You won’t believe how easy it is to make your own homemade vegan hot dogs! Made from wheat gluten and seasoned to perfection, these veggie dogs are firm, meaty, and hold up to grilling. You will never want to buy vegetarian hot dogs again after trying these homemade seitan dogs!

A top view of three veggie hot dogs in hot dog buns on a blue plate.

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Why make these seitan dogs

These vegan hot dogs taste like real hot dogs with an authentic meaty texture and best of all, they’re surprisingly easy to make! Your kids will love them; they are easy to reheat on the stovetop, grill, or microwave.

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Water– or low-sodium broth for more flavor if you choose.
  • Soy Sauce – for flavor. You can use Bragg’s Liquid Amino or Tamari instead.
  • Garlic Powder – for flavor. You can also use 1 clove of fresh garlic.
  • Onion Powder – for flavor.
  • Paprika – for color and flavor.
  • Ketchup – for color and flavor.
  • Salt – for flavor.
  • Basil – for flavor. You will use this in the broth and then remove it before blending. Fresh basil gives the best flavor and is easiest to remove.
  • Oil – any neutral-flavored cooking oil works well. You can omit it for oil-free vegan hot dogs, but it helps to keep it moist and keeps the seitan soft and less chewy.
  • Tofu – to cut the chewiness of the gluten and balance the texture. You can also use 3/4 cup of beans like white beans, chickpeas, or kidney beans instead of tofu.
  • Vital Wheat Gluten – this is high-protein wheat flour. You must use this to make quick and easy seitan. You can also use plain white flour and make washed flour seitan and cook the hot dogs in a flavored broth, but this is a longer and more labor-intensive method.
Three vegetarian hot dogs made from seitan in buns with mustard, ketchup, and relish on them on a white background.

Helpful tools

Food Processor or Blender – to blend the tofu and broth together.

Foil – for wrapping the hot dogs in before steaming.

Steam Basket – You can use any method to steam the hot dogs. If you don’t have a steam basket, you can use jelly jar rings at the bottom of a pot and just fill the water to the top of the rings. You just need a way to hold the sausages out of the water.

How to make vegan hot dogs

A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.

Step 1 – Add water, oil, ketchup, soy sauce, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and a handful of fresh basil to a saucepan and heat until it starts to boil, then turn off the heat and allow it to cool for about 15 minutes.

Step 2 – Press a block (14 oz.) of tofu and crumble it into a food processor or blender, then remove the basil leaves from the broth and pour the broth into the food processor along with the tofu.

Step 3 – Blend until it turns into a creamy thick liquid then pour into a large glass mixing bowl.

Tofu in a food processor with hot dog flavored broth before blending.
Blend the tofu, broth and spices.
Vital wheat gluten mixed with tofu and spices to make vegan hot dogs.
Add the vital wheat gluten and mix.

Step 4 – Add 1 cup of vital wheat gluten and mix well until a thick dough forms.

Step 5 – Add another 1/2 cup of vital wheat gluten and knead it into the dough until all of the wheat gluten has been absorbed and no longer feels wet. (You may have to add an additional tablespoon or two of wheat gluten until the dough is firm enough to hold its shape.)

Step 6 – Form the dough into the shape of hot dogs, and wrap them tightly in foil. (It will expand slightly, so make it a little smaller than what you want the final hot dog to look like.)

Seitan hot dogs wrapped in foil in a pressure cooker before steaming them to cook the wheat gluten.

Step 7 – Steam the wrapped hot dogs in a large pot with a steamer basket for 45 minutes. (You can also use a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Cook under pressure for 35 minutes and then allow steam to release naturally.)

Step 8 – Take them out of the pot with tongs and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes before opening the packets. (I always get too excited to see my hot dogs and get burnt with the steam when I open the foil too soon.)

Step 9 – At this point, they are ready to eat, or you can grill, boil, or fry them as you would a traditional hot dog.

Vegan hot dog toppings

Serve them on a hot dog bun with mustard, ketchup, yellow mustard, relish, vegan mayo, vegan BBQ sauce, vegan honey mustard, vegan chipotle mayo, vegan nacho cheese sauce, vegan Chick-fil-A sauce, or any other toppings that you like.

