Vegan Pot Roast (Seitan Roast)
This vegan pot roast is made with meaty vegan beef seitan and roasted with onions, carrots, and potatoes. It tastes surprisingly like a traditional pot roast with meaty vegan beef and a seasoned savory gravy that will bring back memories. This meatless pot roast is total vegan comfort food that the whole family will love.
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❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
If you are looking for a traditional-tasting pot roast made without meat, this is the recipe for you! You can make a mock pot roast with jackfruit or portabella mushrooms, but for the meatiest and most realistic pot roast, use my vegan beef recipe and roast it with onions, potatoes, and carrots for the ultimate vegan meal. This is a vegetarian pot roast that even meat-eaters will love.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
For the “meat”
- Beef Seitan – You can make your seitan own using my vegan beef recipe or buy beef-flavored seitan at the grocery store. (I used my homemade beef in this recipe.) If you don’t want to use seitan, you can use portobello mushrooms instead.
- Olive Oil – for sauteing the onion and mushrooms.
- Mushrooms – for a beefy flavor and texture. You can also use white mushrooms, baby Bellas, or portabella mushrooms. (Mushrooms are a key ingredient in this recipe to give a beefy flavor and help the seitan retain a juicy texture when cooked.)
- Onion – for flavor.
- Oregano – for flavor. You can use fresh or dried.
- Black Pepper – for flavor. You can also use red pepper flakes if you want a little heat.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Garlic Powder – for flavor.
- Soy Sauce – for a beefy flavor. You can also use Tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.
- Tomato Paste – for an umami flavor and red color. (You can swap this for nutritional yeast or red wine if desired.) (The acidity in the tomato paste helps subdue the gluten flavor in seitan.)
- Smoked Paprika – to give your vegan beef a red color and a slightly smoky flavor. You can also use regular paprika.
- Vital Wheat Gluten – for the base of the meat substitute and what gives it a meaty texture. This can not be substituted with any other ingredient. (I’m sorry, but this recipe can not be made gluten-free.) You can usually find it in the Bob’s Red Mill section or the specialty baking section of large grocery stores. I order a large bag from Amazon to make lots of seitan recipes.
For the Pot Roast
- Onions – I like to use small onions or even pearl onions, but you could cut up larger onions into fourths.
- Carrots – baby carrots make it easy since they are already peeled and cut small.
- Potatoes – I like to use small yellow or red-skinned baby potatoes since you don’t have to peel them first.
- Basting Liquid – to cook the meat and veggies in that turns into a sort of gravy for your “meat” and potatoes.
- Olive Oil
- Vegetable Broth – any vegan broth will work well.
- Vegan Red Wine – (or balsamic vinegar) You can find out which wines are vegan at Barnivore.
- Tomato Paste
- Oregano (or rosemary)
- Thyme
- Black Pepper
🔪 Helpful tools
- A casserole dish with a lid or a dutch oven.
If you are making your own seitan
- Blender or Food Processor – to puree the cooked mushrooms and broth.
- A Steamer Pot – or pressure cooker or Instant Pot with a steam basket.
- Thick Foil – heavy-duty aluminum foil works best, so it doesn’t break when cooking the seitan
🥄 How to make a vegan pot roast
If making a homemade beef seitan recipe
Step 1 – Peel and dice 1 small onion and wash and slice 2 cups of mushrooms. Then add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet and saute the diced onion, sliced mushrooms, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Step 2 – Add 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 2 tbsp tomato paste, and mix well. Then stir in 1 cup of water and turn off the heat.
Step 3 – Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree.
Step 4 – Pour the pureed mixture into a large glass bowl add 1 1/2 cups of vital wheat gluten and stir with a silicone spatula.
Step 5 – Kneed in the last 1/2 cup of wheat gluten with your hand until a firm seitan dough ball is formed.
Step 6 – Shape your dough ball into a loaf shape and wrap it tightly in thick foil.
Step 7 – Place the wrapped roast in a steaming basket and steam for 1 hour. (Or in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot for 45 minutes and then let the steam escape naturally.)
Baking the vegan pot roast
Step 1 – While your seitan is steaming wash, peel, and cut up onions, carrots, and potatoes, and preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).
Step 2 – Let your loaf sit for about 5 minutes so you can safely open the foil without getting burnt by the steam inside. Then unwrap the steamed seitan and put it into a small baking dish that is a little bigger than your loaf and arrange the prepared vegetables around the seitan.
Step 3 – In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup vegetable stock, 1/3 cup oil, 1/4 cup red wine, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Pour it evenly over your roast. Then use a spoon to scoop up the basting liquid and drizzle it over any spots that you may have missed.
Step 4 – Cover and bake your pot roast for 45 minutes at 375° F, taking it out of the oven every 10 minutes to quickly spoon the basing liquid over the top of the faux meat and veggies.
Step 5 – Take the lid off of the roast and cook for an additional 10 minutes to brown up the edges of the “beef” and veggies.
Serve the pot roast with vegan brown gravy or some creamy vegan horseradish sauce on the side.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Cut the veggies up smaller if you need them to cook faster. Smaller veggies will cook in about 10 minutes faster.
- If you want a thicker gravy, add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to the cold basting liquid before you pour it over the pot roast.
❓Frequently asked questions?
I like to use beef-flavored seitan in my pot roasts for the most authentic meaty flavor and texture. However, you can also use portobello mushrooms, jackfruit, or Butler Soy Curls instead.
Seitan can not be made gluten-free, so if you need a gluten-free pot roast, rehydrate 3 cups of Butler Soy Curls in 2 cups of vegan beef flavored broth and swap out the rehydrated soy curls for the seitan. Follow the rest of this recipe the same, but be sure to swap out the soy sauce for Tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: The vegan pot roast will keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container.
