4 Vegan Sausage Recipes – Seitan (2024)

FAQs

Is seitan sausage good for you? ›

In general seitan sausage is pretty damn healthy. They're packed full of protein, just two sausage will give you a whopping 38g of protein. Furthermore there's no weird over-processed ingredients in the sausages.

Seitan is a popular plant-based meat alternative made from wheat gluten, water, and sometimes other flavoring ingredients. It's high in protein and low in fat and carbs, and it's a good source of minerals such as selenium and iron.

Ingredients to make Seitan Sausage

Vital wheat gluten: the main ingredient to make seitan. This ingredient is responsible for the elastic texture and the high protein content of seitan. Chickpea flour: vital wheat gluten is very dense, and chickpea flour lightens up the texture of the seitan dough.

What Does Seitan Taste Like? Seitan has a fairly neutral flavor that acts as a nice blank canvas for cooking. On its own, it's most comparable to plain chicken or a portobello mushroom, but absorbs any flavors and spices incredibly well.

“Eat it sparingly,” he says. “It's not necessarily a once a day thing, and if you think you need a plant-based option I'd actually suggest tofu over seitan.” That said, Mora says there's no denying that folks can benefit from adding seitan to their menu—especially since it comes in a variety of flavor profiles.

So seitan is the perfect ingredient for meals in a protein diet. If you're on a protein diet, you often lose a lot of weight in a short time. It's also important to be aware that, at the start, you'll lose quite a lot of fluids. So if you have problems with fluid retention, a protein diet would be great for you.

However, while seitan is an excellent plant-based protein alternative, tofu is a complete protein (seitan lacks the amino acid lysine). Unseasoned tofu is typically lower in sodium than store-bought seitan, which can be processed with salt, sugar or other flavors added.

There's some evidence in medical research that wheat gluten may increase the permeability of your intestines, leading to what some health authorities call "leaky gut syndrome." If you find you experience bloating, gassiness, or other digestive symptoms after eating seitan, you may want to avoid it next time.

Sources of protein containing all nine essential amino acids are called complete protein. Seitan is therefore slightly incomplete but fear not – it's an excellent source of protein and usually seasoned with soya sauce, which conveniently adds the missing amino acid (lysine)!

What does seitan actually taste like? ›

Seitan has a savory taste, probably closest to bland chicken or a portobello mushroom. Seitan has a mild flavor on its own but can take on many more flavors from different recipes. It can be hot and spicy as in seitan "chicken wings " or savory in a succulent Indian or Thai massaman curry.

Basic Seitan. Make sure you're using vital wheat gluten and not regular flour for making seitan - otherwise, you'll end up with a very tough bread. You can use water for the cheapest, most basic seitan, but I like to use broth throughout the process.

Because of its meaty texture, seitan can be used in a variety of dishes, from sandwiches and stir-fries to stews and soups. The best part is that making seitan at home is easy, and it's much cheaper than buying pre-made or store-bought seitan.

Tempeh's flavor is often compared to that of mushrooms. Its slightly nutty and savory flavor, making it ideal when adding to recipes like teriyaki bowls, salads and curry. Seitan's taste is a bit more savory, with a taste closer to a portobello mushroom or bland chicken.

While seitan provides similar protein and iron content as meat, animal meat is a complete protein, and seitan is not. In addition, iron found in animal-based products is generally more easily absorbed than iron from plant-based foods. Meat typically also has more fat than seitan.

Extra-lean chicken or kangaroo sausages tend to be the healthiest sausage option. Leaner sausages are also often lower in calories and salt.

The truth is, probably not. Plant-based sausages sold in supermarkets are likely to have just as much salt as their meat counterparts, so they're unlikely to make it onto a list of health-foods. However, vegan sausages are likely to have considerably less saturated fat making them a healthier option overall.

While vegan alternatives may benefit the planet (although not lab-grown meat, as recent analysis suggests it could have a carbon footprint up to 25 times that of conventional meat), they aren't necessarily good for our health. Vegan sausages contain a litany of highly processed ingredients.