Vegan Turkey

This vegan turkey recipe makes a delicious, tender roast you can use for holiday dinners or any time of year. Leftover slices can be used to make sandwiches too.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 46

Resting Time 45

Total Time 1 46

Servings slices

Calories 212kcal

Author Marly McMillen

Equipment

Ingredients

1 15 oz container extra firm tofu
1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base** (see note)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons poultry seasoning
1 ¼ cups vital wheat gluten

Basting Sauce

¼ cup vegetable broth
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cups - Metric

Instructions

For the Vegan Turkey Roast

Drain the liquid from the tofu and lightly press to remove some of the liquid. Add tofu to a food processor with oil, bouillon, onion powder, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning. Blend for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend again until smooth.
Transfer the tofu mixture to a bowl. Add vital wheat gluten. Use a spatula to stir the ingredients together. Use your hands to gently "knead" the mixture in the bowl, only until just combined, and none of the powdery vital wheat gluten is visible.
Turn the dough out onto a cutting board. Shape it into an oval loaf. Tightly wrap the roast in foil, sealing the ends. This helps compress the loaf, so it doesn't expand as it cooks. Place the loaf in a steamer basket over boiling water and steam for 60 minutes. Check the water level every 20 minutes and add more as needed.
Once it's done, use tongs to remove the roast from the basket. Leave it in the foil and set it aside to cool.
You can eat the roast as is, but it transforms into something amazing after being roasted with basting liquids.

For Roasted Vegan Turkey

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C.
Transfer the roast to a baking pan. Combine the basting ingredients and drizzle them over the roast. You can also add optional ingredients like thinly sliced garlic or rosemary.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, spooning basting sauce over the turkey once or twice as it bakes.
The loaf will firm up as it cools. Cut the roast into slices to serve for dinners. To cut thinner slices for sandwiches, allow the roast to cool completely, then refrigerate for an hour or so. Use a serrated knife to cut the chilled roast.

Notes

Substituting Steamer Baskets: If you don't have a steamer basket, you can use a metal strainer, a metal pie pan with holes, 3 balls of foil, or even mason jar lids in the bottom of a saucepan (but realize you'll need to add more water from time to time).

Substituting Tofu: If you don't have tofu or prefer not to cook with it, you can substitute a 15-oz can of chickpeas. You will also need to add up to a half cup of water to the mixture to get a good consistency.

Low Sodium Vegan Turkey: Omit the vegetable bouillon (or use a low-sodium bouillon), omit the soy sauce (or use a low-sodium soy sauce), and use water instead of vegetable broth for the basting sauce. These 3 changes result in 7 mg of sodium per serving. For a compromise, leave the Better than Bouillon in the turkey mixture (but omit the soy sauce and the broth). This results in 51 mg of sodium per serving.

**For bouillon, you can substitute any vegetable bouillon

Make-Ahead Tips

For the best results and to save time on the day of your meal, you can prepare the vegan turkey roast in advance:

Steam the roast up to 3 days ahead of time.
Allow it to cool completely, then wrap it tightly in foil or plastic wrap (or transfer to an airtight container) and refrigerate.

On the day of serving, simply prepare the basting sauce and roast the chilled seitan in the oven as directed. This make-ahead approach allows the flavors to develop even more while keeping your holiday prep stress-free!

Nutrition