Makes 8 cutlets
This recipe is a Veganomicon favorite! Vegan food that will put your lonely steak knives to work? I’m in! As the years pass I make modifications to all my recipes, as you probably do, too. This one is pretty faithful to the original, only I’ve increased the quantity because might as well. Why not have extra cutlets for tucking into sandwiches or chopping up over a Caesar salad?
I’ve paired down the ingredient list a little bit — it doesn’t exactly need the garlic and lemon peel, although I’ve listed them as optional. Sometimes I’m just not in the mood to break out the microplane grater (I can get pretty damn lazy.) I’ve also taken a few pictures so that you can see exactly how they should look throughout the prep. And last but not least, because people always ask, I’ve added food processor instructions. Hopefully this makes the recipe even easier and more foolproof then it was, and I think it was already pretty easy.
A couple of other things: Wheat gluten can vary from brand to brand. These come out great with either Arrowhead Mills Brand or Bob’s Red Mill, although I think Bob’s brand makes them a bit firmer. Also, you should only use storebought breadrumbs unless you plan on tweaking the recipe. I’ve tried homemade breadcrumbs and they come out way to mushy.
The texture we’re looking for is firm and a bit crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I find that for the best texture you should let the cutlets rest after cooking for 10 minutes or so before digging in.
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
Olive oil for pan frying
Optional ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, pressed or grated with a Microplane grater
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
In a mixing bowl, mash the chickpeas together with the oil until no whole chickpeas are left. Use an avocado masher or a strong fork. Alternately, you can pulse the chickpeas in a food processor. We’re not making hummus here, so be careful not to puree them, just get them mashed up. You can also sneak the garlic cloves in here instead of grating them, just pulse them up before adding the chickpeas. If using a food processor, transfer to a mixing bowl when done.
Add the remaining ingredients and knead together for about 3 minutes, until strings of gluten have formed. The strings should look like this (click photo for an even closer up view):
Preheat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over low-medium heat. Cast iron works best. If you have two pans and want to cook all the cutlets at once then go for it, otherwise you’ll be making them in two batches.
Divide the cutlet dough into 2 equal pieces. Then divide each of those pieces into 4 separate pieces (so you’ll have 8 all together). To form cutlets, knead each piece in your hand for a few moments and then flatten and stretch each one into a roughly 6 by 4 inch rectangular cutlet shape. The easiest way to do this is to form a rectangle shape in your hands and then place the cutlets on a clean surface to flatten and stretch them. (OK, maybe my surface wasn’t that clean.)
Add a moderately thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Place the cutlets in the pan and cook on each side for 6 to 7 minutes. Add more oil, if needed, when you flip the cutlets. They’re ready when lightly browned and firm to the touch. I’ve found that they cook more thoroughly if I cover the pan in between flips. I also use my spatula to press down on them while they’re cooking, that way they cook more evenly.
Now let them rest for a bit and you’re done!
Just saw the suggestion to use tomato paste instead. Awesome!
Simply delicious.
This is my new favorite recipe. I used Bragg’s instead of regular soy sauce, which I only used half of and replaced the rest with veggie broth. Same with the oil, subbed half broth. And I baked them at 375 for 20 minutes on each side, and paired them with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. I can’t wait to eat the rest that I froze, and even though it’s only August, I’m excited just thinking about making these for Thanksgiving.
I also think these would make a great simple sandwich…since they kind of remind me of chicken patties.
These are absolutely awesome. Doubled the Veganomicon recipe, and my family loved them! The texture is great…will try baking them next time instead of just pan frying, but they were great on toasted bread with abit of mustard and some arugula and tomato; also great with a side of mashed potato. Thank you!!!
For what it’s worth, I’ve had reasonable success with homemade breadcrumbs.
Good to know!
I made these cutlets today, they were too chewy and raw inside. Please, please help me, I would like to do it again. I followed the recipe.
