Vegan Cheese Steak
A vegan cheese steak makes a satisfying vegan meal that’s surprisingly easy to make. Vegan beef strips sauteed with onions and peppers, loaded on a hoagie bun, and drizzled with creamy vegan cheese sauce, what could be better?
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❤️ Why make this recipe
I have a husband and 2 teen boys who are all vegan and always hungry! I have to make protein-packed hearty meals to fill them up, and this vegan Philly cheesesteak is one of their absolute favorites! And… being from Pennsylvania, I just had to share my recipe for vegan Philly cheesesteak!
I love that this seitan cheesesteak is surprisingly easy to make, and always a huge hit! I use frozen vegan beef strips sauteed with onions and peppers and topped with easy vegan cheese sauce, to make this sandwich super quick and easy.
Some of my family’s other favorite sandwiches are a vegan BBQ soy curl sandwich, a vegan buffalo chicken sandwich, a vegan chicken patty sandwich, and a seitan gyro wrap, but they always love this plant-based cheesesteak!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Vegan Beef – to make it super easy, you can use store-bought seitan like the Gardein brand “Be’f Tips” or Trader Joe’s Brand Korean Beef Strips. You can also easily make homemade beef seitan, vegan steak (sliced thinly), or use my quick and easy seitan chunks recipe.
- Onion – optional, but it adds a lot of flavor. You can use white onions, yellow onions, or red onions.
- Bell Peppers – I love to use red, yellow, and green bell peppers yet any will work. (You can also add some sliced mushrooms or portobello mushrooms along with the peppers if you would like.
- Cooking Oil – like light olive oil or any neutral oil to saute the veggies.
- Vegan Cheese Sauce – I love my homemade vegan cheese sauce or vegan pizza cheese sauce so I can just pour it on top, but you can also use shredded vegan cheese and put it in the microwave or under the broiler to melt it. To make it healthier, you can also use my veggie cheese sauce instead, packed with hidden veggies.
- Hoagie Rolls – any large sub-style vegan rolls will work well.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A large frying pan or cast iron skillet to saute the onions, peppers, and vegan steak strips.
- A saucepan and a whisk to make the homemade vegan cheese sauce.
🥄 How to make a vegan cheese steak
A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.
Make the vegan cheese sauce
Step 1 – Add a can of coconut milk, water, nutritional yeast, tapioca starch, salt, lemon juice, mustard, paprika, garlic powder, and turmeric, then give it a stir with a whisk until all of the starch is dissolved. (Don’t turn on the heat until the starch is fully dissolved.)
Step 2 – Turn the stove to medium heat and stir frequently until your cheese sauce thickens and starts to boil. Then turn down the heat to low and stir constantly for about 30 more seconds before taking off the heat.
Make the steak and pepper filling
Step 3 -Peel and slice an onion into long thin slices and saute it in a little oil over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.
Step 4 -While the onion is cooking, wash and cut bell peppers into long, thin strips, then add them to the skillet with the onion. Sprinkle the veggies with a little salt, then saute for a few more minutes until just barely tender.
Step 5 -Toss in a thawed package of frozen vegan beef strips (or thinly cut slices of any beef-style seitan product) and cook for about 3-5 more minutes until the faux beef is heated through.
Step 6 -Remove the steak and pepper mixture from the skillet and add a little more oil to the bottom of the pan. Cut your buns in half and grill them on the skillet for about 2-3 minutes until they turn golden brown.
Step 7 –Assemble your vegan cheesesteaks. Add the pepper, onion, and vegan steak strips to the bun and drizzle vegan cheese sauce over the top. Serve hot.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Toast your bread before assembling your cheese steak. It will make it crispier and taste more authentic.
- Serve hot with hot cheese sauce.
❓ Can I make it gluten-free?
To make a gluten-free vegan cheese steak, you will need to swap out a few things. First, you will need to use gluten-free bread or buns. Schar brand makes great GF buns that are also vegan. You will also need to swap out the seitan-based beef for marinated tofu, or Butler soy curls marinated in a vegan beef broth.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: This vegan cheese steak filling will keep well in the fridge for 3 – 5 days in an airtight container. (I recommend that you keep the filling, cheese sauce, and bread separate until you are ready to eat, then reheat and assemble.
Freeze: The seitan and pepper filling can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat the veggie beef filling in the microwave for about 3 minutes or saute it in a frying pan until hot.
🌟 More meaty vegan meals
- Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Setian Burger
- Falafel Gyro
- Tofu Banh Mi
- Vegan Chicken Caesar Wrap
- Tofu Wrap
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan cheese steak recipe
Vegan Cheese Steak
Ingredients
For the cheese sauce
- 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 2 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 1/2 tablespoon tapioca starch , (aka tapioca flour) use cornstarch if you don't have tapioca starch
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon spicy brown mustard, or yellow mustard (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika, or smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
For the steak and pepper filling
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium bell peppers, (any color)
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil, (divided)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups vegan beef strips
Bread
- 4 large hoagie rolls, (or buns)
Equipment
- Iron Skillet or large skillet
Instructions
Make the cheese sauce.
- Add a can of coconut milk, water, nutritional yeast, tapioca starch, salt, lemon juice, mustard, paprika, garlic powder, and turmeric, then give it a stir with a whisk until all of the starch is dissolved. (Don't turn on the heat until the starch is fully dissolved.)
- Turn the stove to medium heat and stir frequently until your cheese sauce thickens and starts to boil. Then turn down the heat to low and stir constantly for about 30 more seconds before taking off the heat.
Make the steak and pepper filling
- Peel and slice an onion into long thin slices and saute it in a tablespoon of oil over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.
- While the onion is cooking, wash and cut bell peppers into long, thin strips, then add them to the skillet with the onion. Sprinkle the veggies with a little salt, then saute for a few more minutes until just barely tender.
- Toss in a thawed package of frozen vegan beef strips (or thinly cut strips of any beef-style seitan product) and cook for about 3-5 more minutes until the faux beef is heated through.
- Remove the steak and pepper mixture from the skillet and add a tablespoon of oil to the bottom of the pan. Cut your buns in half and grill them on the skillet for about 2-3 minutes each until they turn golden brown.
- Assemble your vegan cheese steaks. Add the pepper, onion, and vegan steak strips to the bun and drizzle vegan cheese sauce over the top. Serve hot.
Notes
- Use full-fat coconut milk for the creamiest cheese sauce, but you can use light coconut milk for a lower-fat option.
- Add the tapioca starch to cold coconut milk. If you try to add this after you start heating the sauce, it will clump and not dissolve.
- Tapioca starch will give you the best results for a cheesy texture that won’t become gloppy when it starts to cool down.
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- Toast your bread before assembling your cheese steak. It will make it crispier and taste more authentic.
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- Serve hot with hot cheese sauce.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!
I made this for lunch today. It was so good. My husband couldn’t stop talking about how good it was all afternoon..