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This Vegan Turkey recipe is the PERFECT dish to serve at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or really for any special occasions! Despite how beautiful and fancy this recipe looks, it’s actually surprisingly simple to make and even a beginner can throw this together!
Need more vegetarian holiday recipes? You need to try our Jackfruit Pot Roast, these CREAMY Garlic Mashed Potatoes, as well as our simple Vegan Gravy, this Vegan Stuffing, and our famous Vegan Pumpkin Pie!
Why you’ll love this vegan roast turkey!
I’ve worked on this recipe for MONTHS and I absolutely love LOVE how it turned out! I tested it so many different ways and this final version is PURE perfection.
I often get a lot of pushback when I create traditional meat recipes turned vegan meat but quit frankly, I do not care ONE BIT! If vegan turkey is not your thing then you can move right along :)
But for those of you that are interested in a VEGAN TURKEY that’s soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, and absolutely packed with a lot of flavor, you have landed in the right place. Let’s dive right on into this one.
Why you’ll love it:
- A great vegan option – if you have a vegan guest coming over and need some vegan options, this is a perfect solution!
- Makes amazing leftovers – everyone loves post Thanksgiving vegan turkey sandwiches!
- A delicious meaty texture – if you’re newer seitan then I think you’re really going to fall in love with the meaty texture that it offers. It’s truly my favorite mock meat.
Ingredients needed
The simple ingredients for this seitan roast recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the basics needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired:
- Vital Wheat Gluten. This is the VITAL component of the recipe. It’s found at most grocery stores in the flour or health foods section.
- Silken tofu. I tried this recipe with several different types of tofu and I decided that silken tofu gives the turkey the best texture without drying it out at all.
- Spices. For this recipe, we’re using a mix of garlic + onion powder as well as fennel seeds and poultry seasoning. Before the turkey goes in the oven, we’ll cover it in another spice rub of paprika, parsley, and thyme.
- Nutritional yeast. this adds lots of flavor and umami to the roast that is subtle but so good!
- Rice paper. this is absolutely optional but it gives the turkey “skin” that gets browned and beautifully crispy in the oven.
- Broth. I love using Better Than Bouillon’s veggie base in recipes like this. We’re going to use the broth to steam the seitan before it bakes.
How to make this Vegan Turkey Roast
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written seitan turkey roast recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you :)
- Blend the silken tofu – In the large bowl of a food processor, add in the tofu and water and process until completely smooth and no lumps remain.
- Make the seitan dough – Add in the vital wheat gluten, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and fennel and blend until the mixture completely comes together and forms a ball inside of the food processor. Keep going until it all comes together into a tight ball as seen in the photos.
- Form into a loaf – On a piece of parchment paper, form the mixture into a tight loaf about the size of a small loaf of bread. Aim for it to be roughly 9 inches long by 5 inches wide and about 3-4 inches tall.
- Steam the seitan – Grease a steamer basket and place the loaf on top. Bring a pot or skillet of vegetable broth to a simmer over medium heat (using just enough so that it doesn’t simmer over and touch the loaf too much). Once simmering, add in the loaf and cover. Let steam for 25 minutes.
- Cover in rice paper skin – Working one at a time, run the rice paper sheets under water for 10 seconds each. Place the first 2 sheets on a piece of parchment paper so that they overlap in the middle a few inches. Place the seitan loaf in the middle and wrap the edges of the rice paper up the sides of the roast so that it hugs the loaf. Place the remaining piece of rice paper on the top and wrap it around the loaf so the whole thing is covered.
- Rub on spices and roast – arrange the rosemary and citrus in the baking pan and then put the seitan loaf on top. Using a pastry brush, brush all over with a little oil or vegan butter and then sprinkle generously with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, as well as the dried parsley, thyme, and paprika.
Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until it’s nicely golden brown and crispy. Once cooled, cut with a serrated knife. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Recipe Tips
- Blend the tofu completely smooth – and lumps at this stage will carry over into the final texture, so take the extra time to make sure it’s fully lump-free.
- Don’t skip the food processor – this dough is dense and needs real power to bring it together into a tight ball. A blender or immersion blender likely won’t cut it here.
- Keep the steaming liquid topped up – check the pot periodically to make sure theres always enough broth simmering to properly steam the loaf all the way through.
- Make it ahead if you’re hosting – the loaf can be mixed, shaped, and refrigerated overnight before steaming. It’s great for spreading our the work on a big holiday.
- Don’t rush the rice paper wrapping – wetting each sheet for the full 10 seconds makes it pliable enough to hug the loaf smoothly without tearing.