I followed the recipe exactly except for the lemon zest. I had my skillet on low and fried these until they were crispy, firm and looked identical to the pic. But it felt like I was chewing gum trying to get these down. The flavor was good, but the texture was awful. Hopefully they’ll be fine after I bake them tomorrow.
I’m a very new vegan….always looking for something with chewy texture and great flavor. I’m going to make these!
these are a little on the bland side, imo, but a good vehicle for gravies and sauces and what have you.
not a vegan, but open to new things – these sound pretty darn good…I always have chickpeas in my pantry for hummus, so just a few more things and I’ll have them started!
Hi could someone tell me where I might find vital wheat gluten? Thanks in advance
Just made these with Orgran gluten substitue (instead of the vital wheat gluten) and a combination of course polenta (corn meal) and oat bran (instead of bread crumbs) which made these wheat free, think they would have been fine with just the course polenta for a gluten free version! Taste great and very easy to make!
Chickpea cutlets check it out!
You are a culinary genius. I almost feel guilty eating these because they are so much like chicken. YOU ARE AWESOME
This year was my first vegan Thanksgiving and so I was a little nervous about what I would eat, but I found these and they made my night! They were so easy, and so good! And I’m the only vegan in my family, so I have to cook a lot for myself, but I’m normally very busy, so it’s nice to have so many cutlets to put in the freezer.
p.s. I ate them with the vegan gravy from ohsheglows, which was also very good.
Oh my!! These were so darn good that I found myself thinking about them the rest of the evening and what other dishes I could use them in. For the previous poster who asked where to find Vital Wheat Gluten: you can always look in the flour section of your supermarket. I have found some in Safeway as well as Walmart.
Anyway, getting back to the cutlets lol. I have made seitan cutlets several times but this recipe is quick, easy and, IMHO, so much tastier!! Can’t wait to make them again! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
I made these tonight! Awesome! I did a few things different though. I used 1/2 cup cooked quinoa (1 day old so it was a little dried out) and 1/2 cup rice “bread” crumbs. I also patted each top with nutritional yeast before frying. I gave it a nice toasty outside.
These were good but a bit doughy in the centre. I think next time I would steam or simmer them for a while before frying to make the seitan more chewy.
I don’t consume oil. I wonder if tofu could be subbed for the oil?
WOW…. INCREDIBLE. So easy, so budget-friendly – and an amazing dinner base when the pantry is bare!
I baked mine: 10 min @ 400º, flipped then another 5-ish minutes at 425º, and ended up flipping one last time and sticking under a lo-heat broiler for a few, just to brown up a bit more.
SCRUMPTIOUS. Just had them in a chopped salad with crunchy iceberg, leftover eggplant bacon, avocado, fresh ground pepper, and a quick dressing made from Vegenaise, chile vinegar, and a touch of Hoisin. Immediately transports me back to restaurant/steakhouse salads with warm crispy chicken strips and Ranch dressing – a former fave! THANK YOU, PPK! You make vegan living such a fab journey.
I made these tonight for dinner with mushroom gravy. My non veg family loved them. thanks for the recipe.
Made these the night before last. I gotta say, I am not a huge fan of vital wheat gluten, but these were good. Has anyone ever substituted flax or chia seeds for the gluten?
My BFF made this for me chx parm style with Daiya cheese. Most delicious vegan ‘real’ meal I’ve had in weeks. Froze the other half but no update yet. Thanks for this great recipe.
I finally made these on the week-end and they were sooo good. My husband said they were the vest vegan thing I have made so far and I have made alot! They reminded me of a really good grilled cheese sandwich – crispy on the outside and that ooey, melty but yet still firm texture inside, so good, thanks!
These are amazing!!!! I sadly used Braggs soy seasoning which made my batch much too salty, and even yet they were irresistible. I can’t wait to make the next less salty batch. Thanks so much. By the way, I used one quarter quick cooking oats as I did not have quite enough bread crumbs.
These are wonderful. I leave out the sage and put in Old Bay seasoning. I also freeze them after cooking and reheat in the cast-iron pan in the oven, tastes just as good as the day you make them!