The Ingredients You Need To Make Vegan Steak

If you follow a vegan diet, you might enjoy challenging your culinary skills by preparing plant-based versions of traditional meat-laden dishes. And if you know the closest vegan substitute for ground beef is textured vegetable protein (or TVP), you're ready to craft your very own vegan steak at home. But what combination of plant-based ingredients works best?

To make a tasty vegan steak from scratch, more often than not, beans are considered an essential ingredient. Since you already know how to take canned beans up a notch with flavorful ingredients like fresh garlic and tomato paste, you can go one step further to make plant-based steaks. With the right extras and various sauces and seasonings, mashed cannellini beans or chickpeas form into delicious steak-like rounds.

Liquid ingredients such as tamari, coconut aminos, and liquid smoke are usually added to create a complex taste that mirrors steak's meaty flavor. Food-based thickeners also help your mashed beans stick together. Nutritional yeast is a solid option since it has a savory cheese-like flavor and offers decent amounts of protein and fiber. Vegan gravy granules may also contribute to your steaks' resulting flavor and texture. Lastly, vital wheat gluten makes vegan steak perfectly chewy. It's high in protein and contains zero starch — just the gluten from wheat flour. This additional protein is what converts your mashed bean mixture into sliceable faux meat.

If you don't want to make vegan steak with mashed beans, you have more options to consider. For starters, you can make oat steaks by cooking the grain in savory spices and then allowing the mixture to firm up in your refrigerator. Once cooled, slice the oatmeal into even slices, pan-fry, and serve with vegan gravy. You can also upgrade this recipe with additional flavor by including sauteed minced onions and mushrooms. 

For a more simplified recipe, skip the blending and mixing and instead, use a favorite vegetable. Believe it or not, famous chef Gordon Ramsay makes his iconic beef Wellington vegan-friendly by using blanched beetroot. If you're not a fan of beets, use eggplant or a variety of mushrooms such as portobello, oyster, or lion's mane. Extra-firm tofu is also an easy-to-use alternative. All you need to do is press out the water, slice, and season accordingly.

Submerge tofu, whole mushrooms, or sliced vegetable steaks in a savory marinade composed of cooking oil, steak seasoning, liquid smoke, and a bit of vinegar. Pan-fry them in butter and sear them on both sides. To give whole sliced vegetables an extra-crisp exterior, add them to your air fryer for a few additional minutes after pan-frying them. Whichever ingredients you decide to use, homemade vegan steaks are best enjoyed with classic sides like creamy mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, and fresh green salad.