spice rub: While corned beef is cooking mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Place brisket on cutting board (strain and reserve brine, wipe out casserole dish) When cool enough to handle, 10-15 minutes or so, rub the spice mix over the top and sides of corned beef and place back in same dish. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Gravy (optional if you have enough liquid left over): add enough water to brine to make 1 cup. In a small sauce pot melt butter stir in flour. Slowly whisk in brine and simmer on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add salt pepper and or a tiny dollop of mustard to season if necessary.
- Once brisket is done let rest for 10-15 minutes to firm up. Slice and serve with boiled potatoes, carrots and cabbage and drizzle of warm brine (or gravy), or let cool, cover refrigerate for couple hours or overnight, and reheat next day or slice for deli meat sandwiches (the texture will be firmer) Enjoy! For full recipe ingredients and instructions see recipe card below
What to serve with corned beef?
- boiled potatoes and cabbage
- Instant pot mashed potatoes
- vegan scalloped potatoes
- roasted veggies
- Irish soda bread
- no knead artisan bread
- sauerkraut
- perogies
- vegan yogurt or sour cream
- potato salad
- vegan coleslaw
- green salad
- green peas
- make a reuben!
FAQ:
Can it be frozen?
- Yes it will keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days and freezes great, I like to portion and slice it first then wrap in plastic wrap add to a container and freeze.
Can it be made gluten free?
- No this recipe can only be made with vital wheat gluten there are no substitutions. So it is not gluten free. if you're looking for gluten free main dish try my Vegan meatballs made with impossible burger!
Ok let's make corned beef seitan! It's:
- a traditional St Paddy's Day meal
- flavourful
- moist
- meatless
- vegan
- perfect chewy texture
- fun & easy to make
- kid friendly
Enjoy everyone! Happy Day! Please feel free to comment below and give this recipe a rating. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
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More seitan recipes to enjoy:
- Vegan Ham Recipe
- Vegan 'Chicken' Salad - Quick & Easy
- Vegan Burger (Best Grillable Vegan Burger Ever!)
- Vegan Steak
- Vegan Turkey Recipe
- Vegetarian Salsbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
Best Vegan Corned Beef (Seitan)
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan Corned Beef! My vegetarian alternative for classic corned beef recipe made vegan! Tastes unreal! Juicy meaty and easy to make seitan! Serve with potatoes and cabbage, sliced deli meat for reuben sandwich or corned beef hash! Perfect St Patrick’s day meal. Not gluten free.
Ingredients
Scale
For seitan:
- 1- 400g package extra firm tofu
- ½ cup unsweetened apple juice
- ¼ cup dill pickle juice
- 2 tablespoons oil, I use grapeseed
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon tamari, can use soy sauce or Braggs
- 2 teaspoons better than bouillon no beef soup base
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic (powder)
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion (powder)
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- red food colouring, 10 drops or so (optional for colour)
- 1 and ½ cups vital wheat gluten
For brine:
- 3 cups boiling water from kettle
- 3 teaspoons better than bouillon no beef soup base
- 2 tablespoons picking spice
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter (optional for gravy)
- 1-2 tablespoons flour (optional for gravy)
Spice rub:
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 and ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 and ½ teaspoons coriander
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° To make seitan: Drain tofu wrap in paper bowl squeeze out extra moisture with your hands. Break into chunks and add to food processor with rest of ingredients EXCEPT GLUTEN and process until smooth like a puree.
- Now add vital wheat gluten evenly over the top and mix until just combined, it’s ok if you see a bit of flour on top.
- Turn dough onto counter and knead 20-25 times and form into loaf shape. Set aside while making brine.
- To make brine: add all ingredients EXCEPT FLOUR AND BUTTER to a 8x11 casserole dish with high sides or similar size. Not smaller though as the seitan will double in size. Cover tightly with tin foil. (if wanting to add vegetables see Notes* section)
- Bake for 1 and ½ hours carefully flipping half way through.
- Spice rub: While corned beef is cooking mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Place brisket on cutting board (strain and reserve brine, wipe out casserole dish) When cool enough to handle, 10-15 minutes or so, rub the spice mix over the top and sides of corned beef and place back in same dish. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Gravy (optional if you have enough liquid left over): add enough water to brine to make 1 cup. In a small sauce pot melt butter stir in flour. Slowly whisk in brine and simmer on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add salt pepper and or a tiny dollop of mustard to season if necessary.
- Once brisket is done let rest for 10-15 minutes to firm up. Slice and serve with boiled potatoes, carrots and cabbage and drizzle of warm brine (or gravy), or let cool, cover refrigerate for couple hours or overnight, and reheat next day or slice for deli meat sandwiches (the texture will be firmer) Enjoy! For step by step photos, FAQ, Q&A and serving suggestions see above post
Notes
- To store and freeze: will keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days and freezes great, I like to portion and slice it first then wrap in plastic wrap add to a container and freeze.