- Watch it very closely under the broiler or in the final roast – rice paper browns quickly, so keep an eye on it in the last few minutes to get that crispy “skin” without burning it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can mix and shape the loaf, then refrigerate it overnight before steaming and roasting the next day – great for spreading out the prep on a busy holiday.
yes, it’s mainly there as a flavor booster, and the recipe should still turn out great without it.
yes, a food processor is really important here since the dough is really desnse and needs strong power to fully come together into a smooth, tight ball. A blender or immersion blender likely won’t get the job done.
It hasn’t been extensively tested, but steaming the loaf ahead of time and freezing it before wrapping in rice paper and roasting should work well. Thaw fully before continuing with the rice paper and roasting steps.
Vegan Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups vital wheat gluten
- 14 oz block silken tofu
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning, or something like Adobo seasoning also works well!
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds, optional but highly recommended
- 1-2 cups of veggie broth for boiling
- 3 sheets rice paper
- Optional: springs of fresh rosemary and thin slices of citrus for roasting
For the herb rub:
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- Good pinch sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil for brushing
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, add in the tofu and water and process until completely smooth and no lumps remain. Add in the vital wheat gluten, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and fennel and blend until the mixture completely comes together and forms a ball inside of the food processor. Keep going until it all comes together into a tight ball as seen in the photos.
- On a piece of parchment paper, form the mixture into a tight loaf about the size of a small loaf of bread. Aim for it to be roughly 9 inches long by 5 inches wide and about 3-4 inches tall. Grease a steamer basket and place the loaf on top.
- Bring a pot or skillet of veggie broth to a simmer (using just enough so that it doesn’t simmer over and touch the loaf too much). Once simmering, add in the loaf and cover. Let steam for 25 minutes, checking to be sure there is always liquid in the pan to steam the seitan. Uncover and remove from the heat.
- Working one at a time, run the rice paper sheets under water for 10 seconds each. Place the first 2 sheets on a piece of parchment paper so that they overlap in the middle a few inches. Place the seitan loaf in the middle and wrap the rice paper up the sides so that it hugs the loaf. Place the remaining piece of rice paper on the top and wrap it around the loaf so the whole thing is covered.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a roasting dish and, if using, arrange the rosemary and citrus in the pan and then put the seitan loaf on top. Brush all over with olive oil and then sprinkle generously with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, as well as the dried parsley, thyme, and paprika.
- Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until it’s nicely browned and crispy. Let rest, slice, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve tried other seitan recipes but this is by far my favorite. I had all the ingredients except the rice paper on hand so a quick trip to Whole Foods made up for that. My son in law is vegetarian and I am vegan, so this will be on my Christmas menu. The recipe was super easy. Just measure everything and toss it in the food processor. I’ll make this over and over again.
Thank you for the recipe. I would like to prepare it now for Christmas and freeze it in between. I am thinking to steam it, then freeze, defreeze at the big day and then go on putting the rice paper and bake it. Do you think that’ll work? Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I think that would work well. I’ve never tried freezing it honestly but I think that would work. Let me know how it goes!
do you steam the turkey in the parchment paper or not?
I don’t but you could!
So, I made this for a pre thanksgiving dinner and it’s delicious. My carnivorous family were all surprised by how tasty and “turkey flavored” wfpb dish could be. An uncle said if this is what wfpb food tastes like, I could do it. I just chuckled to myself because we all get the joke here.
Anyways, thank you for a beautiful and tasty main course recipe. This is in my keeper recipe box and will be made frequently… Especially for “turkey sammiches” for me ;-P
Do you need a food processor or could you use a blender or immersion blender
Mine is in storage & can’t put my hands on it
Question: Can the ‘turkey’ be mixed into the loaf form and kept refrigerated overnight to steam, then roast the next day? I’m looking forward to making this for Thanksgiving, but it would be super helpful if I could do the main bit in advance. Thank you!
yes! I actually tried that for a dinner party and it worked out great!
What would it do to omit the nutritional yeast? Or can you not taste it? I have tried so many brands, and I just can’t make myself like it.
it’s mostly just a flavor boost and I think it would work well without it!
Sounds great! What would the Instapot time be if I wanted to steam it in that? Thanks!
unfortunately I have never tried that so I can’t say for sure. Let me know if you try it!
I’ll be making this for the upcoming holidays! I’ve made similar seitan dishes using vital wheat gluten and I can see the silken tofu making a huge difference in taste and texture. Thanks for creating this simpke yet tasty recipe. It’s not that difficult to make vegan foods at home.