Pro Tips

  • Use a glass bowl and a silicone spatula to mix your seitan.  Vital wheat gluten is very sticky once it gets wet and will stick like glue to a plastic bowl or a wooden spoon.
  • Be sure to press the tofu well to get out as much liquid as possible.  I like to cut the block into quarters and squeeze it with my hands like I’m packing a snowball over the sink to get out all the excess water.
  • Wheat gluten is a very fine powder that will get everywhere if you are not careful with it.  Pour it low down and slowly over the tofu mixture so it doesn’t splash out of your bowl.
  • Knead the seitan until all of the gluten flour is incorporated and you have a dough that’s a little firmer than you would have for bread. Only knead it for about 30- 60 seconds so your wheat meat doesn’t get too chewy.

How to form the hot dog shape

  • If you want perfectly formed hot dogs, wrap the dough in the desired shape in plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes before taking off the plastic and wrapping it in foil.
  • If you don’t want the foil to touch your food, you can wrap the vegan hot dogs in parchment paper first, and then wrap the foil around that.

Can I make them gluten-free?

No. This recipe needs to be made with wheat gluten and nothing else will work in its place. If you want some yummy gluten-free veggies dogs, I recommend making carrot dogs marinated in Tamari instead of soy sauce.

Storage and reheating

Refrigerate: These vegan hot dogs will keep well in the fridge for 3 – 5 days in a sealed container.

Freeze: Seitan dogs freeze well and can be stored in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Put the hot dogs in the fridge overnight to defrost them.

Reheating: Reheat the vegetarian hot dogs in the microwave for about 2 minutes, pan-fry in a little oil, or toss them on a grill for a few minutes until warm.

Three vegan hot dogs with the works on them sitting on a blue plate.

More seitan recipes

Vegan hot dog recipe

Three homemade vegan hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, and relish on them on a blue plate.
Diet
High Protein Icon
Nut Free Icon
Vegan Icon
4.95 from 17 rating

Vegan Hot Dogs

Yield: 8 hot dogs
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
A homemade vegan hot dog recipe made from vital wheat gluten and spices to taste like an authentic hot dog with a meaty texture.
Print Leave a Review Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 14 oz. firm or extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
  • 1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Add water, oil, ketchup soy sauce, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and a handful of fresh basil to a saucepan and heat until it starts to boil, then turn off the heat and allow it to cool for about 15 minutes.
  • Press a block (14 oz.) of tofu and crumble it into a food processor or blender, then remove the basil leaves from the broth and pour the broth into the food processor along with the tofu.
  • Blend until it turns to a creamy thick liquid.
  • Pour into a glass bowl.
  • Add 1 cup of vital wheat gluten and mix well until a thick dough forms.
  • Add another 1/2 cup of vital wheat gluten and knead it into the dough until all of the wheat gluten has been absorbed and no longer feels wet. (You may have to add an additional tablespoon or two of wheat gluten until the dough is firm enough to hold its shape.)
  • Form the dough into the shape of hot dogs, and wrap them tightly in foil. (It will expand slightly, so make it a little smaller than what you want the final hot dog to look like.)
  • Steam the wrapped hot dogs in a large pot with a steamer basket for 45 minutes. (You can also use a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Cook under pressure for 35 minutes and then allow steam to release naturally.)
  • Take them out of the pot with tongs and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes before opening the packets. (I always get too excited to see my hot dogs and get burnt with the steam when I open the foil too soon.)
  • At this point, they are ready to eat, or you can grill, boil, or fry them. Serve them on a bun with mustard, ketchup, relish, vegan honey mustard, vegan chipotle mayo, vegan nacho cheese sauce, or any other toppings that you like.

Notes

  • Knead the seitan until all of the gluten flour is incorporated and you have a dough that’s a little firmer than you would have for bread. Only knead it for about 30- 60 seconds so your wheat meat doesn’t get too chewy.
  • If you want perfectly formed hot dogs, wrap the dough in the desired shape in plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes before taking off the plastic and wrapping it in foil.
  • If you don’t want the foil to touch your food, you can wrap the vegan hot dogs in parchment paper first, and then wrap the foil around that.
 
Serving: 1hot dog, Calories: 164kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 22g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Sodium: 461mg, Potassium: 53mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 182IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 99mg, Iron: 2mg
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