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!
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The vegan hot dogs taste like real hot dogs with an authentic meaty texture, and best of all, they're surprisingly easy to make!
🧾 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.
🔪 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
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.
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.)
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 it 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.
🌟 More seitan recipes
- Vegan Ham
- Vegan Turkey
- Seitan Pepperoni
- Vegan Chicken
- Vegan Chicken Nuggets
- Easy Vegan Chicken Patties
- Seitan Salami
- Vegan Bologna
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan hot dog recipe
Vegan Hot Dogs
Equipment
- Food Processor or blender
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
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.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
After making not once but thrice now your vital wheat hotdog recipe I wanted to say thank you. Much better then store bought and it prompted me to try other seitan recipes. I will highly recommend your website! Thanks again for broadening our epicurean adventures.
You're welcome! I'm so happy that you liked the recipe and my whole site!
We loved them as hotdogs in a bun and for brunch on Sunday, air fyer crisped and added to baked bean. I am doubling the batch today. Thank you so very much Monica for another wonderful recipe. 😊
I'm so happy that you liked them! 🙂
I'm looking forward to making these. Can they be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze them in an airtight freezer bag for up to 3 months. Enjoy!
I made these and I found them to be very good! Once added into a hotdog bun with ketchup and all the fixings, I enjoyed them JUST AS MUCH as a storebought veggie hotdog. (and a lot cheaper too.)
(I added a little liquid smoke, and next time I'll add a little more.)
Thank you for this recipe! I'm so thankful for the internet and for all of you who take the time to create these recipes and then we all can benefit from your hard work. Thanks again!
You're welcome, Rebecca! I'm so happy that you liked the recipe! 🙂
Monica, I’m wondering if these can be steamed in, say, a wonton wrapper instead of the foil so it’s more like a hot dog with a casing on it?
You can wrap them in softened rice paper after steaming and pan-fry them a little for a casing-type texture. I don't think that the rice paper would hold up to steaming, plus the seitan expands while it cooks, so it would probably break through the wrapper during the steaming process.
That does make sense; I didn't think about them expanding...thanks!
These are a really terrific alternative to store-bought. I found their flavor a bit mild, even on boosting with added smoked paprika and upping the soy and salt. I will continue to work on this recipe! I thinks it’s VERY inspiring. Texture is right. Thanks so much!,
You're welcome. Hot dogs are pretty bland in general. You may want to check out my sausage recipe, which is similar but jazzed up a lot more with spices. 🙂
Great recipe, thanks from The Netherlands!
Do you think it is possible to steam the hot dogs wrapped in plastic foil, rather than in aluminium foil?
I am going to make them again today, to impress my parents when we visit them this weekend😍
I'm glad that you liked them, Myra! Yes, you can steam them in plastic wrap instead of foil. I hope that your parents are impressed! Enjoy! 🙂
I made them, and served them with German saurkraut and fried onions and a sauce of vegan mayo and mustard, in a not too soft bun.
So good! Father was impressed. Mother felt ill, do she tasted just s tiny piece of plain hot dog, without all the extras, and found this understandably bland :/
MY first attempt, yum, was much better than store bought due to way less sodium. I'm wondering, if after steaming, how long will these last in the fridge? And could they be frozen for a quick pop in microwave warmup after partially frozen?
I'm glad that you like the recipe! Yes, you can freeze them or they will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Hi, I'd love to try these but need them to be gluten-free. They look super! Thank you.
I wish that there was a way to make gluten-free seitan, but there just isn't. The seitan recipes are some of the only recipes on my blog, that can't be made gluten-free. I have a lot of other gluten-free vegan "meats" made with TVP or Butler Soy Curls.
Can you use chip pies flour in this recipe instead of vital wheat gluten?
No, nothing will work except for vital wheat gluten.
Just made these. My husband and I love them!
I'm so happy that you guys like them!
These are awesome! My second time making these i kicked it up a notch adding smoked paprika and some bbq rub seasoning and a bit of apple seasoning and they turned out like smoked sausages. 😊
Sounds delicious, Sonya! I'm glad that you like the recipe! 🙂
Outstanding flavor and texture, juicy even! Placed it atop lavash flatbread with all the fixings and wrapped it. Waaaaay better than any tofu dog at the market plus no Frankenstein list of ingredients. Prep time of 10 minutes needs to be changed to a minimum of 20-30 minutes.
I'm glad that you liked them, Eve! 🙂
Monica, just wanted to return and say THANK YOU!!! Made them and realize I cannot be cheap with foil. My fault. Two burst and are a little deformed. The other two, perfection. Your advice if I didn't want to use ketchup and sub with tomato paste was on point. Grilled it today and it was perfect. Again, thank you. I love that I never need to buy these things again. YOU ROCK!!!
Oh...my reference to four is because I made half the recipe. Limited space in my steamer.
I'm so happy that they turned out well for you! It's best to use thick foil or 2 layers so they don't bust out! Glad that you liked them! 🙂
Soooooo excited about this recipe!! Before I try it, can you give me advice on something else other than ketchup. Have you ever tried BBQ sauce instead? I never buy it since I dislike (I know weird). Ready to make but would love your thoughts.
Hi Marty, You can use 1 tablespoon of tomato paste instead or simply leave it out completely. I use it to make the hot dogs a little pink and add just a little sweetness, but I've tested the recipe without ketchup and it was still great. Enjoy! 🙂
Ketchup is in the Ingredients but not in the Instructions. And something strange is happening when switching to metric - some of the ingredients are reduced by half, compared to the others.
That is so strange. The recipe is fixed now and the metric conversion seems to be working now. Enjoy! 🙂
My seitan sausages always end up pale and unappetising until I fry them AFTER steaming. I'm wondering...is it the addition of ketchup that makes them pinkish and more authentic-looking? I will definitely try your recipe!
Hi Mandy. They look a little pale when you take them out of the wrapper, but they get pink after the air touches them for a few minutes. Fring or grilling them also makes them look a little better. Enjoy! 🙂
It looks interesting, but what kind of tofu? Extra firm? Silken?
I usually use firm or extra firm, but any type will work. Enjoy! 🙂
Can't wait to try this! Can they be grilled? Would I need to steam them completely first and then place them on a hot grill for a minute or two, or would this dry them out?
Monica these are the best tofu hotdogs l have ever tasted. Just had one to try but waited for it to cool down. Can you freeze them. I made a huge batch!
I'm so happy that they came out well for you, Susan! 🙂
Yes, they grill up beautifully. Just steam them first and then cook them like you would any hot dog. Enjoy! 🙂