- To add vegetables to corned beef: Once seitan is added to brine surround it with chopped vegetables, ½ head small cabbage cut into small wedges, 5-6 small potatoes quartered, 3-4 medium carrots halved lengthwise and cut into three's. Follow all other instruction steps the same - Once meat is removed check to see if veggies are cooked. Once done remove from oven transfer to platter, cover and keep warm. There will most likely not be enough brine for gravy but strain what's left for serving if you like.
- this recipe cannot be made gluten free
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 120 Minutes
- Category: Mains
- Method: food processor / oven
- Cuisine: Irish, American, Canadian
Christi
This loaf is amazing. I have tried a lot of different ones through the years and this is by far the best I have ever made. The recipe now has a spot in the family favorites binder. Thank you!!!!
Suzy
I always assume I'm the problem when my recipe prep turns out much differently than everyone else's. We were not wowwed by this. The chili powder in the rub was too obvious. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take the vegetables out of the pan for the second portion of baking (and then do what so they don't dry out?). I left them in. They were good. The gravy was good. But nothing was stellar. Sorry.
Rita
I have never left a review, but this is the exception. The best vegetarian meat I have ever tasted bar none.
Verna Rindler
Ok you Absolutely made my day!! Thank you so much 🙂
Lisa
Holy non-cow...
Absolutely the best corned non-beef recipe I have tried in the past 20 some odd years...
Thank you so much for sharing it!! Forever my go to for St. Pat's Day...
Vera Morgan
Yay, glad it was a hit, Lisa!
Rashmi Goel
This is the most AMAZING. Vegan corned beef recipe ever. Even better after you let it sit in the fridge overnight. I used 1/2 of a raw peeled bert for color and left out the apple juice. Fabulous! The best ever. Seriously!
Patty
This is so good. Even my husband (definitely a carnivore) is enjoying your corned beef recipe. Thank you!
Verna
Thank you so much Patty. I am thrilled you're all enjoying it, I appreciate your feedback so much!!!
Liz
So good and easy. The only thing I would do is add more pickle juice. I love the tang. Smelled amazing. Now a part of my staple creations.
Verna
Yay!! I am thrilled you enjoyed it Liz, thanks so much for your wonderful feedback.
Julienne
Is this corned beef recipe vegetarian or vegan? This is all new to me
Verna
This vegan corned beef is suitable for both vegan and vegetarian diets. Enjoy!
Brenda G
Really happy I made your mock corned beef- pretty incredible recipe I will say!! my husband cannot stop eating it. We are having leftovers today in sandwiches, sort of reubans with what ingredients I have on hand. Thank you so much!
Verna
You are so welcome. thank you for your wonderful feedback!
Kirsty
Thank you for your incredible recipe. This is going into heavy rotation at my house. Best. Ever.
Bobby
Before braising it could I sear the corned beef? Give it a bit of a crust first? Thanks Verna
Verna
Yes you can! I suggest frying all sides of the seitan in a non stick pan with a little oil. Then add the seasoning rub. Enjoy Bobby! hope that helps.
Fiona
I didn’t know there was a plant based corned beef? I am so excited to try this thank you!
Verna
Yes there is! It’s vegan and tastes pretty remarkable perfect for corned beef sandwiches (reuban mmm), dinner and more, full of protein too enjoy!
Barb
Made this recipe based from Tom Judson recommendation in comments and was not disappointed. Fantastic thank you!
Verna
So happy to hear this! Glad you enjoyed the recipe
Tom Judson
I'm re-reviewing this recipe because I think it's so important that everyone try it! I've made it half a dozen times now and it is truly the best seitan recipe I've ever made. I served it to a group of non-vegan friends and they all went nuts over it.The texture is perfect, the flavor is out of this world and the aroma in the kitchen when it's baking is alone worth the effort. I have one in the oven right now and I'm planning to put it in the smoker tomorrow to see if that adds something, or if it's just gilding the lily. Seriously, folks, this is the bomb! Every recipe by Verna I've tried is terrific, but this is hands down one of the greatest ever. Try it!!!
Verna
Thanks Tom for your wonderful feedback! I truly appreciate you taking the time, it is so very helpful!!
Tom Judson
OK, now you're just showing off! The hot dog recipe is fantastic... the ham recipe is amazing. But this? I don't know where to start! It's the most flavorful seitan I've ever made. And the texture is firm enough that it can be sliced very thin. Just slices of it on crackers with a little mustard was sensational. I'm going to try a Reuben as soon as I make some cheese. But, seriously, if this were available commercially it would be A) very expensive and B) a huge hit. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go through every recipe on your site, Verna. Thanks so much!
Verna
Thank you so SO MUCH Tom! I work so hard perfecting these recipes having feedback like this means the world to me. Enjoy recipe browsing!!
Sara
I thought the flavour of this corned beef was really good. Next time I think I will baste it as I had problems flipping it over but did manage to do it. Will definitely make again . My wife said the texture was wonderful and flavour too. The spice rub is a must, it was brilliant
Verna
thank you so much!