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!
I love this recipe! Will definitely put wheat gluten on my shopping splurge list 🙂
However, I would recommend using any other oil besides EVOO for frying, as it is not meant to handle high heats.
Hello Isa!
I would like to replace wheat gluten by carob gum, guar gum or xanthan gum…
Would that be possible? If, yes, what would be your suggestion for the quantity?
:*
K.
16oz is normal 250g can in Europe….
Hi! Can’t wait to try these. However, I’m wondering if I can omit the Vital wheat gluten, or replace it with something else? Not intolerant to gluten, I just don’t have access to this product in my cow town. Thank you!
Could someone point me in the direction of the mushroom gravy recipe? I’ve been scrolling and searching and cannot locate it. Thanks!
Nevermind, just found it! (Of course.)
Do you have a gluten free version of these?
People looking for gluten free, scroll up to 10 November 2010 comments, Dawn has posted a link to her GF version. It works!
This are SO good. I froze half of them to use later and they reheated great. I put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and that was perfect to reheat and recrisp them. Thanks for such a good recipe.
My family loves these, I just made 2 double batches just so I could have left overs.
The gravy in the picture looks great. Can you give us that recipe as well?
I use the baking instructions from Veganomicon and YuM!!!
I always bake mine and they are a family favorite!
At the last 8 minutes of baking I move them from a baking sheet to a baking dish when I flip them. I make your piccata sauce recipe from Appetite for Reduction on the stove and throw the sauce on top. My favorite!!! Thanks!
i use the chickpea flour when i make actual seitan, but for this the thick texture and consistency of mashed chickpeas seams required to make it actually seam like country fried chicken steaks.
These were fantastic! I used panko breading, which worked fine, and after reading a few comments where some people had trouble with frying them, I decided to bake mine at 375 for 30 min flipping half way (my stove is really finicky and I didn’t want to risk ruining them on my first attempt). Turns out this was a good call. They were really crispy on the outside and just the right amount of chewiness on the inside. Leftover dough freezes well too! I just wrapped mine in parchment and stuck it in the freezer and pulled them out this morning to let thaw in the fridge all day and they came out really well again. My omnivore S.O is obsessed with them.
I just have to say….these are maybe my favorite recipe EVER. I make them almost every week. I know it’s not good to eat too much of the same thing, but I can’t help myself. MMMMMMMMM
Oh my goodness! I wasn’t sure I would like these so I made half the recipe & I can’t stop eating them… currently dipping them in the Vegan Caesar salad dressing from your site as well. Thanks for the great recipes!
Thanks Isa! I am just eating a perfectly crisp outside, chewy inside cutlet. Your recipe is so foolproof that today in my 28C kitchen I just put together the main ingredients minus the herbs/spices, aromatics (no lemon zest or garlic) and I subbed in oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs for an easier and lower carb version. I used water instead of broth but put in some tumeric because it was the first spice I could put my hands on, and it is very healthy. With a sprinkling of salt on top it is delicious. Thanks!!!
I’ve made these today for about the thousandth time and yet I am still overwhelmed by how awesome they are. they are so simple to make yet taste so amazing. had them with roast potatoes and your silky chickpea gravy, along with a healthy portion of kale and some other veggies. you are a goddess, I am thankful for you each and every day!
I wonder if these could be modified a bit to make vegan meatballs? Maybe cut back on the gluten a bit, use italian seasoning? I can never get other vegan meatballs to hold together during cooking. The texture of these is nice and firm.
Isa,
how thick you make these cutlets? I just made mine for a first time, they were bit to chewy and undercooked inside. lovely though 🙂 I was thinking i made them too thick. They were around 1/2 inch thick. Is it too thick?
This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. I never change a thing, they’re so good the way they are. My favorite toppings for these are bbq sauce and sliced avocado. BEST. FLAVOURS. EVER.
After so many years I finally made these for the first time! These were a big hit with my omni husband. I made the recipe as-is, but in the future I will check the sodium content of the breadcrumbs – mine had a LOT of added salt, plus I used a more concentrated type of soy sauce since that’s what I had on hand. It put the saltiness of the cutlets on the higher end of what I consider edible LOL. I can see these cutlets being in my regular rotation.
How long to bake ?