Freeze: Seitan pot roast freezes well, and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge.
Reheating: Reheat a serving of the pot roast in the microwave for about 3 minutes or bake at 350° F for about 10 – 15 minutes until warm.
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan pot roast recipe
Vegan Pot Roast
Ingredients
For the homemade beef seitan
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 cups mushrooms, (sliced)
- 1/2 cup onion, (chopped)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika , (or regular paprika)
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste, (or vegan red wine)
- 1 cup water, (or low sodium veggie broth)
- 2 cups vital wheat gluten
For the pot roast veggies and gravy
- 3 small onions
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 4 cups baby potatoes, (or peeled and diced potatoes)
For the basting liquid
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 1/3 cup light olive oil, (or any neutral flavored oil)
- 1/4 cup dry vegan red wine, (optional)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons oregeno
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
- Peel and dice 1 small onion and wash and slice 2 cups of mushrooms. Then add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large skillet and saute the diced onion, sliced mushrooms, and 1/4 tsp salt.
- Add 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 2 tbsp tomato paste, and mix well. Then stir in 1 cup of water and turn off the heat.
- Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree.
- Pour the pureed mixture into a large glass bowl add 1 1/2 cup of vital wheat gluten and stir with a silicone spatula.
- Kneed in the last 1/2 cup of wheat gluten with your hand until a firm dough ball is formed.
- Shape your dough ball into a loaf shape and wrap it tightly in thick foil.
- Place the wrapped roast in a steaming basket and steam for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (Or in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot for 55 minutes and then let the steam escape naturally.)
- You can now use it for a seitan roast beef, a vegan pot roast, slice it up for vegan Mongolian beef or use the seitan strips in a lettuce wrap. (Allow the vegan beef to cool for about 15 minutes before slicing.)
Prepping and baking the pot roast
- While your seitan is steaming wash, peel, and cut up onions, carrots, and potatoes, and preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C).
- Let your loaf sit for about 5 minutes so you can safely open the foil without getting burnt by the steam inside. Then unwrap the steamed seitan and put it into a small baking dish that is a little bigger than your loaf and arrange the prepared vegetables around the seitan.
- In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup vegetable stock, 1/3 cup oil, 1/4 cup red wine, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Pour it evenly over your roast. Then use a spoon to scoop up the basting liquid and drizzle it over any spots that you may have missed.
- Cover and bake your pot roast for 45 minutes at 375° F, taking it out of the oven every 10 minutes to quickly spoon the basing liquid over the top of the faux meat and veggies.
- Take the lid off of the roast and cook for an additional 10 minutes to brown up the edges of the "beef" and veggies.
Notes
- Cut the veggies up smaller if you need them to cook faster. Smaller veggies will cook in about 10 minutes faster.
- If you want a thicker gravy, add 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to the cold basting liquid before you pour it over the pot roast.
- 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.
- 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 broth 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 60 seconds so your wheat meat doesn’t get too chewy.
- If you don’t want the foil to touch your food, you can wrap the mock beef in parchment paper first, and then wrap the foil around that.
- Seitan expands when it cooks, so be sure to use strong foil, or it will break the foil when it is steaming.
- Be sure to steam the seitan for a full hour and 15 minutes. The internal temperature needs to reach 160° F.
- If you are going to bake the roast after steaming to make my vegan pot roast or vegan roast beef recipes, you only need to steam it for 1 hour since it will heat the rest of the way in the oven.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I was curious, could I make and steam the “beef” then put it in the crock pot with the veggies like I do a regular pot roast?
Yes, that should work just fine. Enjoy! 🙂
I have made this recipe twice. The first time i made it, it was great. The second time i made it, it was very mushy in the middle. After 20 minutes out of the pot, i put it back in to steam for 25 minutes. After a night in the refrigerator it is still vRey mushy. Not sure can i can adjust this?
It sounds like it didn’t get hot enough in the center. You can try steaming it again. If it has been in the fridge, you will need to steam it for about another hour or so to get the center warm enough. You can also cut the outer cooked layer off or even slice it so that the heat gets into the center of the loaf. You can also pan fry slices of it until it reaches 160° F. Once it reaches this temperature it turns into a meat-like temperature. Hope that helps.
Thank you. I will try that tonight.
I made the roast but with tweeks (I forgot I used the rest of the soy sauce!) instead of wine or tomato paste I used liquid smoke and for the soy sauce I used Worcestershire sauce. Followed all the other ingredients and instructions. It was amazing!! It was juicy and flavorful. Next time I’ll do it with soy sauce and wine!! Thank you for another great recipe Monica!!
You are very welcome, Shannon! I’m so happy that you liked it!
Just a tiny nit-pick: The method includes no instruction to add the veggies to the pot.
Only a problem for those who have never made a pot roast before, but worth considering.
SPLENDID RECIPE!!
Thank you.
I’m so glad that you liked the recipe, David. Thanks for pointing out adding the veggies to the pot. I just fixed it. 🙂
I haven’t made this so have no rating for your recipe completed, however from reading it, you have been most thorough, so 5. Your suggestions for GF to sub Soy for the gluten flour are nice, but if a person can’t have soy Either, do you add 2 additional cups of mushrooms (cut how), or a can of sliced up Jack Fruit? or any other helpful suggestions?? Those of us with those two exceptions miss out on a lot of good sounding recipes. Your answer MAY open up more possibilities for substituting in many recipes. Thanks for mentioning us in these recipes for substitutes.
You can swap out the meat for 4 cups of portobello mushrooms cut into large chunks or 2 (20 oz.) cans of Jackfruit in brine that have been drained. Follow the rest of the pot roast recipe the same, but be sure to use gluten-free soy sauce. I hope that you enjoy this recipe, Sandra! 🙂